Spier & Mackay SLIM Fit Blue Sharkskin Suit – $398
Editor’s Note: Spier offers both slim and contemporary fits. Head here for a review of the contemporary. They also offer two price points for most of their suits. Base level Australian Wool (still half canvas) runs $328. Suits made from wool from fancier mills (like Vitale Barberis Canonico) run closer to $400. One of those VBC suits is featured here. At post time, sizes are scattered for this blue sharkskin number (either in slim or contemporary). We’ll keep you updated if Spier & Mackay does a restock.
There are things in life that are made for a niche group of people, and things that are made to be loved by the masses. Spier & Mackay has made waves over the last few years for creating a suit that is suitable (yep.. pun intended) for the masses, and nails all the right details.
An unaltered, 38 R Slim Fit on 5’10” 170 lbs, and a longer than average 35″ arms.
Spier says sleeves can be lengthened up to 1″ (which I’ll need to take advantage of).
At $398, this Chinese made suit is competing with the likes of SuitSupply and J. Crew, and this suit very well holds its own. The half canvas jacket feels substantial, but not too weighty to feel dragged down. The Bemberg lining feels substantial as well , and doesn’t restrict day to day movement at all. Wearing this in the subtropical oven that is Florida would usually mean instant sweat, but luckily that wasn’t the case. The notch lapel design is wider than the J. Crew Ludlow and Crosby, yet was narrower than my SuitSupply Napoli suit. The Super 110’s Vitale Barberis Canonico wool feels smooth to the touch, yet I would stop short of calling it the softest wool I’ve felt.
Button stance and lapels are timeless. Tail is a classic length and not chopped short.
Sometimes it’s the finer details of a suit that can really make a difference, and the button decisions that S&M made are not to go unnoticed. The feel of the bull horn buttons are smooth and feel well made. The button placement for the jacket also feels almost too natural, and the non functioning sleeve buttons makes it a world easier to have the sleeves altered if you need it. This has long been a criticism for Suit Supply, who still seems to stick with the functioning button design.
Non functioning sleeve cuff buttons make for easier tailoring.
Notice the visual texture to the V.B.C. sharkskin fabric.
The jacket hugged my 5’10” 170 lb. frame well, but I felt like the back of the suit could still be taken in on my slim athletic (not skinny) frame. The length of the jacket sits just below the backside, which is my preferred length. No chopped stuff here. The shoulders are lightly padded, enough to give them some shape, yet not aggressive to the point where it’s blatantly noticeable.
The nested pants come with a 37” unfinished inseam, so be prepared to get these hemmed immediately. The good thing about these pants is they give you some room to work with if you have some weight in your legs, but if your legs are on the smaller side, you will definitely need to have these slimmed (even though it’s a slim fit). Overall movement was natural with these pants, and they didn’t ride up over time from walking and sitting, which can be a nuisance.
Having both J. Crew and Suit Supply suits, it would take a major event for me to deviate from sticking to those two. Yet for a suit of this caliber and attention to detail to cost roughly $400 (and less during a sale) has made me question the norm, and supplies a very enticing argument against picking the former two.
About the Author: Stephen Knight is a photographer / videographer who founded Itsaknightslife. His mission is to tell the story of people through style, food, music, and dancing. Catch his stuff at itsaknightslife on Instagram and Youtube.