british suits (burberry)?

[alebrady]

i am interested in picking up a few suits and would like to get a sense of suits that have some british styling inspirations. would some of the suits in the burberry line accomplish this? what would my other otr options be in the san fran area? im not looking to spend a tremendous amount so some of the higher end options wouldnt really be options.

tia

 

[Matt]

how much do burberry suits cost in the US? just trying to put a dollar value to your budget....

 

[Jovan]

Everything Burberry costs a ton, unless of course you eBay it at a good deal. Speaking of that, I'd see if you can get some Daks suits in your size over it. They're about as British as you can get.

 

[drake]

I tried on some Burberry suits at the Santana Row store in San Jose and they were pretty boxy and cut very American. I think Hickey Freeman makes them, infact, it almost seemed to be a Hicky Freeman suit with a Burberry label stuck inside.

 

[Jovan]

Aren't the Burberry Prorsum suits cut more waisted and with higher armholes?

 

[RJman]

Prorsum are well made (in Italy by Belvest IMMSMC) but pretty hard to find and quite expensive.

Burberry suitsin the US are made now by Hickey-Freeman. They're OK, I havent looked at them in a while and can't speak to how British the styling is.

 

[drake]

The last time I was at the San Francisco store the Prorsum was very limited, like one rack on the mezzanine. I think I saw some odd trousers and shirts, nothing that impressive or anything that caught my eye.

I didn't feel the styling of the regular stuff was British at all, it all seemed very American to me.

Maybe you should look at the Paul Smith stuff at Neiman Marcus? I don't know about their quality but I think they are priced around the same as Burberry.

But really if you are going for a more "English look," I don't think their is anything good outside bespoke here in the Bay Area, at least I have not seen it.

 

[Matt]

are there any Chester Barrie's still kicking around? Know the company having a lot of problems, and not sure how they cut for the US market, but could be an option....

 

[alebrady]

thanks for the help so far guys. as i said, im not really good at spotting british influences yet so i didnt realize burberry wasnt a good example. i guess i will head over to neiman and investigate the paul smith stuff - does that have good british representation in its styling?

 

[DGP]

Originally Posted by alebrady

thanks for the help so far guys. as i said, im not really good at spotting british influences yet so i didnt realize burberry wasnt a good example. i guess i will head over to neiman and investigate the paul smith stuff - does that have good british representation in its styling?

Paul Smith stuff is a little better in that it is cut slimmer and straighter than the stuff at Burberry. However, it isn't super skinny and tapered like a lot of stuff from Continental Europe. I believe the suits are actually made in Italy. I just found one that had been given an extra markdown by accident at a Last Call for $130. When it comes back from the shop I'll report on the post-tailoring fit.

 

[LabelKing]

Burberry Prorsum is a seasonal collection therefore what they have isn't always going to be British although Bailey tends to be good on that. However, if you can, you can order through the Lookbook at the store because the S.F. has a tragic selection of the good pieces; only a bunch of that Asian duty-free shopper loot.

 

[sloaney]

I thought it might be of interest to note that the British generally consider Burberry very chav -- i.e. lower class. This is one of the things I learned since I moved to London.

 

[Bakersville]

Originally Posted by sloaney

I thought it might be of interest to note that the British generally consider Burberry very chav -- i.e. lower class. This is one of the things I learned since I moved to London.

While this is true, you should be fine as long as you stay away from the nova-check pattern. It's a real shame that everyone associates Burberry with chavs because they wouldn't be caught dead in most of Burberry's clothes, especially the Prorsum line (one of last season's best shows in my opinion).

 

[pkincy]

Originally Posted by m@T

are there any Chester Barrie's still kicking around? Know the company having a lot of problems, and not sure how they cut for the US market, but could be an option....

I walked into my local (Phoenix) Saks Off 5th the other day and a suit I had been watching that was in SOF for 799 marked down from 1495 had received a final markdown to $174! It was a Chester Barrie for Saks (Hield or somesuch was the brand that Saks used for the line) Hacking pockets/ticket pocket, etc. Beautiful fabric. Next to it was a sports jacket that did not have the Hield label but did have Saks Made in England and it had originally been marked down from 1795 to 599 and the final markdown was $74!!

I am not certain whether they were made by Chester Barrie or the surviving organization but they definitely are beautiful and well made garments in great fabrics.

So check out your SOF.

Perry

I returned to Saks the other day and the suit had its mate (in a 44L) sitting there also for $174.

My Saks salesman says that line has been gone for at least 5 years. So they have been sitting somewhere for a while. SB 3 button was the style.

 

[Edward Appleby]

Originally Posted by m@T

are there any Chester Barrie's still kicking around? Know the company having a lot of problems, and not sure how they cut for the US market, but could be an option....
They occasionally pop up on ebay, usually in the form of RLPL.