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My day: E. Zegna and JP Gaultier.

jbbreau

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This is the story of my day:
I went for a walk in the city with the intention of finding a store where I could buy some nice suits. Every store I went in was disappointing. I finally spotted a store front where I could read Ermenegildo Zegna. «Great!», I thought, I had never seen a Zegna suit and I really was curious since they are getting quite a bit of praise on SF. I stepped in the store and to my great disappointment, I couldn't find the Zegna suits... I asked the sales clerk and he told me that they were not carrying E. Zegna anymore because the «quality was really comparable to Hugo Boss, so we decided to only carry Hugo Boss.» Disappointed, I walked out.
I continued walking for maybe 10 minutes and I found a second hand clothing boutique. Inspired by the thrift store bragging thread, I walked and to my great surprise, I found a nice gray JP Gaultier suit in my size. Unfortunately, it was 175C$... Which was more than I was willing to pay. But thinking about it again, I'm wondering if I should have bought it...

Anyways, pretty fun day even if I did not pick up anything...

What do you guys think?

Jean-Bernard

P.S. The Gaultier suit had an interesting design, the buttons of the jacket couldn't be buttoned, the jacket was too small to be buttoned, it was meant this way, you had to button it using a kind of built-in vest which was sewn to the inside of the jacket. Anyways, I liked how it looked.
 

emmanuel

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Originally Posted by jbbreau
This is the story of my day:
I stepped in the store and to my great disappointment, I couldn't find the Zegna suits... I asked the sales clerk and he told me that they were not carrying E. Zegna anymore because the «quality was really comparable to Hugo Boss, so we decided to only carry Hugo Boss.» Disappointed, I walked out.


What?!?!?! You make absolutely no sense. And what were you doing at zegna without even being able to spend $175c?!
 

jbbreau

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Originally Posted by emmanuel
What?!?!?! You make absolutely no sense. And what were you doing at zegna without even being able to spend $175c?!
I was able to spend the 175$ but didn't feel like to for a second-hand suit... I am presently shopping for a suit I'll be getting in a couple of months, I want to see a suit from every price range so I can make a better decision then... This is why I wanted to see a Zegna suit, to decide if it was worth it for me. And sorry if my english is bad, I'll make an effort. They told me they didn't carry Zegna anymore because they felt that Hugo Boss had pretty much the same quality level and that their clients tended to buy more Hugo Boss than Zegna suits. Does that make any sense to you?
 

Master-Classter

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Originally Posted by jbbreau
They told me they didn't carry Zegna anymore because they felt that Hugo Boss had pretty much the same quality level and that their clients tended to buy more Hugo Boss than Zegna suits.
Does that make any sense to you?


teacha.gif
Yes, it does.

1. Most people aren't particularly educated about what makes a suit good quality/not, and
2. They're more willing to spend money on a brand they've heard of and think favorably of (Boss). Who's heard of Zegna? sounds like it could be a random Italian sounding brand. Boss, well everyone knows that!
 

Lowndes

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Originally Posted by jbbreau
I was able to spend the 175$ but didn't feel like to for a second-hand suit...

I am presently shopping for a suit I'll be getting in a couple of months, I want to see a suit from every price range so I can make a better decision then... This is why I wanted to a Zegna suit, to decide if it was worth it for me.

And sorry if my english is bad, I'll make an effort.

They told me they didn't carry Zegna anymore because they felt that Hugo Boss had pretty much the same quality level and that their clients tended to buy more Hugo Boss than Zegna suits.

Does that make any sense to you?


I'm not completely sure why the person commented that you didn't make any sense in the first post. I had no trouble reading your post at all and felt that it was quite clear.

I'm in the process of getting several new suits right now and second the recommendation of trying on as many different suits as possible. I've tried on everything from BB to Zegna and have found the whole process quite helpful. Best of luck on your search.
 

Philosoph

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Originally Posted by jbbreau
I went for a walk in the city with the intention of finding a store where I could buy some nice suits.

P.S. The Gaultier suit had an interesting design, the buttons of the jacket couldn't be buttoned, the jacket was too small to be buttoned, it was meant this way, you had to button it using a kind of built-in vest which was sewn to the inside of the jacket. Anyways, I liked how it looked.


eh.gif
 

jbbreau

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Originally Posted by Philosoph
eh.gif


Again, sorry for my english, I meant that I wanted to find a nice store in town, because I didn't know any.
 

musicguy

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It makes no sense, because a real Zegna suit bought at retail is like 10 times the cost you were complaining about.
 

jbbreau

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Originally Posted by musicguy
It makes no sense, because a real Zegna suit bought at retail is like 10 times the cost you were complaining about.

Again, I wasn't complaining, I was just not ready to pay that much right now for a second-hand suit, I'm able to buy a Zegna suit if I want to, which is why I want to see one...

I'm just trying to get a good idea of everything that is offered so I can make a better decision when I decide to buy... If this doesn't make sense to you, well I don't think I can explain it better.
 

CDFS

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Originally Posted by musicguy
It makes no sense, because a real Zegna suit bought at retail is like 10 times the cost you were complaining about.

Can't you people read?
 

Philosoph

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Originally Posted by jbbreau
Again, sorry for my english, I meant that I wanted to find a nice store in town, because I didn't know any.

Your English was fine. The disparity between what you said you were looking for and your description of what you found confused me, that's all.
 

jbbreau

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This was caused by the environment I was in. I wasn't shopping in a very high-end shopping area.
 

Fashionsense

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hey buddy, please don't think your English is any problem cos it's not. I think we all understand perfectly what you're saying. It's just a little confusing what you're trying to achieve. For one thing, Zegna and Gaultier are quite completely different, esp when it comes to suiting - Zegna is more classic and Gaultier much more fashion driven etc.. Also, your indication on budget is also a little confusing - dismissing a $175C second hand JPG suit (pretty good imo, depending on condition) over a new Zegna that possibly cost 10 times more

My humble opinion is start with identifying your needs and preferences - do you need a suit for work (if so what's the environment like e.g. a Bank vs I.T.)? Do you prefer something more classic or something edgy? What's your budget range?
Then just go online to look at some of the different labels, from Banana Republic to Zegna to Dior to Kiton, pretty much anything you can find, just to get a sense of the different looks and sillouettes. Finally, hit the stores to try things on, see how your size fits with the different labels. Anyway, just my 2 cents.

Re: Boss vs Zegna, I wouldn't even care what the salesman said, it's just sales talk crap. Bet you anything if they're carrying Zegna not Boss, they'll say the reverse.
 

jbbreau

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Originally Posted by Fashionsense
hey buddy, please don't think your English is any problem cos it's not. I think we all understand perfectly what you're saying. It's just a little confusing what you're trying to achieve. For one thing, Zegna and Gaultier are quite completely different, esp when it comes to suiting - Zegna is more classic and Gaultier much more fashion driven etc.. Also, your indication on budget is also a little confusing - dismissing a $175C second hand JPG suit (pretty good imo, depending on condition) over a new Zegna that possibly cost 10 times more

My humble opinion is start with identifying your needs and preferences - do you need a suit for work (if so what's the environment like e.g. a Bank vs I.T.)? Do you prefer something more classic or something edgy? What's your budget range?
Then just go online to look at some of the different labels, from Banana Republic to Zegna to Dior to Kiton, pretty much anything you can find, just to get a sense of the different looks and sillouettes. Finally, hit the stores to try things on, see how your size fits with the different labels. Anyway, just my 2 cents.

Re: Boss vs Zegna, I wouldn't even care what the salesman said, it's just sales talk crap. Bet you anything if they're carrying Zegna not Boss, they'll say the reverse.


I fully understand the confusion, it's just that if I buy the Zegna, it's going to be in about 2 months, I'm just a little cash strapped right now, I'll have money to spend on an outfit in may.

Thank you for the advice, it's helpful.

Jean-Bernard
 

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