Bespoke in Los Angeles

[Cotillion]

Harrisons Pemier Cru book #K50/19

Style#52027

subtle blue grey plaid that will look like a solid from a distance. A bit darker than the suit in the film but a match to the subtle pattern and blue/grey or grey/blue color.

Thank you, I will look into this fabric as well. I sent an inquiry to harrisons1863.com

 

[comrade]

Have you seen this:

Bespoke Suits | Bespoke Tailoring | Hand crafted bespoke suits

The perfect bespoke suit by Chris Kerr, making bespoke suits the traditional way, by hand, in Soho, following the long tradition of hand craft tailoring.

chriskerr.com

He has a piece on recreating Gary Grant's suit

 

[Roger O Thornhill]

The Chris Kerr piece is kind of low point for this small cult who are trying to recreate the NxNW suit. He gets almost everything wrong--from the navy blue material, to the 2007-era "modernizations", the hourglass suit, the leg hugging pants, the poor guy gets almost everything wrong. At least he got the side adjusters right. Even forgetting about fidelity to the Cary Grant suit, he's not terribly heavy at all and yet the suit is so snug and unforgiving it makes him look like 10 pounds of... cornmeal in a 5 pound sack.

 

[JohnMRobie]

The Chris Kerr piece is kind of low point for this small cult who are trying to recreate the NxNW suit. He gets almost everything wrong--from the navy blue material, to the 2007-era "modernizations", the hourglass suit, the leg hugging pants, the poor guy gets almost everything wrong. At least he got the side adjusters right. Even forgetting about fidelity to the Cary Grant suit, he's not terribly heavy at all and yet the suit is so snug and unforgiving it makes him look like 10 pounds of... cornmeal in a 5 pound sack.

The color is actually not all that far off on what he went for except for when he over edits the pictures

This is a similar one to the one I used.

I took some pictures of my screen on the remastered HD version.

I did laugh though when he called that suit “longer” and “looser fit”

 

[comrade]

The Chris Kerr piece is kind of low point for this small cult who are trying to recreate the NxNW suit. He gets almost everything wrong--from the navy blue material, to the 2007-era "modernizations", the hourglass suit, the leg hugging pants, the poor guy gets almost everything wrong. At least he got the side adjusters right. Even forgetting about fidelity to the Cary Grant suit, he's not terribly heavy at all and yet the suit is so snug and unforgiving it makes him look like 10 pounds of... cornmeal in a 5 pound sack.

Not entirely surprised given the clothes that he shows from
his own atelier on his website. I must be one of the few on SF
who hasn't fallen in love w/ Grant's suit. It is basically an Ivy-
influenced , but not Ivy suit from the era. In those days I was
pure Ivy. I still insist on virtually no padding on my jackets.

 

[comrade]

Not entirely surprised given the clothes that he shows from
his own atelier on his website. I must be one of the few on SF
who hasn't fallen in love w/ Grant's suit. It is basically an Ivy-
influenced , but not Ivy suit from the era. In those days I was
pure Ivy. I still insist on virtually no padding on my jackets.

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

Hi, I visited the shop and decided they may or may not have the craftsmanship to do it but they just don't have the art or the style to pull it off. Like most tailors in LA, their show pieces look very Men's Wearhouse circa 2003. I decided to give the NxNW suit a fighting chance, I need to take it to a house that to quote LA Confidential knows how to make a "smart/sharp lookin' suit." That means going out of town--to New York at least--and several times--which is very difficult but I'll figure out the logistics. I did have very nice correspondence with Cad & Dandy who are excited to attempt the suit, and by default they have style and elan in spades. Plus, they aren't the most expensive tailors around so the price will still be up there but doable. Honestly, if I had to stick with LA, at this point I'd just pick a nice off the rack suit and tailor as needed--or buy a ticket to Thailand, buy two suits, stay in a hut on the water in Koh Tao, and still have spent less than I would at HR

Some honesty that no one asked for, but might be helpful before the scope creep gets to a weird place: this NxNW group project is turning into a lot of work for something that's a bit of a shakily defined target, and I fear that there's no 100% satisfactory outcome here. For starters, I appreciate tailoring just as much any of you lot, but I'm sort of failing to see what was so special about this particular garment?? Like...it's a blue-grey tonal plaid suit cut in a fairly standard mid-century style, which Hollywood used frequently at the time to symbolize that this guy was our straight shooter hero. It had a few unique details as per Cary Grant's personal request, sure, and I get that the suit influenced men's tailoring into the 1960s, but it was Cary the charismatic presence on screen, along with Hitchcock's direction, not this particular garment on its own, that added a lot (most?) of the secret sauce, which none of us would be able to replicate, so I'm wondering if your goal is even possible. There's a nightmare scenario here where you go to a tailor with your very well-researched spec sheet and careful cloth selection and end up with an exact replica (scaled for your body), only to put it on and realize that you are wearing a $3,000 Don Draper costume.

I do get what you mean when you described your HS experience though. From their recent work, it seems like David and team are quite good at bringing a costume designer's crazier ideas to life. Loud designs that say not-so-subtle things about the characters wearing them. Subtle things like tweaking button stance or the rise on a pair of pants was probably a skill that Mr. Lim took with him when he ventured off this mortal coil. If it were me, I'd probably just show him a picture of the suit and tell them "50's style suit, like this one," go through the fabric books with Eric, and cross my fingers at the first fitting, but I'm pretty good (too good?) at managing my own expectations, and am getting the feeling this approach wouldn't work for you.

 

[comrade]

Some honesty that no one asked for, but might be helpful before the scope creep gets to a weird place: this NxNW group project is turning into a lot of work for something that's a bit of a shakily defined target, and I fear that there's no 100% satisfactory outcome here. For starters, I appreciate tailoring just as much any of you lot, but I'm sort of failing to see what was so special about this particular garment?? Like...it's a blue-grey tonal plaid suit cut in a fairly standard mid-century style, which Hollywood used frequently at the time to symbolize that this guy was our straight shooter hero. It had a few unique details as per Cary Grant's personal request, sure, and I get that the suit influenced men's tailoring into the 1960s, but it was Cary the charismatic presence on screen, along with Hitchcock's direction, not this particular garment on its own, that added a lot (most?) of the secret sauce, which none of us would be able to replicate, so I'm wondering if your goal is even possible. There's a nightmare scenario here where you go to a tailor with your very well-researched spec sheet and careful cloth selection and end up with an exact replica (scaled for your body), only to put it on and realize that you are wearing a $3,000 Don Draper costume.

I do get what you mean when you described your HS experience though. From their recent work, it seems like David and team are quite good at bringing a costume designer's crazier ideas to life. Loud designs that say not-so-subtle things about the characters wearing them. Subtle things like tweaking button stance or the rise on a pair of pants was probably a skill that Mr. Lim took with him when he ventured off this mortal coil. If it were me, I'd probably just show him a picture of the suit and tell them "50's style suit, like this one," go through the fabric books with Eric, and cross my fingers at the first fitting, but I'm pretty good (too good?) at managing my own expectations, and am getting the feeling this approach wouldn't work for you.

Probably a dumb question, but is the tailor who made the original suit known? If it's one of the Savile Row houses, they
would probably still have the pattern. My guess is that it is a long gone LA practitioner.

 

[Cotillion]

Probably a dumb question, but is the tailor who made the original suit known? If it's one of the Savile Row houses, they
would probably still have the pattern. My guess is that it is a long gone LA practitioner.

The fabric is pretty much identified. @Jmr928 showed a swatch that is really close. The key for me was finding the color is an RAF blue from Holland & Sherry, although I'm personally not looking for a recreation but just taking inspiration from it.

 

[fcyr668]

I've had 2 bespoke suits made by Enzo Caruso on Ocean Park Blvd. Absolutely perfect. He also did alterations on at least 10 of my suits and a tux after I moved away from Eddie Murphy's tailor at Wilshire Tailor.

I'm up by S.F. now, but still consider going to Enzo, as I can't say enough about his work.

I think 2-3 weeks was his average turn around on suit tailoring, which is fine. How often do you need a suit you just bought to be tailored in 3 days? I'll take good work over rushed sub par work any day of the week.

 

[squelchy451]

What's a good option for inexpensive MTM shirts? LA or OC area preferred, just want a couple well-fitting shirts to wear for special occasions.

 

[stuffedsuperdud]

What's a good option for inexpensive MTM shirts? LA or OC area preferred, just want a couple well-fitting shirts to wear for special occasions.

I used to go to Arsen's European Tailoring on Newport Blvd in Costa Mesa for this. It looks like an alterations shop but they quietly have an affordable MTM thing happening in the background that they're bad at advertising. Arsen and his son Shant were the two coolest guys to work with, too, back when I didn't know anything about tailoring. I haven't been there in ~7 years, but hopefully they're keeping up with this. Certainly worth at least giving them a call.

 

[ValidusLA]

What's a good option for inexpensive MTM shirts? LA or OC area preferred, just want a couple well-fitting shirts to wear for special occasions.

You should define "inexpensive". Check out Divij Hemraijani in Costa Mesa. His shirt prices are online and if you like them his product is very good quality.

 

[comrade]

I've had 2 bespoke suits made by Enzo Caruso on Ocean Park Blvd. Absolutely perfect. He also did alterations on at least 10 of my suits and a tux after I moved away from Eddie Murphy's tailor at Wilshire Tailor.

I'm up by S.F. now, but still consider going to Enzo, as I can't say enough about his work.

I think 2-3 weeks was his average turn around on suit tailoring, which is fine. How often do you need a suit you just bought to be tailored in 3 days? I'll take good work over rushed sub par work any day of the week.

Same guy?
I read somewhere, possibly SF, that he was no longer making clothing

Update: Los Angeles tailor Enzo Caruso - Sleevehead

Some more photos of Enzo Caruso’s store, located in Santa Monica, which he has been gradually updating the last few months: Storefront New organizing wall for swatch books Shelving and storage for cloth SaveSave

www.sleevehead.org

Original article:

Enzo Caruso: A bespoke tailor in Santa Monica - Sleevehead

Earlier this year based on a couple of references in an AskAndy thread, I decided to drop by Enzo Caruso on Ocean Park Blvd in Santa Monica. For some reason, I had thought he was an alterations tailor but it turns out Caruso is a bespoke/custom tailor. He has a nice selection of Italian and …...

www.sleevehead.org

 

[Roger O Thornhill]

Some honesty that no one asked for, but might be helpful before the scope creep gets to a weird place: this NxNW group project is turning into a lot of work for something that's a bit of a shakily defined target, and I fear that there's no 100% satisfactory outcome here. For starters, I appreciate tailoring just as much any of you lot, but I'm sort of failing to see what was so special about this particular garment?? Like...it's a blue-grey tonal plaid suit cut in a fairly standard mid-century style, which Hollywood used frequently at the time to symbolize that this guy was our straight shooter hero. It had a few unique details as per Cary Grant's personal request, sure, and I get that the suit influenced men's tailoring into the 1960s, but it was Cary the charismatic presence on screen, along with Hitchcock's direction, not this particular garment on its own, that added a lot (most?) of the secret sauce, which none of us would be able to replicate, so I'm wondering if your goal is even possible. There's a nightmare scenario here where you go to a tailor with your very well-researched spec sheet and careful cloth selection and end up with an exact replica (scaled for your body), only to put it on and realize that you are wearing a $3,000 Don Draper costume.

I do get what you mean when you described your HS experience though. From their recent work, it seems like David and team are quite good at bringing a costume designer's crazier ideas to life. Loud designs that say not-so-subtle things about the characters wearing them. Subtle things like tweaking button stance or the rise on a pair of pants was probably a skill that Mr. Lim took with him when he ventured off this mortal coil. If it were me, I'd probably just show him a picture of the suit and tell them "50's style suit, like this one," go through the fabric books with Eric, and cross my fingers at the first fitting, but I'm pretty good (too good?) at managing my own expectations, and am getting the feeling this approach wouldn't work for you.

Hi I appreciate you trying to help but in all honesty, there seems guided by some fundamental misunderstandings/missed priorities. 1) Don't see how NxNW project is a "shakily defined target." I can certainly understand the opposite criticism: when someone is concerned about the opposite, that it's too rigidly defined a target as there are so many specifics. No "100% satisfactory outcome", few things are, right? It doesn't mean you don't like something that gets close. In Thailand in 2008 I was able to order a suit that's, let's say, 93% of the way toward the famous Goldfinger suit and it was my main suit for years--had I come in even better informed on a few details, the suit probably would have been near "100% satisfactory"--or at least close enough for government work, as we used to say. As for you failing to see the appeal of the NxNW garment, I don't "get" rap/hip-hop that doesn't mean an entire genre is wrong--and honestly, any advice/help I could offer to someone who is trying to make a great hip-hop track would be very limited, bordering on counter-productive. Honestly, I wouldn't even bother. What help could I offer? If they listened to me, they'd wind up sounding like a Bing Crosby record and their label would drop them. Why would I go on a hip-hop thread and tell them they need more Andrews Sisters on their track?

Re: going to HS and just asking for a 50s suit seems to be, honestly, the worst of both worlds--think about it: my problem with HS is they that they can't make a good looking suit anymore (regardless of whether they're making a flashy suit for a movie or a conservative suit for a longterm client--the inherent cutting is weak) so going to a tailor that, left to its own devices makes uninspired, unhandsome suits, and then giving them free reign, except for the, to use your words, "shakily defined" request to "make a 50s style suit" seems like the only sure way to make everyone miserable. I'd come out with a $2200 Men's Wearhouse suit that may or may not have a high waist.

Finally, one's ability to "manage their expectations" is always a good thing and I'm happy you think you're pretty good at it and hopefully others of us are as well--but I'd hope you'd agree that managing expectations should never get in the way of doing everything you can, within reason, of insuring you get what you want, especially when you're making a major purchase. After all, a couple of adventurers have already gotten quite close to the NxNW suit--it's not the hardest thing in the world. Back in Bangkok, I had a friend who asked the tailor, "I hope my friend isn't being too picky, making too many requests, etc." and the tailor replied, "no, that's great. We know what he wants from us. It's the clients who don't tell us what they want and then wait til the suit is made to express dissatisfaction with all the details we were forced to guess, those are the problem clients." Not all tailors feel this way, of course. A lot of "bespoke" tailors are really MTM tailors in disguise. But then, I'm not going to go to one of those tailors