Edward Greens at the Polo Mansion

[A Harris]

Okay, I'm truly confused now. RLPL suits are not being made by Saint Andrew's? They might be Cantarelli...?

All the RLPL/Cantarelli items I've seen have been sportcoats - usually corduroy etc. They are easy to pick out, the buttonholes are not handstitched, and they are generally priced much lower. Also they are more recent, all the early Italian made RLPL suits/jackets were Saint Andrew's, unless you bought samples, in which case there are all sorts of different makers (RL commissioned samples from a variety of makers before going with Saint Andrews.)

 

[Mike C.]

Phil, you are right that the RTW Blue Label suits, though half-canvassed, use the best fusing around. In addition, the lapels are canvassed and that is what determines the nice roll. I think that Polo Blue Label is probably the only fused suit I'd be willing to plunk good money on nowadays

This is incorrect... ALL blue label suits are in fact FULLY canvassed. There is no fusing. It is made by machine, not hand canvassed.

I heard this from a very reputable source, not from a salesperson or by a "pinch" test.

 

[JLibourel]

When I was inquiring about Blue Label MTM last year, I was distinctly told they were "semi-fused."

I was in the Beverly Hills Polo Shop last Saturday. They had a pair of the tan (or light brown) and white RLPL/EG spectators there, and they were indeed gorgeous. In general, I do not pine after much greater wealth than I possess (which ain't much.), but this time I did find myself wishing I were sufficiently wealthy that the $850 price tag (well over $900 with tax) would be a mere bagatelle. I could, of course, have bought them (if they had 'em in my size and the last were compatible with my foot), but I spending that kind of money on a pair of shoes that I would only wear a few times a year would be extravagant folly of the worst sort (in my circumstances, anyway). Predictably, my wife hated those beautiful spectators. "Unbelievably flashy" was her verdict. Sometimes I don't know what is the matter with that woman.

 

[jcusey]

Regarding the Blue Label suits, unless something has changed in the last season or so, the chest and the front most certainly are fused. It was like that on the Polo MTM suit that I bought about 5 years ago, but it's possible that things have changed since then.

Regarding the spectators, I had always been skeptical about white suede until I saw it on the Purple Label spectators. Absolutely gorgeous. I have no idea how you would keep it clean, but absolutely gorgeous.

 

[Mike C.]

Regarding the Blue Label suits, unless something has changed in the last season or so, the chest and the front most certainly are fused. It was like that on the Polo MTM suit that I bought about 5 years ago, but it's possible that things have changed since then.

Nope, they are machine canvassed. I can't say what it was last year or 5 years ago.

 

[jcusey]

Nope, they are machine canvassed. I can't say what it was last year or 5 years ago.

Again, unless something has changed in the past season or so, you're simply wrong.

 

[Mike C.]

Quote:

(Mike C. @ Mar. 10 2005,21:26) Nope, they are machine canvassed. I can't say what it was last year or 5 years ago.
Again, unless something has changed in the past season or so, you're simply wrong.
Who told you this? I spoke with someone high up at Corneliani, I doubt they were lying. The person you spoke to was misinformed or you're assuming. I assmumed they were somewhat fused as well, but they're not.

 

[jcusey]

Who told you this? I spoke with someone high up at Corneliani, I doubt they were lying. The person you spoke to was misinformed or you're assuming.

When the fabric on the chest and front of the jacket is laminated with and inseparable from some sort of lining, that jacket is fused. It doesn't matter what someone high up at Corneliani says. It's easily observable. Again, this might have changed in the past season or so, but the Polo suits from as recent as Fall 2004 are certainly fused.

 

[Mike C.]

When the fabric on the chest and front of the jacket is laminated with and inseparable from some sort of lining, that jacket is fused. It doesn't matter what someone high up at Corneliani says. It's easily observable. Again, this might have changed in the past season or so, but the Polo suits from as recent as Fall 2004 are certainly fused.

Wrong... I knew you assumed it. You're pinch test isn't 100%. Neither is mine; that isn't the default way of telling.

 

[A Harris]

I've got to go with JCusey on this one. When I roll the fabric between my fingers and there is clearly another layer laminated to the chest (not hard to pick up, it doubles the thickness) I don't care if Ralph Lauren himself swears otherwise in court, the suit is fused...

 

[jcusey]

Wrong... I knew you assumed it. You're pinch test isn't 100%. Neither is mine; that isn't the default way of telling.

I didn't assume anything; I observed it. I'll repeat: if the shell fabric of a the front of a jacket is laminated to a lining material, that jacket is fused. Every single Polo jacket that I've ever examined has had the shell fabric of the front laminated to a lining material. If you want to explain how it's possible for a canvassed jacket to have shell fabric laminated to a lining, go right ahead.

 

[johnnynorman3]

If you don't trust the pinch test -- and let me tell you, it's 100% accurate -- here's an easy way to tell whether a suit is fused (provided you have a needle and thread and know how to sew). Rip open a small hole at the bottom of the coat lining on the front of the coat (not a hole in the lining -- just cut the stitches that hold the lining to the bottom of the jacket). Pick a spot that is on the front of the coat, like directly under the hip pocket. Look into the hole, or push the fabric through the hole. In a fused suit, you will see the fusing. It's clear as day. It is normally a grayish twill like layer.

I can guarantee you that if you do this to a RTW Blue Label suit, you will see the gray fusing. I don't know about the MTM because I've never seen a BL MTM.

 

[Mike C.]

The suits are machine canvassed, not hand canvassed like an Oxxford; it is not going to feel the same. I don't know what machine v hand cavassing entails exactly, thought there is obviously a big quality difference, hence the upcharge of a few grand on a hand canvassed suit.

Secondly the Polo suits don't feel like a fused suit. On a fused suit the interlining is obviously thicker and heavier; two features that are absent on any Polo blue label suit.

Geeeze... this it turning into a tasseled loafer discussion. lol...

 

[johnnynorman3]

I just won a Blue Label sportcoat off of Ebay for pretty cheap.  When I get it, I'll cut it open and snap a picture for you.  Also, a machine canvassed suit will feel precisely the same as a hand canvassed suit.

But, Mike C., I agree with you that the fusing in a BL is almost imperceptibly thin -- as good as a semi-fused suit gets for sure.

 

[Mike C.]

I just won a Blue Label sportcoat off of Ebay for pretty cheap. When I get it, I'll cut it open and snap a picture for you. Also, a machine canvassed suit will feel precisely the same as a hand canvassed suit.

But, Mike C., I agree with you that the fusing in a BL is almost imperceptibly thin -- as good as a semi-fused suit gets for sure.

It would be cool to see the inside. However, a coat from years ago can't be compared to the ones in stores now; also all Blue Label sportcoats aren't made by Corneliani.

What are the differences between machine and hand canvas?