# Armani Collezioni outlet quality? Should I buy Armani or Brook Brothers?



## OldSchoolCharm (Apr 12, 2010)

I am in need of a sports coat or blazer. 


My original plan was to wait for the Brook Brothers sale and buy one then.


At the Armani outlet store, I found a dark blue sports coat, three buttons, double breasted. It looked sharp. Price was $1295 on sale to $499. The Armani had some strings sticking out, and when I asked the salesperson to pull them out or cut them, he took a long metal nail and pushed the strings back in the suit. It also appeared to have a little bit of dirt over a pocket. I asked if Armani outlet sells used, and he said it is all new inventory, nothing is returned. 


The clearance price puts the Armani in the same price range as Brook Brothers. 


The sales guy assured me the Armani was fully canvased, and not half canvassed or fused. I believe the Brook Brothers is half canvassed. Is this correct?


Does Armani make items specifically for the outlet store, or does Armani send items to the outlet store that did not sell in Saks and so forth? The salesman told me every item in the store was from Saks and other high end stores, and nothing was specifically made for the outlet store. He told me if it does not sell in 1 year at Sak's, that his outlet store gets the same items and puts it on sale. Is the salesman truthful?


What is the better quality purchase for $500? A Brook Brothers blazer (MSRP $650) or the Armani dark blue sports coat (MSRP $1295)? What is the quality of Armani Collezioni? Is it good wool and good construction?


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## triklops55 (May 14, 2010)

Go with the brooks. You know what you're getting with BB. If the armani jacket costs $1,295 originally, you can be sure that $600 of that goes to pay for the Armani label alone.
Also, BB's styles are more timeless. Armani is more fashionable, which means it will go out of fashion in a couple of years. Plus, the Armani jacket is defective, as you mentioned.
You could also wait on the Armani jacket, and see if they drop the price further. From what you say about this jacket, I don't think anyone will drop $500 for a dirty, defective jacket. Next thing you know, the price will probably be sliced in half to $250. That's when you buy it.


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## BespokeMex (Nov 13, 2010)

OldSchoolCharm said:


> I am in need of a sports coat or blazer.
> 
> My original plan was to wait for the Brook Brothers sale and buy one then.
> 
> ...


While I don't know if BBs suits are fully or half canvassed, I'm always weary of outlet stores because most of their inventory is specifically purchased for sale in the outlet store. Very few items, if any, are closeouts from the retail/mall store or items returned by the retailer.

Some manufacturers with outlet stores, like Izod in particular, will make items almost identical in pattern and style to the items being sold in their flagship stores, but at the expense of quality. Since the outlet venue is an industry in itself, I suspect that all outlet shops behave similarly.

Having said this, I'd wait for the after Christmas sale, at either BB or Armani. I just don't trust the outlet business model being that favorable to the consumer.


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## Bartolo (Mar 2, 2009)

triklops55 said:


> I don't think anyone will drop $500 for a dirty, defective jacket. Next thing you know, the price will probably be sliced in half to $250. That's when you buy it.


Maybe I'm just "different," but there's no price at which I'd buy a "dirty, defective jacket."


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## OldSchoolCharm (Apr 12, 2010)

The Armani sports coat looks and feels good on me. If I believed it would last as long as a blazer from Brook Brothers I would buy the Armani sports coat. Does anyone here have experience with the quality level of Armani?


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## Checkerboard 13 (Oct 6, 2009)

Collezioni is a lower line than main-line Armani, and as such does not have many of the details of construction that can be found on the main-line. (To my knowledge, among other things, all of the Collezioni jackets are fused.)

I own one Armani Collezioni sports jacket. It is a nice cut and quite a striking fabric, but it is not as comfortable nor does it drape nearly as nicely as a similar sports jacket I own from Brooks Bros. The Collezioni is fused, the BB is not, and I receive far more compliments on the BB jacket.

At the $250 price I paid for the Collezioni jacket (Barney's warehouse sale) it suits me fine as a casual jacket that I can wear with jeans, if I like. I do not believe I would find any reason to pay more for one, though.

As mentioned previously, a large part of the retail price of anything Armani (or any other designer label, for that matter) goes for the name. 
Without seeing the two jackets you are considering, from my experience I would suspect the Brooks Bros. to likely be a better value.
(Also, from what you have related of the conversation, I would highly recommend taking anything said by that Armani outlet sales person with a grain of salt.)


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## CuffDaddy (Feb 26, 2009)

Advice: don't use the terms "canvased" or "half-canvased" with salespeople. 99% of them think it means the level of structure in a garment, not the manner of construction. Ask if it's fused. That's far less ambiguous.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Buy the BB jacket but, do so after Christmas. There is a good chance you will save some money by doing so!


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## TheWGP (Jan 15, 2010)

eagle2250 said:


> Buy the BB jacket but, do so after Christmas. There is a good chance you will save some money by doing so!


+1 - day after Christmas is the best.


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## thefancyman (Apr 24, 2009)

Checkerboard 13 is right that for the most part Armani Collezioni jackets and suits are fused but not all are there are some examples I've felt that have been half-canvassed including an older one that I own with the previous Le Collezioni label. Armani uses very quality fabric in unique blends typically with synthetics mixed in for the purposes of drape. The construction and the MSRP though leaves much to be desired.

BB sportscoats and blazers are either half or full-canvassed. The jackets that have a blue label with gold thread that says Brooks Brothers Established 1818 sewn on with gold thread can be either so you will have to do a pinch test. The Golden Fleece blazers are full-canvass. 1818, Country Club and Brooksease blazers are all half-canvass. Stay away from the 346 line of jackets and blazers because they are all fused, made for the outlet garments and are not worth anything close to what BB charges for them. Although, if you can find one you like for cheap a 346 model is better than most jackets you would find for the same money at your average dept. store.


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## peterc (Oct 25, 2007)

Go with BB. The deal breaker for me with Armani is that the jackets almost never (i.e., 99.9% of the time) ever have flaps on the pockets.

This means that you MUST leave the pockets closed (and obviously can never use them) because if you open them and God forbid actuall put things in them, the pockets "bag" in a very short period of time so that there is an ugly space between the seams, making the jacket look extremely old and worn.

I admit to being very particular on this point, as I use my jacket pockets.


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## ykurtz (Mar 7, 2007)

Given the low cost of either choice, I'd go with the jacket that fits you better OTR. I own both, and Armani is the sleeker cut, which I prefer. But when I choose a jacket for business, I lean towards a more conservative cut, e.g. BB.


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