Men's clothing in Santiago, Chile?

I just won a job in Santiago, Chile. I'll be moving there in July. I'm looking forward to it a lot as it is a step up from my current jobs, offers a good salary and allows a lot of free time.

From my sartorial side, I know I'm going to miss the stores I'm accustomed to in the US. I'm hoping I won't have to stock up on clothing when I visit the US on vacation. I've found that Ralph Lauren finally opened stores throughout Santiago, so that seems like my best bet so far, although it seems like they may only sell PRL.

Does anyone here live in that part of the world? Any recommendations for high quality sf-approved clothing stores in Santiago?

Are there any good custom or bespoke tailors here?

I have only one piece of advice to you if your are moving to Chile.

Stay single.......

Originally Posted by musicguy

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I just won a job in Santiago, Chile.

did you trick them into thinking that you are Kenny G.?

Originally Posted by edmorel

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did you trick them into thinking that you are Kenny G.?

And congrats, musicguy. I can't speak for the clothes, but Chile has some hot women.

Thanks for the congrats gents! I'm totally looking forward to the change. They offered me the job immediately after I performed my rendition of Michael Bolton's When a Man Loves a Woman for zither and glass armonica.

Ahhh, Santiago; "a whale's penis."

in terms of clothing there are a couple of things -

1. there is a street right by the intercontinental hotel that has all the big western shops, including BB. that seems to be it for those types of shops.

2. men dress, people in the business world dress in suits. you see a lot of suits with sweaters, keep in mind that july in santiago will be cool to cold. overcoats are pretty rare - I would say that a suit with a sweater and long underwear will be more common than an overcoat. people dress a little more european than american, maybe even spanish or central european, rather than british or italian. dark suits, striped shirts, ties, black shoes, sweaters.

3. there are tailors. I wouldn't be buying mass produced clothing, I'd be looking for the best tailor in town.

4. alpaca. stock up on alpaca.


if you need any other advice (not clothes, I have pretty much empied out what I know about clothes) pm me

Thanks so much for the reply globetrotter! Great stuff. I'll pm if I have any other questions. I had a feeling you would know! Surprised there's a BB in Chile. That's good to know. I'm planning a trip to Buenos Aires after a few months also. I hear shopping is quite good there.

I've seen the sweaters + suits here. I've also noticed a euro style too. This is my third trip here. Definitely going to get some nice alpaca... In Peru I saw Vicuña in the airport. Scarves were under 1000USD I seem to remember. Expensive, but cheaper than elsewhere. Leaving today. Moving sucks, but I'm happy to leave Philly, my home of 10 long years.

American style clothes brands:
BB, RL (Polo in every mall, BL in the Vitacura Shop). The variety is quite limited and the prices aren't as competitive as in the US.

There are several tailors, my favourite is Atilio Andreoli but he only uses the cloth he sells (Loro Piana). Suits cost around 2.000 US$. Other tailors(sastrerÃa) are Ugarte (shirts are 150 US$) and Cubillos.

There is a cloth seller in Isidora Goyenechea who has a big cloth collection (Castro Donoso). You can ask for directions over there (an average tailor will charge from 500 US$ for a suit excluding the cloth).

Luxury brands (Zegna, Hermes, S. Ferragamo) can be found in Alonso De Cordova.

There are small shops in the malls that carry a nice selection. A lot of the chilean life is carried in the malls since there aren't many things to do in Santiago.

Standard business clothing consists in a striped charcoal suit and black shoes (oxford/derby).
As someone stated before the use sweaters under the suit is fairly common, but I would avoid it if I was working in an elitist context. Coats are uncommon due to their high prices.

The weather is dry, and that makes summer hotter and winter colder.

Congrats! PM me with your new job details.

Originally Posted by musicguy

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Thanks so much for the reply globetrotter! Great stuff. I'll pm if I have any other questions. I had a feeling you would know! Surprised there's a BB in Chile. That's good to know. I'm planning a trip to Buenos Aires after a few months also. I hear shopping is quite good there.

I've seen the sweaters + suits here. I've also noticed a euro style too. This is my third trip here. Definitely going to get some nice alpaca... In Peru I saw Vicuña in the airport. Scarves were under 1000USD I seem to remember. Expensive, but cheaper than elsewhere. Leaving today. Moving sucks, but I'm happy to leave Philly, my home of 10 long years.

good luck. I'll be back down the week of 22 June, maybe we can grab dinner.

When I lived in Chile 15 years ago central heating was scarce. My office building had baseboard hot water heat, but it was quite cold in winter despite the fact that temperatures in Concepcion rarely got to killing frost. Great opportunity for flannel suits and trousers, heavy tweed blazers, sweater vests, etc. Air quality during winter inversions in Santiago was abysmal. Cuisine, apart from nouveau foody places, is unsophisticated, but superb seafood, meats, and produce means it's almost impossible not to eat well. Anything I might remember about clothes shopping is hopelessly outdated. Classical music had much more cultural import than in the US. Even in provincial Conce we had a pretty good pro/am symphony with a full schedule and lots of chamber music. Congratulations! I'm sure you will enjoy Chile.

Originally Posted by latindandy

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American style clothes brands: BB, RL (Polo in every mall, BL in the Vitacura Shop). The variety is quite limited and the prices aren't as competitive as in the US. There are several tailors, my favourite is Atilio Andreoli but he only uses the cloth he sells (Loro Piana). Suits cost around 2.000 US$. Other tailors(sastrerÃa) are Ugarte (shirts are 150 US$) and Cubillos. There is a cloth seller in Isidora Goyenechea who has a big cloth collection (Castro Donoso). You can ask for directions over there (an average tailor will charge from 500 US$ for a suit excluding the cloth). Luxury brands (Zegna, Hermes, S. Ferragamo) can be found in Alonso De Cordova. There are small shops in the malls that carry a nice selection. A lot of the chilean life is carried in the malls since there aren't many things to do in Santiago. Standard business clothing consists in a striped charcoal suit and black shoes (oxford/derby). As someone stated before the use sweaters under the suit is fairly common, but I would avoid it if I was working in an elitist context. Coats are uncommon due to their high prices. The weather is dry, and that makes summer hotter and winter colder.
How? It's humidity that makes summer hotter and winter colder...

Originally Posted by imageWIS

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How?

It's humidity that makes summer hotter and winter colder...

Actually humidity creates some kind of greenhouse effect. For instance, the desert is extremely cold in winter, specially at night.

Originally Posted by latindandy

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American style clothes brands: BB, RL (Polo in every mall, BL in the Vitacura Shop). The variety is quite limited and the prices aren't as competitive as in the US. There are several tailors, my favourite is Atilio Andreoli but he only uses the cloth he sells (Loro Piana). Suits cost around 2.000 US$. Other tailors(sastrerÃa) are Ugarte (shirts are 150 US$) and Cubillos. There is a cloth seller in Isidora Goyenechea who has a big cloth collection (Castro Donoso). You can ask for directions over there (an average tailor will charge from 500 US$ for a suit excluding the cloth). Luxury brands (Zegna, Hermes, S. Ferragamo) can be found in Alonso De Cordova. There are small shops in the malls that carry a nice selection. A lot of the chilean life is carried in the malls since there aren't many things to do in Santiago. Standard business clothing consists in a striped charcoal suit and black shoes (oxford/derby). As someone stated before the use sweaters under the suit is fairly common, but I would avoid it if I was working in an elitist context. Coats are uncommon due to their high prices. The weather is dry, and that makes summer hotter and winter colder.
Thanks for all the info! I really appreciate it. Do you live in Chile?

Originally Posted by jackdaw

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When I lived in Chile 15 years ago central heating was scarce. My office building had baseboard hot water heat, but it was quite cold in winter despite the fact that temperatures in Concepcion rarely got to killing frost. Great opportunity for flannel suits and trousers, heavy tweed blazers, sweater vests, etc. Air quality during winter inversions in Santiago was abysmal. Cuisine, apart from nouveau foody places, is unsophisticated, but superb seafood, meats, and produce means it's almost impossible not to eat well. Anything I might remember about clothes shopping is hopelessly outdated. Classical music had much more cultural import than in the US. Even in provincial Conce we had a pretty good pro/am symphony with a full schedule and lots of chamber music. Congratulations! I'm sure you will enjoy Chile.
Thanks for the congrats! Even now, central heating is scarce. My sister lives in a nice place in Nunoa and they have hot water heating in the floor, but the residents voted to wait until May 30th to turn on the heat and it's already chilly there. They use estufas which are okay, but you can't leave them on at night because of fumes. New buildings have central heat and air, but they are much more expensive and not really worth it, or so I've been toldy by my sister and brother in law who also live in Santiago. I'll have to find a nice apartment... electric heaters and portable a/c looks like what I'll be doing. I've also noticed how classical music is supported well there. It seems to be looked at in a much better way than in the states! Can't wait...

Originally Posted by globetrotter

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good luck. I'll be back down the week of 22 June, maybe we can grab dinner.
Thanks! Dinner sounds good, but unfortunately, I won't be in Chile yet. I'll be leaving the states in late June/early July. Let me know if you visit later in the year. I guess I should've said that I was leaving Chile that day in the OP, not leaving the states!