I generally only part with money for beer. But when I do buy clothing I make damn sure it’s decent quality. Welcome to my review of ethical menswear available online. The good, the dishonest, and…
Andrew Fezza Navy Plaid Suit
Having altered, mended, cursed and handled so many online suits in my life I took the (sale) opportunity to preview a brand I quite like the aesthetic of. I purchased this fab suit off Amazon last year, and have been rocking it to no small amount of applause. You can pop over to Andrew Fezza’s homepage here, and see what he retails through Amazon here.
Although I wasn’t too impressed with the packaging when this suit arrived, I’m generally averse to over-packaged products anyway, and this was an end-of-rang purchase so I guess I’ll just bite my tongue and move right along.
10am – Martini-o-clock, just to calm the nerves
I love these Three Things
# 1-The plaid is so beautiful!! It’s just distinctive enough to stand out, while still giving you a classic solid colour throughout the suit. I’ll confess this weave is the number one reason I bought this suit, I just can’t stop looking at it!!
# 2 – The construction isn’t half bad for what you’re paying. I’m the first to admit when a garment is well made, and I’ve been seeing ever better suits produced by online retailers. Of course nothing can compete with a hand crafted floating chest piece, but for the price this suit is certainly well made.
16:00 pm – Another-beer-0-clock anyone?
# 3 – The cost is certainly affordable. Though this does come with it’s own issues, having an affordable suit option is a great way for men to enter the game when they’re just starting out. It also reduces the risk you’re facing when purchasing online in general.
I hate these Three Things
# 1 – The fit was a disaster. Although there’s really no way to ensure something fits correctly when purchasing online, this is a problem I see more often than I think reasonable. The jacket was baggy on me and had to be taken in, yet try as I might I couldn’t get into the pants. Even let out to within a millimeter of safety standards, they’re definitely too tight for me to keep anything comfortably in my pockets.
# 2 – There’s little to no information about the sustainable practices of the brand anywhere on their website or labels. Of course I’m not expecting too much from a Polyester / Rayanno blend, but in 2017 you’d expect at least a little effort to be more transparent.
# 3 – The product description was inaccurate, which I’d say is a bit of an issue when retailing online. The pants are certainly not flat fronts (which can be seen on the amazon image so how this hasn’t been picked up idk) and they’re not semi-lined.
22:00 – How are there so many fashionable options! Even fashion vodka!!
+0…Which is a somewhat odd score but Hey Whatever
Since this is my only ‘normal’ suit, I wear it quit a bit and never fail to feel spiffy. Of course I had to add some shweshwe details to the hems just for fun, and after the alterations I’m happy enough with its fit.
The fabric, although synthetic, is comfortable and breathes well, and stains are pretty easy to remove. I’ll say again that I don’t outright disapprove of purchasing suits online, especially on a tight budget. I’ve altered so many of these suits and honestly feel it fairly distributes the love between the off-the-peg retailers and the tailors that alter the garments after purchase.
You can grab Andrew Fezza’s Navy Plaid Suit here, and check out the rest of his collection here.
What do you guys think of this suit? Fabulous enough to include a trip to the tailor to make it wearable? Or do the sustainability concerns outweigh the benefits of having a suit?
Andrew Fezza Men’s Navy Plaid 2 Button Slim Fit Suit with Notch Lapel
The Studio is at 625 Levinia Street, Garsfontein, and open every Thursday from 10am to 10pm. You can also subscribe to this blog by hitting the follow button, and join the monthly newsletter here for fashion scandal and exclusive designs.
The Green Tailor 
I have had a theory for a very long time human hands are pretty much the same human hands. Yes, that seems to go without saying! But determining quality of most anything has more to it than the hands that make it. Suits or any clothing has an aspect of style, knowledge of construction, tradition, skill in making, and judgement. Hands which do the sewing and cutting must have the training and knowledge involved in all aspects of making a suit or any clothing for it to come out right. The design and cutting probably account for 75% of how it comes out, assuming the hands sewing it together are trained skilled in that to do the other 25% perfect. Perfection in assembly is not absolute but a combination of skill, knowledge, and judgment in the craft, but knowledge how to achieve a particular effect even with some error and how much is acceptable and where it is acceptable is part of a tradition. So without experience in the product it is a crap shoot with the odds against you! Particularly in clothing. Young, thin and in shape bodies can overcome many of the evils in clothing, but old, fat and out of shape bodies need all the help we can get! That’s the hell of it…
“Le diable et le Bon Dieu – The devil and the good Lord
Peuvent dormer tranquilles – Can sleep peacefully
L’enfer c’est d’être deux – Hell is to be both
Et le ciel est fragile” – And heaven is fragile
Lyrics, Je t’aime avec ma peau –
Francis Lai et Catherine Desage” pseudonyme – nom de plum {Jeanne Antionette Parel}
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