The Look goes on...

[Thin White Duke]

Yeah it’s funny how those trends go. SS was mentioned a lot on here a few years back but now Spier and McKay seems to be SF ‘flavour of the month’.
I have about five SS suits and about five sports jackets. All but the Jort were two-to-three button conversions.

The reason I like(d) them was coz they hit the sweet spot between quality and price. Probably among the cheapest half canvassed suits out there. Also they USED to have a nice range of fabrics ranging from conservative business navies, dark blues and various grey shades and pinstripes to more flashy and flambuoyant but I have to admit the last several times I’ve been in the shops there hasn’t been anything to catch my eye. I dunno if it’s cos my wardrobe is more or less saturated or if their range is just not as appealing as it once was. They tend to do shorter runs of fabrics so it may just be a phase not a more permanent downswing but I don’t visit their shops or snoop their website nearly as much as I used to.

 

[am55]

Modern SuSu, in the Singapore store at least, is terrible. Not just the styling (I try not to judge people's choices on that front) with its high gorge and two-sizes-too-tight aesthetic, but the build quality, the cheap short-fibre cloth that looks furry already despite being new, the seams that pull pans up in weird ways... That in itself is no crime - it joins the legion of low price retailers peddling "suit shaped objects".

Where it is special in a Singaporean context is the service. It's blistering hot here all year long and the high spenders dress much like the rest of us plebs: T-shirt, shorts... In the very same mall, and the one next door, I played with items worth $200k+ with ample encouragement from the staff, ranging from enormous Cartier diamonds to exotic-dialled De Bethune watches. I've even seen babies bash on the keyboards of the Model D Steinways upstairs (now that is taking it a bit far...).

Yet somehow someone instructed the SuSu staff to go for the shall we say "American" approach to "luxury" retail, where clients not dressed sufficiently appropriately are made to understand that they are ruining the impression so expensively obtained from the interior designers.

Maybe it was opening pains, but I wouldn't know, because I couldn't be bothered to go again, after scanning all the shelves to get an idea in person of the quality.

@Thin White Duke my impression is that Spier is hit and miss. I find their purple label shirts to fit a little oddly (one should have broad shoulders and a narrow waist, a bit like an American "football" player) but to be made very well for the ~$30 they cost on sale. The same for the khakis and the Sondrio linen-cotton, and wool grey houndstooth trousers. I'm less keen on the Oxford cloth trousers and as such never tried a jacket. The base line of shirts uses a strangely stiff cotton which takes well to the iron but is not particularly comfortable especially with the super stiff collar they favour. I'm not sure the cutaway style would be of the taste of this thread.

I'm of two minds with the OCBDs; they fit and looked good but got stiffer over time and pill a bit. I also get a better collar roll with the Uniqlo OCBDs for some reason (but prefer Spier for the shell buttons). I still buy them as they're so cheap for what you get.

 

[Kingstonian]

“So is it worth all the challenges?”

Well if it is just competitive instinct then the bar has got very much lower. Any sort of jacket, a half decent shirt and proper shoes and people think you look very smart indeed.

If there is a fabric or cut that you really want then you will probably need someone to make it up for you. So for suits in navy or charcoal mid weight worsted off the peg is fine; but try finding well cut garments in other colours and fabrics.

 

[am55]

the bar has got very much lower. Any sort of jacket, a half decent shirt and proper shoes and people think you look very smart indeed.

I wonder what went first, the storefronts or the clothes.

 

[Mr Knightley]

Never had any problems with MTM, you just need a tailor who knows what he's doing, and is willing to listen. But I must admit that I stopped getting MTM about 20 years ago when I packed in going to mod events and weekenders. The one exception was my last wedding suit 16 years ago, a nice brown 3 ply mohair number, which sadly must have shrunk as it doesn't fit me anymore.?
I once bought some black jumbo cord material from Leeds indoor market, and got my tailor to make me a knee length double breasted coat, and the ex wife a shorter version of the same style. It still fits me but hasn't been worn for over 20 years.

After about five commissions and three or four alterations projects I have just about got into that sweet spot with my tailor, Roger Crawford of Ilford, who I found thanks to a guide to mod tailors on Modculture a few years ago.

But he is now on the point of retiring (may have already done so) and I am left wondering if I can climb that hill again with another tailor...

“So is it worth all the challenges?”

Well if it is just competitive instinct then the bar has got very much lower. Any sort of jacket, a half decent shirt and proper shoes and people think you look very smart indeed.

If there is a fabric or cut that you really want then you will probably need someone to make it up for you. So for suits in navy or charcoal mid weight worsted off the peg is fine; but try finding well cut garments in other colours and fabrics.

The best outfit in my current wardrobe is the Roger Crawford 'true navy' blazer with MOP buttons and the POW trousers in a Huddersfield 11oz Cloth. It has not been without its problems but probably worth it, as it's not a combination one could easily find other than through the bespoke route.

Having said that, I could quite probably point to any number of outfits in my wardrobe that fit as well and give me almost as much pleasure to wear...

I wonder what went first, the storefronts or the clothes.

View attachment 1217570

Isn't that awful? But regrettably it sums up your average British town centre very well. I expect the decline went hand-in-hand.

 

[Clouseau]

No, no, you don't see double. It is the new Fred Perry x Comme des Garçons shirt

 

[Mr Knightley]

No, no, you don't see double. It is the new Fred Perry x Comme des Garçons shirt

View attachment 1219307

I wonder what the point is... @cerneabbas - look away!

 

[Clouseau]

I wonder what the point is... @cerneabbas - look away!

The point is : double logo = double price. £220 !

On another subject, the shirtmaker "Ratio Clothing", that @Botolph mentioned several times, has now an official thread on SF

Ratio Clothing - Custom Shirts - Official Affiliate Thread

Hi Everyone, I’m Eric (@ratioeric), the founder of Ratio Clothing, an online custom shirt company. We’ve been around since 2009 and worked with many of you over the years, but we’re excited to become official supporters of the community. I personally learned a ton from this community going back...

www.styleforum.net

 

[cerneabbas]

I wonder what the point is... @cerneabbas - look away!

I guess that the retail industry is in such a mess that they are trying anything to make sales.
FP seem to have collaborations with so many different people/other firms,the oddest imo is with Arktis the military supplier.

I recently noticed the Barour x Engineered Garments collaboration and last night I got an advert for the 'Barbour Ridley Scott collection' basically a Barbour jacket with the pocket in a slightly different place.

Maybe I am partly responsible for the slow down in retail as I havent bought very much this year.

 

[Clouseau]

I recently noticed the Barbour x Engineered Garments collaboration and last night I got an advert for the 'Barbour Ridley Scott collection' basically a Barbour jacket with the pocket in a slightly different place.

A Ridley Scott X Barbour is a bit strange. Maybe the pocket is at the most practical place for his director's viewfinder ?

A few years ago Buzz Rickson made a black MA-1 in collaboration with the writer William Gibson, because one of his fictional Character was wearing one...

Speaking of MA-1, there is one rather interesting in the Barbour X Engineered Garments collection.

 

[Botolph]

I guess that the retail industry is in such a mess that they are trying anything to make sales.
FP seem to have collaborations with so many different people/other firms,the oddest imo is with Arktis the military supplier.

I recently noticed the Barour x Engineered Garments collaboration and last night I got an advert for the 'Barbour Ridley Scott collection' basically a Barbour jacket with the pocket in a slightly different place.

Maybe I am partly responsible for the slow down in retail as I havent bought very much this year.

I bought the Barbour x E Garments Warby overhead jacket. Lighter than most Barbour waxed offerings but a thing of beauty. Not really part of the Look, but cool in a casuals/Liam Gallagher chic sort of way.
Caution, they run ENORMOUS. I normally take a size 42-44, and bought a Medium. I could probably get away with having bought a small.

 

[Clouseau]

I bought the Barbour x E Garments Warby overhead jacket. Lighter than most Barbour waxed offerings but a thing of beauty. Not really part of the Look, but cool in a casuals/Liam Gallagher chic sort of way.
Caution, they run ENORMOUS. I normally take a size 42-44, and bought a Medium. I could probably get away with having bought a small.

I think most of EG stuff runs enormous as it's part of their adrenalin...

I quite like their 'technical vests', they did one with Barbour i think.
Now i don't think i would wear one though !

 

[Mr Knightley]

Guys, if you wanna have a look at MrK's entry and mine in the FC, here it is :

Friday Challenge: Dress Like a Star

One of my favourite movies is the relatively less well known Les Saveurs du Palais, which aside from a subject close to my heart, a warm tone seldom found in independent movies and a certain delicateness of touch and manners that does wonders to lift your spirit, also features the inimitable...

www.styleforum.net

View attachment 1215561

Guys - still a day or two to enter ... or maybe more.

 

[Clouseau]

For those of you who might be interested, DM just released the "Archie II" (previously known as "Archie", previously known as "Steed") shoes, with a thinner air sole.
On the contrary to the previous models who were Made in England, the "Archie II" are made in Thailand, so they cost half the price. (on a side note, the made in Thailand ones are usually quite good.)
The only difference with the previous model in smooth leather is the stitching, but it's black, and quite discreet. The air sole is black too. I went yesterday to the DM shop to try them, i wore my Steed to compare, the last and sizing (TTS) are the same.

For comparison, the MiE Steed (here in "vintage" Quilon leather, i am the happy owner of three pairs) :

 

[Mr Knightley]

For those of you who might be interested, DM just released the "Archie II" (previously known as "Archie", previously known as "Steed") shoes, with a thinner air sole.
On the contrary to the previous models who were Made in England, the "Archie II" are made in Thailand, so they cost half the price. (on a side note, the made in Thailand ones are usually quite good.)
The only difference with the previous model in smooth leather is the stitching, but it's black, and quite discreet. The air sole is black too. I went yesterday to the DM shop to try them, i wore my Steed to compare, the last and sizing (TTS) are the same.

View attachment 1221530



For comparison, the MiE Steed (here in "vintage" Quilon leather, i am the happy owner of three pairs) :
View attachment 1221531

@Clouseau

From the pictures you posted the MiE pair seem to have much nicer-looking leather and a more 'natural' treatment on the side of the soles - giving an overall impression of quality. Are the MiE option now discontinued? I think you may have told us before. If so, apologies!