Custom Suiting Toronto

[Jamesbond1]

And you did, didn’t you? I’m proud of you.

“Pride is one of the seven deadly sins... another pandemic bigger than COVID-19”

 

[induere_to]

Trying to stay busy through these idle times. At least I have a pretty fun project that I have been working on. Still unsure if I’ll be starting my own company; this whole menswear thing is complete nonsense, but it can still be a bit of fun. Who knows how I decide to transition back into

This is only a fitting garment, any changes from this will go towards the finished garment. Not many changes needed, however: still some sloping n each shoulder, and I need to reduce the excess of fabric at the sleeve head.

Overall, I think I have dialed down the measurement algorithm for the several fitting garments that I’ve made for some guys. Garments are made in China. Though they have several levels of quality which reflect on price point, all garments made through me will be 90% handmade and full canvas.

 

[induere_to]

Finally! I am excited to provide the long awaited Part II of the Brenton & Co. commission that I started in January, delayed due to Covid and unfortunately overshot the cooler days of early Spring. Many people had reached out to me in the past months inquiring on updates; so it’s possible that some of you may have been more looking forward to the finished garment than I am!

I had my basted fitting back on March 5. As expected, hardly assembled and hanging on by loose threads and missing a sleeve. Throwing the garment on, it may be difficult to foresee the overall image of the jacket. It's not until you examine the individual details and measurements of your preferences that it all begins to manifest clarity. The first fitting, traditionally, is the cutter’s fitting. The cutter, being the one that took the measurements and cut the pattern is best versed in your proportions and uses the first fitting to make any changes necessary to the assembly of the jacket. Of the opinions they asked from me, due to personal taste, I requested to lengthen the body of the jacket and to shorten the sleeves. Despite my request to not include shoulder pads, the basted garment did include them, however I was reassured that they were easy to remove; which they were.

Close curtain. End normality. Enter Covid and it's bizarre trail of anxiety and confusion that followed.

May 12, I had my first shift at Brenton. Within my first two weeks the talk of my jacket's progress had been brought up several times. Production had ricocheted a bit when I had an explosion of creativity form a mushroom cloud within my gut, as often as that happens. We acquired a new fabric of the same weight (still of an unknown mill and composition) and after drawing out a design to illustrate my idea to the tailors, I convinced them to combine the two fabrics together for a Huntsman[sample]-esque panelled jacket. As usual, though something I have become rather familiar with, I received blank stares and the rolled-eyes of skepticism from my peers.

I will include the following because I believe it to be rather relevant. Toni Tran is the master tailor at Brenton & Co., most of Toronto may still associate him with Garrison, but he’s a third generation craftsman and full of sartorial knowledge. The highly revered Toronto tailor that is no longer in business, Sr. Francesco and Toni have had a very close relationship throughout their careers and have also worked very closely in the past. Toni’s son, Vince was my cutter and I’m often envious of the knowledge that his father has been able to pass down to him. Toni’s father was an apprentice in Paris and many French techniques have been inherited through the family tree. There is a great team of tailors working at Brenton and the majority of my enjoyment at the company is due to the conversations that I am able to have with them.

Last week, to my excitement, the assembly of my sport coat was nearly finalized and we were able to proceed with my second fitting. Unfortunately, for the first time in my life, I gained a bit of weight throughout my quarantine eating bags of fried plantain chips so it was not much of a surprise that the sides of the jacket needed to be let out. I was much more happy with the lengthening of the jacket's body but still asked to have the sleeves shortened another 1/2" inch. The adjustments were made over the weekend and after confirming its fit today, it's ready to be pressed and have the buttonholes stitched in.

I’m rather ecstatic by how the jacket turned out and due to it’s subtle juxtaposition of patchwork, it won’t hesitate to receive second-takes by passersby all Autumn long. But… now, onto the next. I’m having my first suit commission initiated next week.

 

[othertravel]

This is great. I'm definitely interested in commissioning something through Brenton, but would like to see examples of what the finished product looks like (similar to the excellent SC posted by @induere_to )

 

[sargeinaz]

@induere_to love the entire cut and silhouette of the jacket. It’s a great balance of being fitted and flattering, but not overly slim. Love that the gorge isn’t super high as well. The shoulder is great too. Almost looks like the old American style natural shoulder. There’s no padding at all correct?

Is this the house cut? Can this be done MTM or just bespoke? Enjoy it in good health!

 

[induere_to]

@induere_to love the entire cut and silhouette of the jacket. It’s a great balance of being fitted and flattering, but not overly slim. Love that the gorge isn’t super high as well. The shoulder is great too. Almost looks like the old American style natural shoulder. There’s no padding at all correct?

Is this the house cut? Can this be done MTM or just bespoke? Enjoy it in good health!

One of the details I forgot to include in my review was my specification on the height of the gorge. For a notch I like to keep it around 4", generally; for a peak, 5" +. The gorge on their house cut is a little higher than I prefer, I like it lower because I think it provides an apparent structural drape. Lapel width, of course, is a general specification. You are correct; there is no shoulder padding at all, on a hanger there is minimal shirring at the shoulder, but when worn, my shoulders fill it out and it looks really clean.

I didn't want to stray too far from their house cut so I kept my requests to a minimum for this jacket. The suit I have being started probably next week is different, I'm doing one layer of canvas (no chest piece), Rubinacci circa 1930's era jetted pockets and fuller-cut double-pleated trouser. This will be a push for the tailor to do something a little different, but he's confident in his abilities and the more I get to know him, the more I'm confident in his abilities also.

Getting into Made to Measure is an entirely different story. There is no basted fitting. The patterns get cut in-store but assembled in Montreal, therefore requests like gorge height won't be accomplished through this program. But, tapping in to my unbiased opinion, their bespoke pricing is as reasonable as you'd ever get for bespoke and I would definitely recommend considering the bespoke program even to start out.

 

[induere_to]

Teaser:

 

[Jamesbond1]

This is great. I'm definitely interested in commissioning something through Brenton, but would like to see examples of what the finished product looks like (similar to the excellent SC posted by @induere_to )

As long as Tim measures you you can keep your eyes closed through the entire process and the results will be beyond your expectations!!! The man has more knowledge than many so called bespoke champions put together in Toronto!!

 

[induere_to]

Second fitting for my second suit from Brenton. A deviation from their 'house cut'; but as some tailors like to argue, a 'house cut' does not distract from their capability to accommodate for anything the customer requests. Tony has a collection of garments he's collected over the years from Naples, Milan, Savile Row, you name it; needless to say, if you want to test him with new ideas, not only does he welcome it, but he may surprise you.

For this garment, I requested specifically to have it as unstructured as possible, no shoulder pads and a single layer of canvas; slightly off-path from Brenton's preferred structure in the shoulder and chest. A pretty straight forward request, but my specifications with trousers was probably what threw him a little off his guard. Two pleats, forward, with a fuller leg; we agreed that a basted fitting for the trousers would probably be absolutely necessary.

Once the suit is finished, all the buttonholes will be removed and replaced with handmade buttonholes. 1x6 double breasted, two buttons on the cuff, and now that I'm realizing my distaste for milanese buttonholes is growing, I'll have standard hand-sewn buttonholes on each of the lapels.

 

[rhb57]

So I currently have my Garrison Bespoke suit, and my John Ferrigamo suit is still being made. Here are the differences I have noticed so far.

Garrison Bespoke:
Garrison Bespoke does muslin fittings on their custom suits. They have a wide variety of fabrics to choose from and I chose a Dormeuil Amadeus light navy fabric. It's a gorgeous fabric but maybe a bit delicate for my needs. The fit of the suit is very nice and trim, but could potentially be a bit snug at times. However, the cut of the suit is great and modern and the tailor was very focused on what I was going for. A nice added touch was a wonderfully hand-sewn Milanese buttonhole.

John Ferrigamo:
John Ferrigamo does basted fittings on their custom suits. Their custom suits are cut off of five different patterns. They have a wide variety of fabrics as well and I chose a Holland & Sherry charcoal fabric from their durable line. John Ferrigamo is a little more conservative in the style of the suit, but still does very trim suits. Their specialty seems to be big peak lapels, and their signature is doing buttonholes on both lapels. John Ferrigamo did hand-sewn stitching and buttonholes for my suit.

But what is the price difference?
- It seems Garrison bespoke calls its muslin fitting suits "modern bespoke" and it starts from $1800 while their basted fitting suits are called "handmade bespoke" that start from $3200.
- John Ferrigamo's basted fitting bespoke suits start from$3500.

Seems Garrison offers a better deal, although JF seems to get all 5 star reviews.

 

[Jamesbond1]

Neither of those businesses offer any bespoke whatsoever. Garrison made to measure is made overseas and JF is made in Canada.

 

[rhb57]

Neither of those businesses offer any bespoke whatsoever. Garrison made to measure is made overseas and JF is made in Canada.

Your statements seem illogical.

Garrison made to measure is made by Coppley, it's made in Canada.

JF is indeed made in Canada, but why is that not bespoke?

 

[Jamesbond1]

Your statements seem illogical.

Garrison made to measure is made by Coppley, it's made in Canada.

JF is indeed made in Canada, but why is that not bespoke?

Your opinion in what is illogical has nothing to do with legitimate fact.
Ferrigamo is made in a factory. That doesn’t make it bespoke. Garrison hasn’t been made by coppley in years.

 

[rhb57]

Your opinion in what is illogical has nothing to do with legitimate fact.
Ferrigamo is made in a factory. That doesn’t make it bespoke. Garrison hasn’t been made by coppley in years.

Pricing - Garrison Bespoke - made to measure starts from 995, that's from Coppley, period. Below is from Coppley's website:

Garrison's muslin fitting suit is called "modern bespoke", not "made to measure" although it is in essence made to measure.


JF has a workshop outside the city of Toronto, so what? It's not cut on-site, but it's definitely not factory made. Name one factory that does milanese buttonhole. Most importantly, it's basted fitting.

 

[induere_to]

Literally every factory does Milanese buttonholes. I, personally, can do Milanese buttonholes; in my living room... on a train... on a plane... visiting a factory...

We're on this site to try to help each other not make mistakes and make proper investments, and not to be stubborn about what we read somewhere on a website or what words companies use to try to sell their products.