I bought 3 Tom Fords and I feel terrible about it.

[aravenel]

TF makes some of the most well made off the rack clothing available. It's on par with most bespoke. It's actually unlike most designer clothing in this respect.

With bespoke, you wouldn't be getting such a jump in quality as you would a different look (every tailor cuts a different suit) and the ability to customize what you wanted about the suit. Since you like the TF look and don't know what you would want to customize, stick with TF.

Me for instance, I dont like the TF look, so I'd go bespoke for those prices. But that's a personal decision. You do like the TF look, so stick with it.

 

[biged781]

can you explain to me in laymans terms whatbis "super 100" ?

It's a (varying) way of scoring the quality of a piece of cloth. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_number_(wool)

 

[aravenel]



It's a (varying) way of scoring the quality of a piece of cloth. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_number_(wool)

Well, sorta. It's not the quality of the cloth, it's the fineness of the fibers. The higher the number, the finer the fibers. Higher super numbers can feel more luxurious, but also usually are more fragile and dont last as long. Personally, I prefer a pretty low supers number, but it's really not a particularly useful metric most of the time.

 

[Blackhood]

^Agree, as with most things in life the metric can be forced upwards for marketing purposes without rendering better overall results. Like buying a computer with buckets of RAM but a ****** processor.

A Super 110 cloth from a great brand will be better than a Super 150 cloth from a ****** one.

 

[unbelragazzo]

Excellent Manton article on supers:

http://www.american.com/archive/2007/may-june-magazine-contents/the-controversy-over-super-wool

 

[intense2b]

Well, sorta. It's not the quality of the cloth, it's the fineness of the fibers. The higher the number, the finer the fibers.

Higher super numbers can feel more luxurious, but also usually are more fragile and dont last as long.

Personally, I prefer a pretty low supers number, but it's really not a particularly useful metric most of the time.

Someone told me that the number after super relates to the thickness . Th higher the number the thinner the cloth

I'm learning quickly ....huh?

 

[unbelragazzo]

From Mantons article:

In the Yorkshire wool markets, before the advent of modern grading technology, quality was judged by how much yarn could be spun out of one pound of raw wool. The finer the fibers, the more “hanks”—a spool totaling 560 yards of yarn—can be spun out of a single pound. Wool was thus designated as “60s count” if a pound could yield 60 hanks, 70s if 70, and so on. This measurement, and not “thread count,” or threads per inch, as many people assume, is the basis for all those confusing Super numbers. Higher-count wool commands higher prices because it can produce more yarn, and what it does yield is softer and silkier to the touch.

 

[aravenel]



Excellent Manton article on supers:

http://www.american.com/archive/2007/may-june-magazine-contents/the-controversy-over-super-wool

Ah, I knew there was a good article on that somewhere. Thanks.

 

[jrd617]



Dude you're seriously thinking of moving from a $6,000 suit to a $500 suit? .

This. People here are not talking Indochino clones when they say "bespoke."

They are talking about high end tailors with a lot of experience who cut classically proportioned suits:

 

[intense2b]

Well, sorta. It's not the quality of the cloth, it's the fineness of the fibers. The higher the number, the finer the fibers.

Higher super numbers can feel more luxurious, but also usually are more fragile and dont last as long.

Personally, I prefer a pretty low supers number, but it's really not a particularly useful metric most of the time.

Obviously , however from what I have read a bespoke suit needs to be put together by a client who knows what he wants and understands all the intricacies of making a bespoke suit.

I do not have this knowledge so I had thought that maybe I could buy a cheap bespoke as a training for when I go for the real thing. It would be like going to "bespoke school".

However later I was told this was not a good strategy so I abandoned it.

 

[AdamWill]

intense: "however from what I have read a bespoke suit needs to be put together by a client who knows what he wants and understands all the intricacies of making a bespoke suit"

I think that may have been somewhat overstated. It probably varies from tailor to tailor, but there are certainly some who you can basically throw yourself on the mercy of. Go in, tell them you want some staple suits but you're not an expert and don't know every detail of what you want, and there are certainly some tailors who will help you through the process, making sensible choices for you in some elements and explaining the choices you have to make in others. It's really not the strange and exotic world it can appear; ultimately tailors are running a business like anyone else, and that means they want their customers to be happy and they won't stay in business long if they ridicule someone who wants to buy something from them but doesn't have The Requisite Knowledge. Unless, y'know, they're sniffy Savile Row guys who can trade off the royal warrant they were granted in 1623 for the rest of eternity, or nutty Italians who don't subscribe to the basics of doing business

What might give you a bad result is if you go into a tailor with little knowledge but some very determined ideas which are really bad ideas because of your lack of knowledge. Then the tailor is stuck between going with your bad ideas and producing something ridiculous, or trying to argue you out of your bad ideas. I don't think it's a crime to go in with little knowledge, but an open mind and an attitude that you're willing to accept your tailor's advice and guidance, since he knows what he's doing and you don't.

 

[Ennius]

Adamwill summed it pretty well.

For bespoke find a tailor you like and trust and can work together with. Its an important relationship. You can learn alot about the craft of tailoring from a good one. They can help you develop and refine both your clothing and your sense of style...

I have just started to work with a good bespoke guy and I am learning many nuances that i was oblivious to before. I am coming to realize good tailoring is both a craft and an art. And it sounds like you have the money to find a good tailor to help you on the journey. And I am finding the journey to be quite enjoyable. There is so much in mens fashion to learn about.... Just continue exploring....and find a good tailor!

Tom Ford is good, but a well tailored suit that fits you well is even better! I cannot emphasize enough the importance of good tailoring. A poorly tailored Tom Ford suit can also look like crap, just a very well made stylish piece of crap. Someone had a pic of Tom Hanks in a poorly fitting TF suit and indeed it looked like expensive well made crap.

 

[AriGold]

Dunno, his TF suits look pretty freaking good to me. Plus its Tom Ford.

 

[clee1982]

As others have said keep the Tom Ford if you like the look. No other RTW I know of offer that kind of aesthetics. I have gone through RTW, MTM and bespoke. The bespoke was good but not amazing enough for the time it takes. I would avoid going to a bespoke tailor and ask for TF style, you will most likely get a disaster. I will always respect the house style with variations to experiment once you have done enough suits with him, not on first try, and not a total deviation.

 

[Loathing]

You don't really need any expertise to go and have your first bespoke suit made.
Go to one of the top tailors in London or Italy and just ask for their house cut. Do a little research first to see which house cut appeals to you most.
Really excellent tailors won't let you deviate from their house cut anyway, no matter how much of an iExpert you become.
They'll have all the cloth books to hand and guide you towards an appropriate decision. They'll also be happy to teach a little about their craft.
If you have money to play with, the best thing to do is go forth and play!



Those people saying "stick to TF if you like TF" are not offering good advice.
If you want to develop tailoring into a real hobby, chances are you're going to fall out of love with TF pretty quickly, since TF doesn't offer bespoke tailoring.
And TF's styling is also quite funky and out of kilter with traditional bespoke tailoring.
So if you have plans on falling in love with bespoke tailoring, then you have no option but to cross TF off your list in the long run.
(Unless of course you have no real interest in tailoring per se -- but rather you're more interested in status-seeking, glamour, and all the rest that is associated with expensive suits.)