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SuaveStyle

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How do you guys like the faux fur trim? I'm eyeing the classic parka, the only thing giving me pause is the faux fur, I've heard real fur is warmer and feels nicer.
I have one of the old bombers with the real fur and have last year’s classic parka with the faux. Honestly, I prefer the faux more. The real fur, while it is softer, ended up shedding a lot, especially if it got wet. The faux looks pretty close to the real and handles the moisture much better with almost no shedding. Realistically, the hoods are so well padded/insulated themselves that the trim doesn’t do much more than keep snow out of your face a little more and add an aesthetic touch imo.
 

Sinbios

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I have one of the old bombers with the real fur and have last year’s classic parka with the faux. Honestly, I prefer the faux more. The real fur, while it is softer, ended up shedding a lot, especially if it got wet. The faux looks pretty close to the real and handles the moisture much better with almost no shedding. Realistically, the hoods are so well padded/insulated themselves that the trim doesn’t do much more than keep snow out of your face a little more and add an aesthetic touch imo.
Do you know what kind of fur it was on the bomber?
 

SpierTeam

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Good morning, everyone.

I just wanted to pop in today to discuss and clarify the new return policies that went into effect last week. For anyone who hasn’t read them yet, you can find them on our website here: https://lp.spierandmackay.com/en-ca/en-ca/return-policy-2023

The last month or so has been difficult in terms of processing returns & exchanges in a timely manner. We saw a massive surge in holiday orders, and thus returns/exchanges, mixed with personnel changes in the returns dept, made for a perfect storm of issues that caused the backlog. It looks like it's almost cleared now and we've taken a deep dive into our procedures and return policies to see how we could improve the process for both our team & customers. We came to the realization that processing exchanges for online orders takes a significant amount of time & effort across several different departments, so switching to a returns-only policy for online orders will create a much simpler & more streamlined system for our customers & staff, and is actually in line with other, similar high-volume online retailers such as J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Charles Tyrwhitt, and Nordstrom. This will significantly speed up both sides of the equation. The new item is shipped out faster, since we don't have to wait for the return item to arrive at the warehouse and then have it checked and processed. With no exchanges, the return itself can be processed quicker since less resources are going into processing an exchange, and the team can just focus on the actual returns.

With regards to the new return fees on US orders, we just want to clarify that these are replacing the previous $15 USD flat-rate return label fees from our previous return policy, not in addition to them. As such, the return fee for smaller items such as shirts, sweaters, etc. has actually been reduced under our new return policy.

For Canadian customers, we understand that the new return fees for smaller items such as shirts & trousers may be slightly inconvenient, however tailored clothing, outerwear, and larger items are still free. The cost of the outgoing & incoming shipping has increased pretty dramatically, so implementing a modest return fee is designed to help us offset those costs. Please keep in mind that we've barely increased our prices, and tried our best to keep prices close to what we've been offering for the past several seasons.

In the past year, a lot of input costs have surged. In some cases, like fabrics and shipping, costs have jumped over 30%. Our options were to either increase prices across the board, making everything more expensive just to offset increases, or add some smaller fees to offset operational costs on the return side, which is where a majority of the margins are lost. We chose the latter to keep base prices in check in a time when inflation is a challenge for both us and our customers.

Unfortunately, we have to implement a restocking fee for suits with swapped trousers. Our suits are nested, and we sell more than 85% of them as a nested set. We offer trouser swaps upon request and do our best to accommodate. However, that swap takes a lot of time and labour to execute, and then requires a reversal once the suit comes back. Again, we had two options: increase the price of suits to offset this cost or pass this cost onto those who specifically request it and then return the item.

For any items that are found to be significantly off-spec or outside of our tolerances, we will work with you to resolve the issue.

At the end of the day, these updates to our return policy are designed to create a simpler & smoother process for our customers. The new policy will help to ensure that returns are consistently processed in a timely manner and prevent any significant delays or issues. We hope this helps to clarify things, and please let us know if you have any questions.
 

XxLogo

Distinguished Member
Joined
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Good morning, everyone.

I just wanted to pop in today to discuss and clarify the new return policies that went into effect last week. For anyone who hasn’t read them yet, you can find them on our website here: https://lp.spierandmackay.com/en-ca/en-ca/return-policy-2023

The last month or so has been difficult in terms of processing returns & exchanges in a timely manner. We saw a massive surge in holiday orders, and thus returns/exchanges, mixed with personnel changes in the returns dept, made for a perfect storm of issues that caused the backlog. It looks like it's almost cleared now and we've taken a deep dive into our procedures and return policies to see how we could improve the process for both our team & customers. We came to the realization that processing exchanges for online orders takes a significant amount of time & effort across several different departments, so switching to a returns-only policy for online orders will create a much simpler & more streamlined system for our customers & staff, and is actually in line with other, similar high-volume online retailers such as J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Charles Tyrwhitt, and Nordstrom. This will significantly speed up both sides of the equation. The new item is shipped out faster, since we don't have to wait for the return item to arrive at the warehouse and then have it checked and processed. With no exchanges, the return itself can be processed quicker since less resources are going into processing an exchange, and the team can just focus on the actual returns.

With regards to the new return fees on US orders, we just want to clarify that these are replacing the previous $15 USD flat-rate return label fees from our previous return policy, not in addition to them. As such, the return fee for smaller items such as shirts, sweaters, etc. has actually been reduced under our new return policy.

For Canadian customers, we understand that the new return fees for smaller items such as shirts & trousers may be slightly inconvenient, however tailored clothing, outerwear, and larger items are still free. The cost of the outgoing & incoming shipping has increased pretty dramatically, so implementing a modest return fee is designed to help us offset those costs. Please keep in mind that we've barely increased our prices, and tried our best to keep prices close to what we've been offering for the past several seasons.

In the past year, a lot of input costs have surged. In some cases, like fabrics and shipping, costs have jumped over 30%. Our options were to either increase prices across the board, making everything more expensive just to offset increases, or add some smaller fees to offset operational costs on the return side, which is where a majority of the margins are lost. We chose the latter to keep base prices in check in a time when inflation is a challenge for both us and our customers.

Unfortunately, we have to implement a restocking fee for suits with swapped trousers. Our suits are nested, and we sell more than 85% of them as a nested set. We offer trouser swaps upon request and do our best to accommodate. However, that swap takes a lot of time and labour to execute, and then requires a reversal once the suit comes back. Again, we had two options: increase the price of suits to offset this cost or pass this cost onto those who specifically request it and then return the item.

For any items that are found to be significantly off-spec or outside of our tolerances, we will work with you to resolve the issue.

At the end of the day, these updates to our return policy are designed to create a simpler & smoother process for our customers. The new policy will help to ensure that returns are consistently processed in a timely manner and prevent any significant delays or issues. We hope this helps to clarify things, and please let us know if you have any questions.
It is nice to have the team come to the thread and clarify some notes, but could we please have someone be more active here to address various issues or concerns? It is an affiliate thread after all.

I’m not asking for daily, but once every week or two set a time so that if people have concerns they can have them answered if CS haven’t gotten back to them
 

tmckay2

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2021
Messages
231
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169
Good morning, everyone.

I just wanted to pop in today to discuss and clarify the new return policies that went into effect last week. For anyone who hasn’t read them yet, you can find them on our website here: https://lp.spierandmackay.com/en-ca/en-ca/return-policy-2023

The last month or so has been difficult in terms of processing returns & exchanges in a timely manner. We saw a massive surge in holiday orders, and thus returns/exchanges, mixed with personnel changes in the returns dept, made for a perfect storm of issues that caused the backlog. It looks like it's almost cleared now and we've taken a deep dive into our procedures and return policies to see how we could improve the process for both our team & customers. We came to the realization that processing exchanges for online orders takes a significant amount of time & effort across several different departments, so switching to a returns-only policy for online orders will create a much simpler & more streamlined system for our customers & staff, and is actually in line with other, similar high-volume online retailers such as J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Charles Tyrwhitt, and Nordstrom. This will significantly speed up both sides of the equation. The new item is shipped out faster, since we don't have to wait for the return item to arrive at the warehouse and then have it checked and processed. With no exchanges, the return itself can be processed quicker since less resources are going into processing an exchange, and the team can just focus on the actual returns.

With regards to the new return fees on US orders, we just want to clarify that these are replacing the previous $15 USD flat-rate return label fees from our previous return policy, not in addition to them. As such, the return fee for smaller items such as shirts, sweaters, etc. has actually been reduced under our new return policy.

For Canadian customers, we understand that the new return fees for smaller items such as shirts & trousers may be slightly inconvenient, however tailored clothing, outerwear, and larger items are still free. The cost of the outgoing & incoming shipping has increased pretty dramatically, so implementing a modest return fee is designed to help us offset those costs. Please keep in mind that we've barely increased our prices, and tried our best to keep prices close to what we've been offering for the past several seasons.

In the past year, a lot of input costs have surged. In some cases, like fabrics and shipping, costs have jumped over 30%. Our options were to either increase prices across the board, making everything more expensive just to offset increases, or add some smaller fees to offset operational costs on the return side, which is where a majority of the margins are lost. We chose the latter to keep base prices in check in a time when inflation is a challenge for both us and our customers.

Unfortunately, we have to implement a restocking fee for suits with swapped trousers. Our suits are nested, and we sell more than 85% of them as a nested set. We offer trouser swaps upon request and do our best to accommodate. However, that swap takes a lot of time and labour to execute, and then requires a reversal once the suit comes back. Again, we had two options: increase the price of suits to offset this cost or pass this cost onto those who specifically request it and then return the item.

For any items that are found to be significantly off-spec or outside of our tolerances, we will work with you to resolve the issue.

At the end of the day, these updates to our return policy are designed to create a simpler & smoother process for our customers. The new policy will help to ensure that returns are consistently processed in a timely manner and prevent any significant delays or issues. We hope this helps to clarify things, and please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you for clarifying. That all seems reasonable. I think people understand the preference of returning vs exchanging, especially with limited stock. The cost was what frightened some of us.
 
Last edited:

7_rocket

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Ordered 5 items on Friday afternoon and they just arrived. Things are def moving fast :) Will post pics when I get a chance
 

taargus_taargus

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Jan 4, 2023
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How do you guys like the faux fur trim? I'm eyeing the classic parka, the only thing giving me pause is the faux fur, I've heard real fur is warmer and feels nicer.
Like SuaveStyle said, the faux fur is actually very nice. However, just note that I don't have a reference to compare it to and I am not familiar with other brand's faux fur. Given that, I can say it's incredibly soft and, while it does shed, it has been manageable. As SuaveStyle also pointed out, the rest of the hood is so well insulated with down feathers that the fur doesn't provide a whole lot of needed insulation, so I honestly haven't noticed the insulating properties. The only problem is that, on the classic parkas, the fur is comically large. I don't think it has properly placed button to hold it into a more appealing head shape. Regardless, don't let the faux dissuade you.
 

A12321

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Nov 14, 2018
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Since I was introduced to SM, I received many items and I love their design, fit and fabric quality. But the size variation is a real problem. Does all companies have that? I don’t think… one of my favorite sport coat came almost a full inch short in length which I kept because it was the only left. I also bought shorts that came a full size smaller in the waist which is still within their 0.5+/- inch on half waist standards. I did size down by 1 (so they fit snug which isn’t unusual for me as I have several pants in that size) but with the standard variation, they didn’t fit at all.
To send them back, it will cost more than 50% of their price. Did they clarify the return cost?
I feel they have to be more consistent with their sizing otherwise it’s going to be risky to buy :(
I had the same issue. A suit I ordered came with the jacket 0.5" short. While it is within their tolerances, it is quite annoying. What is the point of being precise with measurements if the measurements are not precise, especially when it comes to jacket length that cannot be altered? For pants, altering almost any part of the pant is doable. But on jackets, when it comes too short, there's nothing that can be done.
 

FlyingHorker

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I don't even buy my jackets new from S&M anymore.

Members here usually give more precise measurements in the BST thread.

If only they had someone measure the actual items in house.

I'd buy more items if I could just send an e-mail and say "You have any neo jackets with a 21" p2p?".
 

ericgereghty

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Unfortunately, we have to implement a restocking fee for suits with swapped trousers. Our suits are nested, and we sell more than 85% of them as a nested set. We offer trouser swaps upon request and do our best to accommodate. However, that swap takes a lot of time and labour to execute, and then requires a reversal once the suit comes back. Again, we had two options: increase the price of suits to offset this cost or pass this cost onto those who specifically request it and then return the item.
I greatly appreciate the ability to swap trousers, and find no fault with this rationale whatsoever (SM would be a nonstarter option for me if swaps were not allowed), but I would LOVE to see, and would happily (within reason) pay more for greater attention to detail when packing said swaps, and with trousers in general. They're...not done well, to put it mildly.
 

1st Step

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We Got New Cream In The House!

SpierAndMackaySS23_L3_Minnis - Cream Quest Cotton - High Rise Trouser-406090-HR-01-SS23 (2).jpg
 

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lax101

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Good morning, everyone.

I just wanted to pop in today to discuss and clarify the new return policies that went into effect last week. For anyone who hasn’t read them yet, you can find them on our website here: https://lp.spierandmackay.com/en-ca/en-ca/return-policy-2023

The last month or so has been difficult in terms of processing returns & exchanges in a timely manner. We saw a massive surge in holiday orders, and thus returns/exchanges, mixed with personnel changes in the returns dept, made for a perfect storm of issues that caused the backlog. It looks like it's almost cleared now and we've taken a deep dive into our procedures and return policies to see how we could improve the process for both our team & customers. We came to the realization that processing exchanges for online orders takes a significant amount of time & effort across several different departments, so switching to a returns-only policy for online orders will create a much simpler & more streamlined system for our customers & staff, and is actually in line with other, similar high-volume online retailers such as J. Crew, Brooks Brothers, Charles Tyrwhitt, and Nordstrom. This will significantly speed up both sides of the equation. The new item is shipped out faster, since we don't have to wait for the return item to arrive at the warehouse and then have it checked and processed. With no exchanges, the return itself can be processed quicker since less resources are going into processing an exchange, and the team can just focus on the actual returns.

With regards to the new return fees on US orders, we just want to clarify that these are replacing the previous $15 USD flat-rate return label fees from our previous return policy, not in addition to them. As such, the return fee for smaller items such as shirts, sweaters, etc. has actually been reduced under our new return policy.

For Canadian customers, we understand that the new return fees for smaller items such as shirts & trousers may be slightly inconvenient, however tailored clothing, outerwear, and larger items are still free. The cost of the outgoing & incoming shipping has increased pretty dramatically, so implementing a modest return fee is designed to help us offset those costs. Please keep in mind that we've barely increased our prices, and tried our best to keep prices close to what we've been offering for the past several seasons.

In the past year, a lot of input costs have surged. In some cases, like fabrics and shipping, costs have jumped over 30%. Our options were to either increase prices across the board, making everything more expensive just to offset increases, or add some smaller fees to offset operational costs on the return side, which is where a majority of the margins are lost. We chose the latter to keep base prices in check in a time when inflation is a challenge for both us and our customers.

Unfortunately, we have to implement a restocking fee for suits with swapped trousers. Our suits are nested, and we sell more than 85% of them as a nested set. We offer trouser swaps upon request and do our best to accommodate. However, that swap takes a lot of time and labour to execute, and then requires a reversal once the suit comes back. Again, we had two options: increase the price of suits to offset this cost or pass this cost onto those who specifically request it and then return the item.

For any items that are found to be significantly off-spec or outside of our tolerances, we will work with you to resolve the issue.

At the end of the day, these updates to our return policy are designed to create a simpler & smoother process for our customers. The new policy will help to ensure that returns are consistently processed in a timely manner and prevent any significant delays or issues. We hope this helps to clarify things, and please let us know if you have any questions.
I really, really appreciate the clarification here.

Moving forward, will the return fees be on a per item basis, or a per order basis? In particular, as a U.S. customer, can you please explain what the return shipping fees would be under these two examples?

Example 1: A customer buys 2 shirts, and wants to return them both.

Example 2: A customer buys 2 shirts and 1 coat, and wants to return them both.

Thank you.
 

WassonH

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Spier and Mackay. My review.

TLDR… What a joke of a company.

And for those with more time and patience…
I have quite a closet (actually closets plural) of suits from Brooks Brother, Canali, Zegna, Corneliani, Hickey Freeman, Samuelsohn, etc.. etc.. and some true bespoke. My bases are pretty well covered for the basics. So I’ve been playing with the MTM world for more fun items… bolder patterns, wider lapels, patch pockets and the like. Being a bit more explorative, but without sinking bespoke money into something I might not actually love the final result of.

Generally, this Spier and Mackay is well regarded in the online sartorial community as a good “bang for the buck” brand. They’ve got a pretty good MTM program, so I thought I’d try a OTR suit from them just to get an idea of their fit and quality in general and see if I wanted to bother with their MTM service.

Now a rundown of my interactions with S&M and their “customer service”.

First I see a suit I quite like (note that I’ve filtered for my size and “in stock” availability), but it’s only available with side adjusters. Without starting a sartorial fight, just understand I have reasons to need a belt, so I inquire to having the pants altered for standard loops. I get the following reply…
“Hello Heath,

Thank you for your email and interest in our suits. We can remove the side tabs and have belt loops made and attached. The price for this alteration is $40 and we require about 2 weeks at the moment to have it completed. Please note that once completed, the suit is final sale as it is altered. If you're interested, please just leave a comment when placing your order, and our shipping team will be able to send you an invoice for the alterations.

Hope this helps, please let us know if you have any questions.”


Seems reasonable, so I order the suit. A day or two after ordering I check status and notice my comment about the alteration wasn’t showing on my order. I contact customer service. They inform me they were wrong; this alteration can’t be done; do I still want the suit. I contact my tailor, he says he can make me loops from the trimmings left over from finishing the pants, so I tell customer service to go ahead and send it as is.

10 days later, getting rather close to my birthday party I plan to wear the new suit to, and it still hasn’t shipped. I contact customer service again to find out the status. They tell me “sorry we didn’t contact you but that suit is out of stock in 46R, would you like something else”? So I’m slightly perturbed now, anything new in time for the party is probably off the table, but I pick out another suit form their site that shows in-stock in my size, and hope for the best.

Well a few days later they tell me THAT suit isn’t in stock. Would I like to select something else?
You’ve got to be kidding me?

I tell them “no just send me a refund”; I’ve already been on this merry-go-round for 3 weeks now. I want off. Now I’m being rather flippant at this point and tell them if they want any chance of a future customer, just grab anything they have laying around in a 46r (anything but plain navy) and send it to me to review. I figured at least in the future, if I deal with the MTM side of things, I have something to judge it on and won’t have to worry about the abysmal inventory control of their OTR side of the shop.

Now if they just said “no” to that, well… fair enough. Just send me the refund then. But no. They have the audacity to try to up-sell me on a suit literally twice the price but “hey we’ll give you a $30 discount on it, for the trouble”. Not even a “hey this is all we have, we’ll match the price of what we were supposed to send you weeks ago”. On top of that, the suit they tried to push on me was navy. literally think they're just jerking my chain at this point.

NO. I’ll just take a refund.

These guys are absolutely nuts if they think I’m sending them MORE money.

So that’s my little go around with Spier and Mackay and how it ended. I can only hope for a speedy refund at this point, and I’m not even holding my breath on that. Very disappointing experience. Poor start to a Monday too.
 

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