Elite Suits - Official Affiliate Thread - Page 11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilmour 

My Suit has arrived definitely needs pressing I will post some photos as soon as get around to it.

I had a busy day at work and I did little more than take the suit out of the packaging and try the the Jacket on over a work shirt but the fit to me seemed good but, I am no expert as this is my first suit and will be looking for some expert advice as to the fit

 

Should I get it pressed first or should I just take some photos for fit critique as it may need alterations and I presume I would need to get it pressed again after alterations.

There is so much more you can say about this suit apart from fit. Like all online MTM suits the quality of the fit will depend on the accuracy of the measurements supplied. You did the right thing by going to Maher to have your measurements properly done. He has done a number of my customers and I have found him to be very good. Also you are taking the final step that so many online purchasers omit by taking your suit in for a fitting and final adjustments so fit should not be a problem.

The Ausfine fabric is some of the best merino wool ever to come out of Australia. The owners guard the reputation of their brand feverishly so you know the wool is always of the highest quality.

The suit was completely hand made by a tailor just outside Shanghai who has over 30 years experience in hand making bespoke suits. No sewing machines here, just a needle and thread and over 4,000 individual hand made stitches and many hours of work went into the making of your suit. This tailor makes suits under contract for bespoke tailors all over the world and his work is always of the highest quality.

We specially imported the canvas from a firm in England that has been making suit canvas for more than a century. It's a new type of canvas specially made for this type of high grade superfine wool. It's designed to give the jacket the necessary structure without adding any excess weight It's the first time we have used it and any comments on how it feels would be welcomed.

Finally (and importantly) there is the price. Suits of this highest standard don't come cheap. For a jacket, vest and two trousers hand made from fabric of this quality you would expect to pay well over $5,000 from a bespoke tailor. There is a tailor on Savile Row using Ausfine fabric where it would cost over ten grand for this suit. It certainly makes our price the bargain I promised you.

Treat this suit with the care it deserves and it will look like new for the rest of your life unlike too many of the machine made factory produced suits of today

Ever wondered how we successfully sell many suits for over $1,000 online? Here one of the many reasons why?

Our Version of a Tom Ford suit

Fabric imported directly from Yorkshire England the undisputed home of fine suiting cloth combined with world class hand tailoring makes for a suit comparable to the best designer labels at a fraction of the price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by usctrojans31 


That suit looks absolutely awful. The reason the large pockets work on Tom Ford is that they're balanced by the wide lapel. You've managed to make your suit pear shaped...kudos.

I was hoping to have this suit longer than I did so I could get some great photos of it. Unfortunately it arrived only an hour before I agreed to meet the customer and really the photos don't do this superb suit justice.

I actually agree with your comments on the balance of the suit however the comment that "You've managed to make your suit pear shaped" underscores something that many people seem to have difficulty understanding.

We are a "made to measure" company where we make our suits according to the measurements supplied by the customer. In this case we were given strict and precise (down to the millimetre) instructions regarding the size of both the lapels and pocket flaps. We were certainly not going to make an arbitrary decision to change them simply because we didn't like the look of them.

So we didn't make the suit look pear shaped all we did was follow the clear instructions of the customer. There was some discussions previously on a suit with a short jacket and another with longish sleeves but if after we check the measurements with the customers they tell us they want a 75cm long jacket or 65cm sleeves what length do you think we should make them?

Seeing the finished suit I also have my doubts on how it works although the customer is rather tall so he may get away with it. However, when discussing the order with the customer I actually did question the measurement of the pocket flaps and the customers extremely valid reply was to proceed according to the supplied instructions and if he doesn't like them he will get his tailor to make them smaller. As you can imagine a customer who buys $7,000 suits has a good tailor and it was always his intention to take the finished suit in for a tweak. Reducing the size of the pocket flaps would be a quick and easy job and a lot easier then making them bigger.

It's a minor issue with what is a beautiful suit and if it needs to be it's easily and cheaply fixed. The only important thing is that the customer absolutely loves his new suit and now wants to order another and repeat business is what we survive on.

When a customer whose previous purchase was a $7,000 Tom Ford original gives us such high praise on a suit we sell for $999 it only reinforces that we are doing the right thing offering superior suits hand tailored in the traditional manner with high quality fabrics at value for money prices.

Quote:

Originally Posted by UnnamedPlayer 

 

The takeaway from this is:

A) You are willing to prostitute yourself and make something that you don't think has good balance as long as you get paid, and

B) You will offer no input/guidance/advice/direction on what looks good or bad and what should or shouldn;t be done.

 

nice.

It's no wonder you called yourself "Unnamed Player" as I'd be ashamed to put my name to your posts as well. The one yesterday was puerile and pointless and this one is even worse.

Are you seriously suggesting that we set ourselves up as some sort of self appointed arbitrator of good taste and decide what a customer can or cannot have on his suit? The concept is so far past ridiculous that it's laughable. Where would we stop? Do we get to the stage where we email a customer to tell them they can't have the suit in the fabric they selected as it will clash with the shirt they also ordered? Your comment is so beyond foolish I was looking for the emoticons as I am having trouble believing that somebody could write something so outlandish without it being some sort of joke.

To address your points in reverse order

"You will offer no input/guidance/advice/direction on what looks good or bad and what should or shouldn't be done"

It appears you missed the part where I wrote "when discussing the order with the customer I actually did question the measurement of the pocket flaps and the customers extremely valid reply was to proceed according to the supplied instructions and if he doesn't like them he will get his tailor to make them smaller". 

He was right too. If he doesn't like them then it's quickly and easily rectified post delivery.

"You are willing to prostitute yourself and make something that you don't think has good balance as long as you get paid"

If making something to the specifications requested by the customer makes us a prostitute then we are happy to be the biggest whores in town.

It appears that for some totally unfathomable reason you are attempting to become this thread's troll. You are going to have to pick up your game a little as presently you're simply coming across as a 10 year old at daddy's computer.

One of the things people find hard to understand is that online MTM is a process. The chances of receiving a perfectly fitting suit simply by sending in a set of measurements is remote. If you buy a MTM suit in store they will take your measurements and send them to an Asian suit factor. When the finished suit arrives it's unlikely to fit properly. They call you in for a fitting then send the suit to be altered to fit better. Thees alterations are included in the upfront cost of the suit and can add over $100 to the initial price.

We also send your measurements away for the suit to be made. The difference is we use independent tailors instad of the factories. When your first suit arrives it's highly likely it will at least need a tweak to fit properly. Most alterations to a customers first suit simply involve bringing in the hips and waist a little which is an easy job and usually costs less then $50. If the suit needed alterations in excess of $100 it would more than likely fall under our No Worries Guarantee meaning we would pay for the alterations or remake the suit.

Here's a good example. This customer ordered a suit last year. When it arrived he took it to a tailor for a slight tweak and then used the altered suit as a template for his next order. Here's the result (click on the photo for a larger view)

This is straight out of the box and hasn't even had a press. Is it 100% perfect? No, but we're getting there. The shoulders, jacket and sleeve length are good and the chest and hips seem OK. There are a few things that I'd suggest for the next suit.

1. The obvious one is that the cuffs on the left hand need to be made bigger to allow for the chunky watch. This goes for the shirt as well (which we didn't make).
2. There also seems to be some scope for bringing in the waist a little to give a more tapered effect
3. I'd also recommend that he considers lowering the button stance a little.
4. The trousers aren't breaking properly and may need to be slightly enlarged at the end. However, they may simply need a little tug to get over the back of the shoe and may sit better after the suit has been pressed

Just a few minor modifications and we will have a set of finished measurements that will allow this customer to order any of our suits that will fit very close to perfect straight out of the box. The majority of Elite Suits business every month is from repeat customers. Each time they order a suit it fits better than the previous one. We have a number who are at the stage where they no longer have to submit measurements and simply order a suit and send us the fabric choice. It does get that easy.

When you consider that the suit above was less than $500 for a Full Canvas suit with two pair of trousers it's no wonder they come back

Sold a fully hand stitched suit to a Styleforum member in Sweden this morning. He picked this fabric

Clissold Grey Herringbone

This will make a truly beautiful suit any man would be proud to own

These are great extremely high quality fabrics that we import from Yorkshire in the UK. Read more about them HERE

The fully canvassed tailor made suits at $699 are a great bargain but the biggest seller by far is the fully hand stitched "almost bespoke" version.

There are still people who want to buy high quality suit at a value for money price and these are bespoke quality fabrics and completely hand made by a highly experienced tailor with decades of experience of making bespoke suits for some of China and Hong Kong's best known fashion houses. At less than a grand they certainly fit the bill in every way possible.

Don't forget you can also have these great Holland & Sherry fabrics at the same price. Also don't forget if your worried about the made to measure process we can also make them in a standard off the rack sizing.

We're currently making a Canadian Styleforum member a three piece double breasted suit out of this Clissold Fabric. It's in a Tom Ford look with wide peak lapels etc. Should be finished soon and I'm going to ask him to send me some pictures. It will be a fantastic suit and I can't wait to see the finished result.

One other thing worth a quick mention is that out last three hand stitched suit sales have been to Sweden, Germany and to the UK. So for European members just because you don't live in North America don't think you miss out. Our European sales are growing every month as more and more people recognise the extraordinary value we offer on high quality hand made suits. We're even talking to a customer in Brazil who is nearly ready to place his order. So South America is coming on board as well.

The funny this is that the UK customer lives 15 minutes away from the Clissold mill. So we're exporting the wool from his home town to our tailor in Shanghai and sending the finished suit back to him in Bradford. Not only is it at a far better price he can buy in England our suit is much better tailored than the factory made suits he's been offered at home for twice the price.