guaging a new tailor in town

[graymerica]

I live in a small city in North Carolina (Wilmington) and we have never had a custom menswhere tailor since I moved here. We have fine tailors for alterations, places that will order MTM, but no actual bespoke tailors.

I stopped by a new shop this weekend that claims to make suits. I did not have a lot of time to investigate, but he did have a couple of examples of suits he has made. The couple are in their 50s, Chinese and have a large amount of machines and other equipment. The place was clean and well organized and in nice retail strip mall.

He told me that a two piece suit, custom made by him, not MTM, would be $500 labor plus material. He estimates I needed 5 yards at between $30-$80 per yard. (I am 6' and wear a BB 42R)

The two examples he had on manikins, that he made, look nice, solid style, two button suits.

I have only ever bought off the rack and MTM in the past and was wondering what I should look for if I want to order a custom suit from a new tailor.

Should I have them make me a sports coat first?

Without giving the guy the third degree, what kinds of questions should I ask?

What details should I look for in the work that he has done in the past?

Should I take in a suit I like and tell him to make one that compares, or would that be an insult?

I am excited to give this guy a try, but I want to make sure I am not going to get a satorial quagmire.

thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[phxlawstudent]

Originally Posted by graymerica

[Located in a] strip mall. He told me that a two piece suit, custom made by him, not MTM, would be $500 labor plus material. He estimates I needed 5 yards at between $30-$80 per yard. (I am 6' and wear a BB 42R)
That's enough info for me to PASS!!!

 

[bringusingoodale]

If I remember correctly, it only takes about 2 1/2 yards for a SC. Or is this for pants? I forget. Either way it doesn't sound like a steal, but there's no way of gauging this without seeing an end result. I made up my mind some time ago that when doing bespoke, the best rule to follow is cry once (for the initial price) for a reputable tailor.

 

[graymerica]

phxlawstudent,

was it the price or the strip mall?

The shopping center is attached to http://www.landfall.org It is a strip mall, but a pretty nice one.

thanks,

Andrew

 

[phxlawstudent]

Price mostly. There's no way the suit is only $500 plus materials. Unless he's going to use up $500 worth of materials, the price does not equate to even low level bespoke. MTM, maybe, but you said you already have good MTM suiting. But I'd still pass, he's obviously lying/miscommunicating about the custom part/expectations, or the construction is shoddy and he uses a ton of shortcuts that I cannot even think of.

 

[greger]

The price that he is charging is so low that anything he makes is probably fine for that price. Generally custom is thousands more. If the garment is equal to something in the store for the same price then it is fine. And he can probably make stuff that you can't find in a store and at those prices it is a bargain. You can't compare it with a $5,000 custom made from a world known famous tailor, such as those on SR.

 

[graymerica]

greger, great point.

I really wanted a black and grey seer sucker jacket I saw in Charlotte last year, but they wanted $2200 for it. Which is crazy.

I bet I could get him to make me one for under $300 since seer sucker is about $15 per yard and it would not need to be extensively lined.

Worse case scenario, I have a crappy casual jacket, but he might have some skills. Wilmington is at the beach and there is a lot of seer sucker here in the summer, especially at weddings and parties, so I would have a use for it,

thanks

 

[a tailor]

if you decide to try him then do this.
wear a suit that you like the best for fit. then tell him what you like and dont like about it.
one thing at a time. the length for instance, if it is too long or short, tell him by how much.
do the same for the shoulder width. and so on.

 

[Concordia]

Originally Posted by a tailor

if you decide to try him then do this.
wear a suit that you like the best for fit. then tell him what you like and dont like about it.
one thing at a time. the length for instance, if it is too long or short, tell him by how much.
do the same for the shoulder width. and so on.

+1.

Jackets are typically 2/3 of the cost of a suit.

Especially if you might wear them as separates, no harm in adding trousers to the seersucker order. If he's awful, you'll find out on the cheap. If not bad (or better), you've got a source lined up.

 

[markspencer]

It is a little expesive. I think it will be cheaper to buy a suit and then tailor it to fit you perfectly.

 

[greger]

Originally Posted by markspencer

It is a little expensive. I think it will be cheaper to buy a suit and then tailor it to fit you perfectly.

There are pluses and minuses to this. If he (tailor) can do better than off the rack and you buy rtw and then have it altered, then that is not an improvement. You can only give this tailor a try and if it goes fine, then over time they will probably get better. Another minus is rtw only gives you what is available, whereas, custom may give many choices beyond what rtw provides.

Once when in a store I looked at shirts. There were four or five shirts and each one had a feature that I liked. I could buy four or five shirts or I could have one custom with all of those futures.

 

[jack220]

Originally Posted by graymerica

I live in a small city in North Carolina (Wilmington) and we have never had a custom menswhere tailor since I moved here. We have fine tailors for alterations, places that will order MTM, but no actual bespoke tailors.

I stopped by a new shop this weekend that claims to make suits. I did not have a lot of time to investigate, but he did have a couple of examples of suits he has made. The couple are in their 50s, Chinese and have a large amount of machines and other equipment. The place was clean and well organized and in nice retail strip mall.

He told me that a two piece suit, custom made by him, not MTM, would be $500 labor plus material. He estimates I needed 5 yards at between $30-$80 per yard. (I am 6' and wear a BB 42R)

The two examples he had on manikins, that he made, look nice, solid style, two button suits.

I have only ever bought off the rack and MTM in the past and was wondering what I should look for if I want to order a custom suit from a new tailor.

Should I have them make me a sports coat first?

Without giving the guy the third degree, what kinds of questions should I ask?

What details should I look for in the work that he has done in the past?

Should I take in a suit I like and tell him to make one that compares, or would that be an insult?

I am excited to give this guy a try, but I want to make sure I am not going to get a satorial quagmire.

thanks in advance for the advice.

If you're Asian (like me!), you'd know what to look for

Fused or canvassed? Buttons handmade or machine sewn? Armsyce deep or high? Shoulder pads thick and boxy, or natural? How does the suit in the manikin fit? Do you dig the silhouette? Clean lines, front and back?

You need to ask, because he's Chinese, and most likely has no formal knowledge in tailoring. Most likely self-taught, and many of the SF-approved style details are alien to them.

Bring pictures of the above to him, and ask him if he knows how to do it, or is willing to try...

 

[CYstyle]

Originally Posted by phxlawstudent

Price mostly. There's no way the suit is only $500 plus materials. Unless he's going to use up $500 worth of materials, the price does not equate to even low level bespoke. MTM, maybe, but you said you already have good MTM suiting. But I'd still pass, he's obviously lying/miscommunicating about the custom part/expectations, or the construction is shoddy and he uses a ton of shortcuts that I cannot even think of.

The $500 is for labor, meaning his profit/wages + material cost on top of that. The end result of a suit is not going to be $500 after all adding in fabric that's easily another $400, and pocketing material, buttons etc, over $1k. Granted most tailors charge $1k+ labor, it could be he's charging lower fees to get new business then gradually increasing prices as he gets more business.

 

[Michael Ay329]

His prices sound reasonable...give him a try...especially since he does the work on premises

Does he provide fitting(s)? This is crucial

 

[greger]

No saying yay or nay for this tailor, but some of you are talking like to expect a $5,000 suit for $1,000 suit. Hand made button holes for a $1,000 suit? Get real.

I would expect two fittings, maybe three, though. And not after he is finished. It is much easier to correct fitting problems at certain stage of construction than afterwards.