Q: I was flipping through an old issue of GQ, and I noticed a Ralph Lauren Black Label suit listed at $1,295. On the next page, a really cool Black Label sport coat was listed for $1,095. What’s up with that? How come designer sport coats are so expensive? They’re half a suit; shouldn’t they be half the price?

A: If you look at a well-made jacket, one with hand tailoring and canvas construction, you’ll see that it contains a lot more work than a well-made pair of trousers. The jacket contains something like 80 or 90 percent of the work in a suit. And then there’s the fabric. A cashmere sport jacket might cost a lot more than a worsted wool three-piece suit.

February 2006

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