Custom Suiting Toronto

[GBR]



Pics of some recent commissions. 

Raj Singh (suit has been worn ~7 times since it was pressed and needs a press; pants cut for braces, but I'm not wearing any here). 
  [/URL]

Main thing is, are you happy with them?

There are quite a number of points which should have been picked up at fittings; I assume/hope that they were MTM not bespoken.

 

[scatterbrain]



Main thing is, are you happy with them?

There are quite a number of points which should have been picked up at fittings; I assume/hope that they were MTM not bespoken.

I am happy with the gray suit. Would still be interested in your thoughts on what should've been adjusted...

 

[greger]



I am happy with the gray suit. Would still be interested in your thoughts on what should've been adjusted...

The grey suit looks terrible. Perhaps you slipped it on wrong.
The lapel rolls past the button. Meaning the collar is to curved.
The lapel button hole could be much better, since that one is for show.
The back isn't sitting into the hollow of the small of the back, and yet the fronts hang parallel. This has to be a faulty pattern.
The pants are baggy from the seat and quite aways down the back legs, too.

The first fitting should have sorted out these problems when the body of the coat was basted together. If it is not bespoke it is not even good enough as m2m. Don't like to say the unkind words to you nor the people who made it.

 

[TOstyle]

How many boys asked to become tailors? These boys were not forced into the trade. No doubt some boys were. Then there were the boys who were not fast enough who were told to find a different trade a few years down the road. Any boy knows there are advantages to making your own clothes. You get to make what you want to wear. So it is actually empowering. Another advantage is they can earn more money than other boys their age. Dishwasher is low pay.

I couldn't agree more. Completely and totally empowering. I just think in all fairness they should start them at age 4 instead of 6. Seems unfair to all those little gents who are missing out.

 

[scatterbrain]

@greger:Thanks for providing comments. My comments in reply are below...


...
The lapel rolls past the button. Meaning the collar is to curved.
Is this a stylistic choice by the tailor, of is there some technical reason that you would say this is incorrect? I know some prefer it to start a ways above the buttonhole (see the Despos thread). Or at the buttonhole.

The lapel button hole could be much better, since that one is for show.
I noticed that, too. The vest buttonhole and the sleeve buttonholes are much cleaner, which is a little unusual.

The back isn't sitting into the hollow of the small of the back, and yet the fronts hang parallel.
I see what you are saying about not sitting into the small of my back. I did ask did lots of room in the jacket. Not sure if that would impact this...

The pants are baggy from the seat and quite aways down the back legs, too.
This may be the lack of braces. Will try to get pics again with them on.
Getting pants to fit properly has always been a challenge. I think it's a combination of flat butt and protruding calves. It makes it very difficult to get a clean line down the back of the leg.

... If it is not bespoke it is not even good enough as m2m.
@GBR said something similar. Is this hyperbole? Or do you really feel it is that far off?

This was not quite his bespoke level, but I believe much was made by hand here in Toronto.

 

[scatterbrain]

Also, as an aside, this thread needs more pics from people other than me.

Post em if you've got em, people...

 

[greger]



@greger:Thanks for providing comments. My comments in reply are below...
...
The lapel rolls past the button. Meaning the collar is to curved.
Is this a stylistic choice by the tailor, of is there some technical reason that you would say this is incorrect? I know some prefer it to start a ways above the buttonhole (see the Despos thread). Or at the buttonhole.

I wouldn't call it a style. The lapel is pulled up causing it to roll sooner than it should. If he cut the collar ends wider the lapels can be lifted and lower to determine exactly the best fit, and pin each exactly in place.

The back isn't sitting into the hollow of the small of the back, and yet the fronts hang parallel.
I see what you are saying about not sitting into the small of my back. I did ask did lots of room in the jacket. Not sure if that would impact this...

It is very sloppy for extra room. The cloth below the midsection is falling senselessly. Above isn't fitted right either. The extra "room" should be distributed around the whole coat, not just the back. Back in the early sixties the backs fell straight down cleanly and the sides also fell the same. These coats were very roomy. A TV program, think it is called Mr. Gun, a detective series, the main character, has a very well cut loose fitting coat of a good loose style. Whoever did your coat is far from it. Here is a book that explains some basic fitting problems. The authors name is Clarence Poulin.

Getting pants to fit properly has always been a challenge. I think it's a combination of flat butt and protruding calves. It makes it very difficult to get a clean line down the back of the leg.

Bespoke pants can have a fitting before anything is permanently finished sewn, such as pockets, darts, zipper and waistband. In Poulins book he shows a few pants fitting problems. You might find an answer there.

... If it is not bespoke it is not even good enough as m2m.
@GBR said something similar. Is this hyperbole? Or do you really feel it is that far off?

I think it is way off.

This was not quite his bespoke level, but I believe much was made by hand here in Toronto.

It all depends on the skills of the makers.

 

[greger]



I couldn't agree more. Completely and totally empowering. I just think in all fairness they should start them at age 4 instead of 6. Seems unfair to all those little gents who are missing out. 

If you ask those who started at the age of 12 they will say it is better to have started at the age of 6 than 12. Maybe children should learn to walk at the age of 15 instead of younger than 2. But, at the very young age children's bodies can fall and land at those very odd angles that they do that would cause a 15 year old physical damage. Those younger bodies are very stretchy and flexible, which is why the old tailors say the hands are no good for teaching when older. That flexibility that small children have with their hands is the very best time to teach.

 

[Vuchko]

I live in Toronto and I've bought only RTW clothing in my life so far, but I've been thinking about starting to build a custom-tailored wardrobe over the next few years.

However, this and various other SF threads have left me horrified. It would seem that in Toronto there are simply no tailors whom one could trust to deliver well-made custom clothing reliably. This despite the fact that the city has a fairly decent assortment of high-end menswear stores if one is looking for RTW.

One wonders how many tailors in the world exist who are really capable of consistently delivering much better clothing than what one can get with RTW and safe basic alterations for a comparable price. Is it really the case that aside from the few elite Italian, French, and English tailoring houses, they are so rare that even a major city like Toronto might have none?

 

[CloudLi]

If you check out local cobblers, you will notice that none of the cobbler has a goodyear welting machine. It is like a desert for men's wear here

 

[Vuchko]

If you check out local cobblers, you will notice that none of the cobbler has a goodyear welting machine. It is like a dessert for men's wear here

For RTW, I don't think it's fair to call Toronto a "desert" even as hyperbole. Certainly almost any other North American city will look like far worse in comparison. Yes, it's very expensive, but I wouldn't say it's out of line with the general high cost of living here.

Even when it comes to tailoring, there are apparently lots of options. However, based on what I've read here and elsewhere, I can only conclude that competent high-end tailoring is nowadays a rare and dying art (at least outside of a few remaining places in Europe), and Toronto just isn't lucky to have any one of the dwindling number of such tailors working here.

 

[Vuchko]

Also, does anyone have experiences with tailoring in various fancy-looking places in the Yorkville area, such as Leatherfoot, Marcello Tarantino, or John Ferrigamo?

I've found this SF thread on the latter, but not much online info about any of them otherwise (aside from their own websites).
http://www.styleforum.net/t/367045/...with-toronto-custom-suit-maker-john-ferrigamo

I would expect they are all very expensive, but I would be willing to spend a substantial amount if I could be confident that the outcome would be impressive. (By which I mean not just good, but clearly far superior to anything I could get with RTW, even as someone for whom typical RTW sizes are usually a good fit.)

 

[TOstyle]

However, this and various other SF threads have left me horrified. It would seem that in Toronto there are simply no tailors whom one could trust to deliver well-made custom clothing reliably. This despite the fact that the city has a fairly decent assortment of high-end menswear stores if one is looking for RTW.

Well as the guy who started this thread, and has had some spotty experiences with tailors in this city, I don't know that it's fair to say. I don’t think it’s a no-brainer and you can just go with anyone in the city but I think that’s true of everywhere. You are going to connect with only a few people, and in my experience you have to work at that. I am also thankful that I’ve had a good experience with Tom at Thomas Henry Made. Website is www.thmade.com. I wasn’t sure when I went in but the guy did a good job and I’ve been back for another one. It's MTM but I liked the quality.

I am also glad someone posted here. I was just thinking this week I hadn’t seen any posts for a while and I was wondering if the email summary I get from SF when someone does was broken. Guess everyone has been busy the last little bit!

 

[flytothesky]



Well as the guy who started this thread, and has had some spotty experiences with tailors in this city, I don't know that it's fair to say. I don’t think it’s a no-brainer and you can just go with anyone in the city but I think that’s true of everywhere. You are going to connect with only a few people, and in my experience you have to work at that. I am also thankful that I’ve had a good experience with Tom at Thomas Henry Made. Website is www.thmade.com. I wasn’t sure when I went in but the guy did a good job and I’ve been back for another one. It's MTM but I liked the quality.

I am also glad someone posted here. I was just thinking this week I hadn’t seen any posts for a while and I was wondering if the email summary I get from SF when someone does was broken. Guess everyone has been busy the last little bit!

I hope this is a joke. Thomas Henry Made is a bad custom tailor place. The quality is that of a Hugo Boss suit which is shotty at best.

The drape of the suits are horrible and the designs are atrocious. Anyone that has knowledge of suits on this forum would know not to buy from a place like that.

No one would recommend Thomas Henry Made THmade to get a custom suit. Especially on this forum as most people are educated. I understand you might of had good rapport with the guy but the suit quality is bad.

 

[TOstyle]

Well it worked for me so I suggested it. Everyone has their opinion, and say what you will about the drape but I will say the quality is much better than Boss IMHO.