Zegna blazer

[mkarim]

I saw a nice, blue Ermenegildo Zegna blazer at a Nordstrom. It is quite versatile and can go with blue, grey, black or white shirts and black, blue pants or jeans. It is darker than sky blue but is not navy blue.

How is the Ermenegildo Zegna product line, compared with Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Armani, etc? How is it different from Z Zegna, for example?

The above blazer was quite nice and made of light wool, which would make it a year-round article of clothing (I live in Atlanta, so we don't get extreme weather). It does cost $1700. What is a fair price to pay for an Ermenegildo Zegna blazer?

Thanks,

 

[lee_44106]

Did you notice that drop down item called "SEARCH"?

Try that.

 

[heard546]

I recently purchased a nice navy blue w/ white needle stripe E. Zegna blazer from Nieman Marcus last call for $175 (over 75% in clearance). I love it. So, shop around and you may be able to find a better deal.

 

[MilanoStyle]

Originally Posted by mkarim

What is a fair price to pay for an Ermenegildo Zegna blazer?
Thanks,

$300, IMO.

 

[Douglas]

OK, I'll bite. You really will have to do a lot of searches and sifting and general reading on here to really get a good answer, but as the owner of some Zegna stuff, here is my advice:

$1,700 is way too much to spend on just about any blazer. You can have a decent bespoke blazer for half that price made up with Zegna fabric from any of the mid-high-end traveling Hong Kong Tailors, such as WW Chan, when they visit Atlanta.

MilanoStyle's opinion that $300 is a fair price to pay is, in my opinion, not entirely inaccurate, if only because it's not that simple. I have acquired 3 Zegna sportcoats on StyleForum, and my average price has been right in there around $300. So it can be done. However, you have to sit on the wires for months and months for the right jacket, in the right size, in the right colors and pattern, to come along. You don't get to go to the store and try it on and pick out the one you like... you just have to wait in the weeds and hope something you like happens by. And classic designs, like navy blue blazers, virtually never happen by.

If you have your heart set on Zegna because you like the cut and it suits you well, you should scour places like Filene's Basement, online sales and sites, and events like the Barney's Warehouse Sale - I think I could justify spending $700 on a Zegna on sale if it were just what I was looking for.

It's doubly bad to spend that kind of money on something that is not a dead-on classic. A navy blazer is such a classic. A mid-blue blazer is not, and I'd advise you to walk the other way.

Zegna is a good brand, with good cuts. Their garments are generally fully canvassed. Most suits and sportcoats will be made in Italy or Switzerland, and will feature some handwork like pickstitched lapels. They are infinitely better than Hugo Boss, which is a fashion label, not a fine tailored clothing label. Their garments are flashy, fused, and will not hold up over time from either a quality or style standpoint.

Ralph Lauren has multiple lines, so it's hard to compare. Many on here love RL Purple Label, which is their highest quality line, featuring garments made by some of the best clothing manufacturers out there. Their blue and black labels can be OK, but vary from garment to garment. I have personally not had much luck finding well-fitting garments from RL in my size, which is admittedly a larger size. Others will howl with disagreement with me on that point - RL is very popular here.

Armani is another label you should probably avoid. Zegna is generally better.

Z Zegna is a younger, cheaper, more fashion-oriented line that is not up to the same classic style or quality standards of mainline Zegna. Z Zegna garments are likely to be fused.

That's just a little tiny slice of the vast amounts of knowledge you will find by searching and reading and learning on this site. I'd advise you to get right to it. And not to buy this mid-blue sportscoat at full retail.

 

[mkarim]

Thanks a lot everyone for your advice. Yes, I did search and found enough discussions to help me make up my mind as well. Although my size is the not-so-common 36-S and that blazer is the right size, it is still very pricey.

I know quite a bit about fashion, but used to follow trends. I am just getting to know the difference between fashion (trendy) and style (classic, timeless), hence my question.