I have to get something off my chest

I need to vent about a worrisome trend that I have been encountering. I do my best to not sh*t on the competition, but I have seen way too many completely botched suits coming out of so called "custom" shops lately. I'm looking at you Suit Supply, Knot Standard, and Alton Lane. A customer just brought in an Alton Lane suit he had made and I have seldom seen a worse fitting custom jacket. I should have taken a picture.

Here's my dilemma: I understand and appreciate that not everyone can afford a higher-end custom suit. But in my mind, fit is the one factor of a custom suit that shouldn't affect the price (at least when comparing MTM to MTM). The pricier stuff has better fabric, sewing, guts, and country of origin, but a cheap suit should still fit mostly right.

There are a ton of posts on SF about "where to find an inexpensive custom suit?" and "how does this custom suit fit?"

Again, I understand that people have different budgets, so I am going to try to be proactive and give the best advice I can for a price conscious shopper:

1. Read reviews and take them to heart
2. Ask the salesperson (or "style consultant", or "mtm guru", or however they've decided to jargon up their name) how long they've worked in custom menswear
3. Get measured by a tailor if you can
4. Find a local clothier in your price range if possible. They most likely won't have a revolving door of salespeople with minimal experience
5. Get a guarantee from the store that they will eat the suit if it doesn't fit right. No one bats 1.000, and any reputable clothier will make it right if they mess up
6. If you don't feel right about the fit, don't let the salesperson steamroll you. Press them.
7. Avoid gimmicks. No one on Saville Row measures their clients with lasers. You wouldn't have a bartender measure you for a suit, so why would you have a salesman poor you a drink (note: I'm fine with clothing stores having a bar, but there is exactly zero correlation between a well fitting suit and mahogany, leather, and booze. Ambiance is great, but the end result is the goal)

Ok sorry for the rant, just as a person that cares about the fit of men's clothing, I'm starting to think that all of these new/newish custom shops are actually worse than just getting RTW and having an actual tailor adjust.

Slim fitting suits are a plague on traditional attire. Most people, salesmen included, don't see it as a fad and think it looks good on people. I've had SuitSupply salesmen using every trick in the book to get me in a jacket so tight I couldn't lift my arms (and this just one of their many style transgressions). Absolutely disgusting.

I really hope the pendulum swings back to more traditionally fitting garments soon. It's very difficult to find a pair of pants off the rack that aren't tight on me and I'm a slim guy. Time will tell.

EzraPaul said:

I need to vent about a worrisome trend that I have been encountering. I do my best to not sh*t on the competition, but I have seen way too many completely botched suits coming out of so called "custom" shops lately. I'm looking at you Suit Supply, Knot Standard, and Alton Lane. A customer just brought in an Alton Lane suit he had made and I have seldom seen a worse fitting custom jacket. I should have taken a picture.

Here's my dilemma: I understand and appreciate that not everyone can afford a higher-end custom suit. But in my mind, fit is the one factor of a custom suit that shouldn't affect the price (at least when comparing MTM to MTM). The pricier stuff has better fabric, sewing, guts, and country of origin, but a cheap suit should still fit mostly right.

There are a ton of posts on SF about "where to find an inexpensive custom suit?" and "how does this custom suit fit?"

Again, I understand that people have different budgets, so I am going to try to be proactive and give the best advice I can for a price conscious shopper:

1. Read reviews and take them to heart
2. Ask the salesperson (or "style consultant", or "mtm guru", or however they've decided to jargon up their name) how long they've worked in custom menswear
3. Get measured by a tailor if you can
4. Find a local clothier in your price range if possible. They most likely won't have a revolving door of salespeople with minimal experience
5. Get a guarantee from the store that they will eat the suit if it doesn't fit right. No one bats 1.000, and any reputable clothier will make it right if they mess up
6. If you don't feel right about the fit, don't let the salesperson steamroll you. Press them.
7. Avoid gimmicks. No one on Saville Row measures their clients with lasers. You wouldn't have a bartender measure you for a suit, so why would you have a salesman poor you a drink (note: I'm fine with clothing stores having a bar, but there is exactly zero correlation between a well fitting suit and mahogany, leather, and booze. Ambiance is great, but the end result is the goal)

Ok sorry for the rant, just as a person that cares about the fit of men's clothing, I'm starting to think that all of these new/newish custom shops are actually worse than just getting RTW and having an actual tailor adjust.

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I'm not sure exactly how suitsupply works but since I have a girlfriend that has a brother who works with suitsupply, I could probably shed at least some advice. First and foremost, a couple of days ago her brother flew up to NYC, and was tested on how to correctly measure someone for their fit. If I am wrong, I assume that they teach them correctly? From what I've seen, he seems to know his stuff down pat. Maybe he's a part of the small minority that knows how to really measure someone. I mean, he does work in Miami after all. What sucks is that I'm trying to build at least a basic staple kind of wardrobe. I wish there was more suppliers in South Florida when it comes to clothing. Most people just stick to the garments of South Florida. Tank tops, shorts, and your casual sneaker. Usually purchased from the mall. It's too hot to wear anything other than cotton or linen. It makes it even worse that I have a college-strapped budget. It really seems like suitsupply is the best way to go down here. It's the closest and most "affordable" option for me. Also, it definitely seems like their pants won't fit my legs. Sigh, I guess I'll be sticking to J. Crew cotton twill chinos, nice pair of wingtips, and a button up until I can actually afford something else.

An Acute Style said:

I really hope the pendulum swings back to more traditionally fitting garments soon. It's very difficult to find a pair of pants off the rack that aren't tight on me and I'm a slim guy. Time will tell.

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Unfortunately down here, I don't think it's leaving anytime soon. Fashion has become recently experimental with proportions and look, I highly doubt that it'll return anytime soon. Put me in a time capsule, and dig me out once it's normal again!!

uneducated customers are an opportunity. but i guess that's what this thread is all about.



double00 said:

uneducated customers are an opportunity.

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No shortage of suckers out there.

The style of " slim fit " , "X look " or whatever it's being called is disgusting. The only thing it looks like is you've grown out of your confirmation clothing.

idfnl said:

No shortage of suckers out there.

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A fool and his money are soon ...

firefit said:

Unfortunately down here, I don't think it's leaving anytime soon. Fashion has become recently experimental with proportions and look, I highly doubt that it'll return anytime soon. Put me in a time capsule, and dig me out once it's normal again!!

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Well maybe it will soon...The fashion industry thrives on making dramatic style changes. After it has saturated the available market with skinny lapels and bolero-like suit jackets and ankle-high leggings posing as suit pants, it will need to convince the fashion-conscious to spend more money on something else. The industry's ingenuity is best at making people feel out of trend at a relatively quick pace and much of its merchandise is typically priced low, operating on a business model of low quality / high volume, thereby allowing people to purchase high volumes of the newest trendy suits.

Keep the faith.

I can speak to the poor quality of Suitsupply, especially their MTM. I actually used to work there for a short amount of time until I got a job at a Real Estate Office. What I found was that Suitsupply was more interested in looking like Suitsupply. At one point I ended up getting into trouble because I encouraged customers who came into the store to NOT taper their trousers skin-tight and hem them halfway up their calf (I'm exaggerating, of course). The other that I found incredible was the MTM specialist who had worked there for years actually left to work at a Bespoke outfit in the financial district and the guy who replaced him...was not the most competent. All of his clothes fit horrendously and I remember at one point I mentioned to him that I liked his suiting and asked who made it. He said "I did" not seeming to realize that I was referring to the fabric...

double00 said:

uneducated customers are an opportunity. but i guess that's what this thread is all about.

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That's exactly it. I know a lot of guys who don't seem to care about what looks objectively flattering, they just buy into whatever it is that a salesman is telling them

LindsayDW said:

I can speak to the poor quality of Suitsupply, especially their MTM. I actually used to work there for a short amount of time until I got a job at a Real Estate Office. What I found was that Suitsupply was more interested in looking like Suitsupply. At one point I ended up getting into trouble because I encouraged customers who came into the store to NOT taper their trousers skin-tight and hem them halfway up their calf (I'm exaggerating, of course). The other that I found incredible was the MTM specialist who had worked there for years actually left to work at a Bespoke outfit in the financial district and the guy who replaced him...was not the most competent. All of his clothes fit horrendously and I remember at one point I mentioned to him that I liked his suiting and asked who made it. He said "I did" not seeming to realize that I was referring to the fabric...

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All that, + it's ridiculous how flagrantly they sell sex in their products.



starro said:

All that, + it's ridiculous how flagrantly they sell sex in their products.

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Those tight pants make you look bad when you try and pull them off

starro said:

All that, + it's ridiculous how flagrantly they sell sex in their products.

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Their ads are so ridiculous, I would actually pull out my phone when I was spending time with friends to give them a shock. I remember reading an interview online with one of their executives (a woman, interestingly enough) who's excuse was that they made their ads for themselves and for themselves to have fun. Well I'm sorry but your ads are the image you present to the world and if they're sexist and classless then that is how the world sees you. On that note, they received so much backlash from their ad campaign this past summer that they made their current campaign so tame it borders on the banal.