Ongoing Bespoke Projects

[dfoverdx]

executive summary; sicily best tailor, napels sucks, london lounge best fabric

No i am not generalizing, just making constructive critiques.
The second SB looks good, better than the first one. I am not saying it sucks, simply comparing both.
Now the back of the DB, it looks good from the front but back is not good. it's again this messy back, i am not saying that back should be perfect but yet there's still too much mess on the back. And i am saying again, the solution here is not about "cleaning" the back because he will end up with a tight suit.

 

[S K M]

No i am not generalizing, just making constructive critiques.
The second SB looks good, better than the first one. I am not saying it sucks, simply comparing both.
Now the back of the DB, it looks good from the front but back is not good. it's again this messy back, i am not saying that back should be perfect but yet there's still too much mess on the back. And i am saying again, the solution here is not about "cleaning" the back because he will end up with a tight suit.

There's not much constructive about saying something looks bad. Anyway, I don't get what's wrong with the back either. Yes, there's a bit of wrinkling below my left shoulder but we agreed that they should leave me some room to move in due to how my back is shaped. Should one wish this could easily be cleaned up with a needle or two. But take a look at his insta or tumblr – I think he produces very nice and clean backs and a more drapey one than the standard Italian version.

 

[EFV]

Some of my ongoing projects. All 1st/basted fittings:

A field/Norfolk jacket from Concrete Madrid:

Trousers from Pommella Napoli:

Double breasted jacket from Cad & the Dandy:

We did the fitting outside so they could shoot it with a drone. Yes, I get a good deal on this jacket.

 

[9thsymph]

style advice requested: I'm thinking about commissioning a navy blazer of the ivy-trad-gold-brass-button variety and was wondering if I should get it made up in a hopsack cloth or something like flannel or a doeskin fabric. Is one of these more 'appropriate' with the whole brass-button get up (for instance, are there any seasonal connotations with this type of blazer), or is it just 6 of one, half a dozen of the other, etc...

thanks!

 

[zr3rs]

style advice requested: I'm thinking about commissioning a navy blazer of the ivy-trad-gold-brass-button variety and was wondering if I should get it made up in a hopsack cloth or something like flannel or a doeskin fabric. Is one of these more 'appropriate' with the whole brass-button get up (for instance, are there any seasonal connotations with this type of blazer), or is it just 6 of one, half a dozen of the other, etc...

thanks!

I am no exxpert, but if you look at Fox Brothers, for example, it seems that Serge is the more traditional "hard-wearing" material for naval blazers, while hopsack would be the more modern choice.

 

[GBR]

zr3rs sums it all up admirably. Get what you prefer, there are no rules whatever.

 

[alexSF]

style advice requested: I'm thinking about commissioning a navy blazer of the ivy-trad-gold-brass-button variety and was wondering if I should get it made up in a hopsack cloth or something like flannel or a doeskin fabric. Is one of these more 'appropriate' with the whole brass-button get up (for instance, are there any seasonal connotations with this type of blazer), or is it just 6 of one, half a dozen of the other, etc...
thanks!

A classic crispy serge wool is perfectly suited for an all around blazer, Doeskin flannel is softer and more winter-oriented and a perfect match for gold buttons.
Consider also a classic Hopsack (with the original panama/basket weave) like the Minnis #765 (Classic II range) great paired with antiqued silver buttons.
Modern Hopsack are usually made with "moulinè" yarns which make the cloth tridimensional and more interesting, but imo not suited to be paired with metal buttons.

 

[9thsymph]

thanks for these suggestions! confirms some of my own thoughts. i think i'll be going the doeskin route...

 

[paxonus]

Some of my ongoing projects. All 1st/basted fittings:

A field/Norfolk jacket from Concrete Madrid:

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Trousers from Pommella Napoli:

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Double breasted jacket from Cad & the Dandy:

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We did the fitting outside so they could shoot it with a drone. Yes, I get a good deal on this jacket.

I will be very interested to see how those trousers from Pommella turn out. I realize this is a first fitting, but from the side view, there is a lot of work left to get those to fit properly.

 

[zr3rs]

I will be very interested to see how those trousers from Pommella turn out. I realize this is a first fitting, but from the side view, there is a lot of work left to get those to fit properly.

My tailor does not want me to post images of a first fitting, because it is very hard to derive anything from these images unless you know what the tailor is doing. Maybe the back will be cleaned up simply by correctly cutting the seat. Maybe the tailor, instead of doing this by measurements, does this by trial. I would be worried if the trousers looked like this at the second fitting, though.

 

[mw313]

I just posted this to the Bespoke shoes thread but figured many of you would also have interest in it! I have pictures of the entire process!

Hey everyone! I hope all are doing well and I finally received my newest bespoke project from a relatively unknown bespoke maker of Serbia. His name is Igor Suhenko and he makes shoes in the style and form of St. Crispins with the pegged waist and hand welted for the rest, but also dyes his own leathers too. To follow is the write-up of the entire process of his shoe making for me.

Enjoy!

Matt

I spoke to Igor by email and since I have been way too busy to visit Serbia, I sent Igor all of my normal measurements (ball, instep, short and long heel, as well as drawings of my feet and even a reasonably comfortable shoe so he could evaluate the fit that I like compared to my measurements. I also included comments on how I could have the sent shoe to have an even better fit. I sent him the trial shoe from my bespoke Maftei shoes (my current best fitting shoes).

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He made me a pair of trial shoes in a brown buffalo leather just to try out the fit of the new last he had made. It fit quite well overall, so we moved forward with discussing the final style of the shoes that I would want. If the trial shoe didn't fit so well, he would have done some more modification on the last before proceeding with the patterns making of the final shoe.

The quality was great on the trial shoes. They weren't welted like how Antonio Meccariello does his trial shoes but Igor gave the option to finish them after the final pair was done so he could adjust the fit on these trial shoes if needed. (Of course I will be taking him up on that to have a great casual shoe!!!)

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We discussed that I wanted a pair of wing tip balmoral shoes with a red/brown leather as well as the upper balmoral part to be in a very soft mid/dark brown suede. He stated that he could make is own color for the leather and was able to acquire a very soft goat skin to make into a reverse calf suede.

He had a last made similar to a thin chisel last by Corthay that I desired based on my measurements and then started to work on the patterns for that last.
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Next he started to work on the hand dying of the leather to prepare it to go with the patterns he just made. I wanted a brown but with some deep read hues almost like a GG vintage cherry mixed with the Vintage Oak.
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Next, he used the patterns he made to cut into the two leathers we discussed. He made sure to only use the best pieces of the leather in doing so. View attachment 804172 View attachment 804173

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Next step was to prepare the suede and calf components to be sewn together. They were lined up and then used a sewing machine on a very fine setting. Sewing was done to attach the lining to the upper parts as well.

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He also made the brogue/punching details for the upper along with the medallion by hand.



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The next step was when he was preparing the insole by cutting it to the size of the bottom of the last. It was shaved down to size and then attached to the bottom of the last. The hold fast was prepared entirely out of leather (no gemming was used).

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The toe puff and heel counter were made out of leather at this same stage in preparation. They were cut to size and shaved on the edges to get a smoother transition. Rough or sharp edges would be felt while wearing the shoe, so they are bevelled to make that gradual transition, while still being thick enough to add the strength and support that are needed in these areas of the shoe.


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Now that the upper and insoles were both prepared, the toe puff and heel counter could be attached between the lining and upper.

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The upper was nailed to the insole and welt was then sewn to the upper/insole complex. View attachment 804227 View attachment 804228 View attachment 804229 View attachment 804230


Attachment of more leather to the heel area was prepared so the shank could then be added from the heel to the mid-foot area. The shank was attached by wooden pegs.

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Finally the cork foot bed was cut and attached to the forefoot area.

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Now that the majority of the shoe was prepared, the outsole needed to be attached. An extra thin piece of leather was attached to the forefoot to cover the area where the cork was placed, so it would not be damaged at all.

A channel was made into the outsole to thin it out. This allows for the thin covering to go over the stitching to completely conceal the attachment of the outsole to insole. The outsole was then completely stitched to the rest of the shoe at the welt.

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Now that the general shoe was finished, the finishing details come into play.

The heel has to be made which is by stacking multiple layers of leather on top of each other. They are glued together per layer but then also nailed together into the shoe itself.

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The edge of the welt was finished by using a fudge wheel to give clean lines onto the entire top of the visible welt.

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The waist was made super close by having extra welt cut off and then the outsole was shaved down to bevel and give an elegant fiddleback to the waist.

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Since this shoe had a pegged waist it helped to give the tighter waist but it was rubbed down with hot iron to smooth the wooden edges and painted over to conceal them as much as possible.


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Finally the heel was attached and polished as well as the final polish application to the entire shoe. Then laces were inserted and the shoe trees were placed.

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I hope you all have enjoyed the process as well as the final shots of these shoes. If anyone is interested in Igor Suhenko, I would highly recommend him.

Many of you know that I have bespoke shoes from many shoe makers from the US and Europe, as well as top MTO/MTM shoes from around the world, and Igor's work is up with the best of them. To make things even better he costs much less than Bespoke shoes from the UK and even Italy.

I'd be more than happy to answer questions on anything as well.

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[Mr. Six]

Hanging on a Sunday afternoon with the boys from Carlisle, @Murlsquirl, @jcmeyer, and a friend of his, who kindly took these photos. Star of the show is @Fishball's flannel version of the "Agnelli tweed." Before any comments about the back, please note that Edwin had just pinned it to nip the waist a bit. Trousers also need some adjustments, but this is coming along nicely. Looking forward to a second fitting in the fall.

 

[Murlsquirl]

Yessir. Should look great when it's finished. Also, pretty sure I took that third picture with his camera...just sayin

 

[Mr. Six]

 

[kolecho]

Awesome @Mr. Six !