# Alexandre of London at AAFES



## rtoth (Apr 5, 2007)

Anyone familiar with the Alexandre line that is sold in some Army Air Force Exhanges? I was in the Fort Belvoir exchange today and they were advertising $500 off MTM suits bringing the cost down to ~$650. What turned me off was when I asked the salesman if their suits were fully canvassed - he told me that no one makes fully canvassed suits anymore because most dry cleaners don't know how to handle them and that the canvas will shrink. After reading most posts on these fora, I was ready to call bs on this guy and decided not to go with any of their suits. Anyone have any experience with them? Was this guy just clueless or are all of their MTM suits (which he said normally cost ~$1500 to $2000) all fused?!


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## jcriswel (Sep 16, 2006)

Do you think this is the same company?

https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/directory/1197/26360.php

AAFES contracts with many OEM clothing manufacturing companies. Some of their arrangements are private label. That is, the clothing manufacturer has their own brand, but they will make clothes for AAFES and let them sell it under their brand (Alexandre of London?). I have never heard of the company, but it sounds like you can find fully canvassed suits elsewhere for less. Try Hickey Freeman MTM. Nordstroms is having an anniversary sale right now and you can get a $1,600 fully canvassed MTM suit in a nice Loro Piana fabric for 33% off. Sounds better than your AAFES deal.


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## maxnharry (Dec 3, 2004)

Alexandre is a tenant merchant in the AAFES exchanges. They have a salesman who takes measurements and fabrics selections and they then produce an MTM garment. From conversations with one of their saleslmen, they make their stuff in Poland and it is fully or partially fused. 

As far as the fused comment by the salesman-it is not true. There are plenty of folks still making canvassed suits, but he was in the ballpark on the price. If I were you, I would look elsewhere. You can do much better on a fused suit and if you want to move to MTM, I would insist on canvas.


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## chang (Feb 16, 2006)

I don't think AAFES really is the place to go for a MTM suit. The displays at Sam and Lewis didn't really impress me, and generally the goods for Alexandre London seem to be kind of tacky. Their OTR suits are nothing special compared to regular cheap fused suits from regular department store. It might sell well to soldiers, because it's probably still lightyears ahead of our class A uniform in comfort and quality. Maybe their MTM program is different, but I highly doubt it. The truth is that most Army soldiers, including the officers, have awful taste in clothing. Many go as far as wearing their plastic Bates shoes with their civilian suits. Here's an example, they put Allen Edmonds Park Avenues and Chesters on sale to liquidate their stock at $110-$165 (firsts, not seconds) and they still took probably six months to sell them. I bought a couple pairs at this steal of a price, and the girl at the cash register remarked that these were ridiculously expensive and wondered if there was a computer glitch in the price. Now my PX doesn't even carry AE because they don't sell well.


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## Bonhamesque (Sep 5, 2005)

I don't know if we're talking about the same company but the Alexandre of London that's on Savile Row is owned by BMB (Baird Menswear Brands) and my experience of BMB has not been good over the years.
It's a MOR MTM effectively.


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## citizenk (Apr 8, 2005)

*Alexandere @ Ft. Meyer PX*

I just bought a suit from Alexandre at the Ft. Meyer PX and the quality is OK for the price - but nothing more than that. Do not think that you are going to get a hand-canvassed Saville Row quality suit for $600. Especially at the PX.

Richard, the salesman is OK, but there is a lot he does not know about fine men's clothing. Yes, he did BS you with the shrinking canvas story.

I had problems with the suit I bought that had to be adjusted before I would accept it (and the sleeves still aren't perfect), and I am uncertain if I would ever buy from Alexandre again. The fabric is qute nice (Holland & Sherry, etc.) but the cut of the suit and the manufactured in Egypt quality leaves a bit to be desired.

OBTW: they won't do sleeve buttonholes either.

But, for everyday wear at the Pentagon, it is an OK suit.

Your decision, but I think I would rather go with a HF or HSM from Nordstrom Rack out at Potamac Mills next time...


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## pt4u67 (Apr 27, 2006)

Marshall Field's on State Street (M**'s now) has an Alexandre boutique. There suits are constantly at 50% and appear a bit too fashion forward with too many bells and whistles. They also come with pre-set functioning buttonholes on the sleeves making it a challenge to fit the sleeves. 

With a bit of searching one could do much better.


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## Mike147 (Jan 15, 2006)

Got one when I got out of the Army in 1998 - it sucked. Stay away


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## rtoth (Apr 5, 2007)

*Not convinced*

After the conversation with the salesman, I decided there was no way I would buy a suit from them! So, I went to STP and bought a fully canvassed Samuelsohn for $550 (already on sale + a discount code) - just waiting for it to arrive!


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## maxnharry (Dec 3, 2004)

rtoth said:


> After the conversation with the salesman, I decided there was no way I would buy a suit from them! So, I went to STP and bought a fully canvassed Samuelsohn for $550 (already on sale + a discount code) - just waiting for it to arrive!


Awesome! Nice find with the Sammy!


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## Joel (Jul 23, 2007)

I used to work for BMB, the parent company of Alexandre of London, some of their suits are ok, but only some. The fabrics they choose are generally an aquired taste, buy them in sale if you are going to purchase them. I would definately stay away from their MTM, they are made in Egypt, they used to be made in Romania and they normally, from what I have seen have been terrible. If the salesman tells you they are made in Goole in Yorkshire, he is wrong, they pass through there, thats it.

If you are looking to buy a suit in that price range, about £500.00 go for a different manufacturer. I work for Aquascutum now and I am very proud of the suits at that price.


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## zamfield (May 18, 2008)

I would say that "Joel" hasn't got a clue and can see why he "Used" to work for them!!

The fabrics they choose are an aquired taste? - Do you really think they have the same fabrics season after season? Year after Year??
The parent company (from what I have seen at www.bmb-clothing.co.uk) is a huge operation and I can't believe that they do not change up their cloths season by season.

As for the other comments on here about Alexandre London and their staff - I have had nothing but excellent service from several guys, without issue.
This is a great operation who offer extensive ranges at a price that everyone can afford. I don't think they have changed their prices in the last 5 years!!

Some of you guys seem to be wanting the best of the best for the price of a haggar "Throw away suit" - I think you need to read more postings on this site and get to know your choices.

My suggestion is get yourself into the exchange, get to know your local Alexandre guy and get a good repor going with him or her... yes, they have women on their team too!
One bad experiance (and by the way.... we only have one side of the story here! I know I can be a real pain sometimes!) doesn't mean that all of the Alexandre reps are unkowledgable, or that their product is subparr.

I am very happy with the product, staff and the help I've received - it's second to none!


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## zamfield (May 18, 2008)

One more issue here - We are talking the Good 'ol US Dollar... $500.
NOT GB pounds... at the current rate of 500 pounds you could get a top of the line $1100 MM suit!


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## Bonhamesque (Sep 5, 2005)

Joel said:


> I used to work for BMB, the parent company of Alexandre of London, some of their suits are ok, but only some. The fabrics they choose are generally an aquired taste, buy them in sale if you are going to purchase them. I would definately stay away from their MTM, they are made in Egypt, they used to be made in Romania and they normally, from what I have seen have been terrible. If the salesman tells you they are made in Goole in Yorkshire, he is wrong, they pass through there, thats it.
> 
> If you are looking to buy a suit in that price range, about £500.00 go for a different manufacturer. I work for Aquascutum now and I am very proud of the suits at that price.


They definitely used to be made in Goole, North Humberside but I imagine that now they're probably made abroad.



zamfield said:


> I would say that "Joel" hasn't got a clue and can see why he "Used" to work for them!!
> 
> The fabrics they choose are an aquired taste? - Do you really think they have the same fabrics season after season? Year after Year??
> The parent company (from what I have seen at www.bmb-clothing.co.uk) is a huge operation and I can't believe that they do not change up their cloths season by season.
> ...


I agree with Joel. They do not represent good value for money and Joel is right when he says that the Aquascutum product for £500 is far higher quality, as are several other off-row tailors that charge around £600.
However it has been pointed out that the discussion was about $500 not £500 and you'll get nothing for that in the Alexandre in S Row.

In fact, for £250 you're better off buying off-the-peg suits in the UK than chancing your arm on some ultra-cheap MTM outfit.

By the way, can you really say that the product is second to none unless you've tried all the other tailors on the Row?


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## kev'n (Nov 8, 2016)

Only for those truly interested. There is an Alexander of England store in Chicago that has opened and Mr. Michael Coates is the person to see for your Bespoke/ MTM needs. He pleasantly took the time to explain to me (via telephone conversation) the difference's btw the AAFES brand and the Savile Row Brand which has since moved off the iconic street years ago. If ever in Chicago I plan to make the effort to see for myself the difference because I've purchased MTM via AAFES however, until then does/can anyone comment on having gone to the store recently and what the experience was like?


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## derum (Dec 29, 2008)

Alexandre of England, Alexandre of London are both owned by the Baird/BMB group. They have never made bespoke clothing, even when they had their premises at 40 Savile Row, which upset the established tailors on the Row at the time, as they sold MTM clothing for a fraction of the cost of bespoke. They do not seem to produce high quality RTW items, just look in John Lewis if you are in the UK as evidence of this. I can not speak for the quality of their US MTM operations, but doubt that it is any better than the plethora of other MTM clothiers, and for RTW I would look elsewhere.


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## SG_67 (Mar 22, 2014)

What an odd and esoteric thread to resurrect.


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## drlivingston (Jun 21, 2012)

SG_67 said:


> What an odd and esoteric thread to resurrect.


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