Update on "Where can Canadians shop"

[nexus]

Just learned something interesting.

I took a look at the new Moores in Victoria, BC. It is the new flagship store, with something like 3 or 4 times the normal retail space. Suits range from the usual old $169.00 Moores special up to designer RTW suits in the $1000+ range. According to the guy I was speaking with, Moores is making a concerted effort to move to bigger spaces that carry higher end RTW garments as well as the usual cheapy sack suits. There are not in the MTM market yet but it was suggested that some of the locations in certain markets may consider that in the near future. This is the first Moores store to reflect the change, and more are supposed to be on the way across the country.

I just wanted to pass that along to my Canadian brothers, since there is (in my view) a hugely underserved market in mid-range RTW, especially in cities like Victoria that have a wealthy population but only Tip Top Tailors, Moores at one end and British Importers at the other.

Anyways, the irony is that despite some pretty nice new suits on the racks, nothing in the higher end really caught my eye and I ended up buying a Mexican-made "Alfred Sung" for 50% off that fit me, in my view, very well.

 

[Philip1978]

Pics?

 

[nexus]

Originally Posted by Philip1978

Pics?

The suit I bought was at the tailors.

Perhaps I will swing by the Moores this weekend and get some pics in some of the higher end suits as well so people have some sense of what they are looking at.

On another note, fellow Vancouver Islanders should note that British Importers (now called Philip Nyren) has their bi-annual suit sale going on right now. Hugo Boss, Samuelsohn, Savile Row Gold, Coppley, Tellino and others. Starting at $399.

I've never bought anything on sale there but I know people have gotten basically 50% Coppley and Samuelsohn MTM.

 

[comrade]

How is Holt Renfrew's reputation these days? The last time I set
foot in one of their stores was about 12 year ago in Vancouver.
I still have sport coat from the Montreal store in the 70s in my
"clothing museum" - superb quality, beautiful design.

 

[Cant kill da Rooster]

Originally Posted by comrade

How is Holt Renfrew's reputation these days? The last time I set
foot in one of their stores was about 12 year ago in Vancouver.
I still have sport coat from the Montreal store in the 70s in my
"clothing museum" - superb quality, beautiful design.
Still great quality, but also the most inflated prices. They have good sales though.

 

[nexus]

Originally Posted by comrade

How is Holt Renfrew's reputation these days? The last time I set
foot in one of their stores was about 12 year ago in Vancouver.
I still have sport coat from the Montreal store in the 70s in my
"clothing museum" - superb quality, beautiful design.

Never purchased anything there myself, but its still premium brands at premium prices - which is to say pricey for what you get. Last time I was in their, a few of the premium designer suits were approaching $2000 off the rack.

Reputation went downhill for a lot of years, but the chain has undergone a pretty extensive reboot in the last decade.

The stores themselves are beautiful.

 

[R-H]

I'm pretty skeptical that Moore's will ever move above the low-end of the clothing spectrum.

They still offer polyester suits the last time I shopped there.

 

[GradSchooler]

^^ Mostly 50/50 poly-gabs, nothing in 100% polyester.

I was at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver this afternoon and tried on a $4000 Tom Ford. Everything there seems to be about double the price of what you would expect for RTW.

 

[bapelolol]

Where can Canadians shop? Online.

 

[Master-Classter]

I thought this was going to be a thread on tips for crossing the border

 

[Viral]

Originally Posted by bapelolol

Where can Canadians shop? Online.

Harry Rosen launched e-commerce website last year.

 

[R-H]

Originally Posted by GradSchooler

^^ Mostly 50/50 poly-gabs, nothing in 100% polyester.

I was at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver this afternoon and tried on a $4000 Tom Ford. Everything there seems to be about double the price of what you would expect for RTW.

The prices at Holt are generally out to lunch but I was impressed to see that the Vancouver store added a bunch of classic (mostly) looking John Lobb shoes to the mix (not that I can afford them).

 

[geoffmartin17]

Originally Posted by R-H

The prices at Holt are generally out to lunch but I was impressed to see that the Vancouver store added a bunch of classic (mostly) looking John Lobb shoes to the mix (not that I can afford them).

They had a pair of lobbs on sale 50% off for 1400$ last time i was in there.

 

[LegB4Wicket]

Thanks for the info nexus. I might just venture into Moores next time I find myself at Uptown. Still skeptical about their quality but good to hear they are trying.

Nyren has some pretty good stock but for some stupid reason I feel uncomfortable everytime I walk into his store. Can't quite put a finger on why, it's a nice store. Service is fine but sometimes can be a bit pushy. Just me I guess.

Have you ever tried Outlooks on Yates? Good service. Clothing is alright. More middle quality but very good for casual and weekend wear. And they now sell Grenson shoes!

My biggest pet peeve is over shoes. It's damn near impossible to buy quality men's shoes at reasonable prices in this country. $450 for Allan Edmonds... madness!

 

[SuitMyself]

Originally Posted by nexus

Just learned something interesting.

I took a look at the new Moores in Victoria, BC. It is the new flagship store, with something like 3 or 4 times the normal retail space. Suits range from the usual old $169.00 Moores special up to designer RTW suits in the $1000+ range. According to the guy I was speaking with, Moores is making a concerted effort to move to bigger spaces that carry higher end RTW garments as well as the usual cheapy sack suits. There are not in the MTM market yet but it was suggested that some of the locations in certain markets may consider that in the near future. This is the first Moores store to reflect the change, and more are supposed to be on the way across the country.

I just wanted to pass that along to my Canadian brothers, since there is (in my view) a hugely underserved market in mid-range RTW, especially in cities like Victoria that have a wealthy population but only Tip Top Tailors, Moores at one end and British Importers at the other.

Anyways, the irony is that despite some pretty nice new suits on the racks, nothing in the higher end really caught my eye and I ended up buying a Mexican-made “Alfred Sung” for 50% off that fit me, in my view, very well.

Moores sells suits in the $1000 price range??

Is this a joke? Are you actually serious?

If you're actually serious about this, then please tell us what exactly are the so-called "designer brands" they carry in suits?

Personally, I really don't think the typical Moores customer will actually spend $1000 on a suit. The customer who walks into a Moores store is looking for, and EXPECTING, a cheap/inexpensive suit. A customer who's looking for $1000 suits would go to Harry Rosen or Holt Renfrew, not Moores.