Australian Members

[Edwardz]



Looks great mate. Some of my mates and I visited Kaz a couple of weeks back. The guy's extremely knowledgeable and passionate about what he does. Here's a write up of our experience interviewing him on our blog:

http://thehounds.com.au/kazuna-tailors-an-interview/

Good read, I got the same impression while there

 

[ovlov]

Looks like the malford ties are too small for me. Back to Cappelli. Anyone interested in picking up some ties in a group order? 50eu RTW is a pretty awesome deal so long as you don't have to pay the full 35eu shipping fee yourself. I'd be keen for 2-3. If we can get enough interest to order 10~ ties then 55euro each should be enough to manage costs of bring it here and divvying them up by aus post.

Are you still interested @The Ernesto?

 

[lukejackson]

Edited, query irrelevant.

 

[CoffeeDudeGuy]

Ed et Al is planning a trunk show in Australia. East Coast. Mid year. He's updating his RTW lasts and leathers in the meantime but have a look at his website

I sent them an email. You Sydney-siders are lucky, they only plan to visit Sydney for now. Sometime June/July. Not much info else. I may just check them out at my cousin's wedding in Singapore.

(Btw Nabil, my couz decided to make his suit elsewhere. Thanks anyway for the suggestions!)

 

[Arch3r]

A gentleman got on the train @milsons point this morning wearing a light grey sc (looked like PJ) and crunchy knit brown tie. Looked fantastic and made me feel underdressed in my ghetto casuals for training.

Respect if it was any of you guys.

 

[SkyChild]

I posted last week about MJ Bale and got partial answers but I am still wondering what the difference between the blue and white label suits are. I ask because I bought a couple of their suits on sale last week and they were either white label (classics) or just plain blue label. I have read that the white label is better than the blue label but I was wanting to know specifics such as the fabric used and the details (for example my white label suit has working cuff buttons). As I am by no means wealthy, I was under the impression that they were the best value for money that I could afford. This brings me to my next question. What do the good fellows of style forum recommend I do in regards to getting my trousers hemmed? Are there any recommended alterations tailors in Melbourne's East? What about for other alterations?

TLDR; I still want to know what are the specific differences between MJBale blue, white, & collection suits in terms of material and build. And want recommendations of tailors in melbournes east for alterations and advice for someone reasonably new to wearing good clothes. Thank You.

 

[Foxhound]

For tailoring needs, go see Sam in Docklands.

 

[Arch3r]

I posted last week about MJ Bale and got partial answers but I am still wondering what the difference between the blue and white label suits are. I ask because I bought a couple of their suits on sale last week and they were either white label (classics) or just plain blue label. I have read that the white label is better than the blue label but I was wanting to know specifics such as the fabric used and the details (for example my white label suit has working cuff buttons). As I am by no means wealthy, I was under the impression that they were the best value for money that I could afford. This brings me to my next question. What do the good fellows of style forum recommend I do in regards to getting my trousers hemmed? Are there any recommended alterations tailors in Melbourne's East? What about for other alterations?

TLDR; I still want to know what are the specific differences between MJBale blue, white, & collection suits in terms of material and build. And want recommendations of tailors in melbournes east for alterations and advice for someone reasonably new to wearing good clothes. Thank You.

Pretty sure this has already been answered... MJ Bale is certainly great ROI, however, once you have the basics I would definitely make the jump to something that is much better quality and or MTM.

Blue Line - Entry level, fused and made in China. Usually a Super 100
Classic Line - Half Canvassed with some fusing, made in China. Usually a S100 or S110
Collection - Half canvassed with better fabrics, usually S110 at minimum. Made in Japan. Over priced for what they are... great on deep discount.
Loro Piana line - More luxurious fabric in the same block as the collection suits. Fabric is obviously milled in Italy, not sure where teh actual suits are made though. I would skip these and head to MTM.

For someone wearing suits 5 days a week you can pick up 4 suits for $2k from MJ and then start saving for MTM replacements immediately. I've owned a few of the Classic and Collection line suits and can say that they are good value for money, however they're just not nice to spend all day every day in. It's all in context though I enjoy the feel of S160 flannel on my thigh and am happy to pay twice as much for a MTM suit in the fabric, cut and configuration that I like.

 

[blahman]



Pretty sure this has already been answered... MJ Bale is certainly great ROI, however, once you have the basics I would definitely make the jump to something that is much better quality and or MTM. 

Blue Line - Entry level, fused and made in China. Usually a Super 100
Classic Line - Half Canvassed with some fusing, made in China. Usually a S100 or S110
Collection - Half canvassed with better fabrics, usually S110 at minimum. Made in Japan. Over priced for what they are... great on deep discount.
Loro Piana line - More luxurious fabric in the same block as the collection suits. Fabric is obviously milled in Italy, not sure where teh actual suits are made though. I would skip these and head to MTM.

For someone wearing suits 5 days a week you can pick up 4 suits for $2k from MJ and then start saving for MTM replacements immediately. I've owned a few of the Classic and Collection line suits and can say that they are good value for money, however they're just not nice to spend all day every day in. It's all in context though I enjoy the feel of S160 flannel on my thigh and am happy to pay twice as much for a MTM suit in the fabric, cut and configuration that I like.

Couple of other things you should also consider are:
- discovering your own silhouette preferences (this will help zone in on specific lines in specific brands that you will purchase from as well as MTM providers)
- your suit wearing habits and purposes (helps you collate your suit collection)

As for me, for example, as much as I enjoy putting a suit on, I find it only relevant on my Mon-Thurs. And as much as I can appreciate and respect fine workmanship and cloths, I am more utilitarian, plus I wear my clothes pretty hard for some reason. So my conscious decision is to go with cloths not too much higher than s100, and half canvassed in pretty basic colours: navy, brown, grey, charcoal. I also have a couple of light tweeds for the cooler months. I don't think I will go beyond half canvassed anymore and I'll just toss them once they wear out.

Style preferences are natural shoulders (as they are pretty versatile, I have a suit with roped shoulders which appears to take it up a notch in structure and formality), cleaner more tapered cut, flatfront trousers no cuffs also tapered to 8" leg openings, mid width 3" lapels. So I search with those factors in mind.

On flannel trousers.... they are great so soft and smooth when you wear them. I got a pair of vbc s130 flannel trousers which is so nice to rub against (sounds a bit creepy).

 

[The Ernesto]



Looks like the malford ties are too small for me. Back to Cappelli. Anyone interested in picking up some ties in a group order? 50eu RTW is a pretty awesome deal so long as you don't have to pay the full 35eu shipping fee yourself. I'd be keen for 2-3. If we can get enough interest to order 10~ ties then 55euro each should be enough to manage costs of bring it here and divvying them up by aus post.

Are you still interested @The Ernesto?

I'll have a look again ov and PM you any that take my fancy.

 

[sliq]

the collection line is full canvassed with some hand finishing.

 

[ryanohare]

Anyone got any experience with Nota Shoes? http://notashoes.com/

Aus company offering handmade efforts at reasonable prices.

 

[Oli2012]



Pretty sure this has already been answered... MJ Bale is certainly great ROI, however, once you have the basics I would definitely make the jump to something that is much better quality and or MTM. 

Blue Line - Entry level, fused and made in China. Usually a Super 100
Classic Line - Half Canvassed with some fusing, made in China. Usually a S100 or S110
Collection - Half canvassed with better fabrics, usually S110 at minimum. Made in Japan. Over priced for what they are... great on deep discount.
Loro Piana line - More luxurious fabric in the same block as the collection suits. Fabric is obviously milled in Italy, not sure where teh actual suits are made though. I would skip these and head to MTM.

For someone wearing suits 5 days a week you can pick up 4 suits for $2k from MJ and then start saving for MTM replacements immediately. I've owned a few of the Classic and Collection line suits and can say that they are good value for money, however they're just not nice to spend all day every day in. It's all in context though I enjoy the feel of S160 flannel on my thigh and am happy to pay twice as much for a MTM suit in the fabric, cut and configuration that I like.

Blue line is half canvassed.

 

[Journeyman]

Anyone got any experience with Nota Shoes? http://notashoes.com/

Aus company offering handmade efforts at reasonable prices.

They're priced well but the leather looks pretty bad from the photos on their website and I'd say that's why they're able to offer shoes cheaply. The stitching doesn't look all that great, either.

It's also worth noting that they're "handmade" in the same manner as other Blake-rapid welted shoes in that while quite a few of the steps are performed by hand, there's also machines involved with certain steps, too.

 

[Journeyman]

Speaking of MJ Bale, I certainly think that their current line-up is considerably better and more interesting than the stuff being churned out by the Herringbone/Rhodes & Beckett twins.

I do, though, think that MJ Bale does make some items that are too thin/shrunken - some of their jackets are too short and are cut too slim, with lapels that are very slim, and their ties are very similar.

Even acknowledging the current trend towards short/slim clothing, though, I've got to wonder what the heck MJ Bale was thinking when they decided to put up this photo as an advertisement for a waistcoat: