SWD Discussion Thread for Tailoring

[dieworkwear]

This is a discussion thread for SWD members interested in tailoring.

The term "tailoring" here is used pretty loosely. Since most clothes are cut and sewn, many can be described as "tailored." I'm using the term here to loosely refer to suits and sport coats. A sport coat is anything with lapels. A suit is any garment where the jacket and pants are made from the same fabric.

An Engineered Bedford jacket worn with matching pants here would be considered a suit. So can the more casual iterations of tailoring you see from brands such as Margaret Howell or Lemaire.

And, I think it's also ok to discuss more traditional tailored outfits here. In the past, some members have worn Ivy and trad on this side of the forum. Don't feel like you have to post Yohji pics (although, that's welcomed, too).

Discuss interesting brands, tailors, styles, fabrics, etc. Feel free to post fit pics. Talk about outfit ideas and where you're wearing tailored clothing/ how you're making it work for you.

 

[ChetB]

This is a discussion thread for SWD members interested in tailoring.
View attachment 1741494

hey that’s me!

I haven’t worn tailoring in about 5 years. but lately I’ve been drawn back to old polo / brooks brothers / ivy casual stuff, and have even found myself searching for vintage tweed and corduroy jackets on eBay. not sure when I would wear them, or where this renewed interest is leading me, but I definitely still have a soft spot for all that.

 

[dieworkwear]

hey that’s me!

I haven’t worn tailoring in about 5 years. but lately I’ve been drawn back to old polo / brooks brothers / ivy casual stuff, and have even found myself searching for vintage tweed and corduroy jackets on eBay. not sure when I would wear them, or where this renewed interest is leading me, but I definitely still have a soft spot for all that.

At the risk of sounding corny, I've found a new interest in wearing tailored clothing when I go out for dinner. IMO, it doesn't even have to be a super fancy place. In the Bay Area, I think you can wear tailored clothing to restaurants that charge like $25 for a plate. You just have to find a couple of friends who are also into dressing up a little

 

[whorishconsumer]

I've found the barrier to entry into tailoring of any form to be pretty high for me due to how I'm built. It's hard to find jackets that fit right and really hard to find tailored trousers that work. It's really just the problems of finding clothes that fit made more difficult by a more demanding mode of dress.

The answer – or an answer – is of course to go custom, but that is precisely the direction I do not want to go. So my "dress" style is very much limited to what I can pull off using the good-enough-fitting clothes I have collected through a long process of sunk cost.

There is also the cost barrier, as everything tailored comes with a heftier price tag. Sport jackets in particular are pretty prohibitive, else I'd be stocking up on Model 3s.

I will say my weight gain, and the concomitant appreciation of larger sizes and higher waists, has made dressing up easier.

 

[dieworkwear]

I've found the barrier to entry into tailoring of any form to be pretty high for me due to how I'm built. It's hard to find jackets that fit right and really hard to find tailored trousers that work. It's really just the problems of finding clothes that fit made more difficult by a more demanding mode of dress.

The answer – or an answer – is of course to go custom, but that is precisely the direction I do not want to go. So my "dress" style is very much limited to what I can pull off using the good-enough-fitting clothes I have collected through a long process of sunk cost.

There is also the cost barrier, as everything tailored comes with a heftier price tag. Sport jackets in particular are pretty prohibitive, else I'd be stocking up on Model 3s.

I will say my weight gain, and the concomitant appreciation of larger sizes and higher waists, has made dressing up easier.

What is your height, chest size, and waist size? (if you feel comfortable saying)

 

[whorishconsumer]

What is your height, chest size, and waist size? (if you feel comfortable saying)

6'3" with long legs and arms. My chest size is around 41", my waist has grown to something like 37-38". I have pronounced hips, I should add. I've got Seth Rogan bod, as XWT has called it.

I will admit that part of the difficulty has been in letting go of low-rise, skinny fits, which really don't work with tailoring, for me. But even having moved past my own bias, I've found the industry has not. Rota's size 54, for example, which are leggings. On the opposite end, as more fabric is added to the rise the front/back balance and my tilt become a problem.

This is all less of a problem with 5-pocket cuts. As long as they're not painfully skinny and have a high enough rise, I'm not too concerned with the resulting fit.

 

[dieworkwear]

6'3" with long legs and arms. My chest size is around 41", my waist has grown to something like 37-38".

I will admit that part of the difficulty has been in letting go of low-rise, skinny fits, which really don't work with tailoring, for me. But even having moved past my own bias, I've found the industry has not. Rota's size 54, for example, which are leggings. On the opposite end, as more fabric is added to the rise the front/back balance and my tilt become a problem.

This is all less of a problem with 5-pocket cuts. As long as they're not painfully skinny and have a high enough rise, I'm not too concerned with the resulting fit.

6'3" is tough for RTW tailored clothing. I recently helped a friend about your height find a suit for his wedding. We ultimately ended up doing MTM.

Although I think Greg at NMWA is roughly that height and he sometimes models his Sartoria Carrara line.

 

[whorishconsumer]

6'3" is tough off the rack for tailored clothing. I recently helped a friend about your height find a suit for his wedding. We ultimately ended up doing MTM.

Yea, it's never been fun.

I say I don't want to do MTM but I do have sights on a MTM Armoury suit at some point.

 

[Daniel Hakimi]

The term "tailoring" here is used pretty loosely. Since most clothes are cut and sewn, many can be described as "tailored." I'm using the term here to loosely refer to suits and sport coats. A sport coat is anything with lapels. A suit is any garment where the jacket and pants are made from the same fabric.

I recently came across the group of people who are very angry about the way we use the word "tailoring," so I understand why you felt the need to do this...

But your definitions count overcoats as sport coats and count tracksuits as suits. Which I don't think you intended.

Don't pander to the peple who pretend not to understand what "tailoring" is. Although it's nice to make sure things like the bedford are incldued, but you're gearing up for an unwinnable fight here.

 

[K. Nights]

I've found the barrier to entry into tailoring of any form to be pretty high for me due to how I'm built. It's hard to find jackets that fit right and really hard to find tailored trousers that work. It's really just the problems of finding clothes that fit made more difficult by a more demanding mode of dress.

The answer – or an answer – is of course to go custom, but that is precisely the direction I do not want to go. So my "dress" style is very much limited to what I can pull off using the good-enough-fitting clothes I have collected through a long process of sunk cost.

There is also the cost barrier, as everything tailored comes with a heftier price tag. Sport jackets in particular are pretty prohibitive, else I'd be stocking up on Model 3s.

I will say my weight gain, and the concomitant appreciation of larger sizes and higher waists, has made dressing up easier.

Same. These days I find myself more interested than ever in wearing tailored clothing more often, but difficulty with sizing is a real barrier. I'm 6'2" with a decent drop and have sunk a lot of money into trying different brands of OTR tailoring over the years, none of which ever seem to fit me correctly.
Living in the Midwest, there aren't even really any good tailors that I trust for the custom route, so traveling is my only option (which is a pain when multiple fittings are necessary).

 

[xeoniq]

I like wearing casual menswear and suits whenever I drive. I don't usually bother photoing it because I've been burned out of taking selfies for years so when I do, it needs to be the kind of sportswear my audience likes. I find the trickiest part of wearing suits casually is matching the right t-shirt or button up with the suit and shoes. A lot of t-shirts just look off with suits, so finding the right texture and the shape and opening of the neck banding is the challenge. Minimal slip ons for shoes seem to work alright in this context, I've never thought that busy sneakers work well; they always dominate the outfit and end up looking affected.

 

[dieworkwear]

I like wearing casual menswear and suits whenever I drive. I don't usually bother photoing it because I've been burned out of taking selfies for years so when I do, it needs to be the kind of sportswear my audience likes. I find the trickiest part of wearing suits casually is matching the right t-shirt or button up with the suit and shoes. A lot of t-shirts just look off with suits, so finding the right texture and the shape and opening of the neck banding is the challenge. Minimal slip ons for shoes seem to work alright in this context, I've never thought that busy sneakers work well; they always dominate the outfit and end up looking affected.

Where do you buy the t-shirts that you wear with tailoring?

Regarding shoes, I like this old photo of @conceptual 4est in a Camoshita suit and Margiela slip-ons

 

[gustavobradley]

Definitely interested in this thread. I've been looking to expand my tailoring wardrobe for my job, which requires me to wear a suit sometimes. Often I just like to wear a suit with a t-shirt or sweater because it's easy and comfortable, too.

Recent fit pic for reference

 

[conceptual 4est]

On days

Where do you buy the t-shirts that you wear with tailoring?

Regarding shoes, I like this old photo of @conceptual 4est in a Camoshita suit and Margiela slip-ons



View attachment 1741553

My 30th Birthday! I was but a young spring chicken. Sadly I no longer have those shoes, but I do still have and like to wear that Camoshita seersucker suit, and casual suits in general.

I don't wear sport coats very much, the one exception being a quilted ts(s) blazer that is more outerwear, but I have an affinity for these sort of casual suits.

For shirts, band collar is fun, Aloha shirts can be fun but I know it was a "thing" for a bit which may taint it if you care about that, but I primarily wear them with crewneck or turtleneck sweaters in the winter, and tees in the summer. For tees I like terrycloth, paper, wool, and linen. For cotton jersey it has to be really special - like a nice pima cotton with a self-fabric collar instead of a ribbed knit one. The other materials and knit cotton can get away with ribbed though.

 

[xeoniq]

Where do you buy the t-shirts that you wear with tailoring?

No where in particular, some are very old Australian labels that are now dead, two are just from Cotton On, they had a crew available years ago that had a ribbing around the neck which was only a few mm thick. I find thick ribbing like Uniqlo usually uses to look pretty off under a suit for whatever reason. Just wore a hole through my Muji canvas slip ons that I liked with one of my silk linen suits, so will need another slim casual replacement.