SPIER & MACKAY - Official Affiliate Thread

[tomm94]

Not to be too negative but does anyone else feel like the bloom is off the rose with S&M these days? I feel like a little while back it was the StyleForum brand but not so much these days. I still check the site regularly but I don’t see much on the new arrivals anymore that feels “must-buy” like I might’ve even a year ago; the styling feels a little directionless lately, the price points have shot up to the point where it’s a little harder to justify buying-on-sight and there’s always pretty glaring complaints on here around customer service and sizing etc etc.
I also feel like not regularly restocking a core offering hurts them. There’s no point checking anywhere else on the site besides New Arrivals because the rest of the site just feels like a bargain bin of things in odd sizes that haven’t shifted.
I hope they’re able to turn it around because they really were my favourite brand for classic menswear.

 

[tmckay2]

Not to be too negative but does anyone else feel like the bloom is off the rose with S&M these days? I feel like a little while back it was the StyleForum brand but not so much these days. I still check the site regularly but I don’t see much on the new arrivals anymore that feels “must-buy” like I might’ve even a year ago; the styling feels a little directionless lately, the price points have shot up to the point where it’s a little harder to justify buying-on-sight and there’s always pretty glaring complaints on here around customer service and sizing etc etc.
I also feel like not regularly restocking a core offering hurts them. There’s no point checking anywhere else on the site besides New Arrivals because the rest of the site just feels like a bargain bin of things in odd sizes that haven’t shifted.
I hope they’re able to turn it around because they really were my favourite brand for classic menswear.

My biggest thing is being out of stock on the core stuff. I'd have WAY more spier stuff if I could reliably log in and they have suits in 38r and 32 pants. I get some funds to use and have yo wait 6 months for a navy 38r suit. By then I've moved on.

I've had good luck with their customer service. Slow, sure, but they always seem sincerely interested to help and fix whatever problem I have. For a small outfit I'm ok with that. I would agree the designs are sort of all over the place. I know they want diversity of options but I feel like until you can reliably have your staples in stock it's a bit of a waste to branch out into niche items. But I also don't run a business.

 

[XxLogo]

Unfortunately it is, and I waited closer to 3 months to receive it.

Wouldn't you of paid extra for this full canvas too???

 

[Nitrogen]

I would be livid. @SpierTeam

I sent them an email, hoping for a fast resolution.

I also checked the details of this order and I actually ordered this as a VBC charcoal flannel already June 14. I got contacted in August about the fabric being no longer available and agreed to switch to VBC green flannel. The suit was finally shipped October 14 - quite the wait!

 

[JTrent82]

I need some fit advice gentlemen. Is the 36 Short *too* short?

 

[Click821]

I need some fit advice gentlemen. Is the 36 Short *too* short?

Length looks good to me. Sleeves are good, rear covers yours. Nothing but positive feedback here

 

[An Acute Style]

I need some fit advice gentlemen. Is the 36 Short *too* short?

I would say it’s a touch short for a suit. You could maybe get away with this as a sport coat. It would look better IMO if the jacket came an inch or more past the fork of your trousers. Right now the jacket ends right at the fork.

 

[JTrent82]

I would say it’s a touch short for a suit. You could maybe get away with this as a sport coat. It would look better IMO if the jacket came an inch or more past the fork of your trousers. Right now the jacket ends right at the fork.

I'll probably send the trousers back. I don't see myself wearing this as a suit in any context. Here's some pics with denim:

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

Unfortunately it is, and I waited closer to 3 months to receive it.

I would be livid. @SpierTeam

@Nitrogen before jumping to conclusions, did you only do a touch test, or did you actually look? On the inside of the jacket, since it is only partly lined, you should be able to carefully lift the inner layer of material to see the canvas underneath.

Semi-relevant: My MTO from July arrived late but arrived nonetheless today. Exactly how I imagined it and fits and feels great. Just wanted to add some optimism to counter the recent tone in this thread, although this was a plain old POW suit, which SM has generally been quite good at. So maybe that's the key, is to just double down on their core competency and avoid questionable things like that double breasted sweater than only @1st Step is sexy enough to pull off. But then again, I'm just a schmuck on the internet, and I don't know anything about running a small to medium sized internet business except that everyone says "Quickbooks," "CRM," "Q3 slump" and "yea but now we need a new vendor...." a lot.

 

[sydneycider]

Not to be too negative but does anyone else feel like the bloom is off the rose with S&M these days? I feel like a little while back it was the StyleForum brand but not so much these days. I still check the site regularly but I don’t see much on the new arrivals anymore that feels “must-buy” like I might’ve even a year ago; the styling feels a little directionless lately, the price points have shot up to the point where it’s a little harder to justify buying-on-sight and there’s always pretty glaring complaints on here around customer service and sizing etc etc.
I also feel like not regularly restocking a core offering hurts them. There’s no point checking anywhere else on the site besides New Arrivals because the rest of the site just feels like a bargain bin of things in odd sizes that haven’t shifted.
I hope they’re able to turn it around because they really were my favourite brand for classic menswear.

I think what hurts them is that they just throw whatever at the wall and see what sticks. I wish they had a more "considered" collection of core (restocked) and seasonal pieces rather than producing a million things. Think brands like Natalino or The Armoury, they're very careful about what they release and it creates respect for the brand. I still think S&M is the best value for money in CM, but often hard to uphold as a "good" brand.

 

[milktoast]

Not to be too negative but does anyone else feel like the bloom is off the rose with S&M these days? I feel like a little while back it was the StyleForum brand but not so much these days. I still check the site regularly but I don’t see much on the new arrivals anymore that feels “must-buy” like I might’ve even a year ago; the styling feels a little directionless lately, the price points have shot up to the point where it’s a little harder to justify buying-on-sight and there’s always pretty glaring complaints on here around customer service and sizing etc etc.
I also feel like not regularly restocking a core offering hurts them. There’s no point checking anywhere else on the site besides New Arrivals because the rest of the site just feels like a bargain bin of things in odd sizes that haven’t shifted.
I hope they’re able to turn it around because they really were my favourite brand for classic menswear.

The fall-off of the brand has become an evergreen topic on this thread of late. Might be the second or third time it's been raised in the past two months. It's been posed through three-ish angles:
1) Customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Long response times appear to be the biggest flag;
2) Product selection has been questionable. Boils down to a lot favorites (core items) rarely being in stock or new items being introduced that aren't received favorably;
3) Product QC is iffy. Sizing is inconsistent on some items – chinos come to mind here, though have seen complaints about other items. Could also throw the misrepresentative size charts in here.

Like @stuffedsuperdud , I don't run a clothing business, but I've been around (and consulted for) folks who run businesses long enough to know that a big part of survival is to get the basics right. Unfortunately, it feels like the brand could be missing the mark on some of those. Personally, I've started considering looking into other menswear brands to buy my basics from since S&M's stock has been spotty for my size and sizing has been a little inconsistent.

Now, to be fair to Rick and the team, we were spoiled by them having a consistent presence on this thread, which allowed us to have somewhat of a view into their upcoming products and constraints, as well as general frank dialogue. That time came and went as the business expanded in the last two or so years. We have no insight into S&M's sales, supply chains, how representative the Styleforum crowd is of their "average" customer, etc – so it's a little difficult for us to make any solid conclusions about the health of the company or tell them what they should do. For all we know, we may only represent 7% of their clientele and with the brand's growth the focus may have shifted elsewhere. It's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes in business.

Still, I agree with the folks here that the attributes that once attracted me to the brand have been diluting over time, which is a shame since they've been an immense influence in my foray into classic menswear.

(However, I will continue haunting the website for a chance at their charcoal balmacaan...)

 

[Nitrogen]

@Nitrogen before jumping to conclusions, did you only do a touch test, or did you actually look? On the inside of the jacket, since it is only partly lined, you should be able to carefully lift the inner layer of material to see the canvas underneath.

Of course.

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

Of course.

That sucks then. I'm sure they'll be reasonable though. In my n = 1 experience with a botched MTO that is technically wearable but would still require a remake to bring it to spec, they'll probably refund you the extra $ you paid for making it full-canvas and then offer you something like $70 in store credit to go away and not bug them about a remake. I took the settlement money and turned it into a few polo shirts, so I don't know how uphill the fight is beyond that. VBC flannel doesn't really need full canvasing to keep its shape, and I'm really averse about turning my clothes enthusiasm into a headache, so I'd probably just not bother fighting beyond that, but YMMV.

 

[dapperclassic]

I need some fit advice gentlemen. Is the 36 Short *too* short?

I would try a 36R so that the length falls past the crotch of the trouser, you will also get a slightly lower button stance with a regular length.

 

[St1X]

That sucks then. I'm sure they'll be reasonable though. In my n = 1 experience with a botched MTO that is technically wearable but would still require a remake to bring it to spec, they'll probably refund you the extra $ you paid for making it full-canvas and then offer you something like $70 in store credit to go away and not bug them about a remake. I took the settlement money and turned it into a few polo shirts, so I don't know how uphill the fight is beyond that. VBC flannel doesn't really need full canvasing to keep its shape, and I'm really averse about turning my clothes enthusiasm into a headache, so I'd probably just not bother fighting beyond that, but YMMV.

There is most likely fusing there on the whole chest piece and that warrants a full remake for me. You don't want to take 70 $ and settle on a jacket that might develop fusing bubbles in the future