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- Jan 6, 2003
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Well, after a particularly hectic couple of months, I finally had a chance to finish my review of the Crittendon hand tailored suit. For those who might have missed out on the original threads, here are links to the introductory thread by tlfurbay:
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=62971
And the excellent reviews by Iammatt:
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=65888
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=65884
To start, some pictures I took of the suit:
Measurements: Jacket shoulders seam to seam at the widest point in back - 18 7/8, chest - 45, waist - 43, bottom of collar to bottom of coat - 31. The middle button is appx. 15" above the bottom front edge of the coat. The lapel measures 3.75" along the seam, 3 3/8" straight across at the widest point. Sleeve width at the end (25.25") is 6 1/8". Trouser waist - 36 with 2.5" of extra fabric available, front rise is 12.75", leg opening is 9 1/16" at 30", 9" at 32".
Cut - Rather nice! Overall silhouette is similar to Neopolitan RTW, but a little fuller and with slightly sharper lines. If you were to cross Attolini with Saint Andrew's classic Milanese cut you'd have something very close to this coat. It reminds me a bit of Castangia, but a little softer and not quite as trim. The shoulders are essentially unpadded and have a nice slope. The sleevehead is smooth (not pleated) with a bit of roping. Chest canvas is on the soft side but not super soft, there is still just a bit of structure. Think of a weight halfway between Brioni and Kiton. The gorge is high, though not excessively so. Lapel width is about right, neither slim nor wide so it should age well. The breast pocket has some of that "barchetta" curve though not as much as many of the Neopolitan brands. Overall fit is middle of the range. Not super slim/trim as is the current trend, but not full or drapey either. I'd say this jacket fits true to size.
The choice of lower patch pockets on this particular suit is an odd one (though I would imagine they do flap pockets as well.) Fabric aside, the patch pockets were executed well and would look great on an odd jacket. Some comments were made in the previous threads about fullness in the sleeves. I thought it might just be the extra length on Matt that made them look that way, so I measured them in comparison with some other size 42 coats I had on hand. Turns out they are indeed a little fuller. Slightly trimmer sleeves would be an improvement I think, but I don't think this would or should be a deal-breaker for 99% of the people considering these jackets/suits. The trousers have a flat front and look to be a fairly standard cut/fit. They are not my size so I've no way of making any direct comparisons, but check the measurements I provide above - they should shed some light on the cut.
Construction - Very good! Canvas front with machine padded lapels like all high end hand finished Italian RTW (Kiton, Brioni, Attolini, Barbera, Isaia, Castangia etc.) The collar looks to be hand attached, though as Iammatt noted, the stitching looks somewhat different than you see on Italian coats. (The stitches are longer, I have no idea whether that is good or bad.) I've never learned how to properly evaluate sleeve attachment, even after taking apart a lot of high end coats, but externally the armhole looks identical to most all the top RTW sold on the US market. The sleevehead is not puckered or pleated. Inside the sleeve lining is handstitched to the body of the coat. There is a LOT of external handpicking on this coat. Lapels and collar, top half of the armhole seams, outside sleeve seams, outside back seams, vents, and pocket edges. All the handpicking was executed quite well. Not the neatest I have ever seen, but it is on the higher end of the spectrum, I've seen sloppier picking on much more expensive coats. The coat is quarter lined. Inside finishing is done partially by hand and partially by machine pick-stitching. The buttonholes are handsewn and well executed. Buttonhole style is sort of a Roman/Milanese hybrid. They look very much like a Castangia buttonhole though the stitching is not quite as neat. Buttons are hand attached.
Trouser construction I would call good but not great. They look like a fairly standard machine made trouser (think Barbera or Zegna) with a few handsewn details. The trousers have handpicking on the fly and pocket edges. The buttonholes are handsewn. The back half of the waistband lining is hand attached. The trousers have an elasticized adjustable waist with cinch buckles, no belt loops, fob pocket hidden in the waistband (a la Oxxford,) three point waist closure with two hooks and one button, smooth black cotton twill waistband (no pleats, antislip material or split in back.) Two back pockets, one welt, one flapped.
Materials - The suiting fabric is a gabardine weave in a nice shade of navy with white stripes. It has a nice hand, nothing to rave about but not bad either. It feels like a 120's. I'd call it lightweight, but it is not super light, it has a bit of body and would probably hold up well to frequent wear. The jacket lining looks pretty standard, comparable to what you would see in most high end jackets. The buttons are good quality, they look to be real horn. The hardware and lining material in the pants are serviceable, but strike me as a slightly lower grade than you see in most top RTW offerings.
Overall impression: In terms of construction I would rank this suit solidly in the middle range among the hand finished offerings currently on the US market. I'd say it comes in a little lower than Brioni, Kiton, Attolini etc, but a little higher than Barbera/Partenopea, Chester Barrie etc. One must consider however that the projected retail price is only $1495 for a suit and $895 for a sportcoat! That is appx. one half to one sixth the price of similarly constructed coats. With the prices of quality RTW tailored clothing reaching truly insane levels as of late (think $6k for Brioni and $8k for Kiton,) one would be remiss not to at least look at the Crittendons. They absolutely blow away any other brand in their immediate price range in my opinion.
I 'd like to say thanks to Trevor at Romualdo and Critt Rawlings at Crittendon for letting me look at this suit. I feel that they have a very solid product on their hands, and at a really great price!
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=62971
And the excellent reviews by Iammatt:
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=65888
http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=65884
To start, some pictures I took of the suit:
Measurements: Jacket shoulders seam to seam at the widest point in back - 18 7/8, chest - 45, waist - 43, bottom of collar to bottom of coat - 31. The middle button is appx. 15" above the bottom front edge of the coat. The lapel measures 3.75" along the seam, 3 3/8" straight across at the widest point. Sleeve width at the end (25.25") is 6 1/8". Trouser waist - 36 with 2.5" of extra fabric available, front rise is 12.75", leg opening is 9 1/16" at 30", 9" at 32".
Cut - Rather nice! Overall silhouette is similar to Neopolitan RTW, but a little fuller and with slightly sharper lines. If you were to cross Attolini with Saint Andrew's classic Milanese cut you'd have something very close to this coat. It reminds me a bit of Castangia, but a little softer and not quite as trim. The shoulders are essentially unpadded and have a nice slope. The sleevehead is smooth (not pleated) with a bit of roping. Chest canvas is on the soft side but not super soft, there is still just a bit of structure. Think of a weight halfway between Brioni and Kiton. The gorge is high, though not excessively so. Lapel width is about right, neither slim nor wide so it should age well. The breast pocket has some of that "barchetta" curve though not as much as many of the Neopolitan brands. Overall fit is middle of the range. Not super slim/trim as is the current trend, but not full or drapey either. I'd say this jacket fits true to size.
The choice of lower patch pockets on this particular suit is an odd one (though I would imagine they do flap pockets as well.) Fabric aside, the patch pockets were executed well and would look great on an odd jacket. Some comments were made in the previous threads about fullness in the sleeves. I thought it might just be the extra length on Matt that made them look that way, so I measured them in comparison with some other size 42 coats I had on hand. Turns out they are indeed a little fuller. Slightly trimmer sleeves would be an improvement I think, but I don't think this would or should be a deal-breaker for 99% of the people considering these jackets/suits. The trousers have a flat front and look to be a fairly standard cut/fit. They are not my size so I've no way of making any direct comparisons, but check the measurements I provide above - they should shed some light on the cut.
Construction - Very good! Canvas front with machine padded lapels like all high end hand finished Italian RTW (Kiton, Brioni, Attolini, Barbera, Isaia, Castangia etc.) The collar looks to be hand attached, though as Iammatt noted, the stitching looks somewhat different than you see on Italian coats. (The stitches are longer, I have no idea whether that is good or bad.) I've never learned how to properly evaluate sleeve attachment, even after taking apart a lot of high end coats, but externally the armhole looks identical to most all the top RTW sold on the US market. The sleevehead is not puckered or pleated. Inside the sleeve lining is handstitched to the body of the coat. There is a LOT of external handpicking on this coat. Lapels and collar, top half of the armhole seams, outside sleeve seams, outside back seams, vents, and pocket edges. All the handpicking was executed quite well. Not the neatest I have ever seen, but it is on the higher end of the spectrum, I've seen sloppier picking on much more expensive coats. The coat is quarter lined. Inside finishing is done partially by hand and partially by machine pick-stitching. The buttonholes are handsewn and well executed. Buttonhole style is sort of a Roman/Milanese hybrid. They look very much like a Castangia buttonhole though the stitching is not quite as neat. Buttons are hand attached.
Trouser construction I would call good but not great. They look like a fairly standard machine made trouser (think Barbera or Zegna) with a few handsewn details. The trousers have handpicking on the fly and pocket edges. The buttonholes are handsewn. The back half of the waistband lining is hand attached. The trousers have an elasticized adjustable waist with cinch buckles, no belt loops, fob pocket hidden in the waistband (a la Oxxford,) three point waist closure with two hooks and one button, smooth black cotton twill waistband (no pleats, antislip material or split in back.) Two back pockets, one welt, one flapped.
Materials - The suiting fabric is a gabardine weave in a nice shade of navy with white stripes. It has a nice hand, nothing to rave about but not bad either. It feels like a 120's. I'd call it lightweight, but it is not super light, it has a bit of body and would probably hold up well to frequent wear. The jacket lining looks pretty standard, comparable to what you would see in most high end jackets. The buttons are good quality, they look to be real horn. The hardware and lining material in the pants are serviceable, but strike me as a slightly lower grade than you see in most top RTW offerings.
Overall impression: In terms of construction I would rank this suit solidly in the middle range among the hand finished offerings currently on the US market. I'd say it comes in a little lower than Brioni, Kiton, Attolini etc, but a little higher than Barbera/Partenopea, Chester Barrie etc. One must consider however that the projected retail price is only $1495 for a suit and $895 for a sportcoat! That is appx. one half to one sixth the price of similarly constructed coats. With the prices of quality RTW tailored clothing reaching truly insane levels as of late (think $6k for Brioni and $8k for Kiton,) one would be remiss not to at least look at the Crittendons. They absolutely blow away any other brand in their immediate price range in my opinion.
I 'd like to say thanks to Trevor at Romualdo and Critt Rawlings at Crittendon for letting me look at this suit. I feel that they have a very solid product on their hands, and at a really great price!
