Full Review - Richard Lim Tailor – PLUS - Finished Navy Summer Jacket Pics

[Despos]

Those issues on the back at the shoulder blades look pretty severe - did he suggest that more work was needed?

It's hard to convey just how finicky the cloth is. Here's a shot I forgot to process from yesterday. It's perhaps the "cleanest" shot of the jacket. The line of my back looks perfect, and behind my arms is really clean. I need that "extra" fabric to move around.

Baron is onto something. This side view shows a short back balance do to your prominent blades. You need more length over your blades along the center back and that will clean up the back at the back of the armholes. The upper backhand blades width could be reduced and not be tight or restrictive.

A suggestion. Don't wear plain front trousers so high on your waist. This is a good height for pleated trousers on you but plain fronts would look better with a lower rise. Ask then if they are adjusting the trouser for your high right hip.

Light weight cloth will drape well enough if it has body. I bet the lines that show thru the cloth are highlighted from the camera flash and not there in real life.

 

[coolal]



Baron is onto something. This side view shows a short back balance do to your prominent blades. You need more length over your blades along the center back and that will clean up the back at the back of the armholes. The upper backhand blades width could be reduced and not be tight or restrictive.
A suggestion. Don't wear plain front trousers so high on your waist. This is a good height for pleated trousers on you but plain fronts would look better with a lower rise. Ask then if they are adjusting the trouser for your high right hip.
Light weight cloth will drape well enough if it has body. I bet the lines that show thru the cloth are highlighted from the camera flash and not there in real life.

Despos, thanks for taking the time to comment on this. I'll be sure to discuss your suggestions, for tweaking the jacket back, with my tailor.

I also appreciate the distinction between high rise with pleats and not-as-high with flat fronts. Taking the leap to high rise trousers was a pretty big step for me, I wanted to be careful and not combine that with an experiment in pleats. However, thanks to your suggestion, I'm looking forward to trying double forward pleats on my upcoming order.

 

[coolal]

Hey guys, time for another update! Just got back from picking this up from Richard. Trousers and waistcoat are next. Still deciding on the details.

This jacket is lined with china silk (silk habotai) and uses the same construction as the last jacket I had made. The shoulders are unlined, with a spalla camicia.


Here are some informal pics that Richard snapped for me. The angles are a bit off, plus the wide angle distortion of the lens (I usually photograph at eye level; this was more like waist level.), but I think it's a good tease.

FYI, it's 95* in LA today. So I was wearing a La Coste polo under the jacket. I know it's not an ideal representation of how it drapes.


Bottom line: I couldn't be happier. The silk / brisa combination is comfortable to wear, even in 95* weather!

Front Closed:

Front Open:

Side:

 

[UnnamedPlayer]

Hey guys, time for another update! Just got back from picking this up from Richard. Trousers and waistcoat are next. Still deciding on the details.
This jacket is lined with china silk (silk habotai) and uses the same construction as the last jacket I had made. The shoulders are unlined, with a spalla camicia.
Here are some informal pics that Richard snapped for me. The angles are a bit off, plus the wide angle distortion of the lens (I usually photograph at eye level; this was more like waist level.), but I think it's a good tease.
FYI, it's 95* in LA today. So I was wearing a La Coste polo under the jacket. I know it's not an ideal representation of how it drapes.
Bottom line: I couldn't be happier. The silk / brisa combination is comfortable to wear, even in 95* weather!
Front Closed:

Front Open:

Side:

That looks mint, seeming results like this makes me want to get out some cash and get a tailored suit.

 

[jeff13007]



Hey guys, time for another update! Just got back from picking this up from Richard. Trousers and waistcoat are next. Still deciding on the details.
This jacket is lined with china silk (silk habotai) and uses the same construction as the last jacket I had made. The shoulders are unlined, with a spalla camicia.
Here are some informal pics that Richard snapped for me. The angles are a bit off, plus the wide angle distortion of the lens (I usually photograph at eye level; this was more like waist level.), but I think it's a good tease.
FYI, it's 95* in LA today. So I was wearing a La Coste polo under the jacket. I know it's not an ideal representation of how it drapes.
Bottom line: I couldn't be happier. The silk / brisa combination is comfortable to wear, even in 95* weather!
Front Closed:

Front Open:

Side:

Something about the waist suppression of this jacket looks off. I can't really put my finger on it though but it seems that "pinch" is a bit high.

 

[coolal]



That looks mint, seeming results like this makes me want to get out some cash and get a tailored suit.

Thanks again! C.M.T. cost on this jacket was $520 + tax ($485 + $35 for working button holes). I feel so lucky that Richard is only 20 mins away!

Something about the waist suppression of this jacket looks off. I can't really put my finger on it though but it seems that "pinch" is a bit high.

I thought the same thing when I looked at the photo. I think it's a combination of the low angle of the shot and the wide angle distortion of the camera phone lens. Putting on the jacket, the suppression follows my body perfectly.

I'll try to get some official pics snapped in the next day or so.

 

[Renault78law]

I'm glad you updated this thread. I'll be watching it closely. I'm still between tailors at the moment, but am considering Lim based on your experience. I believe you mentioned before that you have a strong interest in clothing (either academic or "industry" experience, or both, I can't recall). And based on the fact that you draw your own lapel, you certainly seem qualified. I'm curious, have you gone bespoke anywhere else?

The fit of your latest coat looks nice. They did a good job on pattern matching too. I know that in the past, you specified a lot of small details. Are the buttons on the sleeve one of those details? I haven't seen them spaced so far apart before; most prefer "kissing" buttons.

 

[Despos]

The look of the waist is askew more to the photography than it probably is in person. I look where the greatest point of suppression falls in relation to the front button. The waist looks better on the same line or above the line of the button. On this jacket it seems about right. My taste is to lower the button about 1/2" and the lower button a bit more, about 3/4" They seem a little close together. Then move the waistline down slightly to elongate the torso.

A photo at a further distance and no angle and I bet this jacket would look fine.

 

[coolal]



I'm glad you updated this thread. I'll be watching it closely. I'm still between tailors at the moment, but am considering Lim based on your experience. I believe you mentioned before that you have a strong interest in clothing (either academic or "industry" experience, or both, I can't recall). And based on the fact that you draw your own lapel, you certainly seem qualified. I'm curious, have you gone bespoke anywhere else?
The fit of your latest coat looks nice. They did a good job on pattern matching too. I know that in the past, you specified a lot of small details. Are the buttons on the sleeve one of those details? I haven't seen them spaced so far apart before; most prefer "kissing" buttons.

Hi Renault, thanks for the comments. You're right that I have a strong interest in clothing, but it isn't officially an academic pursuit. After my first jacket order at Lim (a few years ago), I tried another bespoke tailor out of curiosity (A guy named Mr. Lee on Fairfax). I had 3 shirts made and a suit. There were 5 fittings and the fit was pretty good. However, the construction methods left me wanting. He only used fusing, no canvassing at all, and was very particular about how things are done. Plus his prices were 25% more expensive than Richard. After that experience, I went back to Richard Lim and I've been happy ever since. As for details, I have almost every single sharp corner blunted. The spalla camicia took some back and forth. But they've been more than willing to learn new methods. The buttons are not a special request, except for making them working buttons. I don't really care about the "kissing" buttons. A few of my jackets have them, a few don't, I'm still not partial to one or the other.

The look of the waist is askew more to the photography than it probably is in person. I look where the greatest point of suppression falls in relation to the front button. The waist looks better on the same line or above the line of the button. On this jacket it seems about right. My taste is to lower the button about 1/2" and the lower button a bit more, about 3/4" They seem a little close together. Then move the waistline down slightly to elongate the torso.
A photo at a further distance and no angle and I bet this jacket would look fine.

Thanks for the input Despos. I took some "official" shots and I think everything looks a lot better from a higher angle and farther back. The buttons are actually a tad closer together than my other jackets. I hadn't noticed it until you pointed it out. Most are about 11cm apart, this is 9.5 cm. I'll have to consider which I like more.

Here are the shots I took last night:

Front:

Back:

Side:

 

[Renault78law]



The buttons are actually a tad closer together than my other jackets. I hadn't noticed it until you pointed it out. Most are about 11cm apart, this is 9.5 cm. I'll have to consider which I like more.

Definitely the former, IMO.

 

[coolal]



Definitely the former, IMO.

I'm probably leaning in that direction as well. But it certainly isn't a deal breaker on the jacket, IMO. I'll just chalk it up as a bespoke quirk. Something else to specify on my next order!

 

[Renault78law]

I completely agree. At the very most, these are just nits. Wear it in good health!

 

[DayTripper]

Hey I'm a newbie here and I just wanted to say thank you for writing such a detailed review. This is what finally convinced me to pull the trigger and go see him this past Saturday. He asked me how I heard of his shop and I mentioned your name/thread - he looked pleased. I hope that was okay with you. This is my first bespoke suit so I'm really excited about it.

 

[badsha]

Awesome. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[coolal]



Hey I'm a newbie here and I just wanted to say thank you for writing such a detailed review. This is what finally convinced me to pull the trigger and go see him this past Saturday. He asked me how I heard of his shop and I mentioned your name/thread - he looked pleased. I hope that was okay with you. This is my first bespoke suit so I'm really excited about it.

Just saw the email subscription notification from this thread. I'm glad you found the information useful! It's great that you mentioned the thread. Helping people discover his value is exactly why I wrote the review. I think he's just starting to realize the amount of interest generated in the forums. Please keep us posted and be sure to take pics at every step. It'll be nice not being the only one posting pics of Richard Lim's work!