Best one-stop shop clothing brands/stores to build up a complete wardrobe of high quality classic menswear?

[bluespirit]

- Suits: Davies & Son, Henry Poole & Co., Huntsman, Dege & Skinner, Kilgour, Anderson & Sheppard, Welsh & Jefferies, Maurice Sedwell

These guy are all over $4k for suit right?

You're right, I had another idea of $/£ conversion rate when writing this. You won't find Savile Row bespoke below $4k though (especially if you expect the tailor to travel to the US).

You can find RTW suits from those houses at this price range though. Huntsman starts at 2k pounds, Dege & Skinner at 1.2k pounds, Kilgour is doing sales on some jackets and trousers, etc. See also Ede & Ravenscrotft, Richard James, Richard Anderson. Hardy Armies and Douglas Hayward are more affordable.

Mark Powell is also doing Made to Measure at this price range but I don't know if he travels to the US.

 

[clee1982]

Is Kilgour still kicking by the way, it's inventory looks like one of those "everything most go" with nothing new coming in.

Richard James is going to be skinny lapel relative to Huntsman for op's purpose I guess, though I felt it definitely had more personality than Ede & Ravenscroft or New & Lingwood (and looks like New & Lingwood's UES location is still kicking post COVID, I suppose a pleasant surprise)

I thought Hardy Armies/Douglas Hayward RTW is one of those high poly % count stuff?

Don't really know Richard Anderson/Dege & Skinner's RTW

I'm probably personally biased toward Edward Sexton but can see its RTW as being too much for most people...

 

[bluespirit]

Is Kilgour still kicking by the way, it's inventory looks like one of those "everything most go" with nothing new coming in.

Richard James is going to be skinny lapel relative to Huntsman for op's purpose I guess, though I felt it definitely had more personality than Ede & Ravenscroft or New & Lingwood (and looks like New & Lingwood's UES location is still kicking post COVID, I suppose a pleasant surprise)

I thought Hardy Armies/Douglas Hayward RTW is one of those high poly % count stuff?

Don't really know Richard Anderson/Dege & Skinner's RTW

I'm probably personally biased toward Edward Sexton but can see its RTW as being too much for most people...

Hardy Armies'/Douglas Hayward's RTW is cheap because of the high polyester composition.

Kilgour has been facing economic issues since the Covid period.

From what I know:

• Huntmans' RTW is made in England by Chester Barrie,
• Richard Anderson's RTW is made in Italy,
• Dege & Skinner's RTW is manufactured in Mauritius. I think it's the same for Richard James.

You would have more options for good RTW suits with Italian brands the likes of Zegna, Isaia, Cesare Attolini, Corneliani, Canali, Brioni, Caruso, Belvest, Kiton, etc. where labour costs are lower than in Britain with comparable craft skills

 

[clee1982]

I thought Chester Barrie is long gone?

edit: and was Lutwyche the successor (which also fold like 1~2 years ago)?

 

[jb335]

You would have more options for good RTW suits with Italian brands

Who would be the most British style (e.g., more structured shoulder, etc.) of the Italian RTW brands?

 

[prof.contingency]

I wouldn't recommand buying RTW items from a tailoring house (except suits/jackets/trousers of course) unless price is not an issue or you're fond of a particular style. RTW lines are generally not produced on site but outsourced to external factories, and you'll pay the margin.

Buy your suit from a tailoring house, and other RTW items directly from those factories (see below).

If you're interested in British style:
- Suits: Davies & Son, Henry Poole & Co., Huntsman, Dege & Skinner, Kilgour, Anderson & Sheppard, Welsh & Jefferies, Maurice Sedwell;
- Dress shirts: Turnbull & Asser, Hilditch & Key, Budd, Margaret Howell, Emma Willis (I think Italian shirtmakers have a better price/quality ratio but you asked for a savile-row style);
- Dress shoes: Crockett & Jones, Paul Sargent (or John Lobb/Edward Green/Gaziano & Girling on sale/second-hand since the retail price of those three brands is above 1,000$);
- Knitwear: Johnstons of Elgin, William Lockie, Hawico, John Smedley;
- Outerwear: Peregrine, Mackintosh, Barbour (made in UK lines), Cooper & Stollbrand (sold under the Private White V.C. retail label). I've not tried Grenfell, Gloverall, Lavenham, John Partridge and Chrysalis but those are also reputable brands;
- Accessories: Dents (made in UK lines) or Chester Jefferies for gloves; James Lock & Co. for hats (you can also search for Stetson, Herbert Johnson, Bates, or Failsworth); Globe-Trotter or Mossman for luggage; Swaine & Adeney, Tusting, Connolly, Ettinger, or Launer for leathergoods; Floris, Creed, Atkinson's, or Penhaligon's for perfumes; Holliday & Brown, or Drake's for ties; James Smith & Sons, Brigg & Sons, or Fox Umbrellas for umbrellas.

You could also look at RTW items from New & Lingwood, Dunhill, or DAKS if you like a particular style.

All of the brands listed above are quintessential to the British upper-class culture.

Avoid: Church's, Aquascutum, and Gieves & Hawkes, unless you find second-hand items manufactured in the 20th century (the quality has declined).

Great list; and insightful about the "avoid", as I think I would agree. Kilgour is closed at the moment. Might popup again if Li&Fung (or more accurately, Fung capital) can strike a deal with someone.

 

[David Reeves]

David Reeves used to have MTM and within your budget but that was 15 years ago so who knows now

David Reeves used to have MTM and within your budget but that was 15 years ago so who knows now

David Reeves used to have MTM and within your budget but that was 15 years ago so who knows now

Thank you for the shout out, I think you were one of my first customers back in the day! I don't do MTM anymore, probably stopped about 13 years ago. I still see every client myself so it became a matter of time, why take on MTM clients when you are busy enough with Bespoke? It can work I suppose if its a volume business, but I have never been about that. There are probably 40 Reeves MTMs in the world and about 3000 Bespoke Suits now, so if you have an MTM that is quite the rare bird.

If you are still in NYC would love to show you the new showroom and catch up.

For clarity I range from 6k-8k for a Bespoke suit as of 2023, we make in London and New York now and usually take about 3 months to make a suit.

 

[David Reeves]

I thought Chester Barrie is long gone?

edit: and was Lutwyche the successor (which also fold like 1~2 years ago)?

yes.

 

[David Reeves]

Thank you for everyone's responses. As far as the style goes, yes I am looking for very structured shoulders with tapered waists which is why I used Huntsman to give an idea of what I was looking for. I wasn't quite looking to get into bespoke yet as that's very expensive and quite unnecessary for me as someone with a 'normal' body frame as I fit very easily into RTW so I was manly looking for RTW or MTM.

I am checking out the websites of all the suggested shops everyone recommended and I am going to try to put together a list of which of them offer the structured look I am looking for. I plan on taking a trip to both NYC and London to see these shops in person I am just trying to get a preliminary list in order so I know which shops would be best for me before I go. If any shops offered RTW that would also be great as I could just order online (again I have a very normal body frame I fit into size medium perfectly in almost everything I try on which is why I wasn't quite looking at bespoke as it just seemed so unnecessary for someone like me) and have it shipped kind of like what I was seeing with the RTW with Huntsman.

It seems that the modern day trend is following the "italian soft" style of suit jackets/blazers which brands like Brunello Cucinelli have really captured on. This trend has spread to almost all the common luxury suiting brands and tailoring brands that I could find which is quite unfortunate for someone like me who is seeking out that traditional structured jacket look as it seems very few shops are making jackets in that style these days. This is why I wasn't looking very much at many of the Italian brands as I knew they would be very unstructured and more 'casual' .

I did check out Purple Label that would probably be the easiest, simplest decision as I could just upgrade everything and most of their jackets/suits are decently structured and I would already know my size but I was just looking for other options. Edward Sexton I checked out which I also liked a lot as their clothes had very structured looks and lots of RTW which is great. Does anyone know if the Huntsman in NYC offers MTM not bespoke?

I think my style is very English looking if you can push your suit budget up to 6k instead of 4K this could be a good fit, or just take it slow (which is probably good advice). I have clients that have ordered 1 or 2 suits a year for 15 years, now of course they have a wardrobe full of beautiful suits and they all still look great. Occasionally they will be brought back to me for minor repairs and alterations.

Here are a couple examples to give you an idea of what my suits look like. No photoshop, no pins, made for real clients.