tbessie
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- Aug 21, 2015
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Years ago I bought 3 custom suits from a Hong Kong tailor, via their rep who comes to San Francisco (it was "Grand International" in case anyone knows them). I mostly just used the dark blue suit from them for interviews, weddings, etc. and not much else (I have little need to dress up regularly).
However, recently I've been in several choirs, and renting a tux for each performance has started to become an expensive proposition. I decided to buy either a tux or black suit for that, and - lacking the huge amount of money necessary to build a complete formal wardrobe or go to London to buy clothing - I looked up recommendations for good local custom tailors, and ended up going to "Seymour's Fashions" here in San Francisco (they've been discussed in a few threads here).
They did the work in about 6 weeks, and the tux (with shirt thrown in by the owner) was about $2000.
Since other "bespoke" tailors are more pricey, I asked how they manage their costs; they told me they have a workshop in Sacramento (about 90 miles away, and much cheaper cost of living); they go there twice a week to talk to their people and examine the work, and pick up finished pieces. So the father/son team that own the company don't do any of their own work, from what I can tell.
I got the tux the other day, and it seems fine; nothing obviously bad about it, though my hyper-critical eye notices tiny flaws (like the jacket cuffs not being 100% straight, some small threads not clipped flush, some chalk marks left on some parts, and other very small, almost non-noticeable things).
I was wondering - how can one know the real quality of a piece of custom-made clothing? How can you know if they made a paper pattern for your body (as opposed to modified an existing base pattern)? How can you know the lengths to which they work to keep things as "perfect" as they can manage? How can you know if they cut any corners?
I know reputation counts for a lot, and this tailor has a pretty good reputation in San Francisco; but, speaking as an engineer, I know that sometimes it's easy to make things LOOK amazing when there have been corners cut, and there remain tiny flaws that nobody will notice.
I'd like to find a tailor shop where the master tailors do most of the work, or at least VERY actively supervise, and their sewers are as exacting as they are, and where every TINY detail is scrutinized and fixed if anything is even slightly wrong.
How do you know if a tailor is that exacting?
- Tim
However, recently I've been in several choirs, and renting a tux for each performance has started to become an expensive proposition. I decided to buy either a tux or black suit for that, and - lacking the huge amount of money necessary to build a complete formal wardrobe or go to London to buy clothing - I looked up recommendations for good local custom tailors, and ended up going to "Seymour's Fashions" here in San Francisco (they've been discussed in a few threads here).
They did the work in about 6 weeks, and the tux (with shirt thrown in by the owner) was about $2000.
Since other "bespoke" tailors are more pricey, I asked how they manage their costs; they told me they have a workshop in Sacramento (about 90 miles away, and much cheaper cost of living); they go there twice a week to talk to their people and examine the work, and pick up finished pieces. So the father/son team that own the company don't do any of their own work, from what I can tell.
I got the tux the other day, and it seems fine; nothing obviously bad about it, though my hyper-critical eye notices tiny flaws (like the jacket cuffs not being 100% straight, some small threads not clipped flush, some chalk marks left on some parts, and other very small, almost non-noticeable things).
I was wondering - how can one know the real quality of a piece of custom-made clothing? How can you know if they made a paper pattern for your body (as opposed to modified an existing base pattern)? How can you know the lengths to which they work to keep things as "perfect" as they can manage? How can you know if they cut any corners?
I know reputation counts for a lot, and this tailor has a pretty good reputation in San Francisco; but, speaking as an engineer, I know that sometimes it's easy to make things LOOK amazing when there have been corners cut, and there remain tiny flaws that nobody will notice.
I'd like to find a tailor shop where the master tailors do most of the work, or at least VERY actively supervise, and their sewers are as exacting as they are, and where every TINY detail is scrutinized and fixed if anything is even slightly wrong.
How do you know if a tailor is that exacting?
- Tim
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