Made-to-measure suit not as requested (cuff buttons) - What to do?

[Hoogie]

Hi All,

I am looking for some opinions as I recently had a made-to-measure suit made and some aspects of the suit aren’t as I had requested.

During the second fitting I noticed that the cuff buttons were not as requested. I had asked for five overlapping buttons, and at the time I discussed this at length with the style advisor, explaining that I felt 5 buttons looked too long if they didn’t overlap slightly.

Currently the suit has no overlap at all, and in fact there are small spaces between the buttons, which is clearly not what I asked for. I made a point that this isn’t what I asked for and the staff were very unhelpful. At one point the tailor claimed that overlapping buttons were not possible if they were working buttons! They have since indicated I should speak to the manager.

So to confirm do I have grounds to complain about this? After all the suit is not as discussed and agreed, I may as well have got off-the-peg if they weren’t going to make it as requested.

Also am I right in thinking the tailors claim that you cannot have overlapping and working buttons is rubbish?

And finally what are the exact differences between kissing/overlapping buttons? Are kissing buttons when they simply touch one another but do not actually overlap or are the terms used interchangeably?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[blahman]

Your tailor is full of it. I'm wearing a suit jacket with 4 overlapping working cuff buttons right now.

 

[NOBD]



Also am I right in thinking the tailors claim that you cannot have overlapping and working buttons is rubbish?
.

Yes.

 

[ter1413]

" I don't believe this. One of you buys a cadillac, the other buys a suit with the buttons messed up!. Get it outa here. I don't care where you got it, take it back. Get it outa here."

 

[Mr.K]

If you made your expectations up front and paid for that service then make them do it right or get your money back. It is not hard to do buttons overlapping and working. I have it on most of my jackets. Sounds like lazy and shotty work.

 

[GBR]

You have asked for a specific feature which is quite easy to do. Refuse to accept the garment and certainly do not pay for it. If he persists in refusing and you have paid sue for you money back. The man is a thieving idle individual who needs to be put in his place.

 

[Flake]

Completely full of it. overlapping working buttons are a classic (and quite commonly posted up here.) Problem is, your MTM tailor made a mistake that he can't fix, so he's trying to blame it on you by saying what you requested (and paid for) can't be done anyway.

Time to find a new tailor.

 

[JamesX]



Completely full of it. overlapping working buttons are a classic (and quite commonly posted up here.) Problem is, your MTM tailor made a mistake that he can't fix, so he's trying to blame it on you by saying what you requested (and paid for) can't be done anyway.

Time to find a new tailor.

It is unfortunate, but +1.

 

[blahman]

It does seem the way the cuff looks is very important to you. However there is an opportunity here to accept the suit at a steep discount as a sort of settlement

 

[teddieriley]

Why do you have 5 buttons - are your arms extremely long? Tailors may use the term "kissing" buttons differently. Some use the term to desribe when the buttons are adjacent, touch, but don't overlap. So you should be clear you want the slight overlap. My first few commissions I had the overlapping buttons, but in just a matter of couple years, my taste has changed, and I actually prefer that they don't, but their edges touch. Point being, it's not the end of the world, you may end up liking it, and it gives you leverage to get a good discount if you accept the suit.

If your buttons actually have space between them, I think you should have them redone. Assuming you're OK with the rest of the fit, I would tell the tailors to remake your sleeves. If you already paid in full, it may be hard to get your money back unless you can return the suit and bring up the issue with your cc company.

 

[Hoogie]

Thank you all for all the responses, most have confirmed what I was thinking which is good as it gives me a little more confidence ahead of my complaint.

To confirm this is not my standard tailor but a new place I decided to try out, I will not be going there again!!!

I will definitely press my case about being unhappy with the service provided, and make the point hat if they haven't made the suit as agreed then I may as well ahve got an off-the-peg, however I am not convinced these will elad to them offering me any money off. When I was in the store before they seemed bemused and unsure what to do when I indicated my disatisfaction...

 

[David Reeves]

Kissing buttons touch, waterfall overlap. I wouldn't want to refund a whole suit because a tailor did this but maybe you would. If I was the tailor I would offer you a discount or put new sleeves on the suit. If this is a lower priced garment though it may be prohibitive for him.

 

[CYstyle]

Did you explain it clearly what you wanted? It sounds like you may not have as you are unsure of terms and also if it is even possible. It's best to supply a picture of what you want when ordering a suit that way there is no miscommunication

 

[Hoogie]

Yes I absolutely stated what I wanted clearly, I discussed at length my feeling that without an overlap 5 buttons would look like too many, which is exactly what has happened.

I always felt it was possible to having kissing/overlapping working buttons, it was simply a case that their tailor claimed it wasn't possible once I highlighted the the mistake (clearly trying to get rid of me with minimum fuss). As for the terms, yes I was not 100% but given the detail that we discussed my requirements in I don't believe it should have been a problem.

 

[CYstyle]

In that case, they made a mistake thought if they said it wasn't possible you'd just take it and leave =\