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In late April I ordered a couple suits on behalf of somebody else from Spier & Mackay. Each suit cost $498 for a total pre-sales-tax of $996.
A week later, adding those to the cart would have cost $996—plus $1,444.20 in tariffs on Chinese-made goods (145% at that time in the topsy-turvy Trump tariff regime; it has since come down to 30%).
“US tailoring [orders] fell off a cliff,” Rick Khanna, founder and president of Spier & Mackay told me. I asked if all business had declined, but that was thankfully not the case. “No. We actually did OK. Non-Tariffed items spiked huge,” he said, referring to items they produce in India instead of China. But almost as if in solidarity with the company, non-Americans came through for them: “Canadian and International sales are up 80%.” You love to hear it.
Spier & Mackay, which, being based in Canada, has to ship their excellently priced, high-value menswear over the border, was in a tougher spot than other similar merchants who also make their goods in China, such as Suitsupply. While Suitsupply also makes most if not all of its clothing in China, they might be able to weather the tariff storm a little easier, as they have warehousing, stores and other logistical operations in place in the States already. Meaning, they could sell through the stock they had already imported into the country while hoping the tariffs may come down.
But Spier & Mackay had no such option, until this week.
In an e-mail they announced that they’ve taken a similar step and contracted a third party logistics company in the U.S. to reduce the burden of tariffs, and simplify the checkout process. From the email:
To better serve our U.S. customers, we’ve implemented a new logistical & distribution model. Inventory is now imported in bulk to a trusted U.S.-based third-party logistics provider, where orders are fulfilled and shipped directly to you.
By clearing all duties and tariffs ourselves, we’ve eliminated surprise charges at checkout and introduced tariff-inclusive pricing across the site.
To celebrate the news, they’re running a promotion—20% off (virtually) everything until June 12.
It’s just in time, too, because I was just browsing their goods and came across some really, really killer stuff. See below for my curation of super menswear for this spring/summer.
My picks from the 20% off sale
Blazers & Suits—my absolute favorites bolded
Navy wool/mohair tuxedo—If you only get one dinner suit…
Cream DB shawl collar dinner jacket
Leno-weave silk/wool blazer—What a killer summer take on a staple navy blazer (Rick cautions it’s so light and open-weave, light trousers show through the back)
Dark navy mock leno blazer—The true summer navy blazer staple
Oatmeal silk-linen tweed (?!) blazer—This looks gorgeous!
Stone cotton/linen suit—I have a plain cotton suit that is among my favorites to wear to wear out and about
Gray houndstooth woo-linen sportcoat—Pairs great with off-white trousers
Medium blue tropical wool suit—A nice summer-y take on a blue suit, but without going all casual with linen
Cigar linen relaxed Neapolitan cut suit—A lighter color in the tobacco linen spectrum
Tobacco linen Neapolitan cut suit—a darker, more copper-y color in the tobacco linen spectrum
Wool-Mohair fresco Neapolitan cut suit
Trousers
Wool-silk-linen trousers—The “navy” pair will work with dark navy blazers no problem, and look great with all the cream/tan/ivory jackets you could want
Taupe high-rise lightweight wool trousers—a nice, warmer alternative to mid-gray
Cream high-rise cotton/linen trousers—the staple slightly-dressier pant for me in summer when off-white jeans don’t make sense. The flat front version here.
Shoes
Espadrilles—olive is my favorite color for espadrilles. Looks good with all the navy shorts I wear as well as the white/off white pants
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