lalaland
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2012
- Messages
- 77
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So I got a $1,500 pure silk Canali blazer in a truly beautiful cream herringbone pattern for almost 90% off at an Off Saks outlet - $169 - in a 42R, which fits my chest - but is a tent everywhere else.
I took it to a local high end tailor who comes highly recommended on this forum - also with a reputation for being expensive - and does a lot of bespoke suits - Bill Cairo Custom Tailor of San Marino - to see if it could be made to fit, or if I should just return it.
He said the jacket is "well balanced" - whatever that means, and set about pinning it up.
15 minutes later we decided to:
-Shorten the jacket 3/4 of an inch.
-Take the jacket in a lot to fit my drop, which is requiring taking material out of both the front and the rear - slicing it open at four side seams. This also entails removing the patch pockets and placing them back on.
-Close both rear vents because after bringing it in the vents were going to "scissor" outwards
-Bringing the shoulders in 3/8 of an inch on each side.
-Bringing material up in the back to eliminate some wrinkling and a duck-tail effect over ******.
I figure this is a total of 12 "changes" - and then I'm going to be in for $800 including purchase price, which seems like a decent value for a silk Canali in a classic style that should fit like a glove and last for many years.
But still - $635 in alterations? The bespoke blazers at Bill Cairo start at $2,500, so i guess everything's relative. . .
I don't feel like he tried to "sell" me on the work, but he wouldn't negotiate the price. He also turned down work on two other jackets I brought him, where he could have easily taken advantage of me instead and rung up a higher total ticket.
Do you get what you pay for at these high end tailors, or are there a lot of lesser-known clothing artists out there who can perform major surgery just as well for 1/2 the price?
I took it to a local high end tailor who comes highly recommended on this forum - also with a reputation for being expensive - and does a lot of bespoke suits - Bill Cairo Custom Tailor of San Marino - to see if it could be made to fit, or if I should just return it.
He said the jacket is "well balanced" - whatever that means, and set about pinning it up.
15 minutes later we decided to:
-Shorten the jacket 3/4 of an inch.
-Take the jacket in a lot to fit my drop, which is requiring taking material out of both the front and the rear - slicing it open at four side seams. This also entails removing the patch pockets and placing them back on.
-Close both rear vents because after bringing it in the vents were going to "scissor" outwards
-Bringing the shoulders in 3/8 of an inch on each side.
-Bringing material up in the back to eliminate some wrinkling and a duck-tail effect over ******.
I figure this is a total of 12 "changes" - and then I'm going to be in for $800 including purchase price, which seems like a decent value for a silk Canali in a classic style that should fit like a glove and last for many years.
But still - $635 in alterations? The bespoke blazers at Bill Cairo start at $2,500, so i guess everything's relative. . .
I don't feel like he tried to "sell" me on the work, but he wouldn't negotiate the price. He also turned down work on two other jackets I brought him, where he could have easily taken advantage of me instead and rung up a higher total ticket.
Do you get what you pay for at these high end tailors, or are there a lot of lesser-known clothing artists out there who can perform major surgery just as well for 1/2 the price?
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