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Kiton MTM Shirtz Kopz in NYC

  • Thread starter Griffindork
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Griffindork

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Hey bitches. I searched and searched the forum and there is nothing recent on point so I decided to start a new thread for those interested in the process of Kiton MTM shirts here in the good ole' US of A. There is some **** up on permanent style but he is in London and - let's be honest - for a free steak that guy would give a glowing review to the uniforms of the third reich. Anyway, I started the process today. Kiton MTM starts with you trying on your comparable RTW size. If, like your humble narrator, you are pretty good in the RTW fit, there are only four reasons why you might try the MTM process: (1) you want to pick a collar that isn't available in RTW, (2) you want to pick fabrics that aren't available in RTW, (3) you are hoping to meet Sartoridinapoli in person or (4) you are an asshole. I satisfy all.

Anyway, the adjustments to your RTW pattern fall within the expected (a tweak here and there to this or that, all the standard adjustments) and encompass pretty much anything I can think of. Want to change the shirt bottom? Fine. Don't like the length? Fine. There is lots of handsewing (almost everywhere, it seems) and lots of shirring if you want it. Plackets, cuffs, collars come in a pretty broad range. The RTW feels soft and easy to wear. There is supposedly extra length of thread - just a centimeter or two - bunched in certain seams that is meant to allow expansion over time as you wear the shirt and the fabric expands.

The fabrics are...remarkable. There is a permanent collection, which consists of all the classic solids, stripes and checks in every color under the rainbow (including some interesting colors that you don't see so often) in cotton and linen. Then there are the seasonal fabrics, which range toward the more WSIMCBD, fun and aggressive, and are the best reason to be there if you are into that sort of thing. There are some pure cottons and linens, as well as cotton/linen blends, that, as it was explained to me, were woven on very old silk looms that haven't be altered and therefore result in a really unique finish. I'm as cynical as they get but I thought that they felt different. And amazing.

There is no trial shirt, which usually sends me running in the other direction, but I'm certain to avoid disaster given my proximity to RTW. If you are awkward or a ***** maybe demand a trial shirt and see what happens. They seem pretty accommodating. I think they tend to prefer a closer fit, but I doubt they force it. There are, as I had hoped, a set of preferences that I would describe as Italian peculiarities, and these are expressed as certainties about the way things MUST be. These peculiarities are both charming and completely wrong. Don't ask for darts. Nod and smile when they suggest double buttons for the collar enclosure. I resolve to accept all these goofy suggestions and make it as "kiton" as possible so this should be fun. Prices are not for the faint of heart but there is no minimum. Anyway I will report when I receive my shirts. Until then, you can carry on as normal.
 
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gs77

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I dont think even Simon Crompton would give glowing review to Hugo Boss.
 

aristoi bcn

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Looking forward to see the finished product. The finishing will be the best for a RTW shirt (aside G. Inglese) but let's wait to see the fit, which is the critical point in MTM.

What surprises me is that they have suggested no darts, while all my Kiton shirts have darts...and they are from Italy.

BTW, I just placed an order of a shirt from Piccolo (the cloth merchant of Naples), who has an online application for ordering self measured shirts in any of the Canclini cloth range. I ended up ordering a standard 37 size, which I will use as a base for further orders with the corrected measurements.

Best,
 
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coldinboston

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Looking forward to see the finished product. The finishing will be the best for a RTW shirt (aside G. Inglese) but let's wait to see the fit, which is the critical point in MTM.

What surprises me is that they have suggested no darts, while all my Kiton shirts have darts...and they are from Italy.

BTW, I just placed an order of a shirt from Piccolo (the cloth merchant of Naples), who has an online application for ordering self measured shirts in any of the Canclini cloth range. I ended up ordering a standard 37 size, which I will use as a base for further orders with the corrected measurements.

Best,


Interesting, does that mean you find GI just as good or better than kiton finishing? I have both and i find Kiton much better in fabrics and finishing (i am no tailor, and GI make a good shirt). Maybe kiton is just more aesthetically pleasing to me, as i dont have any tailor skills to comment on the actual skill or work that went into the shirt.
 
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Griffindork

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Interesting, does that mean you find GI just as good or better than kiton finishing? I have both and i find Kiton much better in fabrics and finishing (i am no tailor, and GI make a good shirt). Maybe kiton is just more aesthetically pleasing to me, as i dont have any tailor skills to comment on the actual skill or work that went into the shirt.


This intrigues me as well. As far as I can tell even the long seams on a Kiton shirt appear to have a pass that is hand-stitched. What makes the inglese better?
 

aristoi bcn

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Sorry for the confusion, I meant that G.Inglese (their deluxe line) has more steps done by hand than Kiton, 25 steps by hand according to their website, while Kiton has 17.
 

coldinboston

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Sorry for the confusion, I meant that G.Inglese (their deluxe line) has more steps done by hand than Kiton, 25 steps by hand according to their website, while Kiton has 17.


I figured you meant something along those lines, that GI claims an X number of steps vs Kiton claims an X number.
Regardless in my bourgeois view Kiton has better quality fabric (no question) and the hand details are more aestetically pleasing to my eye. Overall a much better shirt for me to spend money on. The GI hand details for some reason dont agree with my taste, they just seem rougher around the edges. I have also now had a handful of people ask me if my GI shirt was unfinished bc of those "hand details" which reinforced my own opinion on their hand details so I am now biased and and I realize that. I even prefer ISAIA shirts to GI and I do know that Isaia is more expensive and has even less hand steps. Part of ghat is that i like the look of the shirts more and Isaia is the closest to MTM in terms of fit for the rtw, at least for me.
 
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Griffindork

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^ My first shirt arrived this week for a fitting. No pics, but the only alteration is to take it in a little bit on each side from the seam (no darts), otherwise it seemed spot on. I was happy and the fitter in the New York store commented that to his eye it was very much a made to measure shirt. I'm highly confident that the final product will be impressive, enough so that I put down deposits on a few of the seasonal fabrics. Will post pics when the shirts arrive.
 
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Griffindork

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So a totally bizarre conclusion here. After a great trial fitting that required only a minor adjustment, the final shirt was a disaster. Not sure how to explain what happened, and neither was Kiton, but to their credit their response was "that's not right - that shirt doesn't look good enough for you to pay for." And it didn't. I think this must have been one of those rare situations where some human error affects the pattern and everything goes to ****. In any event, I have no kiton shirt. I have nothing bad to say about them. The handwork was amazing. I loved the shirt. But at $1100 a pop, you can't walk without it if there with something that doesn't fit and they don't want you to. So what's next? Not sure. Still need shirts. I can start over with kiton, but they are slow. Maybe Berluti/Arnys? TBD.
 

WSW

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That is very weird that a great initial fitting led to such a disastrous final outcome. Maybe a communications error on the modifications. They couldn't undo the alterations and salvage the shirt or even remake? At $1100, it should be close to perfect.
 
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Griffindork

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^ the shirt wasn't salvagble as the error appeared to be with the armhole (for which there was no adjustment). A remake was (and is) on the table. The issue is that I've paid for a shirt and paid deposits on multiple fabrics for subsequent shirts. It's been four months and based on where we are I'm not thrilled about having all that money hanging out there with nothing to show for it. But they've been very accommodating and are happy to do what is necessary to make it right. If it's going to be April (four more months and a holiday shutdown in December/January) before I see a kiton shirt then I'm probably not going the remake route.
 

WSW

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^ the shirt wasn't salvagble as the error appeared to be with the armhole (for which there was no adjustment). A remake was (and is) on the table. The issue is that I've paid for a shirt and paid deposits on multiple fabrics for subsequent shirts. It's been four months and based on where we are I'm not thrilled about having all that money hanging out there with nothing to show for it. But they've been very accommodating and are happy to do what is necessary to make it right. If it's going to be April (four more months and a holiday shutdown in December/January) before I see a kiton shirt then I'm probably not going the remake route.


Wow, that is quite a long lead time. I don't know of any other reputable maker that would take so long to push out 1 shirt.
 

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