• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Articles of Style shop?

TOstyle

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
608
Reaction score
82
Agree with you 1,000% @doodledoc - that is an $800 suit, not a $1200 one.

Honestly, I never thought the AOS guys would trade on their reputation like this. I think they have a great website - I've seen it get steadily better over the years from TSB to now, which quality photography and good features. I've met Dan a couple times at events in NYC, and he's a good guy (a fellow Canuck living in NYC). I didn't think it would come to this.
 

jonathanS

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Messages
2,757
Reaction score
1,487
Are your suits fully canvassed?
Half canvassed. Having a canvas in the bottom half of the jacket panels only adds unnecessary weight and stiffness.

Cool story bro.

I was trying to be nice when I said they were half canvassed & I wouldn't partake, but actually, I just find that last part truly disgusting. Just wow... Thats just a total lie. Wow.
 

Shirtmaven

Distinguished Member
Dubiously Honored
Joined
Dec 26, 2003
Messages
3,790
Reaction score
1,002
i haven't figured out how they get measurements


i want to see a non tailor work with a basted fitting that does not have buttonholes who is going to pin the front.

it is an adventurous concept.
one that could land VC money.
I just don't see how it can work.
 

TOstyle

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
608
Reaction score
82
@Shirtmaven maybe that's getting a little technical, but what do you mean there? Are you just saying see if you could get a non-tailor to do proper fittings for basted garments? Or am I missing something...
 

fieldofdreams

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
853
Reaction score
554
I'm very late to the party but I'll chime in. The site features a lot of men who are popular in the menswear community. I'm sure the site has a ton of readers, I'm one. There are probably a lot of fans that can afford to just buy the suits. The fabrics he chose all do look nice. Like others said there are no mention of fabric mills. That and half canvassing at that price seems high, to everyone on here. I'm sure they are still selling though. One thing that doesn't really make since is that the lapels are relatively skinny. Normally the suits on the site have large lapels. I wouldn't spend my money on one of these suits. I'd definitely go KW, just like others have said.
 

cabinwood

Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2016
Messages
10
Reaction score
2
I thought i'd jump in on this as I've spent 1200 on a three piece suit from AOS. I don't regret it, but my tailor could have made something of similar quality and truly bespoke for about 900, and saved time in the process.

The process:

Initially you put in some generic info about your size and body type in the profile section. It includes things like what size neck and waist, etc. Nothing very specific.

Next you spend 1200 on a suit, based purely on a picture on their site. Then you wait 4-6 six weeks.

Then a sample garment arrives in the mail. Mine was a black worsted wool unconstructed, unfinished jacket with a vest and trousers. It was too tight in all areas. You take several pictures in this sample garment, from all angles, and send them back to AOS where Dan (who is great) personally reviews the pics. You also give any feedback you have about the garments fit at that time.

4-6 weeks later your suit arrives in the mail. It is tailored to your body and posture based on the pictures and feedback you provide Dan with. My suit fit well, but still required additional alterations. One sleeve was 1/2" longer than the other. The vest needed taken in, the jacket needed some material adjusted slightly.

You take pictures in the final garment as well, and Dan will take notes and save your final measurements in their system for future orders.


Any work you need to have done to the suit is done by a tailor of your choosing. After you pay for the alterations AOS will credit your account, if you provide a receipt form your tailor.


---------------

With all that said, I love my suit. It's gorgeous. But the process is a bit of a hassle. The garment isn't really bespoke and you have absolutely 0 input when it comes to features of the garment. You cannot change lapels, or cuffs or anything about the suit at all. Dan told me personally that this was because he wanted the suits to have a timeless appeal and he personally chose things like lapel width and placement based on the individuals body type.

All-in-all I bought the suit because of Dan. The guy knows his stuff, and must've answered 20 emails from during the process. Also I respect people who are ambitious enough to pursue their dreams and wanted to support his venture.

I'm open to any questions.
 

jonathanS

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Messages
2,757
Reaction score
1,487
I thought i'd jump in on this as I've spent 1200 on a three piece suit from AOS. I don't regret it, but my tailor could have made something of similar quality and truly bespoke for about 900, and saved time in the process.

The process:

Initially you put in some generic info about your size and body type in the profile section. It includes things like what size neck and waist, etc. Nothing very specific.

Next you spend 1200 on a suit, based purely on a picture on their site. Then you wait 4-6 six weeks.

Then a sample garment arrives in the mail. Mine was a black worsted wool unconstructed, unfinished jacket with a vest and trousers. It was too tight in all areas. You take several pictures in this sample garment, from all angles, and send them back to AOS where Dan (who is great) personally reviews the pics. You also give any feedback you have about the garments fit at that time.

4-6 weeks later your suit arrives in the mail. It is tailored to your body and posture based on the pictures and feedback you provide Dan with. My suit fit well, but still required additional alterations. One sleeve was 1/2" longer than the other. The vest needed taken in, the jacket needed some material adjusted slightly.

You take pictures in the final garment as well, and Dan will take notes and save your final measurements in their system for future orders.


Any work you need to have done to the suit is done by a tailor of your choosing. After you pay for the alterations AOS will credit your account, if you provide a receipt form your tailor.


---------------

With all that said, I love my suit. It's gorgeous. But the process is a bit of a hassle. The garment isn't really bespoke and you have absolutely 0 input when it comes to features of the garment. You cannot change lapels, or cuffs or anything about the suit at all. Dan told me personally that this was because he wanted the suits to have a timeless appeal and he personally chose things like lapel width and placement based on the individuals body type.

All-in-all I bought the suit because of Dan. The guy knows his stuff, and must've answered 20 emails from during the process. Also I respect people who are ambitious enough to pursue their dreams and wanted to support his venture.

I'm open to any questions.

You Can't get a true bespoke for $900. You'd really be lucky to get mtm. As I understand it, its half canvassed (website info), can you confirm this? This seems like an overly expensive version of a Jack Victor / David Donohue quality suit. At their prices, you'd be much better off with Samuelsohn or Hickey Freeman Addison/Beacon lines.
 

cabinwood

Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2016
Messages
10
Reaction score
2
Just relaying what my tailor told me. He said he could make me a custom suit for 900. He is old school Italian and barely speaks English so maybe something was lost in translation. My suit is half canvased. And unconstructed.

Another reason I paid so much is because of the fabric. Its a natural Shetland tweed and I couldn't find that type of fabric anywhere else at the time. I've since seen something similar at Booksters and Oliver Wick, but couldn't vouch for their quality or process.
 

fieldofdreams

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
853
Reaction score
554
I don't see the value to justify the price. He doesn't appear to use brand name mills and his suits are half canvas. I know that doesn't disqualify the suits from being nice, but it shows he is cutting costs, which are not being passed down to theconsumer.

For that price you could get a higher end fabric from a reputable mill and full canvas from Kent Wang. The process would be similar as well.

I think he knows that a lot of guys learned a lot from him and will buy from him on his name alone. Six months ago I may have feel into this camp as well. I like his offerings, but he appears to be gouging his clients, unless there is some value that I missed.
 

TOstyle

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
608
Reaction score
82
I agree. I've been a fan of AOS since Dan was back in the TSBmen days, and they have really come along. The photography hasn't gotten waaaaay better.

But this suiting offering is........not good. I get what they are doing and all, as they are trying to have a proper fitting based on a try-on garment - but the logsitics are terrible. It's really only an option if you don't live in a city with a MTM shop you can run into (and this is made-to-measure, not bespoke). The higher price point probably comes from the need to ship back-and-forth so many times, and then needing to account for the fact that every suit will need to get alterations.

The thing is, if Dan was reviewing this on an AOS blog, we probably wouldn't have good things to say about it. Kind of crappy that this is the route they decided to take. As a guy who likes menswear and custom suits, this is a step backwards, not forwards.
 

cabinwood

Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2016
Messages
10
Reaction score
2
Well I sent Dan a copy of this thread. He may chime in himself. It's his business so I assume he could explain it much better than I could.
 

jonathanS

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Messages
2,757
Reaction score
1,487

I agree. I've been a fan of AOS since Dan was back in the TSBmen days, and they have really come along. The photography hasn't gotten waaaaay better.

But this suiting offering is........not good. I get what they are doing and all, as they are trying to have a proper fitting based on a try-on garment - but the logsitics are terrible. It's really only an option if you don't live in a city with a MTM shop you can run into (and this is made-to-measure, not bespoke). The higher price point probably comes from the need to ship back-and-forth so many times, and then needing to account for the fact that every suit will need to get alterations.

The thing is, if Dan was reviewing this on an AOS blog, we probably wouldn't have good things to say about it. Kind of crappy that this is the route they decided to take. As a guy who likes menswear and custom suits, this is a step backwards, not forwards.


He had some interesting articles. I stopped reading when it, in my opinion, became a forum to sell an overpriced product knocking on the door of Samuelsohn & hickey freeman prices (and not even close in terms of quality). I'm an economist. I understand it & signaling. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing. I'm just saying it's not my cup of tea. Not to mention I find the way "bespoke" is used obnoxious - I find it rather misleading.
 

TOstyle

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
608
Reaction score
82
I especially agree on the use of bespoke. Frankly, it's the kind of thing that I hate, and we all know that Dan knows better. I just didn't say any more on the point because it would turn into a diatribe. We're both being too polite about it really. It's absolute B.S.
 

jonathanS

Distinguished Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2013
Messages
2,757
Reaction score
1,487

Well I sent Dan a copy of this thread. He may chime in himself. It's his business so I assume he could explain it much better than I could. 


I really do hope he participates.

I especially agree on the use of bespoke. Frankly, it's the kind of thing that I hate, and we all know that Dan knows better. I just didn't say any more on the point because it would turn into a diatribe. We're both being too polite about it really. It's absolute B.S. 


Yes. He knows better. In fact, I'd imagine it wouldn't be hard to find an article saying as much. In fact, I hope he participates - I promise to use only quotations from previous articles of style articles.
 

fieldofdreams

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2015
Messages
853
Reaction score
554
Let's chill out on anything that could be perceived as bashing. I'd like for him to come on here and give his side. I don't want to scare him off.
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 45 40.5%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 44 39.6%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 5 4.5%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 18 16.2%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 25 22.5%

Forum statistics

Threads
504,441
Messages
10,573,984
Members
223,700
Latest member
almerickso
Top