archibaldleach
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In late March, Brooks Brothers had one of their semi-annual made to measure events here in Chicago and I decided to take the plunge. I'm very happy with my things from Joe at MyTailor but figured it never hurts to try something new, especially when you have a brick and mortar store that you can stop in if there are issues.
Preparation:
I do suggest making an appointment or at least phoning ahead so they know to expect you. I did this and I think it helped. You can probably get away without doing it but there were a decent amount of people looking at MTM options as they had their MTM event over a weekend. If you know a particular model (Madison, Regent, Fitzgerald, Milano) fits you well and you own something in that model, wearing it helps as well. I wore an 1818 Regent suit.
Fabric Selection:
After being greated by one of the salespeople I had spoken to about coming it, I was asked what I was in the market for. Since I don't tend to wear a suit too often and already had a solid grey and solid navy suit, I decided to go for an odd jacket and trousers as well as a shirt. After looking through several different fabric books, I selected a brown herringbone Harris Tweed fabric for the odd jacket (red paisley, medium grey flannel for the trousers and a basic blue end-on-end for the shirt. Total was $1690 before tax ($480 for trousers, $1075 for jacket, $135 for shirt). I will also say that the fabric selection was great (I am not super-knowledgeable about different mills, but in terms of weights, designs and the like, you had a lot of choices, and the fabrics I got on the finished products feel quite substantial and I sense they will last awhile).
Customized Options / Measurement:
After selecting fabric, I spoke with the salesperson and tailor who was going to be fitting me about the different options. Choices for the jacket included pocket style, lapel stitching, vents and a few other things that I no longer remember. Choices for the pants included pocket style, presence of rear pockets, cuffs / no cuffs, pleats / flat front, belt / suspenders / side tabs, etc.. Choices for the shirt included collar style (they have several options), french cuffs vs. barrel, pocket on shirt / no pocket, box pleat / side pleats / plain back, etc. I opted for 3 patch, side vents and no pick stitching on the lapel for the jacket. I went with flat front, belt loops, no cuff and slanted pockets (vs. on seam) with back pockets for the trousers. For the shirt, a moderate spread collar, clean back, no pockets and french cuffs.
I was then measured my Mario, one of the tailors in the Michicagn Avenue store (and I think the head tailor there). He noted and we discussed some potential adjustments for things like erect posture. For jacket, shirt and pants, the idea is similar. You determine the best model / fit, try it on and they'll note various adjustments that need to be made. Fitting rooms were a bit crowded but I can't say I was shocked by this. I probably spent a bit over an hour on the initial visit, a decent amount of which involved looking at fabric.
Initial Fitting:
In May, I got an email informing me that my clothes were ready to try. Some minor adjustments were made to the jacket sleeves so the buttonholes could be sewn, trousers were taken in slightly in the seat and crotch area and the shirt was slimmed down a bit, particularly in the waist.
Finale / Conclusion:
I received my final garments on Monday, though they were ready several days before that. Overall, I'm pretty pleased. The pants fit and drape very nicely (I'm sure heavy flannel doesn't hurt). The jacket fits comfortably in the chest and shoulders. I may get a bit more waist suppression on my next jacket if I get one but kind of like a slightly more relaxed look with a heavy tweed and I don't consider the fit to be boxy or anything like that. Jacket and trousers both seem quite durable. For the shirt, I'll be extending the collar points a bit and see if they can slim down the sleeves if I reorder. I will try to post good pictures at some point as well.
Overall, I think that Joe Hemrajani of MyTailor provides a better value in terms of jackets and shirts. Trousers are a bit more of a toss-up, though I should really have Joe make me a pair of heavy grey flannels to get a better comparison point. I did really like the BB trousers, maybe even more than the odd jacket. I think you get a decent value during the MTM event (prices would have been about 1/3 higher had I not purchased at this time) but probably not such a great value outside of this event. I'm happy to try to answer questions to the best of my ability as well.
I'm also seeing if Luxire can nail the bit based on my measuring these trousers, so that will be interesting as well.
Preparation:
I do suggest making an appointment or at least phoning ahead so they know to expect you. I did this and I think it helped. You can probably get away without doing it but there were a decent amount of people looking at MTM options as they had their MTM event over a weekend. If you know a particular model (Madison, Regent, Fitzgerald, Milano) fits you well and you own something in that model, wearing it helps as well. I wore an 1818 Regent suit.
Fabric Selection:
After being greated by one of the salespeople I had spoken to about coming it, I was asked what I was in the market for. Since I don't tend to wear a suit too often and already had a solid grey and solid navy suit, I decided to go for an odd jacket and trousers as well as a shirt. After looking through several different fabric books, I selected a brown herringbone Harris Tweed fabric for the odd jacket (red paisley, medium grey flannel for the trousers and a basic blue end-on-end for the shirt. Total was $1690 before tax ($480 for trousers, $1075 for jacket, $135 for shirt). I will also say that the fabric selection was great (I am not super-knowledgeable about different mills, but in terms of weights, designs and the like, you had a lot of choices, and the fabrics I got on the finished products feel quite substantial and I sense they will last awhile).
Customized Options / Measurement:
After selecting fabric, I spoke with the salesperson and tailor who was going to be fitting me about the different options. Choices for the jacket included pocket style, lapel stitching, vents and a few other things that I no longer remember. Choices for the pants included pocket style, presence of rear pockets, cuffs / no cuffs, pleats / flat front, belt / suspenders / side tabs, etc.. Choices for the shirt included collar style (they have several options), french cuffs vs. barrel, pocket on shirt / no pocket, box pleat / side pleats / plain back, etc. I opted for 3 patch, side vents and no pick stitching on the lapel for the jacket. I went with flat front, belt loops, no cuff and slanted pockets (vs. on seam) with back pockets for the trousers. For the shirt, a moderate spread collar, clean back, no pockets and french cuffs.
I was then measured my Mario, one of the tailors in the Michicagn Avenue store (and I think the head tailor there). He noted and we discussed some potential adjustments for things like erect posture. For jacket, shirt and pants, the idea is similar. You determine the best model / fit, try it on and they'll note various adjustments that need to be made. Fitting rooms were a bit crowded but I can't say I was shocked by this. I probably spent a bit over an hour on the initial visit, a decent amount of which involved looking at fabric.
Initial Fitting:
In May, I got an email informing me that my clothes were ready to try. Some minor adjustments were made to the jacket sleeves so the buttonholes could be sewn, trousers were taken in slightly in the seat and crotch area and the shirt was slimmed down a bit, particularly in the waist.
Finale / Conclusion:
I received my final garments on Monday, though they were ready several days before that. Overall, I'm pretty pleased. The pants fit and drape very nicely (I'm sure heavy flannel doesn't hurt). The jacket fits comfortably in the chest and shoulders. I may get a bit more waist suppression on my next jacket if I get one but kind of like a slightly more relaxed look with a heavy tweed and I don't consider the fit to be boxy or anything like that. Jacket and trousers both seem quite durable. For the shirt, I'll be extending the collar points a bit and see if they can slim down the sleeves if I reorder. I will try to post good pictures at some point as well.
Overall, I think that Joe Hemrajani of MyTailor provides a better value in terms of jackets and shirts. Trousers are a bit more of a toss-up, though I should really have Joe make me a pair of heavy grey flannels to get a better comparison point. I did really like the BB trousers, maybe even more than the odd jacket. I think you get a decent value during the MTM event (prices would have been about 1/3 higher had I not purchased at this time) but probably not such a great value outside of this event. I'm happy to try to answer questions to the best of my ability as well.
I'm also seeing if Luxire can nail the bit based on my measuring these trousers, so that will be interesting as well.
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