StevenAver.com VS. Benjamin Sartorial

[meauounji]

So I'm in the market for a new suit, and have been seriously considering going with either Steven Aver's MTM service or a Benjamin Sartorial over at ehaberdasher.com. I'm looking to get a new "staple" as in solid navy, charcoal, or some other such thing along the same line of thought.

Benjamin Sartorial looks really good, the pants especially is a tell-tale sign to me that Ben didn't skimp on the details on his suits. I do wish Ben would've named it using his full name of "Benjamin Eng" instead of just Benjamin, though. The only downside to this is that there's not a heck of a lot of choices available... not to mention a total lack of customization. I like the Lucente and there appears to be only two fabric options available...

Steven Aver of course has the appeal of MTM, along with all the foibles (is that the right context for that word?) of an online MTM service... as in, I could possibly screw it up BIG time and basically throw away $500-$600. I could at least return the Benjamin if it doesn't work for me. Plus I haven't really seen a comprehensive look into the quality of Steven Aver's offering.

My question is: can anyone comment directly on the quality of either one of these merchant's offerings, especially compared to "famous forum brands"? The two brands compete in basically the same price range. Both are made in China and claim to be roughly equal in quality to much higher priced suits, just without the "prestige" of a famous name. I understand that they're not selling Purple Label or Attolini or whatever, but how do they compare against machine-made, hand-finished type suits like say.... Isaia, or even Corneliani or Caruso. I'm looking for some objective comparisons here, if that's possible.

 

[Ataturk]

I can't speak as to the quality or construction, but my question would be: how well do altered RTW suits fit you?

If the answer is good, I'd stick with the RTW. If it doesn't look like it will work [or if you're unsatisfied in some other respect] you can always return it. Not so easy with MTM.

On the other hand if RTW doesn't fit well, MTM might be the way to go. Otherwise it's a tradeoff of risk for desireable options [somewhat better fit, fabric selection, options such as high armholes, etc.].

 

[Mute]

I have a Lucente Benjamin suit and IMHO, his construction quality is at least as good as Corneliani, if not slightly better, and I like Ben's pick stitching a great deal. I would definitely take a Benjamin suit over a Corneliani at this point in time if the fabric were equivalent. The only drawbacks to the Benjamin line as you've already discovered is narrower choice of cloth and it's RTW only.

My advice is that if you have access to a good tailor and your body can accommodate a RTW suit with minor adjustments the Benjamin suit offers great value.

I don't have any experience with Steve Aver's product but it's biggest advantage will be MTM sizing.

 

[UserNameToronto]

I'm saving up for a Benjamin when I go over to the client side in the new year. My measurements are a "normal" 38R, and the Lucente matches my existing suit almost exactly.

Benjamin posted a while back about adding some additional fabrics with a new order in Fall/09. I think the first run of fabrics had too many stripe varieties (grey brown multistripe, navy shadowstripe, black shadowstripe, etc) and not enough solids. I would hope the next order is weighted towards solids, with a few muted checks/PoWs. That said, I would imagine solid navy and dark grey/charcoal would be bestsellers, which are available right now:

If I was an odd size, or had a very specific lapel width/hacking pocket affectation, I'd go Steven Aver or TaT instead. I view the Benjamin to be a basic workhorse-type.

 

[TRINI]

Cage Match!!!

 

[meauounji]

Well, that's the thing is that my fit preference is pretty specific. I have a somewhat athletic body with 40" chest and 33" waist. The main problem for me usually is shoulder slope and waist suppression. As in, I find most RTW jackets have hips & waist that are too big for my preference and the shoulder slope aren't sloped enough. Also the chest are sometimes too big. Pretty much all my RTW jackets have the side darts taken in (the ones right underneath your armpits) along with some additional waist suppression. Sometimes I'll even have the vents moved (I only do side vents) to reduce the hip size. The pants are even more of a headache because I have athletic quads that is way too large for most 34w flat front pants... the pockets flare like crazy. Most of the time I spend at least $40-$100 on alterations on a jacket and around $20-40 on pants, and that's with a frequent customer discount!

I suppose Benjamin really does have a leg up on StevenAver in my mind at this piont mainly because I can try it first. Maybe I'll ask Ben if I can mix & match pants and get single pleat pants on the Lucente (though I doubt this is possible) Maybe Ben & Steven would like to comment?

 

[meauounji]

Originally Posted by triniboy27

Cage Match!!!

LoL! (No, I really did Lol'ed )

 

[TheWraith]

I have no experience with Benjamin, but Steven Aver supplied me a top quality suit that fits perfectly and the customer service was second to none. For those looking at online MTM as their sort of thing, you can't go wrong with Steve Aver IMO. Just keep in mind, online MTM isn't for everyone.

 

[hammer07]

As with TheWraith, I've had a very positive experience with Steven Aver and will definitely order from him again especially since I've never really come across a RTW jacket that really fits me the way I like.

 

[Kent Wang]

Have you considered Thick as Thieves? I love what I've gotten from him, as have over a hundred other posters in his thread. Steven Aver hasn't been around as long and I only see a handful of photos from satisfied customers.

 

[TheWraith]

TaT, from all I hear, is a very good online option as well. I think both they and Steven Aver are laudible online options to take for those wanting online MTM.

 

[Akeem]

I can vouch for Steven Aver. I recently purchased/received a suit from him. The quality is pretty good and the service was excellent. I would purchase again in the future. I don't have time to go looking for rtw suits that fit well, so I decided to go mtm. It's not St. Andrews or Brioni, but it's great for what you're paying.

 

[TheWraith]

Originally Posted by Akeem

I can vouch for Steven Aver. I recently purchased/received a suit from him. The quality is pretty good and the service was excellent. I would purchase again in the future. I don't have time to go looking for rtw suits that fit well, so I decided to go mtm. It's not St. Andrews or Brioni, but it's great for what you're paying.

Agreed. What I like about Steven's service is, as well as the standard Guabello fabrics (a great fabric to be calling "standard"), he also has fabric selections from Charles Clayton, Zegna, Vitale Barberis and Loro Piana (with more to come apparently). To get a suit in any of those stellar fabrics for under $1,000, as well as horn or MOP buttons and a full floating canvas, that's a superb deal.

 

[HRoi]

i agree with the cage match idea, only it is my strong preference that all our SF affiliates participate in a sudden-death (literally) playoff - including Kent Wang, Charles Alexander, Farinelli, Michael J Krell, STF, VCH etc. who's taking odds?

 

[eHaberdasher]

Originally Posted by meauounji

I suppose Benjamin really does have a leg up on StevenAver in my mind at this piont mainly because I can try it first. Maybe I'll ask Ben if I can mix & match pants and get single pleat pants on the Lucente (though I doubt this is possible) Maybe Ben & Steven would like to comment?

PM already sent, but yes, if you are not an especially difficult size to fit, you may find our Benjamin suits to be a viable option. Assuming you are in the US, you can use the Styleforum free shipping code (minimum purchase $150): SFFRSHIP - and for Benjamin clothing we can offer free return shipping as well for US domestic orders - offering no risk to see the garment and try it on in person. We offer a 30 day return policy, provided clothing is not worn or altered in any way.

Regarding the pant swap, as long as it's for a pleated pant (and not for another size in the flat front Lucente) we can do it for you.

Regarding our current limited selection of fabrics, we do hope to offer a few more in the Lucente model and still hope to introduce a new model within the next few months - the retail environment for tailored clothing has been somewhat challenging recently... even still we have sold almost 100 Benjamin suits in the past 10 months. This alone is a testimony to the value/quality of the garment.

Please feel free to reach out to us via email as we are not regularly monitoring the forums for posts and messages.