A Modest Proposal: Bespoke Suits in Portland and Seattle

[Joe Esq]

The People

You: A talented tailor in Portland or Seattle area (or elsewhere, but interested in living in the Pacific Northwest) who can design an individual men's suit pattern based on a person's measurements, and construct a fine, fully-canvased suit from that unique pattern, using a substantial amount of hand work, particularly on the sleeve-head and lapel.

Me: An attorney in Portland with a marketing background, who is tired of the poor offerings for fine bespoke suiting in Portland and Seattle. I have a passion for fine suiting, a business plan, and capital to invest.

The Proposal

A clothier where unique patterns are made for each customer, and the suit is constructed on-premises. The goal would be to grow slowly as demand grows, but ultimately to have a small team of tailors and sewers working together. I envision us occupying a high-end retail space in Portland, which would also house complementary products like fine handmade shoes and ties.

If you're interested, please send me a message with a bit about you, and we'll go from there. Cheers,

Joe

 

[chillum99]

Do keep me informed if you are able to start this business, I would love to get my tailoring done in Seattle (or Portland).

 

[David Reeves]



The People

You: A talented tailor in Portland or Seattle area (or elsewhere, but interested in living in the Pacific Northwest) who can design an individual men's suit pattern based on a person's measurements, and construct a fine, fully-canvased suit from that unique pattern, using a substantial amount of hand work, particularly on the sleeve-head and lapel.

Me: An attorney in Portland with a marketing background, who is tired of the poor offerings for fine bespoke suiting in Portland and Seattle. I have a passion for fine suiting, a business plan, and capital to invest.

The Proposal

A clothier where unique patterns are made for each customer, and the suit is constructed on-premises. The goal would be to grow slowly as demand grows, but ultimately to have a small team of tailors and sewers working together. I envision us occupying a high-end retail space in Portland, which would also house complementary products like fine handmade shoes and ties.

If you're interested, please send me a message with a bit about you, and we'll go from there. Cheers,

Joe

I estimate one tailor working alone making a high end bespoke suit could only make 2-4 suits a month with three being a busy month. You would have to form a team to make it profitable.

Check out this piece about Peter Frew who used to make for me:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/magazine/whats-a-4000-suit-worth.html?pagewanted=all

Unless the quality you are going for isn't high but then you are up against a very competitive MTM market.

 

[Joe Esq]

David, thanks for the interest.

I agree. The goal would be to work with a master tailor, and then slowly grow as we find others who can do trousers, etc., up to our standards.

 

[Isoskeles]

Hello Joe~

My name is David and I am just planting my bespoke roots in North Seattle, working alongside another bespoke tailor in Bellevue by the name of Gabriel. We both do all of our work in-house, and may have a new apprentice on the way next month. I know this thread is a bit old, but I wished to express my interest none the less, in case you haven't found somebody else yet.

Please PM me if you are still interested in this.

Thank you,
David Pew
Sew Generously