suits

[Ich_Dien]



Get your dress uniform made by me! No seriously in England we have a long tradition of high end tailoring being used in military uniforms. My old firm Gieves and Hawkes is a military tailor. I would love to get back into doing dress uniforms but the culture isn't here in the states. Officers in the U.S just don't get it because they say everything would have to be regulation anyway. Of course the uniform would be made to regulations but it would have a lot more flair to it.

For which regiments was G&H the official tailor?

 

[David Reeves]

They made all of the custom and RTW military stuff for all three services so in many ways I think they are the official tailors to all the regiments nowadays. In terms of Bespoke the officers that got that could go were they wanted but Gieves got most of them I think. We had a lot of Guards officers ordering Bespoke.

 

[Ich_Dien]

I was under the impression that different tailors were official for different regiments. Dege & Skinner are the official tailors for the Scots DG for example.

 

[David Reeves]

I dont think they do that as standard. I wasnt directly involved with Gieves military dept (which was managed by a retired Major) so I wouldnt claim to be an authority.
What I do know is officers and men usually wear RTW or Made to measure by Gieves. There used to be three military suppliers apparently (I don't know who the other two were). There was some kind of shake up where the other two either went bust, dropped that part of the business or the government dropped them as a supplier, Gieves gained a monopoly of sorts and put there prices up, after that they were known by the forces (now affectionately) as "Gieves the thieves".

There are of course others than Gieves that do Bespoke uniforms like Kashket's and Welsh and Jeffries, in fact I think any tailor given skill and enough research could make a dress uniform.

Gieves may do well with Bespoke uniforms as perhaps the officers "graduate" from MTM as they get older or are promoted. I also remember we were very busy just before trooping the color and some of the higher ranking officers would get dressed at Gieves beforehand.

 

[Ich_Dien]



I dont think they do that as standard

William Skinner of D&S told me that it was the case a year or so ago.

 

[satorstyle]

@ kyle truitt first thank you for your service to our country. I wouldn't go broke for a suit that is essentially for a one time event. Check Macy's of some of the outlet chains, Nordstrom rack, Saks off 5th etc. You will need some tailoring to get the look you want. Go with a grey or blue suit and maybe find one with peak lapels to add the flair your seeking. Good luck!

 

[kraftar]

Here's a basic plan:

1. Think about what type of suit you want (color, pinstripes, single vs double breasted, vents, etc.). Don't get too attached to a single style, just have an idea of what you like and don't like.
2. Go somewhere that knows suits (Mens Warehouse, etc. have been suggested above) and try to find something that fits reasonably well. The shoulders and the most important thing (followed by jacket length). Hopefully you should be able to find something you like.
3. Take your new suit to a good tailor and have it altered. Depending on what needs to be done, it could cost a decent amount of $$, but the suit will almost certainly fit much better than what you'll find off the rack.