J. Hilburn Shirts?

[CousinDonuts]



Thank you Customer for your post.
I have had my Style of Success Image Consulting company for men for 5 years, and I have searched for almost that long for a reasonably priced high quality custom and made to measure resource for my clients. A year ago I signed on as a Style Adviser with J Hilburn only to have access to the products, but I promptly fell in love with them. Currently I am one of the top sales people in the company and the reasons are clear to me. The products - from Egyptian cotton shirting, finished in Italy, to Australian suiting wools, again finished in Italy to baby cashmere (from Mongolia) to Texas made calfskin, lizard and crocodile belts; pima tees, performance outerwear, sterling cufflinks - every product is superior. The convenience is like a magnet for executive men, and the value can't be beat - something even the wealthiest of my clients still appreciate.
Ann

Ann - what company or brand would you say J Hilburn competes with the most, and what clientele are you after? Astor & Black...Tom James...Brooks Brothers...Zegna....Canali...Jos Bank...Isaia...Ralph Lauren....... thanks

 

[nayr1982]

A friend of my wife just signed on as an adviser while completing grad school. I had no choice but to let her come to my office and give me her pitch, and of course I had to buy a couple of shirts to keep things happy on the home front.

Don't have the shirts yet, but my takeaways:

1. Attractive girls who can take measurements as advisors.
2. Plenty of different shirt fabrics to choose from that look fine.
3. Can't comment on value until I actually have the shirts in hand, my guess is that fit will only be as good as measurements and communication between customer and advisor.
4. She did have some wool trousers, but for the price I think I'll stick with comperably priced panta or HY.

My takeaway is that the advantage is the same as with any of the groups that do this (if you are in a big city and big office you know there are a number of these outfits). The advantage is that if you can perfect a fit, you can get decent shirts at decent prices without leaving the office. I think the alternative for many is a well fitting custom shirt but a higher price, or off the rack shirts that generally don't fit well.

Styleforum members may not be as tempted by the advantages some professional men might see in the service, ie we generally don't need a cute girl to tell us what to wear, nor do we mind spending a little time to seek out products that we like. That said the average guy in my office would love an attractive girl to flirt with him, tell him what to wear, and to avoid shopping all in one.

 

[bldvl23]

I am a customer of JH, a friends wife is my style advisor. Pants are made by incotex, and very well made. I'm told new ones are made to the hip and waist measures, and less "standard". I just ordered some, will report on fit vs. previous. They also come hemmed to measure now. I have 8 shirts so far, happy with fit and fabrics, especially at this price.

 

[CousinDonuts]

^^ What is a "certified image consultant"? By buying lots of clothes, am I a "certified image user"? The first part is serious, the second is satire.

Another serious question - how do you determine that JH is the largest custom shirt-maker in the world? Are there industry metrics that the public can view?

 

[Pankleb]

J.Hilburn shirts - custom
J.Hilburn trousers - MTM
J.Hilburn suits - personalized

Not sure where you are getting your facts... maybe just pushing your own agenda.

 

[Ivon]

Is it just me or do I think this is a shill thread. Not begrudging anybody's attempt to turn a buck, but some of these posts here reek of infomercial style testimonials. Amway style dress shirts for busy discerning execs who pair them Kiton suits? Finest Euro mats and Third World labour comparable to Borrelli?

No pics or details about construction, fit or finish in a detached clinical manner we usually see in SF. Sounds like the computer tune up commercials that advertise on CNN where the guy says "I'm a raving fan.". I read over and got a chuckle from that marketing book.

 

[Customer 1]

We had a terrible experience with J Hilburn none of the three items suit or shirt fit remotely. The shirt had to be sent back as it was so short it could not be worn. The jacket and pants were also so ill fitting they required extensive tailoring - so much so that the J Hilburn recommended tailor mentioned that they appeared to have been made for a different person. Perhaps so.

Regardless I'd advise against using them based on this experience.

 

[Cylon]

Quote:

Is it just me or do I think this is a shill thread. Not begrudging anybody's attempt to turn a buck, but some of these posts here reek of infomercial style testimonials. Amway style dress shirts for busy discerning execs who pair them Kiton suits? Finest Euro mats and Third World labour comparable to Borrelli?
No pics or details about construction, fit or finish in a detached clinical manner we usually see in SF. Sounds like the computer tune up commercials that advertise on CNN where the guy says "I'm a raving fan.". I read over and got a chuckle from that marketing book.

+1

 

[le.gentleman]

Carl, Sorry for not getting back to you earlier but I have overlooked your reply. Other MTM manufacturers were able to accomodate my sloping shoulders. I even talked to J. Hilburn's VP of sales and he told me that they cannot accomodate it. I hope that helps.

Originally Posted by le.gentleman

Recently, I had the chance to test several J Hilburn products including shirts and pants. First of all, J Hilburn is not a custom or bespoke operation. The shirts are MTM with certain limitations. I just wrote a detailed review about a J Hilburn shirt made of a Monti fabric that might be of interest to you. The pants are MTO not MTM. They come unhemmed and then they have local tailors who alter them to fit.
you have seriously sloping shoulders. i doubt any basic MTM program is going to clean up the slopes.

 

[hookem12387]



Is it just me or do I think this is a shill thread. Not begrudging anybody's attempt to turn a buck, but some of these posts here reek of infomercial style testimonials. Amway style dress shirts for busy discerning execs who pair them Kiton suits? Finest Euro mats and Third World labour comparable to Borrelli?
No pics or details about construction, fit or finish in a detached clinical manner we usually see in SF. Sounds like the computer tune up commercials that advertise on CNN where the guy says "I'm a raving fan.". I read over and got a chuckle from that marketing book.

Absolutely just thinking that, as well

 

[lalaland]

Well I'm not a shill. I ordered a J. Hilburn shirt from a style advisor in Los Angeles, and the status just today changed from "in process" to "complete." Took a bit longer than I was hoping - order was completed on March 8th and a today on April 6th the order is finally complete with a shipping label. I ordered a basic, $109 fabric - their second cheapest, I believe, to see how the fit comes out before ordering more.

My S.A. works as a team with her mother, and they each took my measurements to make sure they got it right. I communicated to them that I wanted a very tapered, slim fit, so we'll see how it comes out.

I'm going to try an Indochino suit as well (already have a Thick as Thieves suit I paid for but I'm still trying to hookup with Alex for measurements), and I got a shirt measured and soon to be ordered from Utah Woolen Mills in Salt Lake City when I was traveling there.

I'll post my Hilburn review, and it definitely won't be a shill. Looking forward to your comments after I get photos up.

 

[hookem12387]

Just wondering if you got your shirt?

 

[lalaland]

I got it a couple days ago - not perfect yet but I'm very happy. I'll post a review in a fresh thread because I figure since no one on SF has done a review yet then it might as well have it's own thread. Give me a few minutes and I'll have it up with pics.

 

[lalaland]

Here's the full review: http://www.styleforum.net/t/296669/...but-im-very-happy-best-overall-fit-of-my-life

 

[LaLaTX]

I just love the last line of this post, "I bet the Tom James rep isn't a personalized image consultant to boot." As a Tom James sales rep, I spent 4 months in training after a rigorous interview process, spent pretty much a month out of town to train how to measure, about the history of how woolens are made, visiting our facilities, etc. Then I come back to spend 6 months in training following experienced habadashers and work 12 hour days.

I respect J. Hilburn reps and am personal friends with a few. However, the time, training, and professionalism of Tom James representatives is not to be undermined. It is not a job, or a way to earn a little extra cash- it is an intense passion of the trade and their customers and a life long career. Maybe they are not only style consultants, but experts and advisors "to boot."