Going Bespoke, Part I

[johnnynorman3]

Yup. Three fittings. Every stitch done in house -- all the hand work (a lot of it) by the tailor (guy who measured me and who will cut the pattern), and the long seams by his trusty assistant.

 

[lisapop]

Trousers may or may not be made in-house, the latter being somewhat of a tradition. Â If yes, that's great, if not, that's fine, too, as the tailor will have made the pattern for the trousers and perhaps even cut them. Â Traditionally, even the finest tailors have viewed the coat (jacket) as the center of attention, the most important, and complicated, part of the suit. Â Trousers are secondary, and outsourced to a pants specialist. Â My guy in NY, for example, uses a couple pants makers outside that are phenomenal, and I couldn't care less if they're in-house or out-house as the trousers are amazing. Â Sad but true that there are only a couple really great pants specialists remaining in all of New York. Â Still, the coat is the most complex part of the suit, and most difficult to get right, warranting in-house attention. Â Again, may or may not be the case with your guy, but should not be an issue one way or another as long as he's overseeing everything. I'm sure you'll be "panting" over your suit when it's completed

Grayson

 

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by johnnynorman3

Yup. Three fittings. Every stitch done in house -- all the hand work (a lot of it) by the tailor (guy who measured me and who will cut the pattern), and the long seams by his trusty assistant.

AFAIK, your tailor, who also has been my RTW alterations tailor since college (early 80s, so it's been awhile...) cuts his trousers but then sends it offsite to have them made. This is actually a common practice. Joe will, however, probably do any handsewing on your coat, since he is the one who generally does that in his shop.

There was a recent thread about Joe's work, with photographs:

Joe Calautti of Rizzo Tailor

In my opinion, Joe is in that rapidly dwindling rank of tailors in the U.S. who can make a very good individualized product but at lower cost than the very best. I am sure that you will be pleased.

I saw some overcoats at his shop three weeks ago that he made for a customer about ten years ago, in for repairs, and they were quite nice.

- B