S.A. Clothing - an undiscovered gem?

[chorse123]

So, I was down in the L.E.S for a lunch meeting a few months ago and a beautiful light blue windowpane Canali sportcoat caught my eye. What the hell? It was in the window of a tiny shop, crammed between two Chinese wholesale storefronts, or some such. Okay, I figured, that looks interesting, and vowed to return after lunch. I'm glad I did. What I found was an undiscovered gem. At 96 Canal St. in the L.E.S. is S.A. Clothing (212 966 5354), a wholesale/retail menswear business run by a guy named Ronald Salstein out of a tiny, hole in the wall shop. I couldn't find any mentions of it in the archives, so perhaps it is a secret. I've decided to give up the secret; they stock only a few 38.

Salstein has suits and sportcoats, trousers, a few ties, the occasional pieces of knitwear and outerwear. There are at least 100 suits, in a good mix of sizes including shorts and longs. A lot of the suits are mediocre (Zanella, Mabro, Vestimenta), but he also has better makers, including Corneliani. He said he's expecting a new shipment of Corneliani and Italian made Polo this week. He stocks Zanella trousers, wool flat front and pleated, as well as casuals, and when I was there today, he was opening up a bunch of Corneliani and Zanella knitwear. He even had a few pieces from Cucinelli, but spring/summer cottons. The real beauties right now are a few Pal Zileri Sartoriale hand made sportcoats in cashmere. The place may not blow your socks off entirely. A lot of the stuff is generic and midlevel, but I think this is a perfect place for someone looking to build a business wardrobe. I was telling the owner that I was looking for more casual suits, ala plaids and windowpanes. He said he never buys that stuff. He only buys the basics, the kind of stuff we are always recommending to college grads, and he consistently has a shop full of it. S.A. is where these guys should go. Suits are between $450 and $550. For a full canvas suit in a basic color/style, that's a hell of a deal. I would guess that his sources are the same as Century 21, as the stock is so similar. But his shop isn't crazy and overcrowded, and his prices are better than C21. M-F 10-5; Sat closed; Sun 10-3:30

 

[dusty]

Sounds very interesting. Will he do mail orders? Is he planning a website?

 

[chorse123]

I highly doubt he's planning a website, but I'm sure he'll do mail orders.

 

[Panzeraxe II]

Nice - thanks for the info. Btw, Mabro is probably the equal, if not marginally better than Corneliani/Polo.

 

[AnGeLiCbOrIs]

I was in the neighborhood so I stopped by today. They still stock PZ, Corneliani, Mabro and Zanella. There was a nice selection of navy suits and cashmere blazers in the $450 range. There are also some very nice suits and sportcoats in other colors and patterns. Prices start at about $250.

 

[ThinkDerm]

interesting! anyone else been?