some opinions on several brands

[tomtraubert]

was just wondering if anybody would share their opinions of a few labels.

curious about these: marc jacobs because aesthetically i like a lot of their stuff; ted baker because some things look great and some look awful; ben sherman because some people love their vintage but loathe the contemporary line; burberry because some people seem to like them and others say it's just for yuppies or something like that; paul smith because people seem to really like them. i suppose i'm seeking your opinions on overall quality, style, etc., or how they compare to your favorite labels.

or if you just want to pick some random label and describe how great or crappy they are, that's fine too.

 

[Get Smart]

my 2 cents on the brands I'm familiar with:

Ted Baker....some nice gear. It's a bit pricey for what it is....at the pricepoint of the nicer stuff (NOT the Endurance line for example) I prefer to buy elsewhere, which explains why I've never bought more than 1 shirt from this label.

Ben Sherman...grew up with this label. It was the standard brand for mods/skins/suedes before the brand resurfaced in the mid 90s and started producing terrible clubwear. The managed to keep a "vintage" line (which had the slimfit buttondowns, vintage styled polos and knits) until about 3 years ago when they were bought by Dockers. They still uphold their heritage in ads (using 2tone songs, images of "mods" etc) but their clothes don't match their image.

Paul Smith...I found out about Sir Paul in the early-mid 90s and have been hooked ever since. He's consistently produced quality gear every year without changing his overall aesthetic, which so many other high end labels do. I look for a specific kind of item from PS, and every year he delivers. My closet is rapidly approaching the point where he fills up over 50% of what's hanging in there. For me, he's sort of the high end designer version of clothes a guy who likes Ben Sherman/Fred Perry would progress to....proven by his appeal to older/ex moddy boys who have some $$$ to blow on gear.

 

[ghulkhan]

paul smiths the **** and id agree with everything above

as for burberry london--its some old fashioned country club typa brand..kind of lame..the novacheck is overplayed and really ugly...its just too traditional and i dont really like it too much
however, burberry prorsum is the more fashionable, contemporary line..its something worth looking at, its also at a higher pricepoint then the burberry london line

id like to ad john varvatos as a random label...all his runway stuff is so wearable by the majority of the people vs some labels who have runway pieces that are made for a specific person in mind..the clothing looks great, feels great and is of good quality, its more "practical or functional" in terms of everyday wearability for high end designer labels

 

[jet]

Ted Baker is alright too, I own a couple of blazers from them but everything else is pretty much overpriced. None of their stuff really stands out or is really on point.

I'd like to add that Theory is overpriced junk. When you're paying that much for stuff made in China you're pretty much getting ripped off. A general rule of thumb is always check to see where stuff is made, that will give you an idea about the mantra of the company. I tried on a cloak v neck that was $388 and it was made in China, come on.

 

[Largo]

Actually, I've always been curious since I saw the Burberry Prorsum line and thought a few of their pieces looked somewhat nice-how's the quality on it? Or for that matter, when you go into the Fashion Stratosphere, how does the quality fare in general? Or should I take JET's Cloak statement as a somewhat good indicator of such things...

 

[Get Smart]

we're predisposed (and with good reason from past years) to think that Made in China is junk...but I honestly feel that the quality of MiC goods is getting quite good. An example that many on this forum can attest to is Jantzen shirts, it costs $48, are made in China, but you get a fantastic product that rivals or beats other high end shirts made in Italy, England etc. What bugs me (and others) is that brands outsource to China to save $ on production but we, the consumer, never see the result of that savings and end up paying the same money if the product was made in its country of origin. On the same note, there are plenty of stuffs with a "made in England/Italy" tag that doesnt mean ****, it still sucks.

the quality of high end gear *can* be very good and equivalent to the money you pay for it....but not always, and probably not usually. You end up paying for "design" and the brands very expensive ad campaigns that made you interested in them in the first place.

 

[Tiranis]

It's not the country it's made in, it's the standards that the company sets for those factories. Theory has very low standards, so yeah they're contributing to the whole, "stuff Made in China is ****," but there's plenty of brands that have factories in China and their clothing is of good quality (too lazy to go digging through my clothes, but there's a lot of stuff like that). On the other hand look at past 3-4 seasons of Dior Homme, the quality is terrible—even for pieces made in Italy.

 

[jet]

In response to GS' post:

Exactly. Not knocking all chinese made goods which is why I said in general. The fact that this is done without any savings passed on like he said is exactly the thing that irritates me most. The above items he mentioned are great as are apc jeans made in macau etc. Gucci and other stuff made in italy can be crap too.

 

[Max]

Affliction: ******* stupid.

That said, Marc Jacobs is pretty much awesome, though I really don't understand why people go apeshit over his handbags. He's like the Vivienne Westwood of grunge, which is awesome.

Ben Sherman can be decent, but why is everything 100% polyester?

Burberry prorsum has a ton of really good looks in their runway shows. Christopher Bailey is a much better designer than Hedi Slimane. The color choices are amazing and the fit is perfect. I wouldn't necessarily buy the clothes from them, though I did get a gorgeous quilted sport coat for $83 at Off 5th. It's fabulous inspiration for thrift store shopping. Avoid anything with plaid.

 

[ghulkhan]

id agree witht he savings past on argument..htat pisses me off too..but tis allabout the company set standards for its factories and yea theory sucks its a complete waste of money but yea a lot of companies have the same quality in factories in places other then england or italy
but made in italy just sounds better to everyone and myself

 

[Augusto86]

Ditto on Paul Smith and Burberry Prorsum...

Paul Smith also has really nice ties.

Just avoid garish Burberry plaids.

 

[benchan]

Offerings from Theory are overpriced, but you usually can get them on discount and I believe some of them were made in Japan instead. But frankly, I think the whole made in xxx is irreleveant esp you are not talking about suits, shoes and leather goods. DOes it matter if a polo shirt is made in China or in the USA?

 

[Rye GB]

Originally Posted by JET

Ted Baker is alright too, I own a couple of blazers from them but everything else is pretty much overpriced. None of their stuff really stands out or is really on point.

I'd like to add that Theory is overpriced junk. When you're paying that much for stuff made in China you're pretty much getting ripped off. A general rule of thumb is always check to see where stuff is made, that will give you an idea about the mantra of the company. I tried on a cloak v neck that was $388 and it was made in China, come on.

A $388 retail sweater made out of China is probably an indicator that only 50 pieces were made. You're basically paying for the minimum up charge and ultimately exclusivity of that piece.

 

[Rye GB]

Originally Posted by benchan

DOes it matter if a polo shirt is made in China or in the USA?

Only if you give a **** how the work force is treated!

 

[Rye GB]

Varvatos and Paul Smith utilize HK/China production and their quality is great for Far East Production.

I don't like the product's but Danang, Stitches and Z-Brand make great quality garments compared to many so called premium NYC brands: Kenneth Cole, Polo Jeans, Hilfiger, CK and Theory to name but a few cretins of the biz!.

Comments on the previously mentioned brands.

Ted Baker: UK garbage for those with no awareness of personal style. Managed to create enough brand awareness amongst the chav's and 30 something beer belly brigades. Plus the owner is a notoriously renowned douche.

Ben Sherman: Sorry Get Smart but in the UK this is another brand who's once excellent reputation was wrecked by sorry ass sales people who couldn't get it into enough accounts fast enough so they could buy their chavish Audi TT's and Z4's. Hence big sales, then poorer quality to maximize profits.

Paul Smith: I love Paul Smith because he sticks to his guns. I went to school in Derby (next to Nottingham) and met him once at a presentation about 9 years ago. He gave us a 2 hour account of his life story, how he fell into fashion, how he acquired his Floral street store etc...excellent guy with an honorable reputation. I like his shoes at present more than the clothes. For me anyway his fits are on the large side. His runways shows could be better, it would be nice to reinterpreted the Liberty florals and Indian inspired prints and kooky knits for once!.