Morris & Sons, Co. in Chicago - Experiences

[Goldglove]

I want to give my experience with Morris & Sons and would like to hear what others have experienced there or elsewhere in similar situations.

I recently purchased a Jack Victor Loro Piana 130's suit from Morris & Sons in Chicago. I needed a mid-range suit immediately and couldn't find the right combination of price and fit on B&S. They have a nice showroom outside of the loop and do most of their advertising by word of mouth. They carry mostly suits, pants, ties, and shoes, ranging from Hugo Boss to Kiton and a huge Stefano Ricci custom display.

While I am very pleased with the sales floor service and product quality and price, I was largely displeased with the altering. I am a newly licensed lawyer, under 30, and have gleaned loads of advice from SF regarding fit. I instructed the tailor on the following: quarter-inch shirt sleeve to show, suppress my waist a tad, little to no break in my pants, and 1.75" cuff.

Here's my problem. After waiting 9 days, I returned and tried on my suit to find: my shirt sleeves hardly even peaked out from beneath my suit sleeves, the waist was suppressed but not to the extent I'd prefer, my pants have a full break, and I have 1.5" cuffs. When asking why my originally requested alterations were not made, both the salesman and the tailor combined to respond ...

1) Shirt sleeve - "we measured a standard 4.5" from base of thumb, and you must have long hands, so you should buy 35" shirt sleeves instead of 34" so that they extend onto the meat of your thumb, because that is proper."

2) Pant break - "well, you want the pants to drop just above your back heal and cover your shoe tops in the front; otherwise, they will look too short."

3) Pant cuff - "a 1.5" cuff is about as much as you should wear, anything more starts to look silly, is that what you really want?"

Maybe it is because I am young, maybe I didn't communicate my preferences clearly (although I requested the above ver batim), or maybe I ran in to a shop that is only capable of producing one fit. Despite the fit, I left with the suit, because I need to wear it asap, and am going to take it to another tailor in a few weeks.

I will post pictures tonight, but I wanted to give the thread a head start and see whether anyone has shopped at Morris & Sons and/or wanted to give general feedback.

 

[antirabbit]

I cant speak to the retail experience here.
I can say, outside of our own Despos, the tailoring in Chicago is suprisingly sparse and bad.
There is De Louice is Wicker Park (ive not used him, but a friend did and had a good experience on a Belvest jacket). Ive heard rumors of a guy named Matt in Oak Brook, but do not know how to find him.
I cant believe we are in the 3rd largest city in America and there is only 1 world class tailor (Mr. Despos is amazing though)!

 

[ChicagoMediaMan]

I've never been in the store, but know exactly where it is. Anyways....sometimes the more old-fashioned tailors have a hard time doing things a different way than what they think is right. The no-break and 1.75" inch cuffs are more of a "trend" and not exactly something you see on the average guy walking down the street. All of my pants have no break, but most do not have cuffs. Anways, I recently bought a pair of dress trousers at Nordstrom and the tailor kind of gave me a weird look when I asked for no break on the pants. He followed through just fine, but it was definitely not something he gets asked a lot.

I don't see a reason why he shouldn't have done what you wanted since you will be the one wearing a suit. That said, I would move on and take it to another tailor and get it done the way you want it. If you need the name of a great tailor in Chicago, let me know.

 

[ChicagoMediaMan]

Originally Posted by antirabbit

I cant speak to the retail experience here.
I can say, outside of our own Despos, the tailoring in Chicago is suprisingly sparse and bad.
There is De Louice is Wicker Park (ive not used him, but a friend did and had a good experience on a Belvest jacket). Ive heard rumors of a guy named Matt in Oak Brook, but do not know how to find him.
I cant believe we are in the 3rd largest city in America and there is only 1 world class tailor (Mr. Despos is amazing though)!

Maria at the Golden Needle is amazing as an alterations tailor. I think Chicago Magazine named her best tailor one year and I know a few other SF'ers that use her. She is on State near Chicago Ave.

 

[RSS]

Originally Posted by Goldglove

Here's my problem. After waiting 9 days, I returned and tried on my suit to find: my shirt sleeves hardly even peaked out from beneath my suit sleeves, the waist was suppressed but not to the extent I'd prefer, my pants have a full break, and I have 1.5" cuffs. When asking why my originally requested alterations were not made, both the salesman and the tailor combined to respond ...

Don't let them bully you. Your requests are well within the realm of reason and you -- not they -- are paying for the suit. Direct them to alter the suit to your specifications. If they refuse, demand a refund.

Originally Posted by Goldglove

1) Shirt sleeve - "we measured a standard 4.5" from base of thumb, and you must have long hands, so you should buy 35" shirt sleeves instead of 34" so that they extend onto the meat of your thumb, because that is proper."
BTW, this is NOT the way to determine a proper jacket -- or shirt -- sleeve. As for #2 and #3 ... they are about preference. Your preference tends toward mine.

Originally Posted by Goldglove

3) Pant cuff - "a 1.5" cuff is about as much as you should wear, anything more starts to look silly, is that what you really want?"
If they really used the word silly, I'd complain to the manager. There are better ways to express disagreement. Clearly they are attemtping to coerce you into accepting something other than what you ordered.

Being a lawyer, you of all people should know how to get what you want. Use your persuasive abilities. Don't go to another tailor and pay again to get what you've already purchased. If the store is unwilling to give you what you requested, they owed you an explaination up front, before they charged you and made the unacceptable alterations.

For the record, I'm not new at this; I'm 60 and have been buying my own suits for almost 40 years.

 

[Goldglove]

Thanks for the advice and for recommending Maria. I'll consider returning to the shop and taking it up with them. You're right, no need to pay twice for the same service. From now on, I might a suit from them and take it to Maria for altering.

 

[deepitm]

FYI, I saw today that Gilt City is running a $400 credit for $160 on regularly priced merchandise at Morris & Sons. 60% off isn't bad.

http://www.giltcity.com/chicago

EDIT: if you invite someone to Gilt City this week and they make a purchase you can get another 40% off (up to $50) on any deal, meaning this will only run you $110. Nearly 75% off seems like a good time to scoop. The Morris & Sons sale ends on Thursday the 29th at noon.

 

[ThinkDerm]

they have nice stuff at M&S

 

[CrimsonSox]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I'll be visiting Chicago at the end of August. How are their prices on Brioni and other canvassed suits? I've heard they have a good discount section.