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Prada

dkzzzz

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Went to FAll evening-preview event to Filene's B. Some Oxford suits some Zegna suits nothing special and then I see really nice looking V. Wool Prada dress pants. Sorry no pics. Black with thin grey and red pinstripes (129.00). On closer inspection:
1. Unlined!!!???
2. Drab cotton lining for pockets and waist with poorly finished edges.
3. No canvas or any reinforcement in the waist. No-slip band for shirt is absent.
4. Belt loops are not laying flat against the waist but sticking out like loops of fabric.

I was very surprised by unacceptable lack of detail or quality.
I had an assumption that Prada is a quality brand. Boy was I wrong.
 

Joel_Cairo

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Originally Posted by dkzzzz
I had an assumption that Prada is a quality brand. Boy was I wrong.

Now you know
smile.gif


This is what happens when you put all your effort into building a brand, and none into building clothes.

For what its worth, Filenes Basement in Boston's downtown crossing has a bunch of canvassed Vestimenta charcoal grey 3-button suits w/ pinstripes on Automatic Markdown. Mostly 42Rs, currently in the $300 range. There's enough on the rack that there should still be some a couple weeks from now, when the price is lower still.
 

mrchapel

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Originally Posted by dkzzzz
Went to FAll evening-preview event to Filene's B. Some Oxford suits some Zegna suits nothing special and then I see really nice looking V. Wool Prada dress pants. Sorry no pics. Black with thin grey and red pinstripes (129.00). On closer inspection:
1. Unlined!!!???
2. Drab cotton lining for pockets and waist with poorly finished edges.
3. No canvas or any reinforcement in the waist. No-slip band for shirt is absent.
4. Belt loops are not laying flat against the waist but sticking out like loops of fabric.

I was very surprised by unacceptable lack of detail or quality.
I had an assumption that Prada is a quality brand. Boy was I wrong.


You will find that the majority of "designer" brand clothing is composed of sub-par material sold at a very high markup. Traditional brands like Oxxford, Burberry, Brooks Brothers, Zegna, Brioni, etc. are where you want to go for the best bang for the buck as far as quality is concerned.
 

dkzzzz

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"You will find that the majority of "designer" brand clothing is composed of sub-par material sold at a very high markup. "

That is generally true. But even much more pedestrian brands like CK, K.Cole or RL pay more attaention to the finish of their clothes than Prada.


On a side note, many "premium" designers should rethink their outsourcing practices and stop making their RTW clothes in China. I would never buy designer garment for designer price with "Made in China" tag. Yet Bloomingdales and Sack5th have numerous clothes with those tags. What are they thinking?
I once e-mailed to DVFurstenburg about flood of fake DVF dresses on Ebay and some girl replied to me with generic BS, which tells me they don't even care that much. It is grab and run type of attitude.
Sorry for the rant, but if you cannot trust your clothes makers ...who can you trust!!!
smile.gif
 

rach2jlc

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Keep in mind also that perhaps Filene's isn't getting the "cream of the crop" from the Prada store. They are getting what didn't sell at the store sales, also what are the equivalent of factory seconds, irregulars, etc.

Also, what kind of pant was it? Perhaps the point of the pant was that it be less structured. I doubt it that Prada is simply deciding to do away with linings to save money. In fact, I remember that several seasons ago Prada was playing around with "unfinished" edges, distressing, and such with their clothes (including dress pants and such).

I'm not totally defending Prada, because they have really lowered their standards, but they're not quite so bad in general as all that. YES, they are overpriced. YES, they sometimes go for design over quality. But, still, reading between the lines of the original post leads me to think that this pant ought not be chosen as a representative, standard pant of the brand.

I have many pairs of Prada pants, from casual slacks to khakis to dress pants and absolutely love them. Nevertheless, I've seen lots of pants for different seasonal offerings that weren't something I"d ever want to buy. I think perhaps the pants mentioned in the original post are something like this as well.

My only advice would be to pay a visit to an actual Prada boutique, one that has full seasonal offerings, and take a look. I'm not saying you'll be blown away with the quality, but I don't think you'll say that Calvin Klein or Kenneth Cole pay more attention to detail or quality. It's very popular to bash Prada around this forum (and, often, Prada deserves it) but also there is a good deal of exaggeration.

John
 

Luc-Emmanuel

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Originally Posted by diorshoe
what prada seems to put emphasis is on their women's accessories lines.
i have seen alot of handbags (not the nylon bags) and the leather, construction, and designs are spectacular.

women accessories are, by far, what brings all the cash to a luxury brand. In a way, Prada is selling clothes to accessorize the handbags and shoes, not the other way around.
Regarding original post, this particular pant was probably meant as a "jean cut" casual pant. They can do much better than that, quality wise.

!luc
 

whoopee

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Lack of lining is not a sign of poor quality.
 

babygreenspots

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Originally Posted by mrchapel
You will find that the majority of "designer" brand clothing is composed of sub-par material sold at a very high markup. Traditional brands like Oxxford, Burberry, Brooks Brothers, Zegna, Brioni, etc. are where you want to go for the best bang for the buck as far as quality is concerned.

This is true, but it's too bad they're all cut like sails, and have huge neck to sleeve length ratios.
 

Christofuh

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For a company approaching its 100th anniversary it's truly astonishing to continue to come up with such torrent of synthetic fabric rich whale poop, and in the oddest of styles to boot. To say nothing of their Land-of-Oz pricing or choice of colors that'd make a funeral director gag.
 

VMan

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But those Prada pants would have fit better (differently?) than a pair of Oxxford pants, with a ton of handwork.

Designers tend to emphasize cut and styling (and to a lesser degree, fabrics) over quality and construction. Of course, I have seen some high quality Prada suits, with full canvassing, pick stitching, and some nice details.
 

LabelKing

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Originally Posted by Christofuh
For a company approaching its 100th anniversary it's truly astonishing to continue to come up with such torrent of synthetic fabric rich whale poop, and in the oddest of styles to boot. To say nothing of their Land-of-Oz pricing or choice of colors that'd make a funeral director gag.
Some of Prada's items are not for the mainstream.
 

rach2jlc

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Originally Posted by Christofuh
For a company approaching its 100th anniversary it's truly astonishing to continue to come up with such torrent of synthetic fabric rich whale poop, and in the oddest of styles to boot. To say nothing of their Land-of-Oz pricing or choice of colors that'd make a funeral director gag.

Umm... what? Prada was founded in 1913 but has had a menswear line only since the mid to late 1990's. It's claim to fame as a RTW design house was BECAUSE of its innovative use of synthetic fabrics, blending elements of sportswear into dressier fare. I have a techno fabric suit that I suppose you would find deplorable, yet it is manufactured by Belvest and is fully canvassed with bemberg linings etc etc etc.

Prada never wanted, nor wants to be Oxxford, Kiton, Borelli, etc. There is a definite design aesthetic at Prada that fits with many people, regardless of what we want to say about quality or pricing. In the past 2-3 years, YES, they've lowered the quality. Until the past two or three years, their quality was among the best in the entire industry, with a few exceptions. But, overall, they used the same garment makers and fabric mills as Hermes, LV, etc. As well, even with their newer lowered quality, they are by no means worse than any other designer. And, in many cases, they still make many excellent items.

Again, I'm not trying to defend Prada as though they do nothing wrong, but many of these posts are misinformed at best and plain wrong at worst. They show a bias that is a little frustrating; 10000 posts of Kiton and Oxxford worship are just fine, but is it too much to ask for a little open-mindedness when it comes to a designer?
 

dkzzzz

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Those were poorly made pants period.
smile.gif

You know what happens with 100% wool pants that do not have any lining over knees?
Yes, excatly, they develop knee-bags. Prada or not I will never touch 100% wool pants without lining.
 

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