# Burberry Suits - Any Good?



## Mike147 (Jan 15, 2006)

I've seen a few suits in Syms recently that are Burberry - Made in the USA. Does anyone have any info on these suits? Are they high quality? Fully or partially canvassed? 

They also had a few blue blazers by Burberry - also said Made in the USA...

I must say that the Syms on Trinity Place had a very poor selection - I'm always on the hunt for HSM Golden Trumpeter and Hickey Freeman but just didn't see much there. I might give the Park Avenue store a try - I've had much better luck with Park Ave in the past. 

Thanks, Mike


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## johnpark11 (Oct 19, 2009)

No sure on their suits, but I always buy Burberry shirts and fine them to be of very high quality! I don;t think Burberry is made in the USA though?


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## //Michael (Jul 29, 2008)

I've seen quite a few of these at Saks off-fifth--Made in USA--don't know what to think...


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## Lookingforaclue (Nov 10, 2005)

Mike147 said:


> I've seen a few suits in Syms recently that are Burberry - Made in the USA. Does anyone have any info on these suits? Are they high quality? Fully or partially canvassed?
> 
> They also had a few blue blazers by Burberry - also said Made in the USA...
> 
> ...


Until a couple of years ago, Hickey-Freeman made Burberry "Made in the USA" suits and blazers. I have no idea when this began. HF still has some Burberry-labeled clothing in its factory store. All that I have seen appear to be made to the same standard as the HF Ltd. which is to say they are fused, but quite well made.

SRW


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## Checkerboard 13 (Oct 6, 2009)

I have one Burberry "Made in USA" suit at the tailor at the moment. 
It is nice for a lower-priced suit, but _is _fused. 
Interestingly, my tailor says that of all the items I brought in at the same time (the Burberry suit, an Ermenegildo Zegna suit, a Raffaele Caruso suit and an Armani sport jacket) the Burberry was the most difficult to work on.


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## The Louche (Jan 30, 2008)

As of about 6 months ago H-F was indeed still making all of Burberry's suits. This included two lines, the main "Burberry" line and the "Burberry 'London'" line. The main line suits were made to approximately the same standard as H-F's self-label main line and were fully canvassed - very nice suits. The 'London' line were made to approximately the same standard as H-F's recent 'Ltd.' line and were fused - decent suits when bought at discount but not nearly as nice as the main line suits. I have one of the 'London' suits. It's about 5 years old and, while it still looks OK, the elbows and seat have recently become quite shiny and the lining is *TERRIBLE* - it started breaking down when the suit was only about 2 years old. I have continued to wear the suit, but it won't last much longer b/c the lining has gotten so bad (it has large holes in it).

All of this said, I think the advantage of buying a Burberry suit is for the proprietary cut. They are likely the easiest way to obtain a nice British sillhouette. The main line suits are quite nice and should last a long time; you'll still get the same cut with a 'London" suit, but don't expect it to hold up more than a few years in moderate rotation.


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## dmac (Jun 30, 2006)

HSM owned the rights to the Burberrys (with an "s" at the end) label in the US and H-F did indeed make the suits. I own one and it is basically a slightly lesser quality H-F. My local mens store notified customers that the rights to the name have been sold back to the real (no longer an "s" at the end) Burberry (probably part of the HSM restructuring), however stores that carry the HSM Burberrys are, at least for now, offering substantial discounts on Burberrys MTM because HSM wants to get rid of reams of cloth. For more info, contact your hometown traditional mens clothier.


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## thefancyman (Apr 24, 2009)

From what I understand Burberry only sells two lines of suits in the US, Burberry London and Burberry Prorsum. As far as I know Hickey Freeman manufactures the Burberry London suits at their factory in Rochester, NY and the suits are half-canvassed. The most recent label is a white rectangle with Burberry and London in navy blue lettering. The previous label was inverted and was navy blue with white lettering. The old label which was discontinued in 1999 was a blue rectangle with the Prorsum Knight and the logo "Burberry's" in white but this is no longer used on their suits. I was at the Nordstrom in the Short Hills Mall in October and the Burberry suits that they had in stock were still made in the USA. 

Burberry Prorsum is their designer line sold in Burberry boutiques and high-end department stores like Saks and Neimen's. It is designed by head-designer Christopher Bailey for runway collections that are re-designed per season. The suits are manufactured by Belvest in Italy and are fully canvassed.


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## The Louche (Jan 30, 2008)

thefancyman said:


> From what I understand Burberry only sells two lines of suits in the US, Burberry London and Burberry Prorsum. As far as I know Hickey Freeman manufactures the Burberry London suits at their factory in Rochester, NY and the suits are half-canvassed. The most recent label is a white rectangle with Burberry and London in navy blue lettering. The previous label was inverted and was navy blue with white lettering. The old label which was discontinued in 1999 was a blue rectangle with the Prorsum Knight and the logo "Burberry's" in white but this is no longer used on their suits. I was at the Nordstrom in the Short Hills Mall in October and the Burberry suits that they had in stock were still made in the USA.
> 
> Burberry Prorsum is their designer line sold in Burberry boutiques and high-end department stores like Saks and Neimen's. It is designed by head-designer Christopher Bailey for runway collections that are re-designed per season. The suits are manufactured by Belvest in Italy and are fully canvassed.


The last time I was in my local Burberry (Tyson's Corner, VA) there were definitely non-Prorsum suits that were fully canvassed. I asked the manager if they were made by H-F and he confirmed that they were. This was about 6 months ago. This store was also selling fused London suits at the time.


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## Mike147 (Jan 15, 2006)

Not sure I can differentiate what they have in Syms - and no one that works there knows whether they are selling something that is fused, half or fully-canvassed. Guess I'm just stay on the look out for HF and HSM Golden...


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## Lookingforaclue (Nov 10, 2005)

dmac said:


> HSM owned the rights to the Burberrys (with an "s" at the end) label in the US and H-F did indeed make the suits.


Both my suit and blazer are labeled Burberry London and are HF made.

SRW


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## smr (Apr 24, 2005)

Mike147 said:


> Not sure I can differentiate what they have in Syms - and no one that works there knows whether they are selling something that is fused, half or fully-canvassed. Guess I'm just stay on the look out for HF and HSM Golden...


The only ones I've seen at Syms have been made similar to HF Ltd., and were "1/2 canvassed." I cannot remember off the top of my head whether they just have a canvassed lapel or whether the canvas extends into the upper part of the body, too, but the lower part of the jacket's body is fused. A canvassed lapel gives the lapel a nice roll and makes it softer looking, and when the canvas extends into the body, it makes the body of the jacket soft and helps it mold to your body to a degree. Decent suits, and they can be a great value at Syms, especially if on "dividend" (Syms lingo for a discount off their regular price).


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## peterc (Oct 25, 2007)

Though I have never owned a Burberry suit, I can tell you that the 2 pieces of clothing (a pair of moleskin pants - with a nice flannelly lining - and a navy bomber length wool/cashmere zip front jacket) are 2 of the best made, long lasting, just plain nicest pieces I own. I bought these in Cadiz, Spain in 2000. 

All I can say is that the Burberry you buy in the USA is completely different and made by different companies than what you can get overseas.


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## Mike147 (Jan 15, 2006)

smr said:


> The only ones I've seen at Syms have been made similar to HF Ltd., and were "1/2 canvassed." I cannot remember off the top of my head whether they just have a canvassed lapel or whether the canvas extends into the upper part of the body, too, but the lower part of the jacket's body is fused. A canvassed lapel gives the lapel a nice roll and makes it softer looking, and when the canvas extends into the body, it makes the body of the jacket soft and helps it mold to your body to a degree. Decent suits, and they can be a great value at Syms, especially if on "dividend" (Syms lingo for a discount off their regular price).


They are $500 at Syms now minus $30... I can get some Brooks 1818 now for about $500 and have a place to go back to with complaints 

Syms on Park Ave has a pretty good selection of suits right now (went yesterday) but nothing I really needed jumped out at me.

How much of a discount do you get with the 'Dividend?'


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## Luis-F-S (Apr 6, 2009)

I have a Burberry sports coat that I bought from the HF outlet earlier this year. They told me that they would not be carrying Burberry in the future.


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## Mike147 (Jan 15, 2006)

OK - I've officially given-up on the Burberry Suits at Syms for now... Brooks Bros 1818 Regent for $170 on clearance - getting tailored now. Thanks again for all of your advice. Mike147


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## DCLawyer68 (Jun 1, 2009)

Mike147 said:


> OK - I've officially given-up on the Burberry Suits at Syms for now... Brooks Bros 1818 Regent for $170 on clearance - getting tailored now. Thanks again for all of your advice. Mike147


Mike - good choice.

Burberry's is primarily a women's store that is monetizing its name and reputation when it comes to men's clothes.


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## Leighton (Nov 16, 2009)

So thats why they are so famous!

I've examined all their products at Nordstroms and have been extremely put off by the ridiculous prices they are asking. I am pretty sure their suits are fused too. Or at best, half canvassed. Was very disappointed in them for the price they want.


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## jamezzz122 (Dec 26, 2009)

Yeah the stores that are local to me only carry the casual men's clothing. I wanted to check out their suits but had to have them ordered in because they do not have them on hand. I did buy some of their dress shirts and I am a fan of those. They're polos are nice too. I would have liked to check out their suit if I could have. The cut and fit they have in their catalogs and adverstisements seem like something that would interest me.


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## waltj (Oct 9, 2005)

Mike147 said:


> OK - I've officially given-up on the Burberry Suits at Syms for now... Brooks Bros 1818 Regent for $170 on clearance - getting tailored now. Thanks again for all of your advice. Mike147


Love hearing about find great deals on fine apparel. Tell us more about how you scored this deal?


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## Mad Hatter (Jul 13, 2008)

IIRC, that was one of possibly two suits from last years' stock in some sort of stripe. It went down to that price a few days after Christmas. They even had some shell cordovan shoes around Thanksgiving for about that money, but in one style/color/limited sizes. 

Also go to a BB factory store and get on their mailing list. You can periodically find their retail suits at that price range. Generally avoid the "346"-branded goods and stick to retail NOS.


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## stevejacobsit (Jan 15, 2010)

If you're going to spend that kind of money, there are many other brands that make better suits. I also think they are fused and not canvassed.


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Burberry is a traditional maker that has decided, for clear financial reasons, to make themselves into a fashion house. I prefer not to deal with companies that make that choice. Remember, fashion is for fools, and designers are for women.


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## jamgood (Feb 8, 2006)

jamezzz122 said:


> I did buy some of their dress shirts and I am a fan of those.


Made by Gitman

If H-F has relinquished the U.S. Burberry tailored clothing license don't be surprised if future U.S. made tailored clothing is by H. Freeman & Son/English-American. Both Gitman and H.F. & S./E-A are www.individualizedapparel.com H. Freeman used to make Aquascutum suits/sport coats for the U.S. market.


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## dwebber18 (Jun 5, 2008)

I picked up 2 nice looking Burberry suits for $10 each thrifting and I felt that was a very good deal. For what thats worth. They both had a nice feel to them, and the patterns were quite nice as well. I would have liked them at a higher price as well, but once you start heading toward $300 I would start to look elsewhere. Ofcourse I don't know the date of mine or exactly who made them so that would make a difference.


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