US$366 to spend: Raja or RTW?

[1Dgaf]

Hello.

I want to buy myself a SB, three button, wool suit.  I've got a maximum budget of £200 (US$366).  

Do forum members think I'd get more value for money spending the £200 with Raja fashions, or trying to get something RTW?  

If I got RTW I'd probably have to spend some money altering the suit, but might get a better deal because I'm not paying for a tailor. None of the suits in my price range are 'labels', of course.

I've done a search on the forum and reckoned this deserved a new thread.  Any ideas or suggestion for me?

TIA.

 

[j]

Depending on how soon you need the suit, I'd say to measure yourself very carefully, or measure a suit that fits you well, then buy a good one from a reputable dealer on ebay and have it altered to fit you. This will likely net you the best quality end result for your money.

Just my USD 0.02.

 

[johnnynorman3]

$366 USD can get you a NWT full canvas suit on Ebay or a discount store of fairly high quality, albeit with limited options. $366 will get you fused from Raja.

 

[1Dgaf]

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll get measure and try and find an ebay bargain.

 

[bryce330]

I think it may be difficult to find a NWT, unaltered, fully canvased suit on eBay for $366 - even the Canalis generally go for around $400.  

Also, I believe the Raja Fashions suits are half-canvased, not fused.

 

[drizzt3117]

I've purchased NWT Oxxford and Corneliani suits on ebay for much less than $399. I've also purchased NWT Brioni, Belvest, and other suits on ebay for $300-600, so certainly you can find the deals if you look long enough.

 

[jester]

This is off-topic, I guess, but: how are these deals possible? I've also seen similar things on eBay--Brioni, etc., NWT and < $1000, and if I get around to trying one on in a real store to check the sizing, I'm certainly going to get one. But what's the catch? How can such an expensive suit be sold so cheap?

 

[raley]

I've purchased NWT Oxxford and Corneliani suits on ebay for much less than $399.  I've also purchased NWT Brioni, Belvest, and other suits on ebay for $300-600, so certainly you can find the deals if you look long enough.

Where do you find these kind of deals? I go to suits, new listings first and check everyday and have only seen 1 nice suit - unaltered new Zegna - go for ~250$. Other than that things have been much more expensive. It seems like 38R would be a pretty common size, maybe it is just in a bad streak or something.

 

[drizzt3117]

Lots of reasons... some of them are from estate sales, many people will buy a bunch of suits and not get around to wearing them and find themselves in bankruptcy, this happened quite often in the dotcom era... others are people just blowing stuff out that they bought in a large lot for a quick sale to make a quick profit (often on borrowed money, so they need to move it fast) I guess there are lots of reasons people need to sell stuff, potentially it could have come off the back of a truck too but that is doubtful for stuff like Brioni.

 

[johnnynorman3]

I got a NWT Purple Label suit for $575. Sure, that's more than $400, but not much, and the retail price was $3000 (this was Ebay by the way).

Right now there is a 40R Belvest in a Super 150s plain grey for $499 on Ebay. Measurements show it to be a tad boxy, but nothing a tailor couldn't fix.

 

[1Dgaf]

I'm not going to spend £200 on an ebay suit until I'm more familiar with suits in general. I'd be OK spending that in a store because I could see the silhouette. WIth a tailor, I'd be able to ask his advice.

 

[johnapril]

Lots of reasons... some of them are from estate sales, many people will buy a bunch of suits and not get around to wearing them and find themselves in bankruptcy, this happened quite often in the dotcom era... others are people just blowing stuff out that they bought in a large lot for a quick sale to make a quick profit (often on borrowed money, so they need to move it fast)  I guess there are lots of reasons people need to sell stuff, potentially it could have come off the back of a truck too but that is doubtful for stuff like Brioni.

I find this reply vague and disturbing. I wonder if anyone really knows, and if they knew, could they, would they tell? I went into a really nice store and they had cardboard boxes full of stuff from seasons previous that they were basically giving away. $25 for a pair of very fine $250 pants. I was able to bargain even this price down.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drizzt3117,25 Oct. 2004, 2:36
I've purchased NWT Oxxford and Corneliani suits on ebay for much less than $399. Â I've also purchased NWT Brioni, Belvest, and other suits on ebay for $300-600, so certainly you can find the deals if you look long enough.
Where do you find these kind of deals? Â I go to suits, new listings first and check everyday and have only seen 1 nice suit - unaltered new Zegna - go for ~250$. Â Other than that things have been much more expensive. Â It seems like 38R would be a pretty common size, maybe it is just in a bad streak or something.
Sadly, the screaming deals for 40R are a rarity as well.

 

[drizzt3117]

There is an immense amount of NWT/as new stuff for pretty low prices right now, do a search for belvest and you'll find a bunch of new/as new blazers/suits for $100 or less.

It's also easy to find Oxxford stuff for $80-300, do a search for Oxxford and you'll see lots of it.

I don't distinguish too much between as new and NWT for the simple reason that a garment is probably tried on a dozen or more times before someone buys it, and if they have a liberal return policy, it may have changed hands more than that. I don't usually like paying a stiff premium to deal with that, I understand that if I'm not having something made MTM, custom, or bespoke, it's likely someone will have worn it before I have.