The email below came in the day before yesterday, which is when the Blue Blazer Hierarchy launched. Reader BTR mentioned in the comments that the Ludlow cut from J. Crew just isn’t flawless for everyone, despite the perpetual love. Meanwhile, Suitsupply gets plenty of play, and like the Ludlow, they’re a step up from budget, fused suits, yet still accessible for most if you save up. The construction, feel, and fit is superb on each for the price point. But there’s plenty of differences too, and those are outlined for debate below. Top Photo Credit: John Blyberg
Would you say that J. Crew Ludlow suits are nicer in fit/feel/quality than a (similarly priced) SuitSupply option? I’m rebuilding my wardrobe for post-college life and I can’t decide which of the two I should be looking at for suiting options.
– Ford
The Case for the J. Crew Ludlow: J. Crew has nailed the jacket on multiple levels. To many, the chest piece and overall feel is more substantial than the construction of a Suitsupply suit (not that Suitsupply doesn’t have a great drape & feel itself). The arms are nice and slim right off the rack, and the buttons on the sleeves are non-functional which makes for easy tailoring. Armholes are nice and high. The fabrics are often incredible. And if you keep an eye on the sale section and/or buy out of season, you can sometimes land a J. Crew Ludlow in the high $300s. Suitsupply seems to offer lots of loud patterns and striped suits, while J. Crew will stick mostly to classic solids and subtle patterns. The button stance is slung elegantly low, and the jackets are slightly shorter without being chopped. These are progressive suits that shouldn’t make you look like you fell victim to a trend in a few years. The one risk is the very slim lapels. Lapel widths seem to be bouncing back, and some have said the Ludlow’s 2.5″ lapel is just too slim. But plenty disagree. (top right: Ludlow in Worsted Wool)
The Case for Suitsupply: While they don’t ever go on sale, Suitsupply does offer more than one cut. So if you want peak lapels, patch pockets, or a chopped jacket, they probably carry it. But if you’re building a foundation, you’re going to want to stick to their Napoli fit. And that Napoli fit is a suit that will never, ever go out of style. The lapels are wider than the slim Ludlow, but far from fat. Not going to fall out of favor anytime soon. The jackets have soft shoulders and a tapered waist, and the button stance is timeless. Higher than the Ludlow, but still plenty of lapel & shirt showing. Sleeve buttons are functional, but Suitsupply offers short and long sizes, and the arms seem to run true. Armholes have terrific movement. The construction is also fantastic for the $469 price, and the fabrics are also sourced from respected Italian mills. (top left: SuitSupply in Wool/Linen)
The Bottom Line: J. Crew’s lapels are slimmer, the button stance is lower, and you can sometimes get one on sale. The overall fit of a Ludlow is on the slim side, and some of their suits even offer slim-fit pants in addition to classic fit. The Ludlow is also sold as suit separates, so you’re not stuck with a married pant to a suit jacket based on a certain jacket size to pant waist inch-drop.
Suitsupply never goes on sale, but their lapels and their button stance won’t go out of style… ever. And at $469, that’s much less than what most wool Ludlows go for at full retail. Suitsupply is still trim, yet offers more room, especially in the pants. And while they aren’t sold online as separates, they seem to run decently true for most body types.
Leave your take in the comments below, and feel free to make the case for a write-in suit candidate. (Just keep it around $380 – $580)
In my comment on the “Blue Blazer” piece, I didn’t mean to single out the Ludlow for execution. My point was that in men’s clothing, fit trumps everything. Subtle differences in button stance, lapel width, or even price (a few hundred dollars amortized over several years) are insignificant compared to fit. J Crew’s clothes, like every other brand discussed on this site, are cut to fit a generic guesstimate body shape. But if J Crew’s generic model doesn’t fit your body, then for you it’s a “bad” suit, regardless of whether or not it is frequently praised on a fashion site, has fashionable lapels, etc. The same applies to Suit Supply and every other brand.
I have a suitsupply suit and it’s now my go to suit.
I have one of each – a Suitsupply Napoli in a charcoal muted pinstripe. They do go on sale, or at least mine rung up at $369 when the price tag said $469, and they gave it to me for the lower price without my asking – literally, I had no idea it was ringing up at a lower price until the sales guy said it was my lucky day. It’s a great suit and fits me like a glove.
I really like the Ludlow too, and have that exact Navy worsted wool one in the picture. The fabric on that suit is just unbelievably fantastic. It’s completely business appropriate but it’s just a shade off true navy (there’s a little grey in the worsted fabric that lightens the color a half-shade) and it really stands out. The Napoli’s tailoring is more timeless but, for a night on the town the Ludlow is more of-the-moment. They’re both pretty great suits. My guess is the Napoli is slightly more versatile – it’ll work on just about every frame. The Ludlow looks great on lean guys but if you’re really broad-shouldered or burly it’s probably not going to look right.
For reference, I’m the same size in both the Ludlow and Napoli – 38 short. So if you don’t have a Suitsupply near you try on a Ludlow and order that size from Suitsupply and it should fit well in the shoulders and length. Everything else can be altered.
I enjoy this web-site, but I’m tired of reading about jcrew products. Find some other products to write about please!
It’s a good and necessary comparison to those in the $300-$600 suit market. If J Crew isn’t for you, maybe SuitSupply is? And if reading about J Crew bothers you that much, just don’t click on the link to read the article. And website doesn’t have a hyphen. I think that is all…
I love my J Crew suit but once I found SuitSupply, it was easier for me to build a suiting wardrobe that had a little character. The lapels is a sticking point with me – it limits who can wear them and also limits your tie choices. Far more ties in standard widths.
Quality on both are excellent.
**IF** you live near a Suit Supply retail store then without a question Suit Supply wins. The fact you can try on different cuts in store and their service is awesome…is enough for me never to buy a JCrew suit.
I like the Ludlow jackets. I just wish their shoulders weren’t built like football pads.
As my work wardrobe has evolved, I have found myself moving somewhat away from the narrow lapels. I have found that a nice trim suit with wider lapels, as Joe said, will never go out of style. Furthermore, the wider lapels can be worn with a slim OR wider tie (as Geoff alluded to in his comment), whereas I feel that my J. Crew suits are limited to 3″ or smaller.
I went ahead and bought a SuitSupply (Napoli Plain Charcoal). Do not regret the decision. Have had to have some minor tailoring done (Sleeves a little long, pants long, but I like when the pants are long/unhemmed). J. Crew does look sharp, although SuitSupply comes in cheaper at retail. Still would be hesitant about the lapels though. I vote SuitSupply, but you can’t really go wrong with either.
The monster truck was a nice touch.
I absolutely love my SuitSupply suit – it is definitely my go to suit. The drape is phenomenal, and I don’t feel like I overpaid for it – if anything, the quality far outshone the price tag (though it is a step up from the bargain hunting I normally do).
I’ve never loved the Ludlow suit. I get why I should – the fabrics are impeccable and the construction is amazing, but every time I have tried one on, I’ve felt uncomfortable. The button stance is low, which is usually ok (and I don’t want my buttons too high), but they feel too low. The big sticking point for me is the pants – they’re tight in all the wrong places, and they sit really, really low. I don’t want grandfather pants, but I don’t want my suit pants to fit like jeans either. On SuitSupply, I don’t have that problem – they can sell their very modern suit cuts, but in the Napoli, I can still get pants that sit above my hips and buttons that aren’t at the bottom of the jacket.
It really comes down to the options – SuitSupply just offers so much more in terms of variety, it’s hard to justify going anywhere else in this price range.
Plus, the customer service is amazing. Last time I was in the SuitSupply in DC, I complimented their shoe horns, and the manager gave me one to take with me. It’s the little things that keep me coming back.
This is a frustrating reality for many of us with wonky proportions. I’m fairly broad and rectangular, so slim fit shirts/jackets that taper too much are often money in the shoulders but too snug in the sides and waist. But standard fits are often still too billowy. It’s a constant sizing up and down battle. Makes OTR suits not sold as separates very difficult too.
What he said.
My latest suit purchase was an MTM. I got a deal through Daily Hookup so was $290 with a shirt (regular price is ~$570), great fit & materials on the suit. There was downtime in receiving it though.
In my experience, the fabric on Suitsupply is WAY better than it is on Ludlow. Suitsupply has replaced Brooks Bros. as my go to ‘I can wear this suit to the office, or some place nice’ suit. J. Crew… I have 2 Ludlows but find myself relegating them to more casual days at the office or social functions.
Well the same doesn’t really apply to SuitSupply.
With JCrew, if the Ludlow doesn’t fit you then you are shit outta luck because they don’t really have any other cuts. If the Suitsupply Napoli doesn’t fit your body, then you can try any of their other dozen or so (Washington, Seville, Lazio, etc) cuts.
Let’s just say if I win the lottery tonight, my local SuitSupply is going to be on speed dial.
Besides a fantastic suit, I enjoyed the suit buying experience. Maybe it’s just me, but when I did go into J. Crew to check out suits, it was the equivalent of picking a shirt off a hanger and bringing it up to the counter. When I went into SuitSupply, it was like I was going into…well, a place that supplied suits. And prided themselves on it.
Not sure how to compare it, but I guess you could wonder if you want to go to a place where all they do is make you look good in suits, or a place that happens to sell suits as well as everything else?
Either way Ford chooses, I have to give it up to him for spending a little more and investing a quality suit that will fit well and last the test of time…rather than buying on the cheap and regretting it until he finally gets back to the decision he’s about to make now.
Suit Supply and I don’t even think it’s close. I have suits from both and I rarely wear my Ludow because it’s too boxy and the button stance is awkwardly low…not “elegantly low.” There’s very little in the way of interesting patterns and colors and the quality isn’t very good. The hem fell out of my Ludlow pants after 3 wears so I had to have them re-hemmed. Compare that to my Suit Supply pants which are double stitched with re-enforcing tape. Granted that I live near a Suit Supply, but their quality and customer service experience is far better, to say nothing of the fact that they’re much more fashion forward.
I have to respectfully agree with Atoms. I am not knocking this article in particular, I find the comparison helpful. Just noticing a general trend where the same products and brands are revisited fairly often (Allen Edmonds also comes to mind). It may be that these are simply the best values currently out there, but a large part of why I come to Dappered is to discover a variety of style options at affordable prices, and to hopefully discover some sales I wouldn’t have otherwise. I also find J-Crew and AE are on the upper end of what I, and I think a lot of folks, would consider to be “affordable.” Not necessarily the suiting, but in general. I mean no disrespect, as I personally love this website and visit it every day, just a hopefully constructive observation.
I mean this sincerely, I don’t want a snarky tone inferred as it can sometimes be hard to tell on the interwebz. If you know of any brands that carry pretty quality, slim fit suits with nice fabric that can be had in the $300s range, by all means let us know. Send in a style tip. Also, if you know of any made in the US, full grain leather, welted sole dress shoes that can be had for under $200 (occasionally from the outlets for $100-$125), also send in a style tip about that. It is hard to find. I imagine that is why they get so much play.
At this price point, though, why not have it custom-made? Black Lapel makes some fantastic stuff and I’d imagine the same would apply to their navy blazer (http://www.blacklapel.com/blazers/solid-navy-blue-blazer.html) for $350. Half-canvassed and you can play around with the details like lapel width and whatnot.
I bought both. I can tell you the Manager told me the Sienna (I got the Sienna Brown Plain) is the one that was compared to the $3,600 Armani in that Wall Street Journal article. The details are great and it’s a great suit, but I’m honestly just as happy with my Gray Napoli. I went out to my local bar one night shortly after buying it and literally had 5-7 people comment on how nice the suit was.
I’m probably biased because I own an older brown Italian suit that is awesome but has pleated pants and a longer jacket…fricking AMAZING suit, but so out of style right now…anyway, the color bias I have from wearing that may contribute to me feeling like the Napoli is just a touch more “modern” than my Sienna, which feels stylish in a more subdued “I’m not going to throw it in your face” kind of way. (wow, run-on sentence much?)
Greg, I appreciate the comment, and I hope I didn’t put off snarky tone with my comment above either! I certainly didn’t intend to. I 100% agree that the brands that are the best values get the most play here. My only intention with my comment, was to voice my personal opinion that I’d like to see a little more variety if at all possible.
As a regular reader, I am well versed in all things JCrew and AE, and while I agree these are great values, I’d like to see what else is out there. Maybe there just isn’t that much, but I think there may be some slightly less quality/lower price compromises that people would love to hear about. For instance, I think Cole Haan makes a great shoe (I have both CH and AE), even though they’re not always made in the USA, full grain, or welted, maybe they can be had for $50-$100 less?
I’ve dropped in a few style tips before, but admittedly not that often. I will be sure to continue to do so, and to contribute where I can. Sorry for the long-winded comment, and I really do appreciate the work that all at Dappered do. All the best, and keep up the good work!
In addition to my long comment, I think that a lot of my perception of the same brands appearing a lot is due to my own habit of visiting the website so often!
Totally understood, and I’m with you on fit trumping everything. I think we’ve helped push that over most on this site.
And your original comment on the blue blazer post was a great reminder of one of the basic foundations of this site. Dappered isn’t about me, or Paul, or Ben or Beth or Andrew… it’s about you guys. And while some products/fits seem to fit a good majority/the average (which my body type is pretty close to, measurements here: http://dappered.com/2011/07/joes-measurements/ ), the good majority does not = everyone.
Did you ever pass along jacket size/pant size height/weight? Not to be too invasive, but that might help with others providing suggestions if you’re looking for some. I’d suggest Indochino for those with proportions that aren’t the norm, but that usually brings a wharrrgabl in the comments from others. I’ve had great success with them though. There’s just risk there. A good amount of it too.
Anyway, really appreciate the comments. Seemed like a great spark, a long with the email from Ford, to go back and forth over J. Crew and Suit Supply and their differences, which there are many.
Suitsupply by a mile. With free returns, not being able to try them on instore is less of a pain (and, honestly, how many of us live within reasonable distance of a J. Crew store either?) And, for $200 less, my Suitsupply suit feels far better than any Ludlow I’ve tried on. I’m the eccentric who bought the London cut, though.
oooohh…a lively Style Debate as the Headline promised. I do want to throw out my other two go-tos:
– Brooks Brothers Suiting Essentials. I think they are always 2 for $700-$800. I got a basic Gray and a dark Navy. The cut on these is great and modern…unlike what I consider a typical Brooks Brothers look. Trim in the waist and I don’t see these going out of style. They are my staple suits.
– Charles Tyrwhitt suits. They are a more British look, and not really made for someone over 6’4″, but they have a nice modern fit and I’ve received plenty of compliments on my Blue Birdseye suit. I think they may only have 2 US stores, but I live in DC and can visit them in person. Great customer service even online or phone, as they pride themselves on their reputation.
As far as shoes, I will second the Cole Haan. I prefer the Nike Air variety over almost any other dress shoe I have.
GRAVE DIGGER!!!!
Suitsupply, for sure. More variety, and the ability to go up a class and get a much finer suit like the sienna.
Hell I even bought a morningcoat there. You can’t get that at J Crew.
We occupy the same space my friend, welcome. I am also on the large side, 48/50 jacket, so it’s often a comical experience.
I own 4 Ludlows and 1 Suit Supply. I won’t ever buy a Ludlow again. The Ludlow did ignite my love for a good suit. Construction, fabrics, fit…the Ludlow has these. What they lack in comparison to Suit Supply is timelessness. I constantly think about which of these suits I will be wearing 5, 10, 15 years from now and that will hands down be Suit Supply.
I hesitate to wear Ludlows to anything but weddings and non-business events. The slim lapels and jacket silhouette are definitely not classic. And that’s fine. But I wouldn’t wear them to a business meeting or to an interview.
The Suit Supply experience at the Soho store in NYC was excellent. Tried on multiple fits (+1 for Suit Supply) and had minor alterations taken care of right there; picked up the suit in 3 days with all alterations done.
As much as the Ludlow changed my outlook on style and suits I think that I’ve moved on. I will probably sell 2 of my 4 Ludlows and pick up some more Suit Supply suits.
Does anyone know how Suitsupply’s Havana compares in fit to a Lazio? I am looking at the navy havana blazer Joe recommended and had great luck in fit with a Lazio.
That’s what’s so great about this site, Joe. When I decided to give my style a serious look, Dappered was one of the first places I found, and it’s one of the few I still frequent. Simply pointing out the importance of fit and providing realistic expectations for the way clothes fit and move in the real world has made all the difference, whether a specific brand is right for me or not. I’ve definitely taken the Fit-Is-Everything mantra to heart, even if what fits me well is a brand that others find unflattering. Good on ya for it.
Tom, do you have to buy 2 to get the deal or is it like Target where they list something as 2 for $___, but you can really just buy one and get the price. So could you buy one for $350-$400?
I have heard good, albeit mixed, things about CT as well. Good recommendations.
I almost picked up a CT suit the last time they had a sale, but really couldn’t find any reviews on quality. How is it holding up?
I’d also say BB Factory (while fused) is a decent competitor to the Thompson and comes in a number of fits (got 2 for $340 during their last sale). I wanted to go with suit supply, but I really needed more than 1 and ended up going the value route.
Slim isn’t the be all end all of what you should get, slim arms can be terrible. I’m wearing a tm lewin fully fitted shirt and my forearms are really tight. Same thing happened on my black lapel suit I got in slim fit. The merona post, the grey one looks way too tight on your forearms as well Joe, pretty sure if you bent your arm to drink a beer you’d rip it 😉
I’m a little curious, how do the Ludlow suits compare to, for example, Brooks Brothers 1818? Or to Black Lapel?
Well, this couldn’t have come at a better time. I just tried J.Crew’s navy cotton pique Ludlow and Suitsupply’s Napoli fit in navy back to back (gotta love NYC and every store being next to each other). Figured this was a good time for my first post.
I loved the Ludlow, but the 38 was a little tight in the shoulders and the 40 would have needed some alterations in the jacket. I thought the pants were great, and didn’t need any extra work done whatsoever. It was a little stiff, but looked real solid. I was all but sold…until…
I went to Suitsupply. Damn. The difference was a like a smack in the face. There are a million options, the jacket fit like a glove (40R), it was light but substantial, and moved incredibly well. Like, really really well. The pants needed an additional $60 in tailoring, but it was worth it for the feel of the suit alone. I’m officially impressed. Now, if only the New York sales tax would just RELAX a little bit…
I can’t speak for the Ludlow in wool, but the winner for me is Suitsupply. P.S. This site is phenomenal. Keep up the amazing work.
Okay, I’ll ask. Morning coats look cool… but when did you wear that?!
Little known fact: SuitSupply DOES sell separates. Kind of.
They will sell their Napoli charcoal pinstripe and navy pinstripe with a different size of trouser if you ask. I have no idea why they only do it with these suits, but I’m glad they do. That’s how I bought my Napoli last summer.
In the UK, morning coats are worn by the groom and groomsmen at weddings. In the US, beats me.
I’m sorry and please believe me that i’m not trying to be combative, but Cole Haan is bottom of the barrel and IMO overpriced for what you get.
You can’t possibly compare CH construction/durability/quality to AE . Throw down the extra 50$ for AE as they will last YEARS longer..
Wow I Didn’t Think This Would Be So 1 sided
It’s bloody GQ – they keep praising the “modern” thin lapel with skinny tie look
Sorry, checked out yesterday and just got back to this message. Yes, I called Brooks Brothers in Georgetown and they confirmed buying two will get you the discount. Buying one you will pay normal price. The current two suit deal is now $999 and you will likely need tailoring on top of that. (you can see them online now available as separates). I’m almost sure I paid something like $800.
The other downside is it took something like 3 weeks for my suits to arrive. Then it took a few days after that when they did another fitting to tailor. It felt like FOREVER before I could get my clothes.
If I was interested in the BB route, I would wait until they have another sale on their Suiting Essentials collection. BUT, when you can literally walk from BB in Georgetown over to the SuitSupply store, pay less, and walk out 15 minutes after picking your suit off the rack…already tailored while you waited…Brooks Brothers isn’t giving me a lot of incentives to head over.
I really like my Ludlow suit, though I have to admit it,s probably going to be woefully out of style in several years with the slim lapels and super low button stance.
I’d like to try a SuitSupply suit next. Seems like a great middle ground.
I’m almost embarrassed to admit I probably have over 15 suits at home right now, and that’s after giving away 4 to Goodwill. Most of them I own because I bought them on the cheap before I made up my mind to make sure fit was at the top of my requirements (not reacting to you mentioning the value route, just saying why I have so many). So I would say I now have 6 suits that I am not ashamed to wear.
Now, keeping in mind I’m no suit expert, I would say my Tyrwhitt suit…although hard to remember how to spell…is holding up pretty well. I bought it 3 months ago and it still is one of my favorites. It says Made in China on the tag (I’m actually wearing it right now), it’s got a really nice sky blue liner, and it doesn’t feel “cheap” to me.
I would have bought another one there, but I discovered SuitSupply shortly afterwards. At 6’4″ 200 lbs wearing a 42L with a 34/35 waist…anything I tried on at SuitSupply felt like it was made specifically for me. Whereas the CT, the sales associate told me, was still a 42L…it wasn’t made for taller people, so he instantly said it didn’t look right on me. The jacket waist wouldn’t sit quite right because the center was too high. I didn’t really notice it that bad (and didn’t want to go to Jos. A Bank) so I bought the one suit and I’ve been really happy with it. I don’t think, and the salesman said as much, that anyone besides someone in the clothing industry would really be that critical of the “problem”.
Outside of that minor issue, I have been very pleased with my purchase. Money well spent. It looks great on me and I’m still not quite sure I notice it fitting incorrectly.
Great. Thanks for the detail. I don’t have your height problem, so it may work for me. I think if they run another sale I’m going to have to pull the trigger. I was concerned about it feeling cheap/flimsy given the sale price.
No problem, I’ve spent so long with clothes I haven’t liked that I’m more than happy to try to help.
Keep in mind they are always running “sales”, so it is hard for me to keep track of when something is actually a deal or not.
Also, if feeling cheap is the only thing holding you back once the price is right, don’t worry about it. My buddy returned a couple shirts he bought after shrinking them in the wash and says they told him there is a no questions asked return policy. He could choose to exchange or get a refund.
Pretty frickin bulletproof and you have SIX MONTHS to decide, this is from their website:
“We want you to love our products as much as we do, and believe you can’t buy better. We’re so confident of this, we offer a full six-month guarantee – no matter what condition the item’s in. You can return it for an exchange or full refund, no questions asked. The original post and packaging charge is not refunded but for exchanges only there is no additional mail cost. Returns are free of charge from the US.”
I too live in DC, and the combination of convenience, quality, fit, and great customer service is what makes me a SuitSupply man. I wouldn’t mind trying a Ludlow, because the fabrics look great and I’m interested in the slimmer fit, but I’d have to go to a tailor after purchasing the suit. With SuitSupply one hour after walking into the store I can come out with a great suit.
The brown is a straight up brown colored brown. The red is like you are ready to yell “Toro!” and fight a bull.
As my two staple suits, I bought dark gray and dark navy (looks black in many lights). I then expanded with a Birdseye Blue. After that I bought a lighter gray which I really like and isn’t as conservative as the other one, and this Brown one. I then wavered if I should get a striped suit, but tried a 3-piece summer suit on at SuitSupply and had to have it. Hasn’t been warm enough to wear it yet, so that’s just sitting in my closet.
With all the variations in monitor calibrations, It’d be nice if there was some sort of universal color chart available offline you keep at home that you could reference to see what the actual colors of clothes were. Each store could assign a number like HTML has, and you could simply look at your chart to verify if the picture was off or not. I was going to buy some blue pants the other day, and both reviewers said the ones that showed up were actually green. With the chart, I could just double check the number and be good to go.
A potential coming contender in the blazer wars: http://www.hughandcrye.com/t/product/blazers. Don’t know how these will turn out but their shirts are great – I have several, and they’re my favorite and best-fitting shirts.
Easiest write-in ever- the eHaberdasher Benjamin suit. Fully canvassed for around $500, comes in a lot of sizes (even 36S) and no functional buttonholes that ruin fits for gorilla armed guys like me
to get married
Just picked up my first Suitsupply navy suit, and I am very happy with it so far. Some mention the experience when shopping at the store, and would agree their customer service is just the right mix of assistance and comfort.
For me, the most notable difference between the Suitsupply and Ludlow is the lapel. Both labels have modern cuts, good construction and nice fabrics, but the Ludlow lapel is just too narrow; in my world it cries of both casual and youth. When I wear a suit to work I want to appear more stylish than most, that its natural and not forced, and definitely not overly casual. Some of Suitsupply’s lapels are just outrageous, but the majority are the right width IMO. And the coat crosses both formal and casual settings famously – its one of the best I have seen that looks as good with jeans as with the matching pants.
In terms of construction, I own a dozen Brooks Brothers and Hickey Freeman suits, and there is a distinguishable difference in the quality of the build from these brands vs. SS/Ludlow. I only wish BB and HF would do a better job at pulling in more of the styles used by SS including the trimmer cuts, the higher armholes, the lapels that sits just right as if the coat is formed to your body as opposed to you fitting into the coat. Both BB and HF have suit lines with modern cuts, but these have very limited selection and supply.
Why would you want 36S? Their suits are one the short side, meaning to short to beging with, so if you are over 5’6 you should just get their regular 36.
Joining the conversation late…
I’m a tall guy (6’2″), but I’m all legs. My torso is short for proportion, but my arms are long relative to my torso. I have very broad, very square shoulders, and my legs are very skinny. I mention all this to try to illustrate why it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to buy OTR.
J. Crew clothes are too short for me, and when I tried a Ludlow in 40L, it was still very boxy in the body.
On the other hand, Suit Supply put me in a Washington that was good off the rack, but the biggest distinction is that they offer in-store tailoring and we made this thing perfect. Having a fit specialist on-site is a plus, and knowing that it will look more bespoke than generic when it’s done is icing.
I’ll never fit a Ludlow, but I know I can always find a Suit Supply that will work.