Quote:
Originally Posted by
Manton 
He would say that it's because he works alone, and makes everything -- every stitch, except the trousers -- himself. It takes him much longer than most tailors to make a suit. And there is more handwork than 99% of other tailors' suits.
And there is something to this. No one else in NY (or London) works this way. But I suspect there is more to the story as well.
That is correct, Manton. But I am sure that Frank Shattuck has an in house trouser maker that makes the trousers, since Frank Shattuck does not make the trousers himself. Even though Frank Shattuck is very low volume overall, his volume is obviously too high that he cannot make everything himself. Apparently, he chooses not to make trousers himself. That is why I am sure he has an in house trouser maker working for him to do that. But Frank Shattuck’s overall volume is low enough by a large enough amount that Frank Shattuck can make everything else all by himself.
Some low volume tailors have volume that is so low that they can make everything all by themselves. Also, some low volume tailors do have some of their clothing such as the following made out of house: trousers (by trouser makers who specialize in exclusively making trousers) and vests (by vest makers who specialize in exclusively making vests). With some low volume tailors, having such clothing made off premises is by the choice of the tailor (where it is mandatory). With some low volume tailors, having such clothing made off premises is by the choice of the customer (where it is optional but less expensive than having it made in house). Frank Shattuck, who, again, is very low volume overall, is too high volume to do this. Apparently, Jon Green (who has massively high prices) is, by far, low volume enough that he can have all of the clothing that he sells (including jackets, tailcoats, topcoats and overcoats) made off premises by anybody he wants.
All high volume tailors, however, have all of their clothing made exclusively in house. They have to because it is the only way for their quality and service to be exceptional. If any high volume tailors had any of their clothing made out of house it would hurt their quality and service big time. Consequently, all high volume tailors have a multitude of the following in house tailors working for them: jacket and coat makers, trouser makers and vest makers. FWIW, William Fioravanti, who is a New York tailor, is by far the highest volume tailor (and the only high volume tailor, or, the only high volume premium tailor) in North America. Overall, William Fioravanti’s volume is huge.
There is a reason as to why the best high volume tailors have to charge the massively high prices that they charge. They have the huge volume that Frank Shattuck does not even come close to having. They also have exceptional quality and service that, fortunately, Frank Shattuck also has. And, with a few of them (such as William Fioravanti and the three Savile Row tailors, all of whom I mentioned in my last reply message to this topic that I posted at 9:24PM Eastern Time on Thursday, September 18th, 2008), their clothing really does match Frank Shattuck's clothing (who’s clothing is more hand sewn than 99% of all other tailors' clothing) for hand sewing. If any of the best high volume tailors lowered their prices despite their huge volume, their quality and service would suffer tremendously (just like it did with Mercedes Benz). We all know far too well, unfortunately, that nobody wants to make the same mistakes with anything that they make and sell (be it clothes, vehicles, electronics, etcetera) that Mercedes Benz made with the vehicles that they make and sell. BTW, it takes William Fioravanti just as long as it takes Frank Shattuck to make clothing (which I believe is 8 to 16 weeks).
With all of the above, I only speak of tailored clothing. Tailored clothing, of course, is suits, sportsjackets, odd trousers, odd vests, tuxedos, tailcoats, topcoats and overcoats.
