Does Brooks Brothers even make suits anymore?

[soupcxan]

Brooks Brothers has no less than 15 styles of Fitzgerald suits on their website, but only one in size 38R - the basic grey/navy. I've already got my grey and navy suits, but gosh, it would be nice to get something different like a windowpane or birds-eye. How can a retailer operate with 94% of their SKUs out of stock in a common size like 38R? This isn't a new condition either - it's been this way since the late summer. Irritating and bizzare.

 

[Mark Seitelman]

Brooks makes some of its own suits through Southwick which it owns.

Some Brooks suits are made by other vendors.

In the great, old days of Brooks, 346 Madison would carry almost every size including semi-tall or semi-long. Additionally, there was the university shop which would carry smaller sizes. Now, the size ranges are very limited.

 

[lee_44106]

Originally Posted by soupcxan

Brooks Brothers has no less than 15 styles of Fitzgerald suits on their website, but only one in size 38R - the basic grey/navy. I've already got my grey and navy suits, but gosh, it would be nice to get something different like a windowpane or birds-eye. How can a retailer operate with 94% of their SKUs out of stock in a common size like 38R? This isn't a new condition either - it's been this way since the late summer. Irritating and bizzare.

Size 38R, which you obvious are, is not a common size.

Yes, yes, hard to believe.

Look around you, not many slim people.

 

[furo]

Originally Posted by lee_44106

Size 38R, which you obvious are, is not a common size.

Yes, yes, hard to believe.

Look around you, not many slim people.

+1, but what's ridiculous is the amount of times I've heard Brooks or other retailers tell me that these sizes are always the first to sell out.

I waited almost 4 months for my BB Fitz in navy (size 38S). Shame it was built so poorly and I immediately sent it back. Last time I try that again.

 

[lee_44106]

Originally Posted by furo

+1, but what's ridiculous is the amount of times I've heard Brooks or other retailers tell me that these sizes are always the first to sell out.

Understandable if you think about it.

Slim people prefer to look good and DO look better than a *****.

slim people buys the 38R and BB runs out.


At Friend&Family sale time all they have left is the 44L/48R big-ass size

 

[haruki]

Exactly. How are they going to sell to the "Mad Men" 20 and 30 year-olds without a good supply of 38R?

-cb

 

[sunror]

let's not confuse 'slim' with 'slim AND SHORT'

 

[greyinla]

Basic Fitz is in stock in 38R right now in the five basic colors + the Mad Men. Not bad. And they're a lot better about keeping smaller sizes in stock than most. But I feel your pain. As previous poster suggested, 38R is not the most common size in the US--it's worse if you are a 36 or 38S like many here.

Anyway, two solutions for this. Get your self a BB discount card or credit card and get a suit through their select program. Good choice of fabrics and you can get pants/jackets of different sizes in case you're not the std. drop. Alternatively, shop at the beginning, not the end of the season. A few weeks ago, even 36S was widely available.

 

[soupcxan]

Originally Posted by lee_44106

Size 38R, which you obvious are, is not a common size.

Sure, 38R is less common than 42R, but I've never understood why the Fitzgerald line is even made in sizes like 56L...if you're a 56L, you are not wearing a slim fit suit, regardless of what the label says.

Originally Posted by greyinla

Anyway, two solutions for this. Get your self a BB discount card or credit card and get a suit through their select program.

Last time I checked, the select suits started at $1100, which is a far cry from the OTR suits which are regularly $500-600 on sale.

 

[furo]

Originally Posted by soupcxan

Last time I checked, the select suits started at $1100, which is a far cry from the OTR suits which are regularly $500-600 on sale.

Even at $500-$600 the current line of BB Fitz isn't worth it to me based on the quality and workmanship I saw.

The worst part was that I couldn't even tell if it was half canvassed. There was no stitching/roughness that I felt in the lapels at all.

 

[lee_44106]

Originally Posted by soupcxan

Sure, 38R is less common than 42R, but I've never understood why the Fitzgerald line is even made in sizes like 56L...if you're a 56L, you are not wearing a slim fit suit, regardless of what the label says.

.

Vanity has resulted in a lot of sales for the likes of Brooks Brothers.

That and the concept of aspirational lifestyle (Cucinelli)

 

[soupcxan]

Originally Posted by furo

Even at $500-$600 the current line of BB Fitz isn't worth it to me based on the quality and workmanship I saw.

I've found a noticable difference in the fabric and construction quality between BB's basic 1818 suits (navy/grey/pinstripe) that retail for $898 versus the $1098 suits that usually have Saxxon wool. The latter is worth $5-600, the former, not so much. But last time I bought one of their $898 suits, I was able to stack a 50% sale and a 15% corp discount netting to $380, which I thought was fair. Of course, all of the Saxxon suits are out of stock in 38R, dashing my hopes for a post-Christmas 50% sale.

 

[intent]

So --- OP is lamenting the fact that a big chain doesn't have in stock a size toward the bottom of the population curve because he waited until sales come around?

Also, I don't understand the fascination with the Fitzgerald cut. FF pants, sure, but you also need decent sized shoulders to fill it out. The Regent is more of a slim cut.

 

[jamesbond]

As unfortunate as it is Brooks probably carries one of the wider size selections around. That just goes to show the state of men's wear in general these days. As a slimmer guy I usually have to pay full retail for things in my size or they will sell out and never make it to sales racks.

 

[furo]

Originally Posted by jamesbond

As unfortunate as it is Brooks probably carries one of the wider size selections around. That just goes to show the state of men's wear in general these days. As a slimmer guy I usually have to pay full retail for things in my size or they will sell out and never make it to sales racks.

+1