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Mr. Ned vs. Winston MTM vs. alternatives in NYC

HoosAir

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I have been working with a travelling tailor with a SR shingle that comes to NY every other month and charges about $1500/suit. He does canvas fittings and offers a fair amount of customization, but I have been frustrated with the long turnarounds for fixes and an inability to get the fit right after several years. I am looking to spend $1500-$2000 per suit with a local tailor in NYC.

I gather from research on this site that Mr. Ned is a popular and good value at around $1K per suit. I am impressed that at that price point he does a canvas fitting. Another recommended option is Paul Winston MTM, which is $1650 per suit. He claims to offer as much customization as I would want with the only difference vs. his bespoke product (which is $1000 more) that the bespoke is made in house vs. sent out (though he cuts the fabric for both in house) and that there is a bit more handstitching in his bespoke. However, he does not do a canvas fitting as he does not see the need for it.

Would appreciate any thoughts on whether the incremental cost of Winston MTM vs. Mr. Ned is worth it as well as any other alternatives in that price range I should consider.

Thanks in advance from a first time poster!
 

patrickBOOTH

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There is also Ercole's in Brooklyn. PM NewYorkRanger who has a ton of things by him.
 

sellahi22

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I strongly recommend against Mr. Ned. This is what I wrote in a different thread:

Originally Posted by sellahi22
I've used Mr Ned and will be ordering my first suit from Chan next month. In my opinion, Mr Ned is a complete waste of money. The fit and construction of the jacket I ordered were very poor. Also, the father and son who work there are abrasive/stubborn have no styling sense (e.g. the sleeves came back uber baggy, the jacket was too long, the shoulders way overextended and heavily padded - and of course everything was "how it's supposed to be."). Before I return to Mr Ned I would sooner get OTR from a good brand and get it altered.

I haven't used Ercole's myself, but I spoke to Frank a while ago for something else and he was a very friendly and helpful guy. People on this forum who have used them emphasize their commitment to customer service, which I think is central to the bespoke process. I myself am a customer of Chan and very happy with their customer service and ability to both give good expert advice and accomodate my preferences.
 

HoosAir

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Thanks for the comments- I will look into Ercoles. Any other recs or experience with Winston MTM would be appreciated. Thanks!
 

Eustace Tilley

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Isn't Ercole around $2.5K?

I would recommend spending a bit more than your budget ($100-$150) and going to Mina Adamo from Napoli Su Misura.
 

jasonmarshalljazz

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mr. ned has made more than a dozen garments for me and is capable of a really great job. his operation is one were it helps to know a great deal about what you want and a willingness to communicate as much. still a great value for the product being offered.
 

Threadhead

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Winston all the way. The tailor who makes the pattern and does the fittings works in the next room. Whether its made on the premise or not, he will make sure the end product is outstanding, canvas fitting or not.

Paul is one of the nicest guys around and knows more about clothing than most anyone. And, he can likely fix whatever went wrong with your old garments. Speak with him in person and you will see what I mean.
 

patrickBOOTH

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Originally Posted by Eustace Tilley
Isn't Ercole around $2.5K?

I would recommend spending a bit more than your budget ($100-$150) and going to Mina Adamo from Napoli Su Misura.


You can get a suit at Ercole's for under 2k.
 

taxgenius

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I don't recall seeing any pics of Ercole's suit other than on NYRanger. I wish there were more pics to look at to get a sense of his skill.
 

Mark Seitelman

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Another possibility is LS Mens Clothes.

They can make a MTM suit at $900 to $1,400 depending upon cloth, options, etc. LS uses Holland & Sherry, Loro Piana, Zegna, and Gladson. He also received a stock of Lumb's Golden Bale end bolts.

Izzy is not a tailor, and the work is done by outside factories and workshops. If you want the pattern cut in-house, then Izzy is not for you.

Also, it is a very no frills store.

I have had success with Izzy, and I can recommend LS.
 

HoosAir

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Guys- thanks for all of the quick responses. I decided to pass on Ercoles since the location is a little inconvenient- I would prefer something close to midtown or or in the ues.

I am still "finding" my style. I think have the basics: soft/natural shoulders, moderate waist supression, button point close to natural waste, pretty open quarters, medium-high gorge, etc. but I am leery of spending too much until I figure it all out. Given that, I also like the idea of a canvas fitting, which allows an opportunity to make more substantial changes before the garment is finished. Mr. Ned seems to satisfy those criteria and though there is the occasional bad experience, the feedback appears pretty good overall and at that price point, if it is serviceable I think I will be happy. I will probably also visit LS, which is at a similar price point but doesn't appear to do a canvas fitting

I am still curious about Winston as a possibility for my next one. I talked to him and came away impressed. Threadhead- have you had anything made by him? Would love to see pics if possible. Thanks.
 

Threadhead

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HoosAir,

I haven't had anything made by Winston, but I know the quality of the work. The things you listed are ordinary for a good maker to do, but have you had all those things before? If you are finding your style still, how would you know to ask about them?

The canvas fitting isn't necessary if the tailor gets it right the first time.

If I did have something made, I wouldn't post pictures online. There are too many knuckleheads on this forum making too many dumb comments, no matter how good a garment looks. Don't worry about what others think. If you need the forum's support to pull the trigger on something, how can you make day-to-day non-clothing related choices?
devil.gif
 

nishan22

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I dropped into Paul Winston's office a few weeks back and was quite impressed with his cutting operation. I haven't had anything made by him, but I did see a couple of suits and they seemed to be of good quality.
 

TheTukker

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Originally Posted by HoosAir
I am impressed that at that price point he does a canvas fitting.

Not sure what a canvas fitting is; is that what is also known as a basted fitting?

Originally Posted by Eustace Tilley
Isn't Ercole around $2.5K?

I would recommend spending a bit more than your budget ($100-$150) and going to Mina Adamo from Napoli Su Misura.


I also thought that was Ercole's price point, but perhaps Rob (NYR) can weigh in. Is MA 'only' $2150 for a two piece?

Originally Posted by sellahi22
I've used Mr Ned and will be ordering my first suit from Chan next month. In my opinion, Mr Ned is a complete waste of money. The fit and construction of the jacket I ordered were very poor. Also, the father and son who work there are abrasive/stubborn have no styling sense (e.g. the sleeves came back uber baggy, the jacket was too long, the shoulders way overextended and heavily padded - and of course everything was "how it's supposed to be."). Before I return to Mr Ned I would sooner get OTR from a good brand and get it altered.

I am also a happy Chan client, but also have a suit from Ned that is indeed very different from my Chan pieces. I guess it's not unimportant to get along with your tailor - I happen to like the father/son couple - but are you sure you gave them enough guidance as to what you want? I do think there's a bit more handwork in my Chan's, but if your jacket's too long, too padded, sleeves too baggy and the jacket has overextended shoulders, you may want to look at yourself for a large part of your disappointment.
 

sellahi22

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Originally Posted by Lonneker
I am also a happy Chan client, but also have a suit from Ned that is indeed very different from my Chan pieces. I guess it's not unimportant to get along with your tailor - I happen to like the father/son couple - but are you sure you gave them enough guidance as to what you want? I do think there's a bit more handwork in my Chan's, but if your jacket's too long, too padded, sleeves too baggy and the jacket has overextended shoulders, you may want to look at yourself for a large part of your disappointment.


I told the younger Ned on day 1 that I wanted minimally padded shoulders. I have fairly broad, square shoulders and the biggest problem I have with RTW is that it gives me a linebacker appearance. I wore an Isaia jacket to my fitting and told him that I wanted similarly soft shoulders, and that I want a shorter shoulder seam (with more of my shoulder filling the sleeve cap, so as to reduce the appearance of broad shoulders). To their credit, they seemed very receptive to these instructions at the time measuring.

Turned out that these instructions simply didn't compute with them. At my basted fitting they put on a sleeveless jacket and the shoulders were heavily built up with canvas. The younger Ned marked the shoulder and I reminded him that I want a narrower, softer shoulder. He nodded again.

At my second fitting, the jacket was basically complete except for the sleeve length and buttoning point. The jacket's shoulders were a nightmare - overextended, with a nonexistent sleeve cap, and baggy arms that flared out at the cuff. I pointed it out, and the young Ned said that the jacket was how it was "supposed" to be (i.e., that there is one single "correct" way to execute shoulders on a jacket), and that there was nothing that he could do now because the jacket is complete (and that the tailors are very busy filling other orders at the moment). Re the sleeves he said that I should have been clearer at the beginning (I honestly didn't know that sleeves which flare at the cuffs is even an option). Basically he was acting very smug and condescending and it wasn't worth my time to stand there negotiating with him. I picked up the jacket, ended up getting the sleeves narrowed from an alterations tailor for like $80, and the jacket remains at the back of my closet very rarely worn.

I was also pretty dissatisfied by their sales tactics. After the first fitting I inquired about getting some suits made. They stock a bunch of in-house bolts as well as some books from Scabal, Dormeuil, Loro Piana, etc. (with suit prices of 1500-2500). I asked about CMT because I wanted to buy some heavier British cloth that I would source from Andrew Rogers. The young Ned insisted to me that brand name cloth is just a scam, and that his no-name in-house cloth was equally good. He also scoffed at the idea of buying 10-13 oz cloth, saying that that stuff is strictly for winter and that everyone in NYC buys 8 oz cloth for 4-season use. This is not the type of bespoke tailor that I would want to build a relationship with.
 

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