Dipping a toe in the bespoke suit waters

[Slippybee]

Gentlemen,

Please forgive my brazen imposition on your valuable time. I've had a read through the various threads for the last week or so but couldn't find anything that really answered my question.

I've worn suits for twenty odd years but never had a bespoke suit made.

After a couple of decades of arse-kissing and back-stabbing I've grubbed my way up the corporate ladder and can now start seriously considering having my suits made for me rather than enduring the lottery of ready to wear.

I've made appointments with 3 bespoke tailors in my locality for next weekend to get 2 suits underway and being a bit of an obsessive list maker wanted to ensure I'd thought of all of the items I should give some thought to before visiting the various establishments.


So far I've worked through what I'd hazard were the obvious considerations (?):

> Single Vs DB
> Vent
> Number of buttons/button materials
> Cloth type/colour/pattern/weight
> Lining
> Lapel width/length
> Shoulder type
> Pocket type(s)
> Anything else?

I've quizzed all three of them on where their materials are sourced from which I'll check before agreeing to proceed and to see examples of their work both in progress and finished.

I'm not in a rush to get the suits made and wonder if I'm better getting each tailor to make me a shirt first so I get to understand their method, quality and whether they're someone I'll enjoy working with in the future.

What else should I be giving consideration to?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Despos]

You didn't mention any trouser details.
Are you looking for a tailor that makes the garments in his own shop or outsources the work? Do you want custom or made to measure?

 

[Slippybee]



You didn't mention any trouser details.
Are you looking for a tailor that makes the garments in his own shop or outsources the work? Do you want custom or made to measure?

Thanks for your reply.

Re the trousers - no I didn't, apologies. I've done some thinking around the pocket styles, whether I want to wear with a belt or braces, length of the break, width, pleats and so on...............anything else I should consider?

All of the tailor's I've spoken to make the garments themselves on site and none have objected to me visiting their workshop to see other pieces in construction. I suppose my problem would be other than seeing the general state of their work areas, straightness, volume of work underway and consistency of stitching and so on I'd possibly be able to spot bad work but not be able to differentiate betwen the good and the excellent.

I've quizzed all of them on the volume of work they have underway currently, average turnaround times for fittings and so on.

Made to measure. The price will decide the number of articles. I think I'd rather go for a single MTM suit that I had a hand in selecting all of the elements for than two where I had to compromise and accept someone else's. Ultimately if I can't get what I want (within reason) I'll be content to walk away and try somewhere else until I can be totally happy.

 

[Despos]

The main factor determining your satisfaction with the outcome is the fitting skills of tailor. This can only be known by having a suit made. MTM is sending your measurements to a Cut Trim & Make workshop that will cut and make the garment and return to the tailor. This method offers a good amount of customization but if the tailor is making it himself and giving you fittings during the construction process that is a more "custom" garment.

 

[Slippybee]

Ahh righto, thanks again.

Either way I guess other than seeing examples of work in progress/finished and the sense I get from dealing with the tailor I'm not going to be in any better informed a position regardless of whether it's custom or MTM.

Hmmmm....

 

[Recoil]

I ventured into bespoke territory and got burned badly even after 3 years on SF. I thought I thought of everything. I didn't. I even brought him a jacket to copy and while he did a good job mimicking the look there was one very important thing I didn't think of: high arm holes and slimmer arms. I thought it was implied in a slim suit but I guess not. I tried on the suit many times throughout the process but I could never figure out why it wasn't perfect. I realized a few weeks after I got the finished product what the problem was: a slim suit without high arm holes looks silly when you move. The sleeves jumped up the moment I moved my arm forward because the jacket started pulling sooner than it should have. This also had the affect of pulling the back of the jacket instantly tighter and it looked awful. The suit hags in my closest now.

I also had a problem with the pants but unlike armholes it was easily correctable. The problem with the pants was something I mentioned in another thread today, if you want no break on your pants the leg opening has to be proportionately slimmer so they don't flop all over when you walk.

Bespoke was a great learning experience for me, unfortunately, a very expensive one.

 

[kraftar]



Thanks for your reply.

Re the trousers - no I didn't, apologies. I've done some thinking around the pocket styles, whether I want to wear with a belt or braces, length of the break, width, pleats and so on...............anything else I should consider?

an additional thing to consider is if you want back pockets... I never used them so I dropped them from my bespoke suits.

As for the jacket, you might want to think about how you want your cuffs (sham, working, a mix). Also, with the pockets, think about which pockets you want/use inside the jacket.

 

[GBR]

This is very superficial. Somewhere in the depths of time I did post a check list for use of the new to bespoke.

Maybe use search more diligently.

 

[hangthree]

I just commissioned my first bespoke with WW Chan yesterday. I had a decent idea of what I wanted to achieve (pictures, etc.) and wore a good reference suit.

I ended up not sweating all of the details ... we'll see how it turns out in September.