• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Hickey Freeman collection

maufic

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2008
Messages
122
Reaction score
0
Hello,

I'm hoping to get some help regarding a Hickey Freeman suit I found on ebay. The label inside the suit says
HICKEY-FREEMAN
COLLECTION
Neimun Marcus

It also says on the tag:
HICKEY-FREEMAN
Ltd.

My question is, is this a fully canvassed suit (I have been told the collection suits are fully canvassed), or is it a half-canvassed Ltd. suit. Is a Hickey Freeman ltd. half canvassed suits worth $500.

As a secondary question, how do the Hickey Freeman ltd. half canvassed suits compare to BB 1818 suits which is also half-canvassed.

Thanks,
Maurizio
 

bmulford

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2007
Messages
2,994
Reaction score
29
HF LTD is a lower grade of construction. Generally the fabric isn't as nice as the mainline.

Its a perfectly fine suit, but will lack the feel and drape of the regular models.

Paying $500 for a HF LTD on ebay should be a crime. For that much you should be able to find a NWT Madison or other mainline, from the last few seasons. Heck even Nordstroms Rack has NWT HF madisons for $550 retail.
 

Twotone

Distinguished Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
Messages
1,019
Reaction score
43
I have purchased several HF Collection (Madison) from NM Last Call and Dillards for $250 - $350. The LTD is much lower quality.

You can tell which model you have by looking at the inside jacket labels -- It should say Hickey Freeman Collection on the label sewn to the lining, right side. Look inside the right side jacket pocket -- the Collection labels usually have a model name ("Madison", etc.) or may say "Made for Dillards/NM/Nordstroms", etc.. Collection suits are lined with HF fabric that has the Hickey Freeman name and a small embroidered logo under the small ticket pocket inside left side. LTD suits do not have the HF labeled lining nor the embroidered logo.

Hope this helps,
Twotone
 

A Guy from Shanghai

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
5,751
Reaction score
281
HF Collection used to by the mainline...full floating canvassed. I believe HF had discontinued the line for a couple of years, and recently revamped the line. Unfortunately, it is half canvassed now.

Off5th has continuously been jacking up the price for HF. A couple of years ago, price was 599, then $699, and most recently the price went up to $899.
 

maufic

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2008
Messages
122
Reaction score
0
Originally Posted by Twotone
I have purchased several HF Collection (Madison) from NM Last Call and Dillards for $250 - $350. The LTD is much lower quality.

You can tell which model you have by looking at the inside jacket labels -- It should say Hickey Freeman Collection on the label sewn to the lining, right side. Look inside the right side jacket pocket -- the Collection labels usually have a model name ("Madison", etc.) or may say "Made for Dillards/NM/Nordstroms", etc.. Collection suits are lined with HF fabric that has the Hickey Freeman name and a small embroidered logo under the small ticket pocket inside left side. LTD suits do not have the HF labeled lining nor the embroidered logo.

Hope this helps,
Twotone


Hi,

There are actually 2 suits that I'm looking at. The first says:
Hickey Freeman
collection
Neiman Marcus

on the right side and has the HF embroidered logo under the pocket inside left side. I'm assuming that this suit is a fully canvassed model?

The second suit says:

Hickey Freeman
Neiman Marcus

on the right side but the left side is not shown. The paper tag does not say Hickey Freeman ltd. It only says Hickey Freeman. The paper tag does not say that it is a madison either. I'm wondering if this suit is a fully canvassed or a half-canvassed suit?

Thanks
 

A Guy from Shanghai

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
5,751
Reaction score
281
Originally Posted by Twotone
I have purchased several HF Collection (Madison) from NM Last Call and Dillards for $250 - $350. The LTD is much lower quality.

You can tell which model you have by looking at the inside jacket labels -- It should say Hickey Freeman Collection on the label sewn to the lining, right side. Look inside the right side jacket pocket -- the Collection labels usually have a model name ("Madison", etc.) or may say "Made for Dillards/NM/Nordstroms", etc.. Collection suits are lined with HF fabric that has the Hickey Freeman name and a small embroidered logo under the small ticket pocket inside left side. LTD suits do not have the HF labeled lining nor the embroidered logo.

Hope this helps,
Twotone


No offense, some of your information is outdated. The most current "Collection" line also has the same label as you described. But one can find small prints "Hickey freeman Ltd" (separated into 2 lines) on the paper tags sewn on sleeve end and pants waist.
 

A Guy from Shanghai

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
5,751
Reaction score
281
Originally Posted by maufic
Hi,

There are actually 2 suits that I'm looking at. The first says:
Hickey Freeman
collection
Neiman Marcus

on the right side and has the HF embroidered logo under the pocket inside left side. I'm assuming that this suit is a fully canvassed model?

The second suit says:

Hickey Freeman
Neiman Marcus

on the right side but the left side is not shown. The paper tag does not say Hickey Freeman ltd. It only says Hickey Freeman. The paper tag does not say that it is a madison either. I'm wondering if this suit is a fully canvassed or a half-canvassed suit?

Thanks


Paper tags sewn on sleeve end and pants waist are the easiest for one to differentiate a mainline and a ltd line. The mainline only has the prints saying "Hickey Freeman" on a gray background. The Ltd has the prints of "Hickey Freeman Ltd" ("Ltd" is in the 2nd line), and they are on a sliver background.

Hope this helps.
 

Happydayz

Senior Member
Joined
May 23, 2008
Messages
121
Reaction score
1
inside the right breast pocket there will be a label. If it is a fully canvased Hickey Freeman suit than under where it says MDL (or MODEL) there will be the cut of the suit; all of mine are Madison's so it says MADISON.

if it is a Hickey Freeman LTD it will say MDL followed by a bunch of numbers and letters.
 

A Guy from Shanghai

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
5,751
Reaction score
281
Originally Posted by Happydayz
inside the right breast pocket there will be a label. If it is a fully canvased Hickey Freeman suit than under where it says MDL (or MODEL) there will be the cut of the suit; all of mine are Madison's so it says MADISON.

if it is a Hickey Freeman LTD it will say MDL followed by a bunch of numbers and letters.


That is a not reliable method. I swear that I have seen mainline suits only have some sort of model number rather than a model name (canterbury, madison, barrett, vanguard, and etc...)
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 36.7%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 59 39.3%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 15 10.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 26 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 26 17.3%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,140
Messages
10,578,728
Members
223,895
Latest member
JackiRuffner
Top