Anyone had experiences with Toronto custom suit maker John Ferrigamo?

[Only 110]

Hi

I was wondering if any of you had your MTM or Bespoke suit made by John Ferrigamo in Yorkville area? I walked by there today when I was shopping on Bloor, the store itself looks very nice and he offers a lot of really good fabrics. Can you please share your experiences with John Ferrigamo? Are there any other great tailors in Toronto area whom you would like to recommend? Thank you very much for your help in advance.

 

[LindsayDW]

So this thread's pretty old but I figured I'd just throw in my 2 cents anyway. I just commissioned my first suit from John about a month ago and I had my first fitting last week and it was great. I used my own suiting (part of the reason I didn't go to a brand's MTM like Sammy's or SuSu) which didn't even phase him (I've heard some tailors won't make garments out of cloth that clients bring in) so I can't speak to the quality of the fabric he uses but I know he sources from a lot of English Mills as well as the usual suspects (Scabal, BBC, etc). But the fit is amazing. It was my first custom suit so I'm used to settling for mediocre fits from OTR suit but I was blown away. I opted for the house style (SBPL with boutonnieres on both lapels, la spalla camicia, and five button cuffs). The fit is the slimmest I've ever worn and get there is absolutely no creasing anywhere (I'm not sure what the proper term for that is). I can post pictures when I get home.
John's also a very friendly person and he was understanding of the fact that I'm in University so I don't have a whole lot of money to spend (that being said, it'll still cost you a tidy sum) and was more than happy to stick within my budget.

 

[geht]

Pics would be nice

 

[LindsayDW]

I apologize for the poor picture quality, tbh these were mostly taken for my own benefit ha-ha. Now if course this was just the first fitting and John spent a lot of time pinning the suit in certain places to get the fit just right so reserve your final judgements for the final product!

 

[breakaway01]

Thanks for sharing. Trousers hang really nicely and back of the jacket looks very clean already. I am guessing the shoulders will be narrowed a bit? I'm sure the final suit will look terrific.

 

[geht]

Is that going to be the final position of the lapels? I think they look too high. Other than that looks very nice fitted.

 

[LindsayDW]

I noticed the width of the shoulders too, John didn't mention anything during the fitting but I'm going to try the final product on before picking it up. If they're still a little too wide I'll mention it but John's been very thorough up to now, so I doubt that'll be a problem.

 

[breakaway01]

It is not unusual for shoulders to be cut intentionally wider for the first fitting. One more thing--I'd consider going with the usual single lapel buttonhole instead of buttonholes on both lapels. I know this is their thing but I'm not a big fan of the look. You can always have the second added later if you change your mind. In either case I strongly recommend not going with contrasting thread for the buttonhole.

 

[LindsayDW]

So I picked up the final product on Friday and I couldn't be happier! I love how the styling fuses old-world traditions (single button, long jacket length) with the best of what current fashion has to offer (peak lapels, slim trousers, and, John's signature, boutonnières on both lapels). There are so many details, it's hard to go over them all but probably my favourite is the shoulder. Unfortunately you can't see it from the pictures shown below, but the shoulders are completely unpadded and finished in the Neapolitan tradition with the only thing providing any structure being the full canvas which goes all the way up to the shoulder seam. I'm a young guy, so naturally I don't have too much experience with high-end OTR and Bespoke outfits, so I've only seen La Spalla Camicia in pictures online and at stores like SuitSupply and I never really liked the look of the shirring that shows up along the shoulder. John's suit has no such shirring.

Another thing, is the pattern-matching. Whoever John's cutter is, he deserves a medal because I have never seen pattern-matching like this before. The plaid is matched on all the right places (matching the back with the collar and the sleeves with the front panel etc) but I've never seen plaids matched perfectly along the shoulder seem and along the seam where the collar meets the lapel.

After the suit went back into the garment bag, John and I had a drink. I knew then that this is what real menswear is all about and I vowed never to go off the rack again.

(It's important to note that the single-button and the length of the jacket are both things that I requested, which I believe demonstrates John's versatility as a tailor. You can look on his website and his Instagram feed to find other examples of his style)








(There's a touch too much break on the bottom of the trousers in this picture but I fixed that by adjusting the suspenders so the trousers sit a little higher)

 

[Odd I/O]



So I picked up the final product on Friday and I couldn't be happier! I love how the styling fuses old-world traditions (single button, long jacket length) with the best of what current fashion has to offer (peak lapels, slim trousers, and, John's signature, boutonnières on both lapels). There are so many details, it's hard to go over them all but probably my favourite is the shoulder. Unfortunately you can't see it from the pictures shown below, but the shoulders are completely unpadded and finished in the Neapolitan tradition with the only thing providing any structure being the full canvas which goes all the way up to the shoulder seam. I'm a young guy, so naturally I don't have too much experience with high-end OTR and Bespoke outfits, so I've only seen La Spalla Camicia in pictures online and at stores like SuitSupply and I never really liked the look of the shirring that shows up along the shoulder. John's suit has no such shirring. Another thing, is the pattern-matching. Whoever John's cutter is, he deserves a medal because I have never seen pattern-matching like this before. The plaid is matched on all the right places (matching the back with the collar and the sleeves with the front panel etc) but I've never seen plaids matched perfectly along the shoulder seem and along the seam where the collar meets the lapel. After the suit went back into the garment bag, John and I had a drink. I knew then that this is what real menswear is all about and I vowed never to go off the rack again. (It's important to note that the single-button and the length of the jacket are both things that I requested, which I believe demonstrates John's versatility as a tailor. You can look on his website and his Instagram feed to find other examples of his style)

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

(There's a touch too much break on the bottom of the trousers in this picture but I fixed that by adjusting the suspenders so the trousers sit a little higher)

Fit looks good. Full canvas? Is the suit made on site or is it manufactured elsewhere? Can you share with us the price range for suits and sport coats CMT and otherwise?

 

[LindsayDW]

The suit does have a full canvas, yes. Regarding the manufacturing, there is a workshop on the second floor of the shop but I know that he also has another workshop where much of the work is done. I don't know what work is done where but it is all done in Toronto and I would imagine the existence of a second workshop is simply due to the fact that the actual shop on Cumberland is somewhat small (though you don't feel that when you go in).

Regarding the pricing, his MTM (what my suit is) starts at $1850 and Bespoke starts at $3500. The thing I find interesting about his MTM is that while he doesn't take as many measurements as with a bespoke suit, he does have an individual sloper (pattern) drafted up for his clients. What's great about this is that it means that after your first suit you don't need to go to any fittings.

 

[othertravel]



So I picked up the final product on Friday and I couldn't be happier! I love how the styling fuses old-world traditions (single button, long jacket length) with the best of what current fashion has to offer (peak lapels, slim trousers, and, John's signature, boutonnières on both lapels). There are so many details, it's hard to go over them all but probably my favourite is the shoulder. Unfortunately you can't see it from the pictures shown below, but the shoulders are completely unpadded and finished in the Neapolitan tradition with the only thing providing any structure being the full canvas which goes all the way up to the shoulder seam. I'm a young guy, so naturally I don't have too much experience with high-end OTR and Bespoke outfits, so I've only seen La Spalla Camicia in pictures online and at stores like SuitSupply and I never really liked the look of the shirring that shows up along the shoulder. John's suit has no such shirring. Another thing, is the pattern-matching. Whoever John's cutter is, he deserves a medal because I have never seen pattern-matching like this before. The plaid is matched on all the right places (matching the back with the collar and the sleeves with the front panel etc) but I've never seen plaids matched perfectly along the shoulder seem and along the seam where the collar meets the lapel. After the suit went back into the garment bag, John and I had a drink. I knew then that this is what real menswear is all about and I vowed never to go off the rack again. (It's important to note that the single-button and the length of the jacket are both things that I requested, which I believe demonstrates John's versatility as a tailor. You can look on his website and his Instagram feed to find other examples of his style) (There's a touch too much break on the bottom of the trousers in this picture but I fixed that by adjusting the suspenders so the trousers sit a little higher)

This looks excellent! Might have to give him a try. And I like the fact that he allows clients to bring their own cloth. And I'm a big fan of how the trousers fall off almost perfectly.

 

[Odd I/O]



The suit does have a full canvas, yes. Regarding the manufacturing, there is a workshop on the second floor of the shop but I know that he also has another workshop where much of the work is done. I don't know what work is done where but it is all done in Toronto and I would imagine the existence of a second workshop is simply due to the fact that the actual shop on Cumberland is somewhat small (though you don't feel that when you go in).

Regarding the pricing, his MTM (what my suit is) starts at $1850 and Bespoke starts at $3500. The thing I find interesting about his MTM is that while he doesn't take as many measurements as with a bespoke suit, he does have an individual sloper (pattern) drafted up for his clients. What's great about this is that it means that after your first suit you don't need to go to any fittings.

What was the price for MTM when supplying your own fabric? Also forgot to ask how many fittings did you have?

 

[LindsayDW]

I paid $1695 with tax but John that he would normally charge a bit more for what he made me.

 

[Vinilo1969]

A beautiful suit. Very well draped and you are right about the pattern matching it is excellent.