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ericgereghty

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Your understanding is the same as mine. I have ordered 3 MTO jackets, but I tinkered with the fit each time, because why not. No QC issues here

someone upstream asked for a photo of the winter weight solaro suit. Here goes, best I can do. No tripod
View attachment 1743274
How are you liking it on first feel/wear? Looks pretty darn good.
 

James1051

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How are you liking it on first feel/wear? Looks pretty darn good.
It’s terrific. The color is toned down vs the very red Drago version from the summer. More weight to the fabric for the cold months. And some nice details- double pleats, double pick stitching, Milanese lapel hole.
 

redhotsili

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Hi folks, looking for some fit guidance. I'm interested in the brown herringbone sc (https://www.spierandmackay.com/product/brown-herringbone-ps370-200218-hntg-01-fw21) but am not sure what size I should order. I own a three-piece suit from S&M in 36 slim, which I find is a decent fit overall, a bit on the snug side (and I already know the sleeves and arguably jacket length look a bit short). I'm wondering if I should size up in the tweed to account for the thicker material. Do folks think a 36 contemporary or 38 slim might make more sense, or should I stick with 36 slim? Picture for reference.
View attachment 1742978

Visually speaking, your suit doesn’t seem tight to me, but of course only you can say how it feels throughout your body.

But for what it’s worth, I wear a 36R contemporary which fits me just right. I have spier’s lightweight sportcoats and the thicker Abraham Moon ones, and they all fit me just fine. The only thing you need to watch out for are the FW21 neo cut sportcoats with the higher armholes, as they are tighter in the chest and arms than previous iterations (this has been discussed numerous times in this thread)…I still like the fit, but if you’re already borderline size 36 slim and could easily put on weight, then you should consider going 36 contemporary. Going 38 would mean the shoulder measurements and length also change, which is typically not what you’d want.

Having said that, the sportcoat you’re currently looking at is not a neo cut, but more of an english cut in a hunting/shooting jacket style. I don’t have any of those from spier, I’m afraid. But since it’s inspired by a garment used outdoors, I expect them to be made with enough room to move, and allow you to wear thick sweaters underneath, and carry items in the pockets. To be on the safe side, check with spier by email or instagram.
 

closer404

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Your understanding is the same as mine. I have ordered 3 MTO jackets, but I tinkered with the fit each time, because why not. No QC issues here

someone upstream asked for a photo of the winter weight solaro suit. Here goes, best I can do. No tripod
View attachment 1743274
Tinkering with measurements doesn't affect the quality control. For each measurement you input, there's an +/-0,25" margin of error which Spier deems acceptable.

So basically, if you're unlucky, you could theoretically have all your measurements off by -0,25" and on your next commission, you could have all your measurements off by +0,25". That would make the difference between the two jackets 0,5" for all measurements. That is the worst case scenario of course, but we'll within allowance.
Duly noted thank you both!
 

ericgereghty

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These drops have got me REALLY excited for the suiting that ought to be rolling out in the coming days/weeks...
 

pyunghwa

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Just received the Baird McNutt POW SC. The fabric is beautiful, and as anticipated, the colour on the website is slightly inaccurate. It leans closer to a warm grey rather than the light brown on the website. I attached a screenshot from the collaro website, which shows a truer colour.

Unfortunately, the raised armhole is noticeably uncomfortable, and I am a slim guy. I typically wear a 36r slim and ordered my regular size. Do you guys know if the 36 contemporary would have a larger armhole?
 

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mike2

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This is a wacky and oversimplified take, in my opinion…especially because some of the issues called out (including by moi) had nothing to do with the armhole, but adjacent factors that (to my knowledge) are not required tradeoffs that are part and parcel with the change.

Catching up on this thread, I'll add my two cents. I wonder whether the net effect of Styleforum-suggestions on SM has been good or bad. Personally, I've gone from buying a couple of trousers and jackets a season to none in the last few seasons.

Trousers were the first things I bought at SM. Good wool trousers at a fair price. Influenced by Styleforum, it seems like all the interesting fabrics are now side-tabs. I understand why people like side tabs, but they're an affectation. I guess they're fine for instagram, but I've never seen anyone in real life wear them, especially on an odd trouser.

Now there are the complaints about the "updated" Neo armholes. Everyone else in the world is making clothes that are more comfortable and easier fitting.

Obviously these are personal stylistic issues, maybe I'm just weird. Maybe Styleforum is representative of the broader market for these things and business at SM is great. I hope it is!
 

ksinc

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Catching up on this thread, I'll add my two cents. I wonder whether the net effect of Styleforum-suggestions on SM has been good or bad. Personally, I've gone from buying a couple of trousers and jackets a season to none in the last few seasons.

Trousers were the first things I bought at SM. Good wool trousers at a fair price. Influenced by Styleforum, it seems like all the interesting fabrics are now side-tabs. I understand why people like side tabs, but they're an affectation. I guess they're fine for instagram, but I've never seen anyone in real life wear them, especially on an odd trouser.

Now there are the complaints about the "updated" Neo armholes. Everyone else in the world is making clothes that are more comfortable and easier fitting.

Obviously these are personal stylistic issues, maybe I'm just weird. Maybe Styleforum is representative of the broader market for these things and business at SM is great. I hope it is!

Agreed. Many of the interesting fabrics are either in the slim fit neo cut, have highwaisted/tabs, or have a coin pocket or ticket pocket. I appreciate the look online, but I‘m spending my money on the more classic items. I like the shoulders, or lack of, and I’m ordering 2b, contemporary, triple patch s/c MTO which is still a good bargain and the app works fine. I could not find contemporary fit trousers and between letting 36 out and taking 38 in, I’m still wearing Berle and some old line Brooks trousers. Just bought some light gray flannel Berles.

I like that SM offers two distinct looks, I just hope they are selling enough of both and each buying group doesn’t think they cater mostly to the other. I have seen similar comments like ‘they have to sell that other stuff to the masses.’

I noticed Kent Wang is getting out of shoes. I think a brand can over expand their line and lose their core differentiation on certain items.

Brooks certainly has. For many years all my shirts were Brooks mto. Then it became difficult to get the same patterns, choices, and fabrics. When you can’t find a bengal stripe broadcloth fabric you like in a selection, it’s time to move on.

What I love about SM is still the shirts - the premium line shirts. I can get no pleat, longer collars, and mop in RTW. That’s a steal.
 
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Imperatores

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Catching up on this thread, I'll add my two cents. I wonder whether the net effect of Styleforum-suggestions on SM has been good or bad. Personally, I've gone from buying a couple of trousers and jackets a season to none in the last few seasons.

Trousers were the first things I bought at SM. Good wool trousers at a fair price. Influenced by Styleforum, it seems like all the interesting fabrics are now side-tabs. I understand why people like side tabs, but they're an affectation. I guess they're fine for instagram, but I've never seen anyone in real life wear them, especially on an odd trouser.

Now there are the complaints about the "updated" Neo armholes. Everyone else in the world is making clothes that are more comfortable and easier fitting.

Obviously these are personal stylistic issues, maybe I'm just weird. Maybe Styleforum is representative of the broader market for these things and business at SM is great. I hope it is!

If the last few years are anything to go by (and it's possible that they're not when taking the pandemic into account), S&M themselves seem to think that the menswear geeks on the internet are their main customer base. They wouldn't have released almost all Neo cut jackets and suits, high-rise trousers etc. during these last few years if they thought otherwise. Since they're doing it for multiple seasons in a row, that would surely mean that the assumption was proven correct. It tends to be the SF approved products that are always sold out almost immediately as well (OCBDs and denim shirts with ample collar roll, flannel and fresco trousers with sartorial detailing, polo coats in heavily textured fabrics etc.). I wonder if they would've even survived the pandemic if not for the SF crowd.

A lot of comments like yours appear to view SF as a single-minded collective that can't quite decide what it wants. It's obviously just different people who have different wishes and preferences, and there's nothing wrong with that. Even if the raised armhole doesn't quite work out in the end (I don't see any reason why it couldn't with a bit of tweaking, though), that doesn't mean it was a mistake to try it out or listen to suggestions from their most sophisticated and dedicated customer base. It's silly to expect every single experiment or change to be received with universal praise. This is mostly RTW after all. For every SF-influenced suggestion that fizzles out, there's one or two that took off and became a core part of their lineup. Although I'll agree that they could be a bit more cautious when making changes to well established products/cuts, and try them out in smaller test runs before rolling them out to their whole range at once. They also need to get better at communicating changes clearly in the product descriptions.

I personally find S&M's willingness to engage with communities like ours to be one of their main draws. I hope it never goes away regardless of how big they end up getting.

A slight tangent, but I find it curious that you view side tabs as an affectation. They're more practical than the alternatives, and are just uncommon because most guys are wearing basic mall brand polyester trousers. Wearing trousers in "interesting fabrics" to begin with is arguably more of an affectation in 2022 than side tabs are.

I like that SM offers two distinct looks, I just hope they are selling enough of both and each buying group doesn’t think they cater mostly to the other.

Agreed.
 
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mike2

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A lot of comments like yours appear to view SF as a single-minded collective that can't quite decide what it wants.

I agree, my view is no doubt biased by my own preferences; I admit as much in my comment. Surely SM knows their business better than I do!

They do have a tendency to be very responsive to comments on SF. If you like the SF-style, that's clearly a benefit. It does create the impression that they don't have a strong vision of their own. Maybe that's okay, it's not pure art -- it's a business. But it creates a sense that the designs are transient, you can't necessarily expect to find something you like and come back year after year. I think that's one reason the changes generate a bit of rancor here. It's always annoying to find something you like and then it changes.

A slight tangent, but I find it curious that you view side tabs as an affectation. They're more practical than the alternatives

I can see side-tabs with suits, though still would prefer not to have them, but not with odd trousers with or without a jacket. I like the kind of punctuation that the belt forms between the jacket and pants. Side-tabs also seem more 'formal', which is clearly not in the current spirit of things.
 

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