Custom Suiting Toronto

scatterbrain said:

How high? did he say how much a sport coat would be? If Raj says he can't/doesn't want to do an extremely soft shoulder, I may be looking for someone who can make an Italian-styled staple blue jacket in a few months.

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spiermackay said:

This has been a very interesting read. @scatterbrain , is that suit green? looks great. I've seen some of Raj's suits up close and they are done quite well. I know of a customer who bought some tapestry fabric from a furniture store and had a jacket made out of it from Raj. Looks insane, but fit him like a glove.

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spiermackay said:

kudos on the selection though, I think the colour is fantastic. The drape on the jacket is great as well. He must be using a very soft/pliable canvas. Not easy to execute and quite well done. I've seen some horrible full canvas suits customers just brought in recently during our suit exchange. All full canvas suits are not created equal - all too often the terms are thrown around with very, very poor execution.

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TOstyle said:

By chance, is that customer Don Cherry and his Fabricland-based DBs? Definitely nailing "looks insane".

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borbor said:

dissect it and show us would've been interesting to see what it was that made it poor in execution.

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spiermackay said:

I wish. That would be a good story. Does anyone know who Don Cherry's tailor is?

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TOstyle said:

So since you were considering Trend, I’ll tell you a bit more about my experience with him. Don was one of the first bespoke tailors I bought from, and I will say I think he is a very nice person (if a bit odd) but the experience with him was unnecessarily difficult from day one, the product was only average and the overall result was unfortunately not good. So I don’t think he’s horrible by any means, but not someone I could recommend based on my experience.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

For a bit more background, from the start of it when I got my first “real” job I wanted to buy a good suit. I’m not sure SF was even around at this time, and if it wasn’t I myself wasn’t that into it, so I did what any guy would do – I googled too see what I could find online. I found Trend, and there were a few articles (mostly dated) but I figured I would give it a try so I called to make an appointment. When I called, they asked how I got the number (it was on their website) and who told them about them – super awkward conversation, and it seemed like they wouldn’t let me book an appointment without knowing a “member”. They didn’t actually, so I called back a week later, told them Mike K in my office told me about them, and they let me book an appointment.

First appointment I thought was interesting, since it wasn’t a retail shop, and I was excited as hell for the product. It was a really nice VB glenplaid, and couldn’t wait to get it. When I eventually did, it didn’t quite seem to fit like I thought it should – it was definitely better than OTR, but not a great fit. The jacket wasn’t great (too tight in the arms and a lapel roll) and the pants were too big all around – waitband and a bad taper.

But I let it go and decided to give him another try – no one is perfect, and I don’t like to just throw people/ tailors under the bus if it isn’t perfect the first time. I knew enough then that it doesn’t work that way. So I go back the next year, when my budget allowed, and get something else. I ask for updated options based on my first fitting on the jacket and pants (cuff styles, buttons, pockets) that I didn’t like. I get the suit back – and none of these are updated. He made it exactly like the first one. As you might expect, I’m doing WTF when it came back. But I didn’t go ape-poop and let it slide; they were just preferences so I didn’t want to make a huge scene.

Third purchase was some shirts, and they came out pretty good. No complaints there (they were just a bit pricey, and I don't think bespoke shirts are a waste. MTM is clearly where its at for shirting).

Next year rolls around and I order a suit, and it has the updated pant styles but he does the weird thing with the cuffs – I trusted him on this, but not exactly happy with it. And he didn’t communicate well what I was going to get.

Next purchase, I go back for a sportsjacket. I ask for no lining and a 3/2 roll on a summer jacket. What do I get back? A fully lined, two-button suit. Now I’m pissed, but honestly at this point I half expeted it to be messed up so I am not surprised at all. It was almost a joke, and I was joking with my girlfriend at the time that that would probably happen. I tell him it was messed, and Don just kind of looks at me and argues. He checks his files, and of course he’s got nothing, but he and his staff have the cojones to blame it on me. I still don’t make a scene, he knocks a 100 bucks or so off the price and we go our separate ways.

So overall, even though I was receptive and I think I was a patient customer, and I think the product is reasonably well constructed, the trouble with Don is he (a) doesn’t know how to take direction, (b) doesn’t properly communicate options and (c) doesn’t make what you ask! That’s kind of a deal-breaker for a custom tailor.

I can also say that one of the reasons I started this thread was to see if there were better options out there other than Trend (and Suit Supply, which I used for MTM but didn’t think was that good). I didn’t want to start with a negative, or lead with a complaint if others have had good experience, but if you are considering going with him I think that would be helpful to guide your decision.

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borbor said:

You have way more patience than I. I wouldn't say I'm completely happy with my suit, but at the same time, like you i gave him another 2.5 yards of cloth to make me a blazer. I've since gave someone else the same quantity (in different fabric of course) so I'll see how it goes. But my experience with Don was certainly definitely more pleasant than yours when it comes to suits. Do not get me started on shirts.

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scatterbrain said:

I'm quite late to this party, but I went to Raj for alterations to cheap crap suits for a long time. Below (pardon the terrible picture - it's the only one I have at the moment) is a three piece in VBC wool/Mohair that I paid around 1250 for. It is fully canvassed, and was made to measure with one fitting. It is my first and only suit from Raj, but I plan to buy another. Actually, in the very long run I plan to have him make all my suits, but until I can drop 1200+ per suit I'm still buying OTR (mainly Benjamin from ehaberdasher, but also Samuelsohn from HR outlet).

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

It's somewhat hard to tell from the above photo, but the suit actually looks great in daily wear. I get a lot of complements on it. Sleeve pitch and shoulders are bang-on. I feel great wearing it. The only grievance I have is that the suit is very fitted - almost uncomfortable. I did ask that it be quite fitted, but he may have taken it a little too far. Raj also did what I asked and shortened the pants so that there was no break, even though he suggested I leave a slight break. I eventually felt silly with them being so short, and he lengthened them for free. He knows his trade well. He can talk about tailoring traditions from Saville Row, Naples, etc. I don't know if he can do a soft shoulder or not, but I feel like if you ask him he would tell you honestly whether it's what he does. He loves cloth and well-made clothes. He'll also do wonky stuff - crazy smoking jackets and weird vintage pieces made in 1940s style. The first time I walked into his shop he told me I had a low right shoulder, and upon measuring, he was correct - my right shoulder is 5/8" low. His prices range from $750 for a fused suit up to $4000 for something in a rare fabric with multiple fittings (at least these were his prices 1.5 years ago). My understanding is that everything is made in his shop in North York.The walls of his shop are lined with fine cloth. He has Scabal, H&S, etc, and books by Fleusser laying around. He is also straight shooter. He told me, for example, that several cheap suits I bought were not well made, but could be tailored to be made wearable, for a while. He also told me that the Benjamin and Kent Wang suits I bought were very well made, and that they would last for a long time. He can get expensive for alterations, but will tell you what can/should altered and what is not worth doing. His marketing is terrible and out of date (sorry if you're reading this, Raj), but I don't think he needs to do much marketing, as he has a steady stable of clients that keep him working seven days a week already.

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scatterbrain said:

How high? did he say how much a sport coat would be? If Raj says he can't/doesn't want to do an extremely soft shoulder, I may be looking for someone who can make an Italian-styled staple blue jacket in a few months.

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Odd I/O said:

It looks like he has two locations. One next to York University and another one downtown. Which one did you use? Does he do bespoke shirts as well?

His youtube channel is here if anyone wants to see his construction techniques.
If you find someone who can do that please post back here. I really like the silhouette of those suits/jackets.

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dappercanadian said:

have you considered offering full bespoke in the future? There seems to be an overwhelming demand for such a service in Toronto that's SF approved. I would drive from Ottawa for that.

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akoustas said:

So I received my trousers from @spiermackay . Very pleased initially. The contemporary cut fits perfectly (though beware if you're a tad bigger) and the material seems nice (if anything a bit shiny but that may be due to the type I ordered). At 60-80 bucks a pair, I'd say definitely an option for anyone starting up their collection and career, students etc and or for someone looking to add some odd trousers to their wardrobe (I just got a pair of navy to wear with my sport coats as I didn't want to wear out my navy suit trousers). I'd definitely consider some more creative options in the future.

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spiermackay said:

Glad you liked them! Our aim is to offer great value with a focus on great fit. We are always looking for feedback and working on improving the products we offer, both fabrics and construction. We really hope to become a dominant force in Canadian Menswear in a couple of years.

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