MyTailor vs. Jantzen

[dshin]

I just received my shirts from mytailor a couple days ago. I took my dad to see Rem or Ram (cant remember the tailor's name) when they came to michigan.
Overall I was happy...price was decent. And the overall fit was good (This may be attributed to the fact when I was measured, I had another custom made shirt on and he made me take it off and took measurements). But on my shirts, the right cuff was way too big and the top button doesnt line up with the rest of the buttons, making the collar a little tight. On my dad's *****, 2 were supposed to be button down collars but came with regular collars. I was debating whether to send them back to get them fixed or not but just isnt worth the time.
One thing that stood out that I really liked though was the placement of the collar stay slots. Its at a lot flatter angle and goes more towards the back of your neck vs. most shirts that go back steeper so there isnt a "dent" in teh collar when you put a stay in (i hope this makes sense). and the ***** came with nice brass collar stays.

 

[haganah]

Do you guys take the measurements yourself or have a tailor do it for you? I don't know if I trust myself enough not to goof something like that up.

 

[archibaldleach]

Haganah,

I've used MyTailor for a suit and it came out very well; I'll be meeting in February when Joe comes back to NYC to get another made. For the shirts, I ordered online. I went through the measurements that I had to fill in and it was pretty easy. I knew my proper suit jacket and pant waist size, and then I made a couple changes based on areas where some of my old off the rack shirts did not fit as well as I would have liked. Figuring out what body type I was was pretty simple too.

Admittedly, this is not the most scientific method of doing this, but it is pretty easy to do it yourself, and it also forces you to train your eye and look at how you would improve the fit our your existing clothing. Also, if you order one of the less expensive cotton lines ($65-$75) and only one shirt at first, it's not an expensive exercise. When that shirt comes, you can always post pictures here and make decisions based on your knowledge of fit and how the shirt feels, once it's been through a few wash cycles of course. It's a good way of training yourself to say "What would I do to change this and make it better."

Based on my estimates, my first shirt came out very well, and I have a great deal of confidence that my next three ordered (with slight modifications based on my observations of the first shirt) will fit even better. With luck and a bit of care, you should be able to do the same and learn a good deal from it.

 

[HanSoo417]

Got any pics of how that suit fit? I'm thinking of ordering some custom made shirts since its impossible to find ones that fit me well in stores. If this all turns out well, i wanna get a suit too.

 

[Coho]

OP,

where are the pics? Don't make me take out the noose.

Originally Posted by DandySF

After ordering shirts from Jantzen for several years and enduring their long and unpredictable waits, I decided it was time for a change. Thanks to Will's praise, I gave MyTailor a try. The shirts just arrived and I'm delighted.

I met with Joe and he took the measurements, so the fit is great. The turnaround was several weeks. The cost is about 3 times that of Jantzen, at least for the Thomas Mason cloth.

I figure that the order I placed with Jantzen in March will never arrive; just as well given the superior convenience and service that MyTailor offers.

 

[DandySF]

I'll post some pictures in the next several days.

Coincidentally, just yesterday I emailed MyTailor about whether they could eliminate the interfacing in the collar. Their standard interfacing is much stiffer than I prefer. They confirmed that they can eliminate the lining. Also, I plan to specify zero tie space on the next order.

 

[Shirtmaven]

Originally Posted by DandySF

I'll post some pictures in the next several days.

Coincidentally, just yesterday I emailed MyTailor about whether they could eliminate the interfacing in the collar. Their standard interfacing is much stiffer than I prefer. They confirmed that they can eliminate the lining. Also, I plan to specify zero tie space on the next order.

you do not want to eliminate the lining.
ask if they will make a soft non fused collar

 

[DandySF]

Thank you for the tip, Carl. Should you ever decide to open a west coast outpost, I'd be delighted to be your first customer.

 

[DandySF]

As requested some time ago, here is a picture of a MyTailor shirt from a recent order. Photographing myself and seeing the result is a humbling experience. I admire those who post their photos regularly. Purple/navy check cloth from Thomas Mason.

 

[vitaminc]

Looks as if the sleeves are slightly too long especially the right one. Also there's too much fabrics at the waist area.

 

[DandySF]

I agree. The shirt looks too large in the body. I asked for a shrinkage allowance in the sleeves, but this appears to be excessive. I'll need to have him scale things back on the next order.

Funny, he had me take my shirt off in the hotel room and he measured my body. I felt awkward but figured the result woud be near perfect.

 

[stickonatree]

great looking fabric in combination with the belt/pants though

 

[Mark from Plano]

Originally Posted by DandySF

I agree. The shirt looks too large in the body. I asked for a shrinkage allowance in the sleeves, but this appears to be excessive. I'll need to have him scale things back on the next order.

Funny, he had me take my shirt off in the hotel room and he measured my body. I felt awkward but figured the result woud be near perfect.


Once you've laundered it a few times take it back to Joe and he will probably make whatever adjustments you need to the shirt (if it's too big). Should be no problem for him to have it taken in a bit in the body and shorten the sleeves.

 

[GucciKid]

I recently decided to give Mytailor a try and I must say their customer service (online) is fantastic. I sent a number of emails back and forth with Joe and he was kind enough to send me a trial shirt very quickly (2 weeks) in order to get the fit down.

However, after receiving the shirt and washing it 3 times for shrinkage, I have to say I am not impressed with the quality of the workmanship on the shirt. There are already threads in two different places that will need to be re-sewn before I can wear the shirt and some other loose threads, particularly on the buttons, which seem like they won't be too far from requiring some work.

I have 5 other shirts on hold with MyTailor and am wondering whether I should go through with the order. I'm wondering if this was perhaps done quickly to get it out to me fast or if this is what to expect from MyTailor - that I'll be paying enough in tailoring fix-its to offset the cost of the shirts.

There don't seem to be too many quality issues in this thread, has anyone had this happen, complained to Joe and had them take a bit more care with the stitching on subsequent orders?

 

[Don Carlos]

Originally Posted by Philosoph

^ Sorry to hear about that bad experience. Unless the tailor is at roughly Chan's level, I wonder whether self-measurement isn't better than being measured by one of their people. That way you control what numbers they use, rather than being subject to a salesman's idea of what constitutes a good fit. I did this for a shirt and it turned out well, exactly like I ordered. I would, of course, be more than slightly nervous about ordering a suit this way without hearing at least one success story.
I can vouch for this, at least on the self-measuring front. If you know your measurements, you can input them to the fraction-of-an-inch detail on the MyTailor site and get the shirt made to those specifications. I've ordered about 20 shirts from MyTailor over the past year, and once I got over the initial learning curve (I'd say it took them and I about 3 shirts to get it right), I haven't looked back since. The fit is now excellent, and their Thomas Mason fabrics are very good for the price. Joe seems to have very strongly held notions about what makes a good fit (he seems to value movement/comfort rather than a more modern, tightly-fitted look; I prefer the latter), and it wouldn't surprise me if his notions prevail during an in-person measurement. But if you go the self-inputting route, you can dial in the fit you want. If Joe notices something in your measurements that he thinks looks off or odd, he'll call you to verify (and usually try to move you in a certain direction). Just stick to your guns if you're close to 100% sure that you have your measurements down correctly. If you're not as sure, let him win the discussion and see what you get -- but know that he errs on the big side, and you may have to treat that order as part of the learning curve. It's also important to note a couple things about Hemrajani/MyTailor: 1) The shirts will shrink in their first two launderings, and Joe builds in some wiggle room to account for this fact. So if you're "swimming" in your shirt upon first receiving it, run it through the wash cycle a couple times and then check the fit. 2) The house collar style is very Hong Kong (i.e., a little smaller and shorter than I like). You may want to play around with the collar point lengths when ordering.