Suiting in San Francisco (MTM?)

[jrdadbod]

Hi all, I am interested in getting a few new suits to upgrade my closet. I'm typically drawn to more classic fit and styling. First up, a tuxedo or dinner jacket for my upcoming wedding.

If anyone has experience with bespoke or made-to-measure tailors in the san Francisco area, I'd love to hear about it! (Ideally <$2500). Aside from that, I am interested in how you guys evaluate a potential vendor. I have perused the websites of Tailor's Keep and Hall Madden here in SF, but honestly I'm not sure how to distinguish between the two of them. Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

I'll try, since no one else is answering. Most MTM consists of a fitter helping you choose a fabric and style details, taking your measurements, converting them to dimensions of the clothes, and then forwarding the info to some factory, probably in China where appropriate adjustments are made to a stock pattern and the garment made. A few weeks later your garment comes in mostly complete, and a local tailor will dial in the fit for you. Most of the final drape/fit is determined once the fitter gets the #s uploaded, so it's critical to see his previous work and how they fit, as even if he says he can do anything for you, the result will lean towards what he is in the habit of doing. If he steers too far away from what you have in mind, you won't know until the garment arrives mostly finished.

Another thing to look out for is what fabrics they have. Most MTM places will have Loro Piana, VBC, Holland and Sherry, Solbiati, and then some off-brand stuff. The ones that are more in tune with #menswear will have access to more merchants and mills. Most bespoke shops will have access to a large selection.

Of the two that you mentioned, my vote would overwhelmingly be for Tailors Keep. They're primarily an MTM shop using a Chinese factory like everyone else, but the difference is that they (Ryan + Daryn) are waaaaay more knowledgeable about classical menswear than some random MTM place. They speak fluent StyleForum-ese, and have access to a large library of materials typically unavailable at the average MTM shop. Finally, and this is critical, they have on their payroll Jonathan Martinez, a classically trained tailor who can be available to ensure that your garment's #s go in correctly. He's also the one who will adjust the garment for fit once it arrives from the factory, and is very reliable for even the most complicated alterations (though complicated alterations should not be necessary if the initial measurements were up to snuff).

I also vote for Tailors Keep because Jonathan is also able to do bespoke for you through them, though that might push you past $2500 for a tux. I've never done this but every time I go to Jonathan's workshop upstairs for alterations, he has a bespoke garment in the works, and it's always beautifully made and very classically-oriented.

Keep in mind too that most good men's shops can do boring old-school MTM through big factories like Samuelsohn or Hickey Freeman. For this you can probably check Wilkes Bashford, Cable Car Clothiers, Nordstrom, etc.

 

[Daniel Hakimi]

Hi all, I am interested in getting a few new suits to upgrade my closet. I'm typically drawn to more classic fit and styling. First up, a tuxedo or dinner jacket for my upcoming wedding.

If anyone has experience with bespoke or made-to-measure tailors in the san Francisco area, I'd love to hear about it! (Ideally <$2500). Aside from that, I am interested in how you guys evaluate a potential vendor. I have perused the websites of Tailor's Keep and Hall Madden here in SF, but honestly I'm not sure how to distinguish between the two of them. Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks

Hall Madden is a solid option.

If you're willing to wait, I think I Sarti Italiani should be visiting SF in... oh boy, I forgot when... February? Let's say February. Their cheapest bespoke options are $1300, and Drapers 4-ply is $2205, so... Very reasonable.