Good tailor in Vancouver? - Page 15

Quality in terms of fabric and fit? Finished seams, etc.?

Thanks for the reply

I was wondering not just about classic items like shirts but also if I had a design from the runway or magazine that I'd like to wear. Not necessarily copied of course... taking bits and pieces

Looking forward to see the pictures!

I haven't been following this thread for some time, but dropped in today. It seems that some of you are looking for good MTM shirtmakers. A while back, I described my experiences in this area--not sure whether it was on this thread or another. In any case, in my experience the two best in Vancouver are (a) Chevalier Creations (925 W. Georgia--near Hornby; 604-687-8428) and (b) Minichiello's (North Van--127 W. Esplanade about a block west of Lonsdale; 604) 985-9222). I had Gabrielle, owner of Chevalier Creations, make me a shirt, and it was very nice. He made a personal pattern for me and, with my choice of a nice piece of 120s cotton shirting, the result was very good--but expensive. Gabrielle is an old-school shirtmaker and tailor and is very good, but his shirts, etc., are pricey. This fact led me to Minichiello's in North Van, where I've had about 6-8 shirts made. They too will cut a pattern that is a modification of a stock pattern (so it really is MTM and not bespoke), and, again with proper choice of fabric you'll get a great shirt--at about 2/3 to 3/4 the cost of Chevalier. The person to talk to at Minichiello's is Julie Minichiello, daughter of the founder, Paul Minichiello. Julie is running the business now and is a very nice, approachable, and knowledgeable woman. After my first shirt there, we tweaked the pattern a little, and by the third or fourth shirt, it was about as perfect as I could ask for. Cost is determined mainly by choice of fabric. You could get a good shirt of 100s for something under $200. I've had some 170s made for not much over $300.

I'm not sure whether this is what you guys are looking for, but, after a lot of research, I found them to be the best. There are numerous hole-in-the-wall shirtmakers scattered around Vancouver, but I haven't been impressed with the work they produce--although the price is generally low.

As for tailored clothes, I've had very good experiences at Minichiello's, where the tailor, Frank Fuscaldo, is pretty good. I've had a ton of alterations done by Frank, although never a full MTM garment. Still, some of the alterations have required a major bit of tailoring (taking off the sleeves, reduction in shoulder widths, nipping the waist, custom function sleeve buttons, etc.). The results have all been good. You could do pretty well with a MTM suit or jacket there, I think, where, again, choice of wool is the factor that drives the price. They do have a lot of Zegna wool. Frank, like many tailors (although not Tony Arletto, mentioned below), is pretty dogmatic, and you have to hold out for what you want. Frank, who is an old-world Italian tailor, has very definite ideas about how things should be, but he's not a pain in the ass, really; you just have to use a little assertiveness at times. I've also had a lot of tailoring work over the years done by Tony Arletto, who used to own European Custom Tailors, but now, evidently, has retired (or semi-retired, as I hear he's still doing some work). He was good, but I'm not sure that I'd take anything to (or have something made by) the guy who bought the business, Tony Tran (this is just my own opinion, based on very little hard evidence; others may have had good work done by him). So, if you can locate Tony Arletto and he'd be willing to do up a MTM suits or jacket, I think you'd be happy with the results.

Yup, I used Frank at Paul Minichiello's thanks to Roger's help and I am very happy so far! I find Steve Samson great for my daily shirts at around 100 each and Paul's for my really nice quality shirts and at around 350 each. I've also dealt with Zegna MTM, but then found at Paul's I could get one with zegna fabric done my way for less than 1/3 the cost. Actually, I'm heading out to Paul's now for a few fittings so I'll try to post pictures later.

So does anyone know if there are tailors where you can bring a design to them and they make it? I have a friend in NY who can do this with a tailor. (a girl though)

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience from Matz-Wozny custom tailors on Hornby. I had to rent my robes from there and the gentlemen told me that they use high quality material but have it tailored in Hong Kong to reduce the costs....any reviews/experiences?

Cheers

I purchased a Coppley MTM suit on the last day of their February sale (Feb. 28) and I received a call from the sales associate on Mar. 24 to come in for a fitting which I did last night. We're sending the pants in for hemming, taking the back in of the jacket a little more and the shirt I ordered needs to be drycleaned and he told me to expect these all to be done and everything in store again on Wednesday (Apr 1).

I'll post again if they're late next week but I don't imagine they would be at this stage in the process.

After reading through this thread, I went into Oakridge Tailors the other day, to get some alterations for a couple of my suits. I must say, William and Joy were both very friendly and professional. Looking forward to seeing the workmanship. Any recommendations for a good shoestore in Vancouver? Tks...

All you'll find are Ferragamo's and AE that is until Brook's opens, had dinner at Italian Kitchen across the street last night, they look to be a month or so away IMHO

Then we'll finally have some decent shoes in this town...

just wondering if anyone had any ideas, the answer to my question above^ ??

just wondering if HR has isaia mtm suit? thanks

I suppose it'll depend on what you're asking them to do. If we're talking a relatively standard suit, just with a fit/style you like I'm sure most tailors would be able to somewhat replicate.

Of course wearing a suit that Brad Pitt wore will not make you Brad Pitt ...

not really a suit.. It's a specific design. I guess it can be described as a shirt.. with a cowl and some drapes. Long sleeves.


different question...
Hand sewn details

For everybody who has gone to a tailor in Vancouver, do you notice any hand sewing? If you have a shirt with a patch pocket, could you take a photo of it? In tailoring, this is generally hand-sewn but I don't know how many tailors still do this nowadays (at least in Vancouver) since it's time-consuming. Like it would be insane to still do a buttonhole by hand. Not worth it. I am curious which ones if any still do hand-sewing.

Yes they do. I was very pleased with the result. Pricey but no real bespoke options in Vancouver

This discussion of Vancouver tailors is very interesting. I have had inconsistent results with Angelo Papa on Commercial Drive, who made no secret of the fact that he sends his shirt orders to a specialist in Montreal. Some pants and shirts were alright but one shirt order needed to be altered. Angelo is a self-made man, extremely hard working though he doesn't need to be anymore and, though I speak Italian to him, a man of few words. He has mysterious, unseen people, who are practically kept in a witness protection program, who do invisible mending which is amazing and worth the money.
I would like to try Minichiello in North Vancouver. I wish there were someone in Vancouver with whom one could establish a relationship,who would make design suggestions and who could make garments from start to finish, including a pattern. I aspire to a Cesare Attolini suit. In my experience, Vancouver tailors work from standard patterns which they adjust according to the client's body but do not design new styles. This is unfortuate because the styles can be quite unimaginative and remained unchanged for years. The Madison Store, connected to the late, lamented E.A. Lee, has some good things and they do MTM.

Bergdorf Goodman in New York keeps getting better and better but it's not very practical, logistically. You would have to stay there long enough for a fitting or two but the RTW selection is great anyway. For those of you who have written about Steve Samson's acceptable work, consider yourselves lucky. I marvel that someone who can neither sew nor design calls himself a "tailor". As was mentioned, he will not stop talking and a lot of it is completely unintelligable. That woman he calls an "assistant" is actually the backbone of the shop. The fabric selection is not particularly good quality.

The Zegna MTM program has exeptional fabrics and the suits I have seen were very nice.

Thanks again for such a great exchange of information!

Does anyone know about Steve of Samson's Wardrobes at 1240 Seymour Street in Vancouver? If so, how does he rate compared to those mentioned?

I appreciate any feedback.