Billy Reid Bond Peacoat - London, UK
Mileham007
Posts: 103MI6 Agent
Hi, strange request this one. Found this site on Sunday night, so hopefully you guys can help me.
My wife if off to New York at the end of October and hopefully she is picking me up a Billy Reid Bond Peacoat. I’ve been speaking to one of the sales people over the phone at the weekend who has informed, that “The medium Bond Peacoat has a 41 inch chest, but if you’re wanting a less tailored fit, I would size up to a large ( 43 inch chest)”. I’m dead-on a 41 inch but sometimes I’m a 42. Therefore I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the sizes, I don’t want it too tight that I can’t wear a jumper or a scarf but then again I don’t want it to bagger.
Ideally the best scenario would be someone in London that has a medium or large that I could try on. If not any advice would be most helpful.
Thanks Andy
My wife if off to New York at the end of October and hopefully she is picking me up a Billy Reid Bond Peacoat. I’ve been speaking to one of the sales people over the phone at the weekend who has informed, that “The medium Bond Peacoat has a 41 inch chest, but if you’re wanting a less tailored fit, I would size up to a large ( 43 inch chest)”. I’m dead-on a 41 inch but sometimes I’m a 42. Therefore I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the sizes, I don’t want it too tight that I can’t wear a jumper or a scarf but then again I don’t want it to bagger.
Ideally the best scenario would be someone in London that has a medium or large that I could try on. If not any advice would be most helpful.
Thanks Andy
Comments
I also have a 42" chest and I just tried on a small on Friday. I was surprised at how much room that I had in the coat. I felt that I could easily wear a thick sweater under there, and after reading about the coat here and on other forums some posts have said I should try an XS. I'll go back after work today and try on the two different sizes with and without sweaters, and with thick ones and thin ones (I usually wear mid-weight).
So why the wide variety in sizing advice? I can think of two reasons. The first is that chest is only one measurement. If two men have 42" chests, but one has a 32" waist and one has a 36" waist then that will change considerably how a coat will fit. There's also height - I'm 5'9", but if a guy has the same size chest but is 6'2" tall that will again change things.
The other consideration is personal taste. Like most North American men I used to wear my clothes far too large. That's changing, and rapidly, but I find that a lot of people here still like the "roomier" fit (or, IMHO, baggier fit). I often see people post pictures in America-based forums, or with a lot of Americans posting, and my first reaction when seeing the picture is "Wow, that's two sizes too large!", but then all the responses say how "perfect" the fit is. Even when there's a (to me) very obvious indicator of fit i.e. the shoulder seam is two inches away from the person's natural shoulder!
I have a 40 - 41" chest and am 5'11". I thought I may need a M or L before I visited Billy Reid, but actually I needed to also try on a S. The L was way too big.
In the end I chose the M because it was easier for me to layer. The S fit nicer on the shoulders, but was too tight across my back and underarms, and the clincher was that the S was too short on my arms. So M it was. The S for me also sat very fitted across my waist when done up. And if I put on any weight I'd not be able to use it anymore. And I'm hoping to use this coat for years to come.
Now I'm confused again.... ?:)
I'm wondering, what does the chest of your size small measure? If you're 42" in the chest and the medium measures 41", then even a medium would be too small and tough to close.
I've just checked again with the tape measure. I have 44 chest. My brother gave me his jacket in medium to try. I was set to order the XL but because the medium wasn't too far off I got a large which fits perfectly.... It shouldn't as it supposed to be for a 43? I'm 6"2.5" with 34 waist. I doubt that you need bigger than an XL. It is all very confusing I changed the first barbour and first menlo I had because I wasn't happy with the fit. These jackets are expensive so the fit has to be spot on. If it helps I have the barbour in large ( I initially got caught up in the "size up"hype and had an XL) I have the menlo in a medium after initially sizing down from a large.... Though I believe that the sizing of these has varied from batch to batch. Included fit pics for reference. Please forgive pic quality. Hope it helps!
1.SF 2.CR 3.OHMSS 4.DN 5.YOLT
Thanks, that's helpful!
The clerk came over the instant that he saw me looking at the coat and said "Oh, you want the James Bond coat, huh?". Sounds like it's a big selling feature to mention it right off the bat (this was a different clerk than the one I spoke to last week).
I tried on two different size smalls and to my surprise they fit quite differently. And it really was more than a little difference. One was quite loose on me and I could have easily fit a thick sweater underneath. The other was noticeable tighter across the chest - I could fit my usual mid-weight sweaters under there but a thick sweater would be iffy. The funny thing is that it was looser around the stomach than the other one! There were no size XS to try on and the clerk said that Billy Reid doesn't make an XS. Mind you, he also said that the coat was 100% wool and "corrected" me when I said it felt like a blend. He also said that the coats were hand-made (possibly explaining the variance in sizing) but then backtracked and said that they were "partially" hand-made (whatever that means).
When I put my hand inside the coats and pulled them away from my chest there was easily a one inch difference between the two of them. This is good news for those who can visit a store to buy one; you could try on different coats and find the one that fits you best. Of course, it's bad news if you're buying online - will you get a bigger one or a smaller one? It's up to chance. But after this experience I understand some of the posts about BR that I've read here and on a couple of style and fashion forums.
This is very interesting. Did the fabric content label inside say the coat is 100% wool? Being handmade (partially or not) isn't any excuse for variations in size, otherwise bespoke tailors would never get anything right. I'll have to check out their New York store if I can find my way down there.
1.SF 2.CR 3.OHMSS 4.DN 5.YOLT
Well, I have a 42" chest and I wear a size small Barbour. It's snug (a bit more snug than the way Craig's fit him in Skyfall) but not too tight. And I can wear mid-weight sweaters with dress shirts under it.
I checked; the label said it was the wool/poly mix. I was just talking to a clerk who either a) was very mis-informed or b) just said the first thing that popped into his head to try to impress me and make the sale. I vote for b because he kept changing things that he said without acknowledging the difference! For example he told me that he could see that there was no variance in sizing and that the coats fit me exactly the same. Then when I showed him the differences between the coats by pulling them away from my body at different points he said "Yeah, I noticed that as soon as they came in and I tried on every coat."
That's the worst kind of salesman! At least he didn't argue with you when you showed him they were different. I once tried to buy knit ties at Brooks Brothers that were in their overflow drawer because they didn't have enough room on the table. The salesman yelled at me when I looked in the drawer to find the colour I wanted and said what's in the drawer was the same as what was on the table. I wanted red and he said there were no red ties on the table and was certain there were none in the drawer. After he walked away I pull out one of the many red ties in the drawer. But I would have expected more from Billy Reid. I'd expect that service at a department store.
Actually, it is a department store. I think I mentioned that in another thread (or a private message to someone) but not in this thread. Close to where I work (the financial district in Toronto) there's the flagship store of The Bay (or HBC, or Hudson's Bay Company). This location carries quite a few upscale labels and just started carrying Billy Reid last week (although the signs were up for longer). The first clerk I spoke to there was a very wonderful, very fashionable man my own age from Italy. The second clerk (the one mentioned above) was quite young and his style was a little...in progress.
I just hoping that I can convince someone to give me a discount on BR the next time they have a "Bay Days" sale...but pretty much the entire store is excluded!
I never said it was a Commander, you mis-edited the quotes. I have the Tokito.
I didn't realize The Bay started carrying Billy Reid! I'll have to pop in sometime & try on the Bond peacoat in person. Thanks for the tip!
"The other consideration is personal taste. Like most North American men I used to wear my clothes far too large. That's changing, and rapidly, but I find that a lot of people here still like the "roomier" fit (or, IMHO, baggier fit). I often see people post pictures in America-based forums, or with a lot of Americans posting, and my first reaction when seeing the picture is "Wow, that's two sizes too large!", but then all the responses say how "perfect" the fit is. Even when there's a (to me) very obvious indicator of fit i.e. the shoulder seam is two inches away from the person's natural shoulder!"
Couldn't agree more...in the ad business people are a bit more mindful of fit and clothing but daily I see "suits" walking around looking like they robbed their outfits from their much larger dads...frumpy, baggy, and pants that are too long etc...
I visited the US for the first time in my adult life recently and noticed the larger fitting clothing people were wearing. I don't know if it was just down to the wrong size as it seems to be the look to wear stuff loose.
Compare this to my first ever trip to Stockholm where the clothing was on the complete other end on the scale, where I thought everything (jackets, trousers etc) were too slim and thus ill fitting also! Those who thought the skyfall suits were too small should check out the Scandinavian style.
I didn't realize that I lived so close to other people on this forum...I'll keep it in kind if I ever see a James Bond trivia night at a local pub! :-)
If I remember correctly it's $695, so $785 after tax.
Canadian here too, currently in Ottawa. The Bay at the Rideau Centre has a large selection of Topman stuff now too, although unfortunately they don't have the grey 'slim' chinos at the moment, just the 'skinny' version. Not so sure about Billy Reid but I'll definitely take a look. The Bay at Bayshore is also a possibility, especially with that mall opening so many new stores and getting so much attention. It's almost as if someone at HSBC might be a Bond fan...
I just met Luigi at the Bay. Awesome guy, very knowledgeable and extremely helpful. The coat is lovely too. There was only one small left when I visited plus a couple each of mediums, large etc. They also have the charcoal which I believe is identical except for the colour.