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Would I be Hermes man...

MikeDT

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Rani

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Considering Hermes is a Parisian company I would suspect those chopsticks are fake. Hermes launched a Chinese fashion house for uniquely Chinese things named Shang Xia, if they made any chopsticks it would be under that name.
 

thunderthighs

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Originally Posted by MikeDT
Problem is, those alleged "luxury brands" have made themselves too popular, especially in mainland China.

"how many labels you can display per square inch of body surface area". Most people in China can't afford the real mccoy, so they buy counterfeits. They know what they're wearing is copies and don't really care, just as long as they have some obvious branding, e.g. LV,

Often these branded products will have no relationship to the real thing. I'm quite sure that Burberry does not do wheelchairs, but wheelchairs done out in the distinctive plaid are quite a common sight, especially in Hong Kong. The supermarkets and indoor markets have many cheap garments in all shapes and sizes, mostly with some obvious western designer branding on them. e.g. Burberry London, Emporio Armani, Zegna, Gucci, LV, Hermes, D&G, etc, etc,., along with pseudo branding like 'Fashion', 'Style' and 'Vogue'.

Q. Would I be 'Hermes man'?
A. NO!!, not for all the tea in China.

I might be considered 'alpha male' in this city, but I'm not Chinese.


Please don't tell me you just recently discovered that China is the kingdom of counterfeiting.
 

MikeDT

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Originally Posted by thunderthighs
Please don't tell me you just recently discovered that China is the kingdom of counterfeiting.
Actually I've known about it for a long time. I was trying to paint a picture of how things are here for the forum. The bourgeoisie and the petty-bourgeoisie have the real thing(mostly), and the peasantry and proletariat have the counterfeits. Counterfeits of course are found all over SE Asia.
 

bbhewee

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Originally Posted by Rani
Considering Hermes is a Parisian company I would suspect those chopsticks are fake. Hermes launched a Chinese fashion house for uniquely Chinese things named Shang Xia, if they made any chopsticks it would be under that name.

Actually they do exist. Hermes has a very extensive line of silverware and chinaware in their catalogue.
 

rach2jlc

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Originally Posted by Klobber
Nope, but the interview was very valuable, and on that basis, I did get other jobs. The guy, despite his remarks over my choice of suit, was actually very interesting to talk to. He said to me after interview that I needed to work on certain areas of my professional profile, but if I am not selected, he would be interested if I get in touch with him in a few years time. I might take him up on that offer.



LOL - seriously did happen my man. Heck, I have interviewed candidates before and had to stop myself commenting on their choice of attire. It is a professional environment, not red carpet events!


Prada suits are made by Belvest and Cantarelli... what's wrong with them again?
confused.gif
 

Klobber

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Originally Posted by rach2jlc
Prada suits are made by Belvest and Cantarelli... what's wrong with them again?
confused.gif


Nothing wrong with them.

Belvest and Cantarelli make good suits also. I think Belvest make better suits for Belvest than they do for Prada. Zegna is another example, no doubt Zegna Couture suits are better than Zegna made Gucci suits.

Anyway, I think it is pointless to compare labels, one mans meat, anothers poison etc...
I just like to know what I am buying is reflective of the quality, not some 50% additional Label markup to sell a $200 shirt for $400.

To me, if Prada or Gucci were in a football league, they would be mid - table. Not bad, quite good perhaps, not exceptional.

EDIT: Further to the point, if Belvest made a suit for Prada, somewhere in the line Belvest have to make money, as do Prada. So if Prada sell that suit for $2.5K, you can be sure Belvest could sell a similar quality suit for $1.5K and still make a good profit. Now if Belvest sells a suit for $2.5K, I would bet that $2.5K suit beats the quality of the $2.5K Prada suit.
 

thunderthighs

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Originally Posted by Klobber
EDIT: Further to the point, if Belvest made a suit for Prada, somewhere in the line Belvest have to make money, as do Prada. So if Prada sell that suit for $2.5K, you can be sure Belvest could sell a similar quality suit for $1.5K and still make a good profit. Now if Belvest sells a suit for $2.5K, I would bet that $2.5K suit beats the quality of the $2.5K Prada suit.

That's still based on several assumptions about each company's respective business models that may or may not be correct. In the end there are only two ways to know for sure: either you spend some time as an insider in each company's manufacturing/merchandising department or you get someone knowledgeable in suit construction to dissect each side by side for a comparison (sans labels for fairness).

It would be more interesting to find out what exactly it was about your Prada suit that prompted that hiring officer to say what he did.
 

Klobber

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Originally Posted by thunderthighs
That's still based on several assumptions about each company's respective business models that may or may not be correct. In the end there are only two ways to know for sure: either you spend some time as an insider in each company's manufacturing/merchandising department or you get someone knowledgeable in suit construction to dissect each side by side for a comparison (sans labels for fairness).

True - I am assuming a linear and duplicated marketing model for both companies - there is much room for error in an assumption made without some initial evidence (even if incomplete).

However, I can use my own discretion based on products I have observed in stores or bought myself. I have owned numerous Prada items in my brand worshipping past, and not one of those suits or blazers measured up quality wise to Belvest. Only one Prada suit I ever owned was fully canvassed, most were half canvassed or fused to some degree.

I have in past also bought suits from both Zegna and Gucci (the Zegna Made stuff). The Gucci suits were just as expensive as Zegna, and I felt they were more poorly made (the Gucci suits were still good suits, just not brilliant). I felt the quality was consistent with the cheaper Z Zegna line, rather than Zegna Couture line.

True this is observational evidence, and perhaps Im wrong. Perhaps Im biased against brands hence weighting my arguments to support my bias, but nonetheless, I do feel the big fashion brands are not producing the quality that matches the price.

Originally Posted by thunderthighs
It would be more interesting to find out what exactly it was about your Prada suit that prompted that hiring officer to say what he did.

Oh easy - shiny brushed wool, trim lapels, tight sleek fit ... Im sure these were giveaway factors. Of course the guy did not know it was Prada prior to me telling him, but he knew his suits well enough to know it was at least a fashion suit.
 

rach2jlc

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^Thunderthighs is getting at what I was getting at; I was talking less comparison of the items than what prompted the interview guy to say what he did. He probably was just doing the opposite of brand whoring... namely brand hating.

Prada makes a good suit, especially the Belvest models, and requires certain tweaks, twists, and fabrics that Belvest doesn't use themselves. They are canvassed, blagh balgh blagh. Not everything prada does is ****, but the idea of saying, "that suit is Prada and therefore you need a better suit to work here" is just as bad as saying, "That suit isn't Prada and therefore you can't work here." "Just about everything is better" shows as much ignorance as saying, "OMG PRADA IS THE BEST ZOMG ZOMG."

I'm saying I think the interview guy is not somebody I'd want to work with, or that what you "learned" necessarily should have been treated as a life lesson. He seems just as ill-informed as a brand whore, and just as frustratingly judgmental.

He should have just said, "your suit is a little too fashion-forward for our company; we tend to wear things slightly more traditional here." I have some late 1990's belvest made prada technofabric jackets who construction is better than just about anything out there. They are "fashion-y" though, and so I wouldn't wear them to a business meeting. BUT, just the fact that they are Prada has nothing to do with the quality.
 

GoldenTribe

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Originally Posted by rach2jlc
the idea of saying, "that suit is Prada and therefore you need a better suit to work here" is just as bad as saying, "That suit isn't Prada and therefore you can't work here." "Just about everything is better" shows as much ignorance as saying, "OMG PRADA IS THE BEST ZOMG ZOMG."
/thread
 

harryx2

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Originally Posted by rach2jlc
I have some late 1990's belvest made prada technofabric jackets who construction is better than just about anything out there. They are "fashion-y" though, and so I wouldn't wear them to a business meeting. BUT, just the fact that they are Prada has nothing to do with the quality.

I would really love to see your clothes collection!!!
 

fuji

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Originally Posted by Klobber
Nothing wrong with them.

Belvest and Cantarelli make good suits also. I think Belvest make better suits for Belvest than they do for Prada. Zegna is another example, no doubt Zegna Couture suits are better than Zegna made Gucci suits.

Anyway, I think it is pointless to compare labels, one mans meat, anothers poison etc...
I just like to know what I am buying is reflective of the quality, not some 50% additional Label markup to sell a $200 shirt for $400.

To me, if Prada or Gucci were in a football league, they would be mid - table. Not bad, quite good perhaps, not exceptional.

EDIT: Further to the point, if Belvest made a suit for Prada, somewhere in the line Belvest have to make money, as do Prada. So if Prada sell that suit for $2.5K, you can be sure Belvest could sell a similar quality suit for $1.5K and still make a good profit. Now if Belvest sells a suit for $2.5K, I would bet that $2.5K suit beats the quality of the $2.5K Prada suit.


Tom Ford suits are made by Zegna and are without a doubt better quality then anything Zegna makes. Just saying.
 

rach2jlc

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Originally Posted by harryx2
I would really love to see your clothes collection!!!

I ought to take some pics. Some have the most wonderfully weird fabric combos... wool, rubber, and silk.... wool, metal, rubber... you name it. Those early Prada technofiber collections were really, really neat. Sadly, they've gotten rid of them in place of "wool and elastic" to cut corners/save costs, but the old-school Prada collections were really great.
 

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