Results of the Scottsdale, AZ trip

[The_Foxx]

wow-- had a great time in scottsdale; fashion square is a real trip (nordstrom AND NM in the same location?? great for me, bad for my bank account)

OK, here's basically what i found/ learned:

+ the 'style show' at neiman marcus was basically geared toward gay guys, i guess. i saw only 1.5 outfits that i would even CONSIDER trying myself (strangely, the animal print shirt and jeans were not among them...liked the suitcoat worn with italian loafers, striped or print shirt, and designer jeans)

+ Great conversation with the gentleman from Oxxford clothes. regrettably, his name escapes me at the moment, but he's a younger guy, and was of course very knowledgable and willing to share info about oxxford. some details of interest....

- Oxxford shirts have machine made buttonholes, but the collars are turned by hand, sleeves are stitched on by hand (interestin, the way the attachment does not interrupt the yoke on the back of the shirt-- i've never seen this before). new line of shirts is coming out soon, which will duplicate the slender fit similar to that of turnbull and asser shirts (try one on-- the waist is cut really nicely, so shirt doesn't billow around the waistline)

- Radcliff suits, the newest line (coming soon) from oxxford features lighter, hipper cloths and flat-front trousers. they have a higher shoulder than the gibbons and other models, yet still have a sizeable, almost egg-shaped armhole. i believe the shoulder was 'brought in' a little, compared with the gibbons model (that is, shoulder is not extended out as far as the gibbons). great looking suits, AND looked cool in lightweight grey wool with windowpane pattern, SB peak lapel and light brown John Lobb shoes-- slick.

+ purchases-- tried to stay on a budget, bought a cool black burberry short-sleeve polo shirt for casual days at work (sleeves have a very thin ring of burberry plaid, and satin logo inside the placket); two colorful striped Brioni ties (tried to only buy one, but the sales rep was a personal shopper, and she was damned good at her job..); red diesel t-shirt with hand-painted details (didn't see the pricetag until i brought it home. for that price, i hope attractive women flock to me in huge droves); new PJs from nordstrom (comparable to turnbull or Derek Rose, in my opinion, but great price of $59).

 

[Walter]

I find the Fashion Square to be good for casual clothing.
For dressy clothes the Biltmore is better.
Nowhere near shopping in Paris though.

 

[cuffthis]

Russ,

I have visited Scottsdale 3 times with work, as I have a rather large real estate developer client out there. I haven't done much shopping out there but I did find one of my favorite restaurants anywhere in the world there. Cowboy Ciao on Stetson Dr is absolutely devine. Wonderful foods where the freshness and flavors smack you in the face and the wine list is quirky in its presentation, but there are some great finds within the 50+ pages.

If you go back to Scottsdale, don't miss this restaurant. You will be stunned.

Tom

 

[Walter]

Russ,

I have visited Scottsdale 3 times with work, as I have a rather large real estate developer client out there. I haven't done much shopping out there but I did find one of my favorite restaurants anywhere in the world there. Cowboy Ciao on Stetson Dr is absolutely devine. Wonderful foods where the freshness and flavors smack you in the face and the wine list is quirky in its presentation, but there are some great finds within the 50+ pages.

If you go back to Scottsdale, don't miss this restaurant. You will be stunned.

Tom

Thanks for the info. I am going back next week.

 

[The_Foxx]

results of the June 2008 Scottsdale trip:

+ Saks, always worth a trip to visit with Robbie and view the latest and greatest. Star of the trip was def the Zegna Milano model, I'm buying one suit and a sportcoat in this line, just before I make my way overseas. GREAT fit/ cut/ shape for me, and I actually prefer this to Isaia (pockets, shoulders, lapels all set higher, etc.) not a whole lot on sale that interested me, tho.


+ NM, LOTS on sale-- some of the highlights on the sale racks were Isaia suits ($1300 after markdown, nice dark navy blue solid, a solid black, and some other stuff) a few Brionis, including the Bond tuxedo with silvery lining (saw a 42 reg and tried it on for fun, but i think there were others), several pairs of nice trousers, etc. Bought a killer Charvet tie and.....well, splurged on a new suit in anticipation of making bigger bucks in a few months-- neither on sale tho, damnit.

+ in conversations with NM about the suit, etc. they mentioned one pair of black lobbs were still at the store, and they planned to get more for customers. also bringing in a crop of Kiton shirts for customers to come view, but don't think i will necc be able to plan another trip around that one.

+ small mens store in the Biltmore, found two stunning robert talbott BOclass ties, one to perfectly compliment my favorite brioni suit.

Will post some pix when things start to arrive here at home, and damned computer gets fixed/ new charger arrives!

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by The_Foxx

results of the June 2008 Scottsdale trip:

+ in conversations with NM about the suit, etc. they mentioned one pair of black lobbs were still at the store, and they planned to get more for customers.

The Scottsdale NM is one of my sources for Lobbs. A sales guy there is great with locating shoes for me and having them shipped to me.

 

[SuitingStyle]

so what suit did you get Foxx? pics plz

 

[Bob Loblaw]

Originally Posted by The_Foxx

+ small mens store in the Biltmore, found two stunning robert talbott BOclass ties, one to perfectly compliment my favorite brioni suit.


The Clothier. If you go there, say hello to Joe if he is working.

Also:
CARTERS
5045 NORTH 44TH STREET
PHOENIX, AZ 85018
602-952-8646
(copied from web) has good traditional american casual clothing.

http://patrickjames.com/default.aspx looks promising although I have never personally been there.

 

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by SuitingStyle

so what suit did you get Foxx? pics plz

Yes, Foxx, details and pics.

 

[The_Foxx]

sounds like the new suit should be here in about a week, which I'll then send to atlanta for functional sleeve buttons. I'll snap a photo before I send it out, all alterations but the sleeves should be done. in the meantime, here are photos of the ties i purchased-- i won't bore you with photos of the cargo pants i bought!

robert talbott BOC solid blue tie
charvet striped tie (for the new suit! when did the price of charvets go up again? damned fuel surcharges on everything!!!)
robert talbott grey, white, navy striped tie




i think the solid blue tie should go nicely with a crisp white shirt and the navy with french blue/ sky blueish pinstripe suit.

 

[The_Foxx]

oh, does anyone know about the pricing-points of the zegna milano line? the suit was around $2000, but the wool sportcoat seemed high at around $1800??

 

[Rollo Tomasi]

Did you know they are replacing Oxxford with Kiton at the Scottsdale NM? It apparently wasn't doing too well. I'm not surprised since Oxxford's main customer base seems to be in the Northeastern U.S. Kiton, with their lighter fabrics and construction, are great in warmer climates.

I agree with you that the Zegna Milano model is a great cut and I do prefer it over Isaia. It is probably closer to Kiton in silhoutte. The price for the suits range between $2300 to $2500 depending on the fabric and the sportcoats are between $1900-2200 if I recall correctly. Thanks to the weak dollar, the pricepoint will be going up in the fall (The Kiton fall swatches at NM have already broken the $7000 barrier!). I personally prefer the Zegna Couture silhoutte. I was in the Beverly Hills Boutique recently and they had this navy tonal stripe in a 14 micron fabric that was quite exquisite.

I like your choice of ties and also purchased the Charvet in the center of your photo during the last Private Night. The black JLP Beckett's in the store they had were nice. Which Brioni did you end up getting?

 

[The_Foxx]

thanks for the info, rollo! looking forward to being able to buy kiton shirts and ties locally.

yep, i really liked that charvet tie, it is a little less weighty than my other charvets-- and it went well with the new suit, a medium blue 2 button SB. i hope i didn't misstep by putting braces buttons in a darted front suit trouser, but i couldn't stand the thought of brioni trousers drooping and wrinkling at the crotch because of a belted waist!

suit cloth is crisp but lightweight, hope it works out well for me-- as it turns out, there is a little silk in the cloth which i normally don't like, but it looked pretty sharp!

 

[Bradford]

Interesting about the replacement of Oxxford with Kiton at the Scottsdale NM. We are so casual here in Arizona that it probably shouldn't be surprising.

On a similar note, I just noticed recently that the Scottsdale Nordstrom has a much smaller selection of ties than it did when it first opened. They used to have 3 or 4 big oval tables of ties and accessories in the men's department and now they are down to one table and no longer appear to carry any suspenders (braces) - I'm not even sure if they still carry pocket squares at all.

 

[Thorn Proof]

You guys should try Wildfish in downtown Scottsdale. Or go up further mid-north SD on SD Road to Sapporo for sushi and eye candy galore.