Styleforum › Forums › Men's Style › Men's Clothing › Buying a tuxedo (made to measure?)
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Buying a tuxedo (made to measure?)

post #1 of 5
9/14/11 at 4:54am
Thread Starter 

Hello!

 

I find that as I get older (I'm now 33), I get invited to black tie events much more often. And since I'm getting married in just under 2 months, it's time to buy a tuxedo that I can wear for the wedding and thereafter. I'm interested in an extremely classic look. Peak lapels, single button, grosgrain facings, besom and double besom pockets, a low-slung, backless waistcoat, ventless jacket, etc.

 

I live in New York City, am 6'2", 195, athletic, and wear a 41" jacket. I had imagined getting a tuxedo made to order, but am balking a bit at the price and so I went yesterday to check out My.SuitNY, which does made to measure ($500 or $800), and Jos. A. Bank, because they are having a sale on all of their tuxedo separates and a jacket + pants will run less than $200. I also have a Hugo Boss suit that fits me very well and I've looked at their tuxedos (~900), which don't fit as well.  Finally, I've emailed Martin Greenfield and they said they can work with my time frame and that a 3 piece tux will run about $1800.

 

The problem with My.Suit, Jos. A. Bank and Hugo boss is that none of them do a low-slung (sort of U-shaped) waistcoat. Some of them do a vest or a cummerbund, but not the waistcoat. Anyone have thoughts on cummerbund vs. vest vs. waistcoat that they want to share?

 

My other question is about made to measure vs. taking an off the rack suit to a good tailor. Given that I was a fat kid and an athletic adult, my measurements did not fit a "blank" tuxedo at My.SuitNY and so they would basically taking their closest, standard American fitted suit and heavily altering it for me. In that case, I'm not sure why I wouldn't just buy the Jos. A. Bank tux that fits best across my chest and take it to a good tailor in the city. Can anyone share their thoughts with me on what the real difference is between made to measure vs. tailoring an off the rack suit? What really are the advantages of MTM? Separately, does anyone recommend a tailor that could heavily alter a tuxedo for me? My buddy has a guy in New Haven, but that's just a hike.

 

And if anyone wants to weigh in and say the Martin Greenfield tuxedo is going to be so dramatically better that I should really just suck up the cost. Again, I'm going to wear the tux about 4x/year. I'm conscious of the huge price difference but it's not going to break the bank to have a top notch tuxedo made for me.

 

Finally, I also looked at Mr. Ned's but recent reviews have been subpar. Any other suggestions under $2k are also welcome.

 

Thanks!

 

Reply
Reply
post #2 of 5
9/14/11 at 5:26am
Why not just go with Greenfield? If you have a budget of ~$2K then Greenfield seems a safe bet. If you have a figure that's difficult to fit, then MTM/custom/bespoke is the way to go. You'll get something tailor made for you, made to a very high standard, which should last you for decades. I think it would be a false economy to go with one of the cheaper, RTW options. Not really a fair comparison really; it's like comparing a budget car in terms of construction etc. with a well-made luxury vehicle.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 5
9/14/11 at 9:29am
i would avoid Mysuit..
Mr ned can take care of you for around $1000 for two piece. Not sure how much the vest will cost.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 5
9/15/11 at 5:42pm
I was in your situation a few months ago. I'm 32 and had a black tie wedding to go to. Figured it was time to own a decent tux. By the time I got around to looking for one there wasn't time to get a Made to Measure. I got one from Jos A Banks but have regretted it. What I WILL say for them was that when it went on sale for over $150 cheaper than I paid for it, they gave me the difference back - 4 weeks later after I had already altered and worn the tuxedo!

Anyway, I bought the LAST (so I was told - they had to call about 10 stores to fine one. . .it wasn't listed in their inventory) 38R available. my chest is 38". The shoulders were over an inch wide on either side, sleeves were a little long and there was a bit more room in the waist that I would like. I got the most important parts taken care of (hem the pants and take in the shoulders and sewed up the back vent) and I looked great at the wedding. Now I'm $300 in with alterations and I STILL will have to shorten the sleeves and do more waist surpression if I wanted it to be perfect. By the time I get it to where I like it I will have spent more money than buying MTM. I feel like even something like Indochino would have been a much better choice (for about $60 more than I've already spent) if I had the time to wait.

I just had a regular suit made by a startup clothing company. They're similar in operation to Indochino except I think they're better quality and they're based out of New York. I know they do tuxedos and I might bail on my Jos A Banks and get a new one (want to buy it? only worn once!) from them. They haven't officially "launched" yet (and I don't want to look like i'm a shill!) so if you're interested in talking to the guy i'll send you his contact info. Being in New York, it couldn't hurt!

-James
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 5
9/15/11 at 5:52pm
If Greenfield can do it for $1800, go that route. I know other bespoke makers like Gieves & Hawkes start at about $4000.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Men's Clothing
Styleforum › Forums › Men's Style › Men's Clothing › Buying a tuxedo (made to measure?)