Astor & Black or Balani experience?

Here are some random detail shots of a suit jacket. I will try to dig one up of me in it.

More

Last picture

I dont see anything there that is problematic.

I will say this. We recently opened up a new workshop referred to as our "Private Collection Label". The garments coming out of there are all benchmade garments and are have features like handpicked stitching ON EVERY SEAM and a different style and quality of finishing on both the inside and outside of the garment. They are absolutely gorgeous. I will try posting some pics of these later on tonight. Due to the popularity of the garment we have basically adopted all of those new standards on all of our current and future garments. When you meet with one of our guys, however, ask for The Private Collection. Here's another little insider tip: Tell them to request "Steven" as the tailor for their garments. You can thank me later

is there a difference in price between the Private Collection vs. the Public Collection?

A & B -- if you really wanted to peak our interest, you could offer a SF one suit special.

Even if you couldn't, can you tell us how much one suit starts at and how that can vary on fabric selection and options?

No difference in price for The Private Collection. Its basically become our mainstream garment.

I'll work on the one suit special for StyleForum.

Individual suits with all features obviously included start at $595. (Fully Canvassed etc.)

In my experience, A&B undoubtedly tries very hard to put out quality suits. It is really the logistical problem of fit and alterations that made me reconsider after my first suit. The material was very nice, and the workmanship was on par with some Hong Kong stuff I've seen with interesting details like gripper waistband strips, cuff guards on the inside of trousers and decent (if not carefully considered) buttons.

Unfortunately, if you tend to be someone who notices small gaps at the neck and slight bunching behind the shoulders and other problems that would be less obvious to an alterations tailor the experience could be rather frustrating. I could never get it to fit just right so I eventually gave up and donated it to goodwill.

Since that experience, I've become a regular client of Ned's (and Len Logsdail, but that's irrelevant) and have purchased perhaps ten suits from Ned, each with distinct characteristics. Yes, there is less handwork and the linings are less shiny etc., but I really only care about the fit, silhouette and style (in that order) when getting a suit for less than $1000. For that, Ned is above reproach and would never want me to be seen in something that doesn't fit very well, even if sometimes my ridiculous requests (english-backed trousers) make him grumpy. With A&B, I never felt my salesperson had the eye for clothes necessary to make the fit perfect.

The A&B shirts, however were mild-to-moderate disasters with rather subpar fabrics and ludicrously stiff fused collars that bubbled and misbehaved in general.

Now, this was three years ago, so the company may have moved to address some or all of these issues, and I think for some people it might be possible to get your money's worth in an A&B suit, I've just found some excellent tailors who give me more than my money's worth.

After spending time on this site and others trying to find a recommendation for a tailor in Chicago, I decided to try Balani as they seemed the most contemporary.

First, let me clear up something I that I unfortunately misunderstood, Balani is MTM, not custom. I had one meeting where they took measurements, then six weeks later, my suit was complete. The measurements and material choices are sent to HK where the clothing is constructed and shipped back to Chicago.

Overall, the suit is very well made, although I am a little disappointed in the cut. I was told they will tweak any areas of the cut that I am unhappy with in the next order. The button holes on the sleeves were not functional as they expect to tweak the sleeves following delivery of the suit. I was told that future orders will have functioning buttons once my measurements are finalized in their system. This is obviously not what I was expecting on a $1200 suit.

While I think that future orders would be very much to my satisfaction based on feedback I gave them following the delivery of my suit, this suit did not completely live up to my expectations.

If anyone on this site has a recommendation for either a HK tailor that travels through Chicago or a bespoke tailor based in Chicago, I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

If anyone on this site has a recommendation for either a HK tailor that travels through Chicago or a bespoke tailor based in Chicago, I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

Click to expand...

When I lived in Chicago I found a tailor that I liked very much, although (disclosure) I never had him make anything for me. He does do custom suits. Before opening his own shop he worked sewing suits for Oxxford for 25 years. Not sure if it's true or not, but he told me that he makes (former Chicago Bull and current Phoenix Sun's GM) Steve Kerr's suits. If you're interested he's just east Halsted on 35th St.

Also, I know a lot of SFers in Chi-Town swear by a man they call Despos.

Originally Posted by Biggskip

Click to expand...

Also, I know a lot of SFers in Chi-Town swear by a man they call Despos.

Never used him either, but would if I lived in Chicago.

Originally Posted by HelloMrFancyPants

Click to expand...

Since that experience, I've become a regular client of Ned's (and Len Logsdail, but that's irrelevant) and have purchased perhaps ten suits from Ned, each with distinct characteristics. Yes, there is less handwork and the linings are less shiny etc., but I really only care about the fit, silhouette and style (in that order) when getting a suit for less than $1000.

1) What type of silhouettes have you ordered from Mr. Ned?
2) How do you communicate to Mr Ned the type of silhouette you are looking for?
3) Do you have pics of the silhouettes?

With regards to MrHelloFancyPants issues, those have absolutely been solved and dealt with. The company only started 3 and 1/2 years ago so considering he purchased from us 3 years ago, we have no affiliation with the workshops that produced his garments at that time. Its a COMPLETELY different garment now, one that the CEO's of Express, Limited Brands (Victoria's Secret, Bath and Body Works), Nationwide Financial, Brady Quinn, Lebron James and many more are all proud to wear and are all repeat buyers!! I can assure you that if they were having any of the issues he mentioned they would not hesitate to shop elsewhere.

MrHelloFancyPants, I'd strongly recommend giving it another shot. What city are you in? I can recommend a Sales Professional for you in your area.

I bought 4k. 2 Scabal suits from Astor and black and they're a total rip off.

Quality
-The tailoring's bad and overpriced. They ship them off to hong kong so there's not multiple fittings. They also don't pass on the savings. First sign that it's a bad made to measure suit.

Experience
-When you get the suit they give you an eye test but mine didn't fit well. Instead of fixing the issue the suggested i gained weight during 6 week process, which is simply not true. The pants fit but the jacket didn't so that supports my argument.


Service
-I bought these for these holiday parties and they said 4-6 weeks. It was after 6 weeks when i received this and after trying them on i didn't wear it to my last remaining holiday party.

Overall
-No exchange, no credit. They sit in the back of my storage closet. They charge a premium and cut costs all around. The business model sounds good but the end result is horrible.

Message Deleted