A visit to Astor & Black

Originally Posted by iherald

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I have had good experiences with A&B. The shirts I got were good quality, but they were boxy and not slim fitting like I hoped. But, A&B paid for them to be tailored the way I like them.

The suits I got were good quality (at least to my eyes). I've got many compliments on them.

I'd certainly buy more stuff from them.

Originally Posted by mrbrioni

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I ordered 6 suits and a dozen shirts from Astor & Black in Chicago.

The rep was a very friendly, extremely nice guy.

Fit -

Suits - When I received my suits, I've never had a "custom" suit fit so terribly that there tailor AND my own tailor said it would be impossible to make these even come close to fitting.

Shirts - fit was fine, nothing great, nothing terrible.


Quality -

Suits - I had ordered only Scabal fabric and these suits were the worst quality of any suits off the rack suit I had ever purchased in my life.

Shirts - Worse than a paul frederick shirt.

Sam's tailoring in Hong Kong which makes suits for 1/5 of the price of Astor & Black is higher quality than this stuff.


ON TOP OF ALL THIS, ASTOR & BLACK WOULD NOT REMAKE ME MY SUITS OR GIVE ME A REFUND FOR THE $4,000 DEPOSIT I HAD MADE ON MY SUITS!!!

I have even spoken to Mr. David Shottenstein himself and he said under no circumstances would they do anything.

BEWARE!!

I've never had such a terrible experience in my life.

If anyone has any way I can get my money back please let me know.

Damn, that sucks. They have to pay for the GQ ads and that website.

No jokes.

Worst experience ever!

Even had they fit like a glove, honestly the quality for something in that price range was terrible.


I hope the AstorandBlack member on here reads this thread!!

Why would so many celebrities purchase AB stuff if the general opinion is that a decent RTW suit is better? I have seen one of these suits up close and agree with this, but I am still just shocked at how well they are doing. Is good marketing really that important that you can pass off a mediocre product as a great one?

i read somewhere that the money just keeps rolling in, he turned over $27 million last year.
maybe astor and black are more into fashion "good" looking suits than quality and that is what draws the crowds

Any recent Astor & Black stories?

Originally Posted by mrbrioni

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I ordered 6 suits and a dozen shirts from Astor & Black in Chicago.
Was this your first time working with A&B? If so, why did you place such a large order without testing them first with something simple?

Hi there.
I just received delivery of four A&B suits and 3 shirts. I bought them on a referral from a friend who was very happy with the product. Foolishly, I did not do my own due diligence on A&B and didn't see this (and many other) threads that were generally negative. So I was nervous that I'd thrown my money away.

Well, they have arrived and they seem quite nice to me. I am comparing them to my off the rack Versace, Zenga, Paul Smith and Etro suits.

I am not an expert by any stretch of the imagination. Does anybody have some telltale things to look for in terms of fit? I think there are some minor alterations required and I'm interested to see how A&B's fit guarantee works.

In terms of service so far, it's been OK. The clothes took closer to 10 weeks, not the promised 4-6. The sales rep was very nice, but I'd say he was still finding his way. I actually think I got lucky as the clothes seem to fit quite well. I have sent a few questions and get a response most of the time (but not all of the time).

The fabric selection was a lot more current than other similar asian tailoring companies.

People seem to disparage A&B for their marketing effort, but I have to say that, in my mind, it puts them ahead of their competitors. I'm actually OK paying a little more for a suit so they can give suits to NFL players and buy magazine space.

Post is the fit critique thread. I'm pretty sure I saw w.o.e. in an A&B jacket in the WAWRY thread that looked alright, but it may have been good photography.

Originally Posted by deveandepot1

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Any recent Astor & Black stories?

Yeah... Saw a dude in an Aston Martin here in Columbus. Plate was Astor Blk. He tried to race my AMG and I kicked his ass at Easton--on Stelzer.

@sartorialism & angelicboris

The "new" tailor who makes there suits has been making them for about 2 years now, he is a frum guy from Monsey.

I still stand firmly on my testimonial on what crap and unproffesional they are.


In response to whom ever asked why I didn't try them out first, and placed such a large order. I honestly don't know, and since then have learned my lesson and do just that.

Originally Posted by texasmade10

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Is good marketing really that important that you can pass off a mediocre product as a great one?

Yes. People, in general, are gullible and clueless.

Originally Posted by mrbrioni

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@sartorialism & angelicboris

The "new" tailor who makes there suits has been making them for about 2 years now, he is a frum guy from Monsey.

I still stand firmly on my testimonial on what crap and unproffesional they are.


In response to whom ever asked why I didn't try them out first, and placed such a large order. I honestly don't know, and since then have learned my lesson and do just that.

I'm not taking A&B's word for it. My brother saw the work product and was highly impressed.

There is a new A&B Groupon for the DC area up for sale now. I'm contemplating giving them a shot...most people said Indochino sucked but they seemed to work pretty well for me...maybe I'm just lucky when it comes to stuff like this. Any other recent horror and/or success stories?

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

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Yes. People, in general, are gullible and clueless.

There's no way to know it's crap until you see it in person. I'm sure they have a lot of 1-time customers. I'm also sure it's better than the OTR they got from Macy's. Most people don't hang out on these boards to discuss the merits of the floatable canvas either.

If my stepdad got one, he'd likely be very pleased.

P.S. Having not seen one up close, I won't call it crap either. If A&B wants to send me one I'll be happy to pass my judgement then