Ongoing Bespoke Projects

[bdavro23]

It seems you gents haven't been burnt before. Not trying to be a jerk - but once you have been burnt, you have a very different outlook on something like this.


Interesting. Out of curiosity - care to elaborate?

I am not a tailor, so take that into consideration. The jacketing from Loro Piana has given me consistently good-great results. The very delicate stuff like the cashmere cloud/ sunset bunches that are cashmere/ silk blends in very light weights need to be considered appropriately. In other words, a 7 ounce cloth in luxury fiber is not going to wear or perform like a tweed or 12 ounce hopsack.

The suiting cloth from LP I have heard from tailors doesnt hold a crease as well as they'd like and can be difficult to work with. As I dont have to do the sewing, I have not experienced this first hand and have had good results with those garments as well. In fact, my favorite personal suit is from the Winter Tasmania book and it makes me happy every time I wear it. With that said, if the price was the same I would probably go with Scabal for suiting, maybe Harrisons though my experience is limited.

Was there anything else you were curious about that I didnt touch upon?

 

[beargonefishing]

My first reaction on looking at that jacket was either Solito gave the OP the wrong jacket or he got the measurements mixed up with someone else's. I know people like clothes to look fitted, but a suit jacket shouldn't look like an Under Armour compression shirt.

How do you know he didn't tell Solito that he had to protect this house?

 

[lordsuperb]

@MCBC1 I’ve dealt with this issue in the past. Your tailor will have to let out the jacket from the sides in which you’ll have a large gap where the side vents meet. If he doesn’t catch this from the get go you’ll have to send the jacket back for him to add additional fabric at the bottom. Technically the jacket can be fixed but the main issue is what happens once you gain weight? You’ve used up all the inlays from the initial mistake. I’ve never had sleeve issues but I’m not surprised given the slim fit of the jacket.

If this is your first foray into bespoke just know your tailor should not be making tight or fitted clothing. There are are too many variables to take into consideration given how muscles expand and contract.

 

[Texasmade]

How do you know he didn't tell Solito that he had to protect this house?

Because he didn't tell his shoemaker that he wanted his shoes to say click clack when he walks in.

 

[beargonefishing]

Because he didn't tell his shoemaker that he wanted his shoes to say click clack when he walks in.

I had successfully excised that from my memory. FML.

 

[bdavro23]

How do you know he didn't tell Solito that he had to protect this house?

This is an underrated comment...

 

[lordsuperb]

Because he didn't tell his shoemaker that he wanted his shoes to say click clack when he walks in.

I had successfully excised that from my memory. FML.

Oh man those commercials were good and terrible all at the same time.

 

[beargonefishing]

Oh man those commercials were good and terrible all at the same time.

 

[ericgereghty]

I honestly didn't read AB's comments as demeaning/negative, at least in regards to the OP. He's calling out what most here would consider a bad (unacceptably so, in my opinion) final product. That isn't an attack on the OP, and I don't see any reason why it would result in a diminished confidence in posting on the forum.

If I had to wager, I'd bet that jacket needs to be remade. Were I in the OP's shoes, and heeding AB's advice got me my final product in as expeditious a manner as possible, I'd appreciate the input.

 

[MCBC1]

My first reaction on looking at that jacket was either Solito gave the OP the wrong jacket or he got the measurements mixed up with someone else's. I know people like clothes to look fitted, but a suit jacket shouldn't look like an Under Armour compression shirt.

I’m thinking this might be the xase

My first reaction on looking at that jacket was either Solito gave the OP the wrong jacket or he got the measurements mixed up with someone else's. I know people like clothes to look fitted, but a suit jacket shouldn't look like an Under Armour compression shirt.

Again, I agree with letting the tailor try to resolve the issues. With that said, that jacket could probably do with being let out 5cm now. What happens if he gains a little weight next year?

The other side of this story is the OP could have gained weight since placing the order, or there may be other mitigating circumstances. I hope we get to hear the rest of the story as it gets resolved and it would be great if the jacket is a success.

I have not gained any material weight or inches since last fitting. May be hindsight bias on my part, but I’m starting to think that something happened to measurements between last fitting and now. I remember it being fairly classically fitting at that time with just some minor adjustments to shoulder width and sleeve length needed.

I will meet with Luigi in January and hope this will eventually be corrected.

 

[usctrojans31]

Mistakes happen for a variety of reasons. Anyone who has ever worked in a service job would likely agree — coming in hot from the jump is a surefire way to burn a bridge and get just enough of a resolve to avoid someone's wrath but not actually fix the issue. There is a difference between being assertive and being aggressive. Aggression should certainly be a tool in the toolbox, but sometimes you start with a wrench rather than a hammer.

Steve Jobs was brought up as an example as someone who was a notorious tyrant. That works to a certain level. Let's not forget that the company has exploded under Tim Cook, a notorious collaborator.

 

[dieworkwear]

I have not gained any material weight or inches since last fitting. May be hindsight bias on my part, but I’m starting to think that something happened to measurements between last fitting and now. I remember it being fairly classically fitting at that time with just some minor adjustments to shoulder width and sleeve length needed.

Someone earlier brought up how, if you let out the coat now, you may not have enough outlets for when you need to change the jacket later. I think that's a good point. Normally, for something like this, I would just be happy with a good jacket in the end and chalk up the experience to bespoke. But your build suggests that you lift weights. If you find you change weight often, you may want to consider how much fabric is left in the coat after it has been let out.

 

[ThinkDerm]

IMO, if you have to work with a tailor or shoemaker for a long time, you don't want to be that kind of dude who's super strident, annoying, or an otherwise strange human being. Maybe you'll still get top quality product, but 1) people will gossip about you and 2) you will be an annoying person, which is itself its own cost. You have to work with these people for a while -- why go into it with that kind of "let me speak to your manager" type attitude? (Granted, I realize my posts here are annoying in their own way, but I try to be a little nicer to people I have to work with).

Sometimes things don't go well and you have to be more strident. Or things don't work out at all and you have to walk away. I've had commissions go wrong and just stopped using a tailor. I had one commission that went so wrong, I demanded a refund. But you know ... ease into it.

I don't think tone is irrelevant at all on the forum. For one, it creates a toxic culture when people are super strident and argumentative. It's one of the reasons why some older members left (as they've told me directly). And the forum is worse off without their contributions. Second, it dissuades new people from posting (again, as told to me by more than a few lurkers). And third, you know, it's just unpleasant. You can convey the same information without being strident and bombastic.

On the issue of advice, irrelevant of tone, I don't think it's necessary to demand a remake. If the tailor isn't any good, a remake is not going to get you to your end goal. If the tailor is good, then he or she will figure out how to fix these issues. It does help to bring up the things you see wrong, but I wouldn't go into this demanding a remake.

I think it is interesting that you are lecturing @Alan Bee about forum manners, when you lack them yourself.

 

[Alan Bee]

I think it is interesting that you are lecturing @Alan Bee about forum manners, when you lack them yourself.

@ThinkDerm Never mind Derek @dieworkwear

From the get go, my impression was - by defending what is painfully obvious to anyone with a pair of eyes (and some sense), he is merely "thinking wishfully" his own double commission from the same tailor don't come out looking like machine pressed Salami.

Alan Bee

 

[Alan Bee]

I’m thinking this might be the xase


I have not gained any material weight or inches since last fitting. May be hindsight bias on my part, but I’m starting to think that something happened to measurements between last fitting and now. I remember it being fairly classically fitting at that time with just some minor adjustments to shoulder width and sleeve length needed.

I will meet with Luigi in January and hope this will eventually be corrected.

@MCBC1

MC, I'll say it again bruh, that coat is far beyond redemption. The cutting is a country mile off. So when you do let out the sides, what are you going to do with the sleeves which are hugging your biceps like a Le Bron James shooting sleeves??

Dude, swallow hard and start over. Perhaps Solito will do the honorable thing and offer a remake.

And while you're at at, tell Solito to give you a bit of support in the shoulder. I have exact same sloping shoulders as you do (maybe not as extreme as yours). But I simply wonder how an experienced tailor like Solito doesn't know this!! Makes one wonder indeed .........

Alan Bee