Ongoing Bespoke Projects

[9thsymph]

I'm going out on a bit of limb with my next Steed commission. While I love teh drape, the realities of Atlanta summers make heavily canvassed and structured garments near impractical for 6 months out of the year. Accordingly, I'm pushing the limits with a "summer" cut. I'm funding Derek's Fresco puppytooth and going 3-roll-2, triple patch pocket, double vent, notch lapel, buggy-lined (lining only at the shoulders and sleeves) with taped seams, and a completely natural shoulder. I'm also reverting to the more classic (and louche) Anderson & Sheppard look, opting for a fish cut (darted under the arm, halfway to the arm scye) to give the appearance of a sack jacket.

Matthew offered a fully unstructured option, but I feel like it's foolish to ask for an unstructured jacket from an English tailor. Furthermore, that seems a bit silly when paying Savile Row money. After talking to some folks (shout-out to Vox) about the above configuration, I hope it will yield a more casual, airy jacket that also doesn't look like an English jacket doing its best impression of an Italian. Time will tell.

I'm very curious to hear about the results. I've completely stayed away from English tailoring during the warmer months for many of reasons you describe (I use Chan and Ring for Spring/Summer and Steed for Autumn/Winter). But I currently live in Chicago, so I get about 7ish months of use out of my warmer clothes and only about 4ish months from the less structured stuff. With that in mind, it's just hard for me to justify the price for something that a) I won't wear too often and b) will take a terrible beating when I do (I'm pretty rough on the S/S wear...). Anyway, good luck!

 

[classicalthunde]

I'm very curious to hear about the results. I've completely stayed away from English tailoring during the warmer months for many of reasons you describe (I use Chan and Ring for Spring/Summer and Steed for Autumn/Winter). But I currently live in Chicago, so I get about 7ish months of use out of my warmer clothes and only about 4ish months from the less structured stuff. With that in mind, it's just hard for me to justify the price for something that a) I won't wear too often and b) will take a terrible beating when I do (I'm pretty rough on the S/S wear...). Anyway, good luck!

Although this is a bespoke thread, it raises an interesting question: who does quality MTM work with a reliable track record in Neapolitan/softer style sub $2K? I've ordered from Kent Wang before and been happy with the results, I've also looked at Steed and MyTailor/Hemrajani Bros MTM and they both seem to have a good track record at reasonable prices. From a basic googling, it seems that Ring Jacket MTM via the Armoury is out of my price range...is there anyone else worth considering based upon personal experience?

 

[dieworkwear]

I'm going out on a bit of limb with my next Steed commission. While I love teh drape, the realities of Atlanta summers make heavily canvassed and structured garments near impractical for 6 months out of the year. Accordingly, I'm pushing the limits with a "summer" cut. I'm funding Derek's Fresco puppytooth and going 3-roll-2, triple patch pocket, double vent, notch lapel, buggy-lined (lining only at the shoulders and sleeves) with taped seams, and a completely natural shoulder. I'm also reverting to the more classic (and louche) Anderson & Sheppard look, opting for a fish cut (darted under the arm, halfway to the arm scye) to give the appearance of a sack jacket.

Matthew offered a fully unstructured option, but I feel like it's foolish to ask for an unstructured jacket from an English tailor. Furthermore, that seems a bit silly when paying Savile Row money. After talking to some folks (shout-out to Vox) about the above configuration, I hope it will yield a more casual, airy jacket that also doesn't look like an English jacket doing its best impression of an Italian. Time will tell.

You may want to ask him what he means by unstructured. No coat is going to be totally unstructured, so I find people use this word to mean different things. Maybe Steed just means they use a lighter canvas or something.

FWIW, years ago, Will at ASW wrote a post about how you have to really twist an English tailor's arm to get an unlined or half lined coat. I've only tried to order one once, and it did come back fully lined. So maybe reiterate it. I think they're just used to do fully lined coats, so sometimes those things can go through the system and a detail gets dropped.

Also, by natural shoulder, do you mean you're going without that little bump on the sleevehead on Steed coats? I've kind of thought about asking for the same thing on a coming summer commission.

 

[bdavro23]

Although this is a bespoke thread, it raises an interesting question: who does quality MTM work with a reliable track record in Neapolitan/softer style sub $2K? I've ordered from Kent Wang before and been happy with the results, I've also looked at Steed and MyTailor/Hemrajani Bros MTM and they both seem to have a good track record at reasonable prices. From a basic googling, it seems that Ring Jacket MTM via the Armoury is out of my price range...is there anyone else worth considering based upon personal experience?

If you're happy with Kent Wang, why change? Or did you mean to imply that you want a different style to that which is offered at Kent Wang? Just curious as to your thought process.

 

[classicalthunde]

If you're happy with Kent Wang, why change? Or did you mean to imply that you want a different style to that which is offered at Kent Wang? Just curious as to your thought process.

I like Kent Wang and plan to stick with them for standard suits/sport coats, I've been happy with my experiences so far and they have my fit locked down, which is a major plus. I just think they're a more medium structured build (I think the various options can land you between English tailoring and an American sack suit), which is great for a workhorse suit, a tweed, or a blazer....but i was thinking of a 'louder' more stylized Neapolitan sport coat and was curious as many of the standard SF MTM recommendations don't seem to cover the Neapolitan tailoring range

its more of just a curiosity-based question than anything else...and, to be honest, a suit north of $1500 is most likely out of my price range for the foreseeable future

 

[Bromley]

Not an answer to your question, but... The more structural parts you remove from a jacket, the more exact you have to be with the fit of the cloth (not that +structured jackets don't require careful fitting, but padding/chest canvas provide a little more buffer).

Eliminate a shoulder pad and the cloth has to fit exactly whatever weird shape our shoulders are. If you're not padding for a dropped/sloped shoulder, the slope has to be accounted for and adjusted in the pattern. If it's off even a little bit it will show in the chest and back, and the alteration to fix this can be complicated and expensive. Also consider that the rest of a jacket hangs from the shoulders.

That may be one reason why good, minimally structured MTM is either hard to find or more expensive than structured/padded stuff.

 

[bourbonbasted]

You may want to ask him what he means by unstructured. No coat is going to be totally unstructured, so I find people use this word to mean different things. Maybe Steed just means they use a lighter canvas or something.

FWIW, years ago, Will at ASW wrote a post about how you have to really twist an English tailor's arm to get an unlined or half lined coat. I've only tried to order one once, and it did come back fully lined. So maybe reiterate it. I think they're just used to do fully lined coats, so sometimes those things can go through the system and a detail gets dropped.

Also, by natural shoulder, do you mean you're going without that little bump on the sleevehead on Steed coats? I've kind of thought about asking for the same thing on a coming summer commission.

Yeah, this is my third time asking for a partially lined (or in this case buggy-lined) jacket. Hopefully third time is the charm, as they sent the others fully-lined. Vox has a few buggy-lined jackets from them with taped seams. His advice was to reiterate and be VERY specific. Interestingly Matthew didn't seem concerned at all with the buggy-lining request. He was, however, hesitant about triple patch. I may re-think that, but I feel triple patch will up the casualness (insert twitter joke here).

I'm unsure what they mean by "unstructured," but as I said I don't want to tempt fate. I'm more interested in recreating the louche fit of the original A&S silhouette/construction.

Per the natural shoulder, yes that's my goal -- to eliminate any appearance of wadding or padding. For some reason I'm super anal about a clean shoulder line, and luckily I haven't had any rippling/bumps in the shoulders of my Steed stuff (which I can't say for my Italian stuff). Still, I want more of a capped shoulder that hangs naturally. Vox again shared some examples of natural shoulders he had them make and it looks good.

I sent your cloth off yesterday and will have a forward fitting in February, so I'll know what I'm getting into here shortly. Fingers crossed.

 

[bourbonbasted]

I'm very curious to hear about the results. I've completely stayed away from English tailoring during the warmer months for many of reasons you describe (I use Chan and Ring for Spring/Summer and Steed for Autumn/Winter). But I currently live in Chicago, so I get about 7ish months of use out of my warmer clothes and only about 4ish months from the less structured stuff. With that in mind, it's just hard for me to justify the price for something that a) I won't wear too often and b) will take a terrible beating when I do (I'm pretty rough on the S/S wear...). Anyway, good luck!

I have a couple old Napoli Su Misura jackets and a couple Ring Jackets that I normally wear in the summer. They are what I view as truly unstructured -- nothing in the shoulders, a slight con rollino expression at the cap, and the thinnest of thin canvas between linen/wool blends. They are fine (nothing is going to feel great when it's 95-degrees with 90% humidity), but I prefer teh drape and therefore am hoping I can nail things down with Steed.

I wear a jacket everyday for work and am generally indoors, so I'm more inclined to experiment on something that allows me to have my cake and eat it too. Well, that plus I'm too far gone with bespoke.

 

[dieworkwear]

Yeah, this is my third time asking for a partially lined (or in this case buggy-lined) jacket. Hopefully third time is the charm, as they sent the others fully-lined. Vox has a few buggy-lined jackets from them with taped seams. His advice was to reiterate and be VERY specific. Interestingly Matthew didn't seem concerned at all with the buggy-lining request. He was, however, hesitant about triple patch. I may re-think that, but I feel triple patch will up the casualness (insert twitter joke here).

I'm unsure what they mean by "unstructured," but as I said I don't want to tempt fate. I'm more interested in recreating the louche fit of the original A&S silhouette/construction.

Per the natural shoulder, yes that's my goal -- to eliminate any appearance of wadding or padding. For some reason I'm super anal about a clean shoulder line, and luckily I haven't had any rippling/bumps in the shoulders of my Steed stuff (which I can't say for my Italian stuff). Still, I want more of a capped shoulder that hangs naturally. Vox again shared some examples of natural shoulders he had them make and it looks good.

I sent your cloth off yesterday and will have a forward fitting in February, so I'll know what I'm getting into here shortly. Fingers crossed.

Isn't Steed basically the original A&S silhouette and construction? I've found they're closer to original A&S than my actual A&S.

 

[WillingToLearn]

NsM offers mtm in a Neapolitan cut. Less flexibility in fit than most mtm, bit if it works for you, great.

 

[John Grady Cole]

Can you link to those examples(of the natural shoulder) from Vox if they’re online?

 

[TweedyProf]

Isn't Steed basically the original A&S silhouette and construction? I've found they're closer to original A&S than my actual A&S.

DWW, I'd be interested to see, in pics, what you mean.

 

[dieworkwear]

DWW, I'd be interested to see, in pics, what you mean.

My comments are basically here:

https://www.styleforum.net/threads/the-anderson-sheppard-expatriates-thread.67722/page-177

but on this specific subject, I would just add that their jackets, a least in my experience, are kind of short, slim, and not very drapey. Of A&S and A&S expats, I think Edwin is the closest in terms of that very old '90s look. Everyone else seems like slightly more modernized versions of it.

 

[jonathanS]

Although this is a bespoke thread, it raises an interesting question: who does quality MTM work with a reliable track record in Neapolitan/softer style sub $2K? I've ordered from Kent Wang before and been happy with the results, I've also looked at Steed and MyTailor/Hemrajani Bros MTM and they both seem to have a good track record at reasonable prices. From a basic googling, it seems that Ring Jacket MTM via the Armoury is out of my price range...is there anyone else worth considering based upon personal experience?

Ring mtm shouldn’t be over 2k.

B&t mtm should be right around there, but that’s more Florentine inspired than Neapolitan.

I think I read Dalcuore does mtm - not sure about their pricing. Inquire.

Where are you located?

 

[classicalthunde]

Ring mtm shouldn’t be over 2k.

B&t mtm should be right around there, but that’s more Florentine inspired than Neapolitan.

I think I read Dalcuore does mtm - not sure about their pricing. Inquire.

Where are you located?

The Armoury website has Ring Jacket MTM starting at $2800, I'll look into the other two I'm not too familiar (what does B&T stand for?). Like I said earlier, its more of a curiosity than anything else...I'd love to be able to pull off a loud, unstructured Neapolitan/Florentine sport coat, but don't think I will anytime in the near future (need to rebuild the staples first).

I'm located in Jersey outside of Philly, so NYC is pretty painless to get to...