The (hopefully) definitive thread on NYC tailors

[Roen]

Who is the cheapest tailor / custom suit maker that uses individual patterns per customer? No preference to handmade vs machine, but do not like pre-set patterns.

If the tailor you recommend does not accept CMT, who would be the cheapest to do CMT & individual pattern?

 

[Shirtmaven]

Who is the cheapest tailor / custom suit maker that uses individual patterns per customer? No preference to handmade vs machine, but do not like pre-set patterns.

If the tailor you recommend does not accept CMT, who would be the cheapest to do CMT & individual pattern?

Cheapest sounds like poor quality.
why give a tailor good fabric , just to do cheap low quality work

 

[Roen]

Cheapest sounds like poor quality.
why give a tailor good fabric , just to do cheap low quality work

Price, while heavily correlated, does not necessarily imply quality.

Cheap is also relative. Cheap in this case would probably be 1500 or up for just CMT, if not more. I just want to know what's the available selection here of cutters that do individual paper patterns. CMT is a bonus, but I'll take what I can get.

 

[David Reeves]

Watch out Carl this guy knows what he's doing......

 

[Shirtmaven]

Price, while heavily correlated, does not necessarily imply quality.

Cheap is also relative. Cheap in this case would probably be 1500 or up for just CMT, if not more. I just want to know what's the available selection here of cutters that do individual paper patterns. CMT is a bonus, but I'll take what I can get.

to me, cheap implies lower quality.
it sounded like you wanedt a "Bespoke" suit for under $500.
You also do not mention where you are located.
How far are you prepared to travel for the "Cheap" suit...
there are plenty of fine tailors that work from their Block patterns and just chalk the changes on the fabric before cutting. unless you plan to order numerous suits they won't bother to make an individual pattern, unless you are a very difficult fit.

 

[Roen]

to me, cheap implies lower quality.
it sounded like you wanedt a "Bespoke" suit for under $500.
You also do not mention where you are located.
How far are you prepared to travel for the "Cheap" suit...
there are plenty of fine tailors that work from their Block patterns and just chalk the changes on the fabric before cutting. unless you plan to order numerous suits they won't bother to make an individual pattern, unless you are a very difficult fit.

Oh, no, I apologize, I doubt you can get any quality bespoke suit anywhere in the world for $500, though I wish I would be disproven.

I was just wondering, in the realm of individual pattern tailors / cutters, what the price range was and who was at the bottom of that range.

I am in NYC a few times a year, and am in no rush to have a suit finished, so can attend fittings that are spaced out over a long period of time.

I am looking to make an unstructured, Italian cut sport coat (CMT or sourced from tailor doesn't actually matter, I already have a particular fabric in mind) and a structured English cut 3 pc suit with a color / style combination (but not a particular fabric) already in mind. Hence why I was asking for CMT prices. I wouldn't be surprised if most full bespoke tailors are close within each other, but I was using cheap as a relative term, as in cheapest of the bunch, not cheap in absolute.

I've been to a couple of cheap (also relative) tailors and were not happy with the job they made. I am still waiting to receive a commissioned bespoke suit from relatively higher end shop, and am hoping that the fit is much better with the suit that is due to arrive.

 

[gdl203]

Price, while heavily correlated, does not necessarily imply quality.

Supply and demand. If someone does great work for a price that is lower than market, then his queue of orders will grow beyond capacity. He will and should increase pricing to moderate the over-demand.

There is causation, not just correlation.

 

[Roen]

Supply and demand. If someone does great work for a price that is lower than market, then his queue of orders will grow beyond capacity. He will and should increase pricing to moderate the over-demand.

There is causation, not just correlation.

Agreed, but just saying that high quality work is not the sole (or in some cases, not even a significant part of the) cause of high price. In a significant amount of cases, the relationship holds.

Quality also is not the sole factor that affects demand. Hype (especially, unfounded) is a big time driver of short-term demand.

Just trying to point out the entire scope of the high quality high price relationship, not saying one is or is not the cause of the other.

 

[Roen]

As a newbie, I am asking around for bespoke as I was told MTM is still hard to fit a body type like mine perfectly(Endomorph, 6'1", 235 lbs). If that's too general of a statement, I look forward to being educated. If I am even spending MTM prices, I would like the fit of the suit to be perfect. If I can't get it from MTM, bespoke is my only option.

 

[Shirtmaven]

@Roen
I am looking to make an unstructured, Italian cut sport coat (CMT or sourced from tailor doesn't actually matter, I already have a particular fabric in mind) and a structured English cut 3 pc suit with a color / style combination (but not a particular fabric) already in mind.
these are very different types of suits.
try Giliberto on west 36th st.

 

[Roen]

@Roen
I am looking to make an unstructured, Italian cut sport coat (CMT or sourced from tailor doesn't actually matter, I already have a particular fabric in mind) and a structured English cut 3 pc suit with a color / style combination (but not a particular fabric) already in mind.
these are very different types of suits.
try Giliberto on west 36th st.

Thanks!

 

[David Reeves]

I'll just give you a real answer, $700-1500 to have a pattern made by anyone basically. $700 will get you an FIT student or recent graduate, results may not be up to snuff.

$1000-1500 is the range for someone good but you have to find them and even then just because they will charge you that does not mean they can do a good bespoke pattern.

This kind of thing has been my bread and butter for 18 years, I don't just hire/fire and manage tailors I'm also constantly looking for new talent, best work and best pricing.

You can bet that even I have a lot of trial and error when dealing with new cutters and tailors, they get nowhere near a client's suit before I am satisfied with their ability. Realistically even with recommendations and my experience I have a 50/50 shot that the new tailor will be viable and I usually sniff out the bad ones before they produce anything.

There are very few tailors that make individual patterns and they are very high end so may not even entertain CMT. For what it's worth I do individual patterns, with your own cloth I would charge 3500 for a suit (giving you $500 for your cloth). Ercole may be another option for you. The other options I suppose would be logsdail, Corvato, huntsman, Dunhill in New York and Chris Despos in Chicago.

 

[Roen]

How many yards of cloth would you need for a 3 piece suit? What about a sport coat? What width of cloth?

 

[urbanwoodsman]

Recently purchased an Italian-made RRL sport jacket, and I'd like to get it altered Any recommendations for someone in Manhattan who does quality work? Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Khayembii Communique]

Has anyone here used Enzo Custom Suits? I know they outsource the construction, but they have great reviews and it seems like a really good option for an affordable custom suit. They start at $600 and I'm trying to get an idea of what that starting point is and what increases the price.