We finally made our way back to the Brooks Brothers flagship at 45th & Madison to get a closer look at the heavily hyped Black Fleece collection designed by current menswear wunderkind Thom Browne. We have a love/hate thing for Browne's clothes. Crazy runway items aside, we want to like them more than we actually do mainly because they just don't fit The Shophound, at least not without major alterations. Before we hit Brooks, we stopped by Barneys and saw a beautiful camel cashmere suit from Browne for fall. Beautiful to look at, but the suit was made from coat weight cashmere. Imagine wearing pants as thick as a coat.
With central heating.
We're sweating just thinking about it.
We decided to approach Black Fleece with a clean slate.
A good portion of the Third Floor has been set aside for both the men's and women's collections. The line is Browne's take on archetypal Brooks Brothers classics like navy, chalk striped and gray flannel suits. Oxford shirts with button down collars also get the Browne makeover, and classic repp stripe ties get slimmed down to reflect the jackets' narrower lapels. The presentation echoes Browne's own signatures. Sturdy wooden hangers are affixed with Black Fleece labels just like those in Browne's own shop, and details like big size tags remain as well. The line is made in Italy, and suits carry all the hallmarks of hand tailoring. The high quality of the construction looked the same as that of Browne's label Many jackets are half lined displaying meticulous hand finishing on the inside. Ski vests in tweed and flannel echoed previous looks from Browne's line, but Black Fleece is priced about 30% lower, so if you missed them the first time around, here's your second chance at a better price. U.S. made Oxford shirts were priced at $150 compared to around $250 for very similar items with the Thom Browne label. Still expensive by Brooks Brothers standards, but a bargain for Browne fans, several of whom we encountered on our visit.
After the jump, what we loved and didn't love about Black Fleece.

We tried on a navy three button flannel suit pictured at left for $2,700 compared to over $4,000 or more for one from Browne's label. Let's start with the good:
â?¢ It fits!
Our salesperson told us that the clothing was cut about a size larger than the Thom Browne label which explains this pleasant surprise. The pants were another story: Miserably small until we realized that the suit was a mismatch. Once we got the correct size, they were fine. A trouser hem and a little sleeve shortening and we would be good to go.
â?¢ It looks good
The jacket is not quite as abbreviated as Browne's typical styles, and we can hem the pants however we want rather than the designer's preferred flood length. The jacket's a little boxy which is part of the style,  but our salesperson is quick to point out that it can easily be shaped. Really quick. She's been through this before. The overall look is less extreme, but not basic or boring. We could totally see ourselves in this suit.
Anybody got $2,700 for us?
â?¢ The Fabrics
In his own line, Browne is partial to heavy, thick, stiff British-style fabrics which can make hi clothes heavy, thick and stiff. While there are still a few beefy weaves in the Black Fleece line, the fabrics are mostly lighter and more supple weights increasing the comfort and saleability factors.
Here's what didn't work so well:
â?¢ The Sizing
The line is idiosyncratically sized like Browne's label in sizes 0 to 5. No shorts, no longs. It worked OK for us, but we observed another much taller customer who walked in asking for a 40 Long. The jacket on him was much more exaggeratedly short. Even when he tried the matching pants, the proportion was ungainly on him, and he left empty handed. If you can't fit someone asking for a common stock size, you have a fundamental sales problem, and we can't see why Browne's designs can't be adapted to more conventional sizing.
â?¢ The Sleeves
Specifically the working buttonholes on the jacket sleeves. People tend to get excited about "bespoke" details like this, but in the end they cause trouble. Why? Because now, shortening sleeves requires expensive removal and re-cutting of the sleeve from the top. If you need lengthening, then you aren't going to buy the suit at all, because it probably can't be done. Most jackets in this price and quality range are usually sold with basted sleeve hems and a packet of buttons so the store or your tailor can easily finish the sleeve before cutting a buttonhole. These should be too.
â?¢ The Sweater
The cashmere pullover ($700) we tried was loomed in Scotland and featured Browne signatures like button plackets on the sleeves and a wide ribbed hem. Here's where we ran into trouble. The tight superfitted shape with a wide waistband looked like...a lady's sweater, which made us suspect that like Hedi Slimane at Dior, Browne has been selling more than a few of his slim suits to women. Stranger things have happened.

Overall, we liked Black Fleece more than we thought we would, and it looks like there's some potential there to develop it as real business for Brooks Brothers rather than an attention-getting marketing ploy. The sales staff appreciated having something new and special, and on a quiet Wednesday afternoon, there were customers who came in specifically to see it. There were definitely a few showpieces in the mix. White flannel ensembles with tattersall checks are tough for even dandies to pull off, and we have no idea who is going to wear the swallowtail schoolboy jacket or the astrakhan collared opera cape, but there were definitely hits, and the salesperson told us some sizes were already sold out in several items. The line certainly provides a viable and less costly alternative for frustrated Thom Browne fans.
So we're serious. If anyone wants to spring for that suit....