Chicago suit stores? - Page 2

I'm also interested to see what responses you get.

My suits are all from Brooks Brothers and Hugo Boss, all but one in the $500-1,000 range thanks to sale pricing, but I'm tired of both sources. Brooks does not have the quality of fit or styling, nor is the fabric very good, and the construction quality on their 1818 line has been declining. Boss styling and fit is better, but their construction is not very good quality, and the tailor at their Michigan Ave store was pretty bad -- nowhere near as good as the Boss tailor in Short Hills, NJ. Besides, both Brooks' and Boss' OTR feel over-priced at full retail price, and the selection on sale is limited.

I'm in the process of making 3 bespoke suits with that same tailor in NJ, who has just started up his own shop for custom suits, but the logistics of working with him remotely are not going well.

So I'm looking for new options. Despos sounds great, but I don't think I'm ready to triple or quadruple my spend per suit. I've noticed a lot of on-line advertising for Balani, but I have not seen any positive references around here.

Saks and Zegna and other stores have some nice options, but if a suit costs more than $2k OTR, then it would be better to just go straight to Despos.

+1. One of my very good friends bought some suits at Boss on Mich Ave this summer and had them tailored there and they completely botched it, despite him being quite specific about what he wanted. Now he is stuck with a $1500+ suit that he doesn't really like. He spoke to management about it and all they were willing to do was give him 10% off.

 

I picked up my first Balani suit last week. I am happy with the suit and the service but I don't have enough familiarity with the market to know if their prices are competitive. I will say that I think their website pricing is mostly bait-and-switch; they advertise suits starting at $795 but when I went in for my first appointment the available swatches ranged in price from $1300 on up. I ended up getting a navy suit for about $1600, using a worsted from Holland & Sherry. They do throw in a free shirt with your first order.

 

According to my tailor, every suit at Balani is fully canvassed; they don't use fusing for anything. The pants have the usual details, e.g., rubber grips at the waist to keep your shirt tucked in and side-tabs for minor waist adjustments. I asked them to add buttons for braces and leave off the belt loops. I didn't get working cuffs on the jacket, but I will probably ask for them on future orders.

Wilfred Newman has a sale for one custom made suit for $445 on Gilt City Chicago.

http://www.wilfrednewman.com/

It doesn't look terribly impressive to me, maybe I am dead wrong.

How about places to alter OTR clothing in Chicago?

I've got a number of things that need tailoring (and recently moved to the loop). I was thinking of taking them to Paul Chang to try him out. Any other suggestions? Despos is absolutely out of the question based on price.

We don't do alterations but I send people who ask to Nick at Oak St Tailors, 102 E Oak St # 2W

Any relation to Alfred E.?

Lol. Oh Chris Despos, how I pine for one of your custom made suits. One day, one day.

What, me worry?

FYI Chicago crew, here is $50 free to Paul Stuart in Chicago just for filling out your info. Not a scam, no strings attached, gotta use it within the next month. Get yerself some free stockings for stocking stuffers. http://www.paulstuart.com/chicago_promo.cfm

Sorry if this qualifies as thread necromancy. I decided to take a punt on Balani and see how it goes. I just did the initial consultation and I will share further impressions when I receive the end product.

A couple of initial impressions:

The price point is even more misleading than jayhawker described. They might advertise "starting from $795" but I did not see anything below $1600 in the available swatches, and those were pretty basic. I settled on something at $2300, which is $2500 when you add taxes.
Not to be crass considering Chris Despos posts here, but what is the realistic price point for Despos? If "starting from" is so misleading, I would like to have a realistic basis for comparison. Starting from $3k might mean $5k is a realistic price point. However, if $3-4k is a realistic price point for Despos, then Balani needs to be excellent to keep my business at their prices.

The process involves an associate/consultant asking your preferences and then taking detailed measurements, then the actual cutting and construction are done in Hong Kong. You do not work directly with the tailor who will do the cutting and construction. The first fitting involves a first pass at the complete suit, not just testing the shape of the canvas against your torso. The later stages of adjustments may be done by tailors on site to allow for their 6-7 week turnaround on the entire process.
I'm not sure that process is worthy of bespoke pricing but I'll reserve judgment for now. If I am looking for a high quality custom suit then I would expect direct contact with the tailor.

Overall, they seem to know what they are doing: the associate/consultant was knowledgeable and easy to work with, they had a good range of fabrics, they seem prepared to incorporate customized styling, fit and details and they seem confident in their production process and time frame.