Isaia Without the Moustache

[G in Houston]

Has anyone seen Isaia Napoli suits that lack the moustache, i.e., the little fabric tab that wraps from front to back around the top edge of the lapel notch? I just received such a suit from a very well known merchant and have never seen that before.

 

[jrd617]

Huh? That sounds like a "throat latch."

 

[SpooPoker]

I think he means this :

 

[coolpapa]

That piece is there to allow the collar to be altered. If the collar is fine, then you've nothing to worry about.

 

[G in Houston]

I think he means this :

Right. This is what I meant. And its not a question of function, but of authenticity. Isaia of New York tells me that this tab (what they called the "moustache") is on all Isaia "sartorial models." I'm wondering if anyone has an Isaia suit they know to be genuine that lacks this piece.

 

[edmorel]

yes, collar could be self fabric, felt. doesn't mean anything about authenticity.

 

[Jfied23]

Not sure if this is the same thing, but I just ordered two sport coats from STP, and they both had this issue, along with other things I thought were "missing" from typical ISAIA garments. I returned the SC's immediately to STP as their return policy is great. This latest batch of ISAIA that they got seems to be of a lower quality, with less handwork, etc. I'm certainly no expert on tailoring, but I do love the other ISAIA suits and SC's I have.

The things I recently ordered from STP, did not have that tab inside the collar which I thought was odd. They also did not seem to have the same structure to the body of the coats (not sure what this could be caused by). I also noticed differences in stitching around where the sleeves attach to the shoulders as well as the stitching on the lapels. Overall the garments just felt a bit lower quality than what I've come to expect from ISAIA. To me they felt like more of a mass produced line of clothing than one that prides itself in a lot of handwork.

I'd be curious to hear if anyone else has ordered from this recent group of ISAIA that STP has available.

 

[G in Houston]

Thanks. That's exactly the issue.

 

[coolpapa]

I think I've read here before that Isaia produces stuff for STP, which might explain the differences in construction.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

Isaia has a lot of ranges, often -- and confusingly -- carrying the same label, if not extremely similar labels. It would be nice if they demarcated their diffusion points by way of sub-brands, different labels, etc., a la Ralph Lauren. But alas, there seems to be little rhyme or reason to the application of the various Isaia labels to its various lines.

Also, they make different lines for different retailers, STP included. Even if an STP-bought suit bears the same label as a suit purchased at a high-end store, it's probably constructed to lower standards to fit STP's pricing strategy.

TANSTAAFL, as the early internet nerds were apt to warn us. If an Isaia suit is selling for a couple hundred bucks on STP, or a similar site, you're probably getting what you're paying for.

 

[G in Houston]

Thanks for the info. There seems to be enough going on to justify asking STP to explain what, exactly, they are selling. If they respond, I'll let you know what they say.

 

[coolpapa]



Thanks for the info. There seems to be enough going on to justify asking STP to explain what, exactly, they are selling.  If they respond, I'll let you know what they say.

I'm curious what you expect their reply to be beyond "we're selling an Isaia suit". It seems like you feel they're being deceptive.

 

[Teemu]

Sierra Trading Post already seems to tell in description the level of handwork put in the Isaia suits and sport coats, the more expensive ones where apparently pretty much all is done by handwork have "Handcrafted by master tailors in Napoli, Italy" in the description , cheaper ones don't have that.

 

[JakeLA]

Isaia makes those coats specifically for STP? I find that hard to believe. For one thing, it would then be illegal for STP to advertise them with a retail price of $2500 (when they were never offered at that price).

And do you really think STD would be commissioning all those ugly plaids and pastels and weird stripey sport coats? I see some of these exact same jackets hanging at the local Loehmann's

 

[Teemu]

Overall the garments just felt a bit lower quality than what I've come to expect from ISAIA. To me they felt like more of a mass produced line of clothing than one that prides itself in a lot of handwork.
I'd be curious to hear if anyone else has ordered from this recent group of ISAIA that STP has available.

Kiton and Attolini are very proud of their mainline and it's level of handwork, you can't even find words Kiton or Attolini from the labels of their other lines, Sartorio Napoli and Stile Latino, that have less handwork. At least not from the larger name labels, maybe the small labels with lots of small text mention Kiton or Attolini factory somewhere, not sure.

However Isaia sells all its fully canvassed suits under the same label, so Isaia label does not guarantee "all handwork" in same way as Kiton or Attolini. This really isn't in anyway STP specific but whole Isaia label.