Arnold Brant Suits

Arnold Brant suits come from one of the more well known Canadian suitmakers. They are often closely linked with Ben Sherman.

They’ve been a little up and down in terms of manufacturing center in the last couple of years.  For a long time they were made at a facility in the Montreal area.  They ran into some financial troubles around 2006 with layoffs, and it was rumored that some of the manufacturing was going to be outsourced to the Far East.  However, it appears as though the suitbuilding has been pushed to Italy.  As a result, some of the suit quality has been reduced to fused styles in an effort to cut costs.

The build quality has been decent, but again, seems to depend on where its made.  It was traditionally at least a half canvassed build so it tended to drape quite nicely, as everything was canvassed except the chest piece.  The lining was of especially nice quality.  The older styles had a reputation of being a little bit square or boxy.  The recent styles released the last couple of years appear to be almost entirely fused.  They do seem to have a more Italian cut to them.  They have a couple of different labels, with the black label seeming to have higher quality fabrics.

Lately, its gotten some celebrity buzz.  Jeffrey Dean Morgan from Grey’s Anatomy, as well as Oscar winter Forest Whitaker have both been spotted on the red carpet with Arnold Brant.

You’ll find these at places like Nordstrom Rack in terms of bricks and mortar.  They can be tough to find at retail spots in the US.  Sierra Trading Post does carry a good selection of them.  The retail for these will go from about $600-$900 or so.  Its not uncommon to find a nice half-canvassed version for $250 to $300 at the Rack, but you’ll have to search around a little bit.