Sydney Tailors

[sydney lawyer]

I went and and delivered three bolts of Minnis Rangoon fabrics to Sam Disano today. I asked him about high armholes. He gave me no problems. I did not have too plead at all. He said that he would adjust the armhole size at the first fitting. As we were discussing the question of armholes I said that having the armhole lower made it more difficult to reach up. He agreed, but said that these days most people prefer the ease of fit afforded by lower armholes.

We also spoke about shoulder construction and padding. He said that he did not agree with today's trend for softer suit construction. He said that the suits don't last as long and don't look as sharp on most people. A soft construction is good for an athletic body that needs no enhancement, but if you want a sharper look, a more rigid architecture is called for.

This discussion arose in the context of my mentioning the father of a friend of mine. This man, a tailor who had for many years worked for Cutler's, had made a number of suits for his son, my friend, which even today look very sharp, despite being over 20 years old.

Sam said that the materials people chose then were much hardier, lasted longer and maintained their looks longer, but today customers prefer soft materials.

 

[Sator]

Sam has still not got the hang of cutting a shallow arm scye which is a hit and miss affair with him - unless, of course, he has now measured your arm scye depth. If he he didn't take an arm scye depth measurement there is a good chance that the arm scye will be too deep. It is almost impossible to make a big scye smaller at the fitting stage, except by a trivial amount, without distorting the chest, and that is what Sam tends to do. It is actually better to cut the arm scye too small and enlarge it at the fitting but that doesn't seem to happen with Sam's drafting method.

I would get him to cut one of the bolts to see how it goes before proceeding with having the others cut. The more people push for a proper small arm scye in the old fashioned manner the better. In every other respect Sam is a superb cutter.

Make sure you read up on my LL discussion on arm scye depth:

http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/...=8141&start=15

Sam agrees with me that it should not be hard to measure the back scye depth (see diagrams) and add it to your pattern. Also look at the proportionate charts for the scye depth for your height and chest measurements to get a rough idea of what your arm scye depth should be. It is almost a complete waste of time asking any cutter for a "high armhole". It is infinitely better to say: please cut an arm scye depth of x" please.

Sam learned to cut off A.A. Whife which is rather weak on arm scye measurements despite being a generally highly authoritative West End tailoring text. If he can nail the arm scye he will go from excellent to perfect. In fact, from what I have seen, he cuts a better coat and trousers than what you get from going to Anderson & Shepherd or Gieves & Hawke on Savile Row paying 2-3000 GBP.

p.s. don't waste your time trying to get soft tailoring out of Sam. He holds in it contempt. His strength is to cut a clean fitting, structured coat. That is his way.

 

[laphroaig]

It's timely that his thread showed up. I recently had a jacket altered by Sam Disano. I was looking for alterations near that area, he popped on on google, and I recognised the name. Now I realise I must have stumbled into this thread a while ago. He seems like a nice guy and the prices for alterations were very reasonable; no worse than any typical dry cleaner might charge. But let's just say he wasn't very happy with the jacket I brought in.

Apparently hand sewn faux sleeve button holes are a nightmare to remove. Why anyone would hand sew fake sleeve button holes on a jacket is beyond me, they don't look any better. I don't know what to make of the sleeve alterations though. I appreciate the additional material added on the inside while extending the sleeve, and without additional charge. It's a very close match in colour and texture and the lining on the sleeves was hand-sewn closed. He also altered the ends of the sleeves so that the flap now ends slightly past the sleeve. Unfortunately the lining starts much further back on one sleeve than on the other and the sleeve buttons were sewn on through the lining rather than underneath it so it looks a little messy on the inside. Is this standard practice?

 

[Michael Ay329]

Sator, the same problem exists with the Italians and Greeks who immigrated to Los Angeles

These small one man show bespoke operations work on tight profit margins and supplement their income on alterations.

My current Greek tailor, and another Italian tailor I'm considering moving up to both have sons who refused to enter the trade because the money wasn't in it

In a glitzy and glamorous entertainment---get rich quick city, its tough to justify a job where one will never be rich

 

[Sator]

Yes, most of us in the New World are highly reliant on that post-war generation of Southern European migrants for our tailoring. Some of these guys are actually very good and would gladly ditch their alterations work if only (in their own words) it were like the "good old days" when customers simply wanted the best, with "cost no object".

There are probably similar migrant Sams all over the New World hidden away in backstreet obscurity, who do have great tailoring skills being wasted on petty alterations work, but who don't feel confident enough to commit to promoting themselves as high end bespoke tailors in uptown stores because they don't think there is a market for it out there. It's little wonder when these guys have watched the bespoke market gradually dying away over the last few decades. I tried to explain to my Sam that the internet is providing impetus for a revival of interest in bespoke and he said something to the effect of "internet, what's that?"

My Sam, is actually extremely good. It is not often that when you post work on LL that tailors praise the work. Usually, as you know, people are relentless in criticising the work that comes out of even the most hallowed names on Savile Row. Sam was a bit of a 'find' for me, after I learned of him from my shirtmaker. His tiny store is literally on an obscure backstreet under a parking lot, wedged between an African grocery shop and a Chinese two dollar shop! It turns out that he actually retired early after running an uptown tailoring business, and only works now for the love of tailoring. He doesn't need the money and his old customers come to him because of his reputation. It was a surprise akin to finding out that some pauper was a millionaire.

I am probably going to drop into Sam's place soon to have a chat about cutting arm scyes again. If he can get that right, it will be very good for the local bespoke scene.

Anyway, for those of you in elsewhere in the New World reading this good luck with finding your own gem of a Sam. You just never know when you get lucky. The trick is to ask people in the business - shirtmakers are a good source of info because they aren't in competition with tailors. Some of these tailors might even be retired and be willing to work from home for cash. Hollywood once kept tailors under contract to make things for them, and supported the infrastructure of a large local bespoke tailoring industry - that's why the actors in old movies look so sharp. Dig around and I am sure you will find someone. There was a post, for example, a while back about a tailor aged in his 80's called Al Certo in New Jersey, who used to be Frank Sinatra's tailor. He was charging prices similar to my Sam, and his worked look excellent.

Actually, I might start a new thread on this subject.

 

[sydney lawyer]

Thanks again Sator. I am printing out your London Lounge article and will take it to Sam asap.

I would love to get some criticisms of my new suit made by Sam, but there is no way I am posting pics of me on the net.

I agree with Sam about construction. I think his structured shoulders are much better for me than a soft construction could ever be.

The suit he made for me is very comfortable and looks so much better than my previous off the rack suits that I cannot bear to wear them now.

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by sydney lawyer

Thanks again Sator. I am printing out your London Lounge article and will take it to Sam asap.

Don't worry, I've already done that and spoken at length about the issue.

 

[merkur]

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[laphroaig]

Originally Posted by merkur

Did Sam seem happy (or at least not displeased) to do alterations? Thanks
He was friendly and helpful. From all the jackets etc. hanging behind him in the shop it looks like he does a lot of alteration work.

 

[merkur]

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[Sator]

I just went to visit Sam Disano, and to my surprise (as well as Sam's), Tony Wain had unexpectedly sent him several H Lesser books. Particularly impressive were the Formal book and the well nigh legendary book of Lumb's Golden Bale

. There was a lighter book of S120s amongst others. The 13 and 16 Oz books were sadly missing however

Anyone passing that way to see Charles Nakhle or Sam Disano should really check these beautiful books out. Sam is particularly impressed that the prices are highly competitive with H&S. I am probably preaching to the converted when I say that Lesser's cloths are the best bar none.

Those wanting to see pictures of Sam's work should look here:

http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/...pic.php?t=8266

I also have a couple of fantastic overcoats, waistcoats and trousers from Sam.

The only thing with Sam is that you must insist on getting high armholes. The more of us insist on it, the better he and his boys will get at making coats up this way. I have had several talks to him about this issue, and he fully understands this is something we all demand. So please do us all a favour and remember to ask the "high armholes".

Lastly, Sam's buttons are awful. I source my own ones:

http://www.hst.com.sg/acatalog/Horn_...or_jacket.html

http://www.hst.com.sg/acatalog/Holla...er_Button.html

http://www.mjtrim.com/catalog/produc...559/28559.aspx

http://www.mjtrim.com/catalog/produc...507/18507.aspx

He is only too happy for you to bring your own buttons, or change the buttons on coats already made up. It is worth it.

 

[Sator]

Originally Posted by joneblaze

Hi All, Long time reader, recent poster.

Need to thank Sator and others for the guiding lights to Adamo Marrone and Charles Nakhle. Fantastic service and end products from both. Have been reading about Sam Disano and visited him today. Have looked at his range of fabrics but interested in investigating the option of supplying my own. Obviously this affords a higher level of choice in terms of fabric pattern/type, however how does it measure up cost wise? I understand roughly 3m of fabric per suit is needed? How much would this cost (range) from somewhere like J&J Minnis? Also, how much does a tailor like Sam charge in bespoke construction/labour fees? Assistance appreciated, as it has been (silently) for the past year!

Jon
This was asked here: http://www.styleforum.net/showpost.p...8&postcount=18 I am consolidating posts here to this thread, as the same information is getting repeated in different threads. J&J Minnis is excellent, but their options are limited compared to H&S or Dormeuil. Given the choice between H&S, Dormeuil and Hardy/Minnis I would choose the Minnis any day - the fact it is cheaper is another bonus. H&S is more heavily marked up - something more to do with the fact that Minnis is a smaller company. We really need to get the local Minnis distributor to deliver Sam some up to date books. The best cloth is generally offered by H Lesser, a selection of whose books Sam Disano now stocks. If you want the best bar none choose H Lesser. Their Golden Bale book has a well nigh legendary status amongst cloth enthusiasts. Even then, H&S and Dormeuil both charge more than Lesser, which means unless there is some design that you really have to have, there is little point in looking beyond Lesser for your cloth, with Minnis as your cost effective alternative. As to the amount of cloth you need please ask your tailor before ordering. 3m is unlikely to be enough for anything more than a coat and waistcoat on many people.

 

[joneblaze]

Thanks for the replies Sator.

I have ordered 5m of Dormeuil cloth in a navy herringbone to take to Sam Disano. He is making an extra set of pants with my suit.

 

[Sator]

Unless you are unusually large, most tailors should be able to squeeze a waistcoat out of 5m as well. Dormeuil isn't bad and you won't be disappointed.

BTW unless we're going to call taps faucets and curtains drapes let's call them trousers rather than pants

 

[merkur]

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