RTW Blazers in Kuala Lumpur - Massimo Dutti or Sacoor Brothers?

Sacoor Brothers 

Massimo Dutti

Two of the nicer, high street ready to wear stores in and around Kuala Lumpur are by Massimo Dutti and Sacoor Brothers. Both are European in origin, with Massimo Dutti being Spanish (and part of the group which owns ZARA) and Sacoor Brothers from Portugal. Both brands have only been around Malaysia for less than a decade but have made their mark with a lot of people who seek clothes that are more classically styled instead of being following the trends.



The great thing about these two brands is the fact that they have in their stores a choice of unlined, semi-structured suits, sports jackets and blazers that would actually suit our hot and humid weather. Of course, any temperature at over 33degrees celcius and a humidity of over 65% requires going around without a jacket or a sweater when outdoors regardless of what style gurus may say. This is for those occasions when you can actually put on a blazer or a sports jacket.

So both are unlined (usually with only the sleeves lined) and have structure (i.e very little padding on the shoulders and some canvassing up front -or not at all). They usually have double vents and all sleeve buttons are of the working type (you can get them to alter from the shoulder). They are usually made out of cotton, cotton linen, linen or linen mix and are quite comfortable. The question that some would ask is that which is better?

The argument on which is better here is not centered around the price. Both can be bought for around the same price, from under RM500 to around RM1,500 depending whether the item is on sale or not. The tailoring or sitching that goes into both Massimo Dutti and Sacoor Brothers RTW blazers are quite similar. Of course you should not compare them to one from Canali or Zegna. This is a different price range. What these two give you are decent quality blazers using suitable fabrics that allow air to pass through (Linen especially) and all have the necessary warm weather blazer touches (patch pockets, working buttonholes, double vents, a  buttonhole on the lapel and decent stitching. Oh, both are proper blazers in length. The bum is covered when you wear them instead of some cheaper off the rack stuff).

What differentiates both is mainly the fit of the blazers. And this I believe is the most important aspect of buying anything off the rack (aside from totally sloppy stitching which basically means no quality control and a product unworthy to purchase). I suppose this leads down to how the items are designed and cut. I prefer Massimo Dutti over Sacoor. There is more waist suppression in the Massimo Dutti blazers compared to Sacoor Brothers. I have tried many from both and I feel that the actually makes the Massimo Dutti blazer look more tailored and even when the blazer is fitted to my large torso.

Aside from that Massimo Dutti also provides more adventurous materials too. The usage of linen, linen silk,  and cotton linen mix are more varied than what is seen in the Sacoor Brothers stores here. This allows more texture to your clothing, something which I fancy a lot these days.

So Massimo Dutti is the one I choose. In fact, three of their blazers share space in my wardrobe as I type.