Polo Suits

[alebrady]

i have been trying to get a feel for some suits that have some british styling influences. someone recommended to me that i check some suits out at the RL store here in SF. I was a little surprised because, although i do have some blue label suits that i picked up on sale and like the fit of them a lot, i did not consider them very british in their styling (i.e. i thought the shoulders were much more 'natural' than what would be considered traditionally british).

Am i wrong about this?? would you consider blue label styling somewhat british? i suppose it does have a nice bit of supression in the waist...what about the purple label style? how would you describe the silhoutte of regular label polo suits (i.e. italian, american, british - is it sort of a 'blah' hybrid)?

im really at a loss here because i'd like to buy from an actual store as opposed to online but for my bidget (i.e. 1-1.5k) i dont know what 'british' offerings i can find. i checked out some paul smith stuff but to be honest, i didnt really find anything that would be conservative enough for the office...

 

[kitonbrioni]

There are very few RTW suits made in England sold in the USA. Savile Row bespoke is offered by visiting teams in major USA cities, but not in the $1,500 range.

 

[alebrady]

any thoughts on the polo suit styling?

 

[southgate house]

I think that the british influence with RL sometimes comes through in the fabrics (tweeds, flannels). I don't think the cut of his suits looks british though. The shoulders tend to be somewhat wider than the natural shoulder.

 

[Edward Appleby]

Polo (Blue Label) is American in styling, though, as southgate noted, many British elements other than cut come in by way of the Trad.

Purple Label, on the other hand, has a more overtly Anglophilliac sensibility.

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by Edward Appleby

Polo (Blue Label) is American in styling, though, as southgate noted, many British elements other than cut come in by way of the Trad.

Purple Label, on the other hand, has a more overtly Anglophilliac sensibility.

Not the Blue Label I got from Yoox. As a couple people noted, what seems to be the European market version of RL Blue Label is rather slimmer, with flat front trousers, too.

 

[Edward Appleby]

Originally Posted by skalogre

Not the Blue Label I got from Yoox. As a couple people noted, what seems to be the European market version of RL Blue Label is rather slimmer, with flat front trousers, too.
Interesting. Beyond its being European rather than American in fit, does it have an English shoulder, or a more natural one?

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by Edward Appleby

Interesting. Beyond its being European rather than American in fit, does it have an English shoulder, or a more natural one?
Relatively soft padding. SLightly softer than some of my other Corneliani suits. Several people here bought these, they were on sale at Yoox a while before the crash. I am trying to remember more of the particulars but I am drawing a blank right now

. The chest shape and "flow" is similar to other Corneliani suits I have, however. Definitely not boxy. Found a pre-crash recovery thread; http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ox+blue+labelo This is the suit: http://www.yoox.com/item/POLO+RALPH+.../areaid/35/st/

 

[alebrady]

so is everyone on here that is interested in having a more british silloutte going the bespoke route ($$$)??

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by alebrady

so is everyone on here that is interested in having a more british silloutte going the bespoke route ($$$)??

I don't know of an alternative, frankly

I'd love to have a slim cut severe English silhouetted suit (a la Huntsman maybe?) but I cannot afford bespoke.

 

[Edward Appleby]

Is there any good way to tell, other than hoping that the pics are representative, whether a Polo suit was made for European or American markets?

 

[alebrady]

i have a few polo suits, and although i think the jacket shape is more fitted in the shoulders and waist than i would associate with a typical american cut, the trousers were not flat front - thus im guessing they were made for the american market

 

[skalogre]

Originally Posted by Edward Appleby

Is there any good way to tell, other than hoping that the pics are representative, whether a Polo suit was made for European or American markets?

No idea. This one though was marked in an EU size and sold by Yoox.

 

[billiebob]

I have one of the Yoox Polo suits and a Polo suit I bought in USA. Both are in 42R, 3 button and flat front. The american is a 3-roll-2 and the euro is a true 3 button. The shoulders fit identically. They have very little padding, even less than my J-Press.

The american is drop 6, while the Euro is drop 7. This really makes a difference in the look of the whole suit. I originally thought the euro jacket was cut slimmer, now I'm not so sure. They are very close.

That Yoox deal was a real steal. I would buy another in a second, but Polo suits haven't come up on the site again. Ebay prices (asking price) for NWT polo suits seems to hover around 400-600.

For the record, both of these suits are fused, but the fusing is very thin and supple. I can't tell if the lapels are canvassed. There is no pad stitching on the underside, and the pinch test tell me the lapels are fused.

 

[southgate house]

apropos of the discussion of the cut of different polo suits: i visited the RL store on bleecker street in new york this past weekend and they had a blue label suit called the "bleecker" that was cut similar to a thom browne suit: short, high button stance, narrow shoulders, slim pants. they had a 40L (my size) and the length of the jacket was about the same as the sleeve length. so very short. the salesperson indicated that it was a cut RL made specially for that store. it was marked down to around $550 from $1200.