Looking for That Spectacular Sport Coat

April 5, 2007 7:27 AM

NewYorkMen'sFashionFilter: Can anyone recommend places to buy nice and interesting sport coats in Manhattan?

I am looking for something well-made and an interesting fabric. Most sport coats are run-of-the-mill with strips or no pattern at all. I'm looking for something a bit more interesting but stylish. Price range: up to about $800 or so (I would consider something more expensive if it's an amazing coat).

I don't buy suits and sport coats often but when I do I like it to be something special. I don't want to stand out in a crowd, just a bit above it. ;-)

posted by Taken Outtacontext to clothing, beauty, & fashion (19 comments total)

Barney's Coop (5th floor in the 61st street building)

Paul Smith on 5th and 18 (or 16, can't remember).

Bergdorf Goodman 3rd Floor Men's on 5th and 59th.

APC in Soho (Between Prince and Spring but I can't remember the street - Greene)

John Varvatos in Soho

Bloomingdales on Broadway in Soho

Seize Sur Vingt on Elizabeth between Prince and Houston (both the bespoke store and the showroom further north with the 70s italian sports car in the window)

Jeffrey's on 14th in the Meat Packing District (towards the end on the North Side - I think it's like almost 11th Ave)

Prada of course in Soho

Theory store in the Meat Packing district.

Here are brands you should be looking at:

APC, Theory, Stewart Alan, Miu Miu, Dries Van Noten, Ralph Lauren Black Label

That should get you started. Good luck. You will have FUN!
posted by spicynuts at 7:58 AM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Oh shit for something really interesting I would go with Commes Des Garcons. Available at Barney's, Bergdorf, Blommie's, Saks 5th Ave.
posted by spicynuts at 7:59 AM on April 5, 2007

Sorry I got really excited for you and just blurted all that out..I forgot to say that the 4th floor in Barney's is where all the really cool couture stuff is like Commes Des Garcons, Dries, Burberry Prorsum, Dior, Yohji Yamamoto and Jil Sander are. If your build is anything but svelte (i.e. - emaciated - you may want to stay away from that floor but it's so fun!)

At the Coop on the 5th floor look for Neil Barrett too.
posted by spicynuts at 8:04 AM on April 5, 2007

Brooks brothers on Madison Avenue has rack after rack of "interesting" sport coats (I think on the third floor). You can find patterns of many sorts there.

You might also check out the Filene's Basement circa 86th and Broadway on the UWS.

The truth is that there actually are lots of quality "interesting" sport coats available from mainstream stores. It's just that most guys don't have the guts to wear them. I have, for example, a bright blue corduroy blazer that I bought at J. Crew about a year and a half ago. I love it, I've never seen anyone else wearing one, and yet there they were on the rack at what is probably one of the most popular J. Crew stores in the country. Maybe the rest were eventually worn on yachts in the vicinity of Martha's Vineyard, or something.

Your $800 price range puts you well above what you need for a quality sport coat. I do have a Canali blazer that I paid about that much for, but generally at that price I'd think about just buying a suit and wearing the jacket separately sometimes. But if money isn't an issue, go to Bergdorf Goodman's, near the southern edge of Central Park. There you can find jackets branded as "exclusive," i.e. it's understood at a glance that most people cannot afforded them. And that can be "interesting" too.

Also, the weather is getting warmer, and we're going to start seeing some light-weather blazers offered at all the above locations. Those tend to stand out a bit just because they're made of silk, not wool. Wear one on a hot day with a linen shirt, and people will start commenting on it like crazy, the real reason being that it's too hot for them to wear the wool stuff they have at home, and they're frustrated by the conflict between their desire to wear a jacket and the conservative force that prevents them from buying a silk one.
posted by bingo at 8:08 AM on April 5, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'll add Steven Alan to spicynuts list, but it leans to the casual side.
posted by lovejones at 8:08 AM on April 5, 2007

Some comments on bingo's post:

Brooks Brothers - I love them because they will never go out of style, but until this year, when Thome Browne designed a new line for them, I would never call them "interesting". High quality, well fitting, timeless, elegant, yes.

Your $800 price range puts you well above what you need for a quality sport coat.

It depends on what you mean by quailty. To me, part of quality is fit and detail. Below the 500 dollar mark, you are going to sacrifice fit, and will probably need a tailor to go from 'nice coat' to 'damn you look good'. Above 500, the odds increase that what you get off the rack will work. Your build is important in this. I am athletic with wide shoulders and therefore certain brands I can't wear ever (Dior, Valentino) but others I can get a size or so bigger and tailor down. If you meet the current 'in' build (you've seen a sandwich, but you can't quite remember what they taste like) then the odds are very much better that off the rack at 800 dollars will work for you.
posted by spicynuts at 8:19 AM on April 5, 2007

I'll add Steven Alan to spicynuts list, but it leans to the casual side.

Crap...I always screw that up - when I said Stewart Alan above, I meant Steven Alan.

I should probably shut up now.
posted by spicynuts at 8:20 AM on April 5, 2007

Wow, that should really keep me busy. I'm not svelte. I'm a 42R and like less structured coats (I don't like the seam they put on the front panels of coats to make them a bit more fitted).

Of course, I'd like to pay less than $800 (money is an object, I'm far from well-heeled) but I didn't want to rule out anything. I love good quality and good taste.

What I'd really like is a coat I saw Stanley Tucci wear in the Devil Wears Prada: a sublte fleck material. Here's a AskMeFi query I posted last year with a pic. I've been to Saks and Neiman's here in DC with photo in hand and they couldn't find something like this.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 8:21 AM on April 5, 2007

In that case, Taken, you can definitely go to Brooks Brothers. I'm a 42R (52/50 European). Brooks Brothers will fit you nicely off the rack. You should be able to find a coat like that there.
posted by spicynuts at 8:48 AM on April 5, 2007

spicynuts: He's defining "normal" as "run-of-the-mill with strip[e]s or no pattern at all." So by that standard, Brooks Brothers has tons of "interesting" jackets.

Below the 500 dollar mark, you are going to sacrifice fit, and will probably need a tailor to go from 'nice coat' to 'damn you look good'.

Getting a jacket tailored is just part of the expense of owning it, no matter how much you paid for it off the rack. The more I spend on something, the more likely I am to get it tailored. It's an investment, and you want that investment to pay off.

I too am 42R! I reiterate: Filene's Basement on 86th and Broadway. They have a constantly shifting selection of name-brand jackets, at discounted prices, and there's a "fit specialist" there who basically does nothing except walk around and give people advice about how good they look in particular suits or jackets (his name is Mark, and he walks around with a tape measure around his neck).
posted by bingo at 9:13 AM on April 5, 2007

Spicynuts, I thought Brooks Brothers was pretty conservative. Is this a special BB? ;-)

bingo, Filene's huh. Ok, will do.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 9:26 AM on April 5, 2007

Michael Bastian at Bergdorf Goodman. He makes Americana preppy circa 1960. It is stuff that will last, looks good forever and is edgy enough to be seen as designer. J. Crew, Ralph Lauren, et al try to do this look but in my experience their quality is one season wear at best.

I like Valentino and Dior, but I'm skinny enough for them. Prada is better about this. I guess I have the current "in" look, which is funny because about five years ago I was at a loss when Brooks Brothers and all the other stores made me look like I was a little kid putting on his dad's clothes. Finally those of us with broad shoulders and flat stomachs are given the credence we deserve!
posted by geoff. at 9:51 AM on April 5, 2007

Rothman's.

Oh and before you drop any cash at the Theory store, check out their little-known employee store (which is open to the public, but not at all advertised as such). West side of 5th, just north of 42nd - it looks like an office entrance but you take the stairs to the second floor and there you are: Theory stuff at 50% off the ticket price - get the same blazer for half the price and give the rest to charity.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:11 AM on April 5, 2007

alikindsoftime, I did a google on Theory and it looks like they just sell women's things. Do you have a link?
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 10:29 AM on April 5, 2007

I have no idea about Rothman's, but Theory suits can be seen here, which seems to be down at the moment.
posted by geoff. at 10:35 AM on April 5, 2007

Taken Outtacontext: Brooks Brothers is "conservative" in the sense that most of the stuff you can find there can be worked into an outfit that would be considered "classic." But that's actually pretty broad, as "classic" spans multiple eras, seasons, and lifestyles. It's all about the context in which you wear it. A seersucker jacket is "conservative" in the right context, but if you work in a place where nobody else wears them, you'll definitely stand out (er, just wear it with the right outfit, between Memorial Day and Labor Day, etc.). That's a semi-extreme example...but you'll be surprised by how much "unusual" stuff you'll find there.
posted by bingo at 10:36 AM on April 5, 2007

I would start by trying Ina Men on Mott St. - it's a couture consignment store and you might well find last season's Prada or Dries jackets for well less than $800 - and don't be timid about bargaining. I got a great Varvatos suit there for $500, and lots of stretchy Prada shirts for $80 each that would have been $300 new.

The good tailors downtown are Ramon on Mott and Hong Kong Tailor Jack on Waverly. (I'll bet that Jack will make you a jacket in patterned Super 120 wool for less than $800.)
posted by nicwolff at 11:33 AM on April 5, 2007

Spicynuts, I thought Brooks Brothers was pretty conservative. Is this a special BB? ;-)

I don't mean to be rude, honestly, but there is nothing 'non' conservative about the jacket in that picture. In fact, the trouble you might run into is that it is kind of, well, not in style. But it is a standard type and Brooks Brothers might have something like it. If not, the Filene's Basement mentioned above should have it.
posted by spicynuts at 11:35 AM on April 5, 2007

alikindsoftime, I did a google on Theory and it looks like they just sell women's things. Do you have a link?

Theory is primarily a women's line but they do a smaller men's line, which is just as high quality as the women's. I have some of their stuff - granted I haven't been to the store in a year or more so there's a chance they moved out of men's, but I doubt it.

I just googled and came up with a sample sale this weekend! Not the same location, but I'll see you there.
posted by allkindsoftime at 10:24 AM on April 6, 2007