Brooks Brothers Black Fleece website now online...

[Jovan]

Just because BB King did it, doesn't mean I have to like it.

BK: It depends on how you look at it. The thin men and women Mr. Browne aims his collections at (like me) may fit into the clothes perfectly already. I know they offer a trouser alteration service with no charge -- take in/let out waist 1", cuff or regular hem inseam. You must also consider that his clothes are made by a top-grade Italian tailor. At least that's what he says; he hasn't divulged the name of him yet. Most bespoke suits are going to be about $1000 more than those prices, if I recall correctly. Also, the materials he is using, like boiled wool, heavy suitings, etc. do cost more. All a matter of perspective; I think the prices are somewhat justified for the detail, work, and materials going into everything.

I agree with your picks but rather wish those morning coats and dinner jackets had peak lapels instead of notched. I suppose it is very '50s/'60s trendy of him to use notches, but it comes off as less formal. Then again, he is attempting to usher that sort of thinking in with the basic men's suit...

Gary: Not much I can say. POSSIBLY she is doing harm to the environment with the animals being hunted for her sables, but that's a hard argument to back up if she's claiming they were "taken from dead animals." Fur is a different thing than leather for me. Call me a hypocrite if you will, but it reminds me of the pets I've had and have, who happen to be furry and I cuddle up to. That's why it's creepy and disgusting to me. Honestly, faux-fur looks pretty much the same, but at least I know it wasn't taken from an animal. Maybe you should tell her that?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

There is no way that a mass marketed product can be handmade. These are machine made products. Admittedly (probably) from one of the better mass producing factories, but still, machine made. Just possibly hand finished.

Honestly, man, fabric ain't that expensive.

This is one of my problems with menswear. It seems like they've got us so hooked that we think that unless it's extremely expensive it must be crud. The flip side being that "all extremely expensive stuff must be great" (not suggesting anyone here said that). Give me great cut with crappy (though all natural) fabric and trow the cashmere and supers in the bin.

bk

 

[Rooster]

Fur is disgusting.

Ah fur, the renewable resource.:cheers1: I wish it would get wildly popular so I could make tons of money trapping those varmints like I used to in the good ol' days. I guy could just about make a living trapping if he knew what he was doing.

 

[Jovan]

I directed the question of how they are made to customer service. I know for certain that GOOD floating canvas has to be put in by hand.

 

[iammatt]

I directed the question of how they are made to customer service. I know for certain that GOOD floating canvas has to be put in by hand.

Well, there is no Italian factory who puts in canvas by hand nowadays. Also, the buttonholes are machine stitched.

 

[manton]

Well, there is no Italian factory who puts in canvas by hand nowadays. Also, the buttonholes are machine stitched.

There must be one or two. Attolini? La Vera?

 

[CharlestonBows]

I directed the question of how they are made to customer service. I know for certain that GOOD floating canvas has to be put in by hand.

Thats true, but that doesn't mean it's all bespoke, or even made-to-measure. Considering the limited distribution of this line, at least for the next few seasons, it certainly is possible that it is all off the peg yet still retaining the details of hand-finishing, floating canvas, etc. Thats the wave Brioni & Kiton have done it since they've gone to ready to wear.

 

[iammatt]

There must be one or two. Attolini? La Vera?

I know for sure that Attolini doesn't. I have never seen La Vera in real life, but Jan says that he has been to the factory and they do not as well.

The understanding I have, which may be way off, is that Cesare Attolini and Enrico Isaia were two of the head tailors at Kiton when they started out and that they come up with some special way of machine sewing a canvas to be softer than normal and that all of the offshoots, including La Vera, use the same basic method. Now this could be way, way off, but IIRC it is what I heard.

 

[Jovan]

Thats true, but that doesn't mean it's all bespoke, or even made-to-measure. Considering the limited distribution of this line, at least for the next few seasons, it certainly is possible that it is all off the peg yet still retaining the details of hand-finishing, floating canvas, etc. Thats the wave Brioni & Kiton have done it since they've gone to ready to wear.

I never claimed it was bespoke or even MTM.

 

[CharlestonBows]

Let me get this straight. This is an entirely bespoke line, right?

If not, this line is the greatest rip-off in the history of menswear. If not, BB are trying to attract the clientelle with too much money, With money to burn. Who don't care how much it costs, just so long as it's designed by the hip man of the moment.

To which I was refering with the MTM part.

 

[manton]

I know for sure that Attolini doesn't. I have never seen La Vera in real life, but Jan says that he has been to the factory and they do not as well.

The understanding I have, which may be way off, is that Cesare Attolini and Enrico Isaia were two of the head tailors at Kiton when they started out and that they come up with some special way of machine sewing a canvas to be softer than normal and that all of the offshoots, including La Vera, use the same basic method. Now this could be way, way off, but IIRC it is what I heard.

So in the entire world, is Oxxford now the only hand-sewn non-bespoke suit? Depressing.

 

[Jovan]

Dear Mr. xxxxxxxx:

Thank you for your interest in the Black Fleece Collection. Our Merchandising Team has informed me
that the Black Fleece Collection is not mass-manufactured.

Please contact us if you need further assistance.

Sincerely,
Doreen Donnelly
Customer Care
www.brooksbrothers.com

I wish they would have gone into more detail...

 

[herringbonekid]

Well, there is no Italian factory who puts in canvas by hand nowadays. Also, the buttonholes are machine stitched.

i'd love to know how it's possible to put in a floating canvas without the use of hand stitching. if anyone can explain please do.

 

[iammatt]

i'd love to know how it's possible to put in a floating canvas without the use of hand stitching. if anyone can explain please do.

They are put in with a blindstitch machine. This is what the inside of 99.9% of "floating canvas" jackets look like. All of the stitches are put in by machine.

 

[herringbonekid]

thanks ! i presume the machine mimics the tiny stitches you find on the back of lapels which just catch the fabric ?

by the way if anyone thinks Thom Browne's Black Fleece collection is expensive here are some prices from his own collection: cashmere tuxedo suit £15,300. vinyl trenchcoat £11,900. a bow tie is a mere snip at £140.

 

[MK]

.

He can keep them. As for Brooks Brothers....I enjoy their non-iron shirts and ties.

 

[Rooster]

vinyl trenchcoat £11,900.

MMMMM......vinyl trench coat, that's for me.lol

 

[iammatt]

thanks ! i presume the machine mimics the tiny stitches you find on the back of lapels which just catch the fabric ?

More or less. Grab a Kiton or Brioni or Zegna suit and look at the back of the lapels. I don't think they actually do a terrifically good job mimicking real hand padding, but others disagree.

 

[Jovan]

He can keep them. As for Brooks Brothers....I enjoy their non-iron shirts and ties.

Apparently their kids ties are about the same width as their regular ones, but more "vintage length" at 50" long AND cost less. Go figure!

 

[Orgetorix]

Apparently their kids ties are about the same width as their regular ones, but more "vintage length" at 50" long AND cost less. Go figure!

Not quite true. BB has two sizes of boys' ties. The smaller size is only suitable for very small boys. The larger of the boys' sizes is about the same width as (but shorter than) the BB University ties, which are narrower than the standard BB size.