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My Sartorial Wisdom

SoCal2NYC

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Thanks dude you are a vital asset to the forum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

gdl203

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Thank you
 

DocHolliday

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Originally Posted by Justin Wright
(Tip: Because Ralph Lauren suits are made by a suitmaker, Corneliani; why not buy straight from the source?).
I like Corneliani, but their stuff bears little in common with the stuff they make for Ralph, which I like as well. Also, this neglects to consider the variety of Ralph's lines -- Corneliani makes a nice suit, but is it really competition for Ralph's best? Yours is a nice suggestion, but there are a lot of variables at play here, including styling, price and availability.
3. Construction Counts. Generally speaking, be sure and look under the hood of whatever you buy. A Bentley is expensive because some chap put the thing together by hand, whereas some robot assembled the Kia down the road. The same goes for an Oxxford vs. Joseph A. Bank.
I think this is the important thing. Know what you're buying, and decide whether it's worth the price, regardless of the name on the label. If it's from Ralph, fine, but make sure you understand what you're getting for your money. H&M is perfectly acceptable at H&M prices, but not at, say, Prada's.
4. "Super" Sucks. A ****** fabric woven into Super 180s is still a ****** fabric. I'd rather wear a simple Holland & Sherry worsted than some no-name Super 180s any day of the week.
I think this is too much of a blanket statement. It's like saying "cashmere sucks" because cheap mall-shop sweaters pill. I'm no great fan of luxury cloths in general, be it in suitings or shirtings, but there's good and bad in everything.
5. Sales. Do not buy a garment on sale just because it's on sale. I've learned the following from experience: I would rather have one Hickey-Freeman in my closet for every five $300 pieces-o-crap I bought just because they were cheap. Sometimes you have to learn this one by experience, as it is difficult to resist an apparent "deal"; but, remember, the $300 piece-o-crap may look marvelous hanging in your closet, but you'll be quickly reminded of Paragraphs 1-4 above after a few wears. Trust me.
This is good advice. But I tend to have the opposite problem -- there are so many bargains out there that I rarely find myself tempted by the dregs of a sale. Instead, I am more likely to regret the expensive item that seemed so perfect -- just the thing! -- only to discover once it was too late that it wasn't so perfect after all. Most recently, I paid a significant premium for a sportcoat that was exactly the pattern I had been looking for. Only after I wore it once or twice, I concluded I didn't much care for the cut or fit. Ah well.
 

Wicky

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****, now I have to return my Attolini Super 160 because it´sucks´. I think I will ask them to make the same suit in a old fashioned 80 then. No drape whatsoever but at least the fabric will be tough enough to ensure I can park it in the corner standing up!
 

whacked

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Everytime someone says "sartorial", God kills a kitten.

Like, for real.
 

lefty

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Originally Posted by whacked
Everytime someone says "sartorial", God kills a kitten.


And here I thought that was using fora with a straight face.

lefty
 

gdl203

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Originally Posted by whacked
Everytime someone says "sartorial", God kills a kitten.

Like, for real.


Is that God or the Marines?
devil.gif
 

Douglas

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Originally Posted by Justin Wright
A recurring theme on this board is solicitation for advice on this, that, or the other. For what it's worth, the following are my general points of sartorial advice.

1. Fit First. The ultimate goal of dressing well is to look nice, right? Well, you'll look a helluva lot nicer in a $750 Hart Schaffner Marx suit that properly fits than in a $3,000 Oxxford two sizes too big. Along this line, try to not become too caught up with labels and construction without first paying due consideration to fit. This is not to say that the suitmaker does not count; indeed, I would submit it as my number two item ...

2. Suitmaker Second. Buy your suit from a suitmaker, not from a designer. Hickey-Freeman is a suitmaker; Southwick is a suitmaker; Oxxford is a suitmaker; Zegna is a suitmaker (or arguably once was). Tommy Hilfiger is not a suitmaker; neither is Banana Republic; and, for that matter, neither is Ralph Lauren. They're all designers. (Tip: Because Ralph Lauren suits are made by a suitmaker, Corneliani; why not buy straight from the source?). Along this line, if you are purchasing a "X", then by your "X" from a "X" maker. Brooks Brothers is not a watchmaker; would you buy a suit from Patek Phillipe? Similarly, buy shirts from a shirtmaker; buy shoes from a shoemaker.

3. Construction Counts. Generally speaking, be sure and look under the hood of whatever you buy. A Bentley is expensive because some chap put the thing together by hand, whereas some robot assembled the Kia down the road. The same goes for an Oxxford vs. Joseph A. Bank.

4. "Super" Sucks. A ****** fabric woven into Super 180s is still a ****** fabric. I'd rather wear a simple Holland & Sherry worsted than some no-name Super 180s any day of the week.

5. Sales. Do not buy a garment on sale just because it's on sale. I've learned the following from experience: I would rather have one Hickey-Freeman in my closet for every five $300 pieces-o-crap I bought just because they were cheap. Sometimes you have to learn this one by experience, as it is difficult to resist an apparent "deal"; but, remember, the $300 piece-o-crap may look great hanging in your closet, but you'll be quickly reminded of Paragraphs 1-4 above after a few wears. Trust me.

The rest is up to you.



Dammit, now I have to burn my wardrobe and start over.
 

celery

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Originally Posted by whacked
Everytime someone says "sartorial", God kills a kitten.

Like, for real.


Sartorial.



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Damn screw it . . . Sartorial *infinity+1 (just in case).

I hate cats.
 

whacked

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gdl203

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acidboy

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Why'd you recant?
 

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