# Joseph andf Feiss? Mens werahouse?



## justonemore (Jul 2, 2009)

Hello All,

I had to fly into Chicago for a funeral last week. As I don't normally wear suits, I didn't have one that fit. I went with some family members to a mens wearhouse. I'm not familiar with the store and the prices didn't reflect what I thought a good suit would cost. 

I bought 2 suits from Joseph and Feiss. They are 120s (Yes, I know that putting 120 on a label doesn't always mean much). They came as a trio (2 pants, 1 jacket). 

Does anyone have any experience with the Feiss brand? I'm sure they can't be as good as the ever coveted Brooks Brothers or bespoke but I'm hoping they are good enough to get some use out of. What think you gents? Should I be embarrassed to be in public with such a suit or can I strut a bit? 

Is it normal to wear a suit coat as a blazer or was this just a good way to sell a 2nd pair of trousers to someone unfamiliar with mens fashion? The 2nd pair of pants don't match the jacket i.e. brown/tan pants with the blue suit jacket? 

Thanks in advance.


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## Acct2000 (Sep 24, 2005)

Unless you really know what you are doing, I would avoid wearing part of a suit as an odd jacket with pants. Some here will disagree and if they are people who really have studied clothes and how they work together for awhile, it can work. With most people, though, it does not look good.


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## 12345Michael54321 (Mar 6, 2008)

First, my sympathies on your loss.



justonemore said:


> Should I be embarrassed to be in public with such a suit or can I strut a bit?


I don't know that it's necessarily "strutworthy," but assuming the suit fits you well, you should wear it without any worry over how the "Joseph and Feiss" brand name measures up. In practice, a man usually looks (and feels) better in a $250 suit that fits him well, than he does in a $1500 suit that doesn't fit quite right. And a whole lot of men wear expensive suits that would benefit from some expert tailoring.



> Is it normal to wear a suit coat as a blazer or was this just a good way to sell a 2nd pair of trousers to someone unfamiliar with mens fashion?


Some men do it. Me, I've never really cared to do this. It seldom looks quite right, to me. But neither do I recoil in horror at the thought.

Some men also get a 2nd pair of trousers that matches the first pair, on the theory that suit pants tend to wear out sooner than suit jackets, so having two pairs of trousers for the suit will extend the suit's useful life. Arguments exist both for and against this practice, too.
-- 
Michael


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## Theoden (Dec 16, 2009)

justonemore said:


> Hello All,
> 
> I had to fly into Chicago for a funeral last week. As I don't normally wear suits, I didn't have one that fit. I went with some family members to a mens wearhouse. I'm not familiar with the store and the prices didn't reflect what I thought a good suit would cost.
> 
> ...


1. Avoid wearing the suit coat as a sport-jacket. It usually doesn't work. You can wear the extra pants with a real sports coat or blazer or just with a shirt.

2. The Joseph and Feiss label, I think, may actually be owned by Men's Wearhouse. They make some nice things. Some of their suits are made in Canada. It's one of their better in-house labels. My experience with Men's Wearhouse is that I always walked out very happy with what I bought. It may not have been "top-shelf", but is usually fit very well (that's the most important thing) and, as the ad says, "I like the way I looked". ;-) Wear them in good health and enjoy your suits.

My condolences.

--Theoden


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## bestmastertailor (Aug 28, 2003)

J&F label was bought out of Joseph & Feiss's bankruptcy sale by Men's Wearhouse. Joseph & Feiss was a traditional maker of men's suits in Cleveland (actually the plant is now owned by Hugo Boss and production is still going on so far) under the brand Cricketeer. Back in those days was a "3" make suit.


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## condodave (Jul 15, 2011)

Joseph & Feiss is not American made these days, they used to be along with Cricketeer (part of J&F). The end of well made men's suits and sport coats came during the late 1980's or early 1990's when much of the decent, reasonably priced men's clothing dropped off. The current Feiss brand is made in Asia, is just a bunch of junk in my opinion. I saw much of their line in a Men's Wearhouse several years ago. In the 1960's and 1970's made in USA Feiss clothing was very good, perhaps several notches in price and quality below Hart and Brooks Brothers, but a fine choice for a person of moderate income. I worked with my Dad in a men's store for years, and we saw all this happening over time. Toiday there are only 3 quality suit and sport coat makers of good quality that I would receommend: Hickey Freeman, Hart, and Joseph Abboud. I currently have a suit and 2 sport coats that I have purchased at Nordstrom during anniversary sale (ends July 31), both Joseph Abboud. You can get a $495 sportcoat for $299 to $329, or a suit reg. $695 for about $495. Excellent fit and the finest 100% wool, soft and lightweight. For years the Feiss brand included 2 pairs of trousers, and it looks like they have continued that trend with their Asian imports.


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## TheBarbaron (Oct 8, 2010)

J&F is now a MW house brand, selling a full range of products. It's our "American style" house brand, with Pronto Uomo being the roughly equivalent "Italian style" label.

For suits/sportcoats, there are two main lines: J&F, and J&F Gold. The trio you bought belongs to the latter. The J&F line is generally around Super 100s, the Gold around 120s, with some exceptions. The fit is similar to a RLGL, Jones New York, or Jos A Banks in a traditional fit (though some men have issues with the armhole depth and pitch of sleeve at the shoulder). They almost all have pleated pants (usually two-pleat), center vent, with very few exceptions.

The construction is all fused, and all of them are made somewhere in SE Asia. We consider them low to mid-range basics; not bargain basement like the old Versinis, not anything amazing, but a workhorse budget suit. The trios (navy, charcoal, and black) are popular for their versatility with the "I only need one suit" crowd, or those just starting a wardrobe.

Suit prices (which just went up slightly on many models) run from $450 to $550, regular retail, with frequent sales and specials. If you're getting them for about $300 apiece after discounts, they're a decent investment.

_*TLDR*_: Not amazing, but not awful either.


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