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Turnbull and Asser bespoke review?

rsum

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Hello, I'm looking to wear a full dress white tie tuxedo for my wedding. I've been searching for a bespoke tailor well qualified and within budget (about $5k) to create one for me. I found Turnbull and Asser (NewYork) recently and they seem like a well established company to handle my request. However, I found enough bad reviews to make me want to ask on here if they are still the company they once were? This is quite an investment for me as I live in California so I'll have to pay for airfare and hotel to New York for 3 fittings but I want it done right. Please let me know your thoughts on Turnbull and Asser to make full fledged white tie tuxedos and possibly evening morning dress.

PS: Yes I have looked in California but could not find one tailor who specializes in these type of tuxedos. I would definitely be interested if you know of any.
 

dieworkwear

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During normal times, multiple Savile Row, Italian, and Hong Kong firms visit California. Things are halted at the moment because international tailors are having trouble coming to the United States. But when travel is permitted, I assume their schedules will resume.

Most of these tailors visit San Francisco, but Los Angeles also has a good travel schedule. Nearly all of these tailors are able to cut for black and white tie events.

I use Steed and like their work. I know they're able to cut such garments. Other tailors that visit California include all the major SR firms (e.g. Huntsman, Anderson & Sheppard, and Henry Poole among them), Rubinacci, WW Chan, Sartoria Solito, and I Sarti Italiani.
 

comrade

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Hello, I'm looking to wear a full dress white tie tuxedo for my wedding. I've been searching for a bespoke tailor well qualified and within budget (about $5k) to create one for me. I found Turnbull and Asser (NewYork) recently and they seem like a well established company to handle my request. However, I found enough bad reviews to make me want to ask on here if they are still the company they once were? This is quite an investment for me as I live in California so I'll have to pay for airfare and hotel to New York for 3 fittings but I want it done right. Please let me know your thoughts on Turnbull and Asser to make full fledged white tie tuxedos and possibly evening morning dress.

PS: Yes I have looked in California but could not find one tailor who specializes in these type of tuxedos. I would definitely be interested if you know of any.

"I'm looking to wear a full dress white tie tuxedo"

A semantic point: full dress/ white tie is by definition NOT a tuxedo.
 

usctrojans31

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Huntsman has a full-time presence in the US. I also believe Huntsman flies to you if you want, but I'm not entirely certain as I'm not a client.
 

classicalthunde

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Hello, I'm looking to wear a full dress white tie tuxedo for my wedding. I've been searching for a bespoke tailor well qualified and within budget (about $5k) to create one for me. I found Turnbull and Asser (NewYork) recently and they seem like a well established company to handle my request. However, I found enough bad reviews to make me want to ask on here if they are still the company they once were? This is quite an investment for me as I live in California so I'll have to pay for airfare and hotel to New York for 3 fittings but I want it done right. Please let me know your thoughts on Turnbull and Asser to make full fledged white tie tuxedos and possibly evening morning dress.

PS: Yes I have looked in California but could not find one tailor who specializes in these type of tuxedos. I would definitely be interested if you know of any.

Where in CA do you live? Divij Hemrajani operates out of Costa Mesa and flies to several cities...I have a couple of items from them and have been happy with the results. They certainly do black tie dinner suits, but I am not sure about a full white tie tails rig, but if your quasi-local it might be worth inquiring especially considering the added cost of flights and hotels

I think most of @Andy57's dinner suits are from Joe and Divij

They don't necessarily follow the traditional SR bespoke process of 3 fittings, although they can certainly do anything and everyone has their own unique pattern. They do measurements, one basted fitting, and then straight to finish. I believe you can opt to do a trial garment out of excess fabric they have at there shop between steps 1 and 2 for an extra fee.
 

dauster

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Hello, I'm looking to wear a full dress white tie tuxedo for my wedding. I've been searching for a bespoke tailor well qualified and within budget (about $5k) to create one for me. I found Turnbull and Asser (NewYork) recently and they seem like a well established company to handle my request. However, I found enough bad reviews to make me want to ask on here if they are still the company they once were? This is quite an investment for me as I live in California so I'll have to pay for airfare and hotel to New York for 3 fittings but I want it done right. Please let me know your thoughts on Turnbull and Asser to make full fledged white tie tuxedos and possibly evening morning dress.

PS: Yes I have looked in California but could not find one tailor who specializes in these type of tuxedos. I would definitely be interested if you know of any.
on top of the tailors the other members mentioned, I would always stick to what tailors are known for, meaning T&A is known for shirts so I would stick with shirts. for example, Steed, huntsman and richard Anderson are known for their bespoke suits and related garments so go there for your wedding ensemble.

edit: also to avoid heart break for a 1st commission why not try Brioni or tom ford. it might be fit you well off the rack and it's local.
 

comrade

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edit: also to avoid heart break for a 1st commission why not try Brioni or tom ford. it might be fit you well off the rack and it's local.

Does anyone actually carry RTW full dress? Brooks Bros probably did 50 years ago.
 

classicalthunde

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edit: also to avoid heart break for a 1st commission why not try Brioni or tom ford. it might be fit you well off the rack and it's local.

Does anyone actually carry RTW full dress? Brooks Bros probably did 50 years ago.

 

rsum

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edit: also to avoid heart break for a 1st commission why not try Brioni or tom ford. it might be fit you well off the rack and it's local.

Does anyone actually carry RTW full dress? Brooks Bros probably did 50 years ago.

What do you mean heartbreak for a 1st commission? Is that a normal thing when getting your first bespoke suit?

In regards to Brioni, I actually did try them out. Their full dress white tie started at $9k and fit terrible. First they didn't make my site (IT48) in full dress, it started at IT50. I tried it on anyways. The pants were not high waisted enough for the waist coat to cover the gap. The sales person suggested wearing a cummerbund in conjunction with the waist coat hahaha! They literally knew less than me and the tailor came down to see what they could do who also admitted he hasn't fitted someone in full dress before. Quite frankly, that was the experience at just about every high end place I went to. Sales persons were there to sale and tailors to cut fabric to your specifications. Finding someone knowledgeable in style formalities is the real luxury. Only one place had correct morning and full dressed white tie on the shelf but the prices of $15k was a little out my range.
 
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rsum

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During normal times, multiple Savile Row, Italian, and Hong Kong firms visit California. Things are halted at the moment because international tailors are having trouble coming to the United States. But when travel is permitted, I assume their schedules will resume.

Most of these tailors visit San Francisco, but Los Angeles also has a good travel schedule. Nearly all of these tailors are able to cut for black and white tie events.

I use Steed and like their work. I know they're able to cut such garments. Other tailors that visit California include all the major SR firms (e.g. Huntsman, Anderson & Sheppard, and Henry Poole among them), Rubinacci, WW Chan, Sartoria Solito, and I Sarti Italiani.

Thanks for the informative list of designers. I found some inspiration from some!

Huntsman has a full-time presence in the US. I also believe Huntsman flies to you if you want, but I'm not entirely certain as I'm not a client.

You probably need more than my budget of around $5k for them to fly to you. I spoke to them before and their 3 piece suits start at $12k.

Where in CA do you live? Divij Hemrajani operates out of Costa Mesa and flies to several cities...I have a couple of items from them and have been happy with the results. They certainly do black tie dinner suits, but I am not sure about a full white tie tails rig, but if your quasi-local it might be worth inquiring especially considering the added cost of flights and hotels

I think most of @Andy57's dinner suits are from Joe and Divij

They don't necessarily follow the traditional SR bespoke process of 3 fittings, although they can certainly do anything and everyone has their own unique pattern. They do measurements, one basted fitting, and then straight to finish. I believe you can opt to do a trial garment out of excess fabric they have at there shop between steps 1 and 2 for an extra fee.

I'm in Los Angeles so Divij isn't terribly far from me :) Have you heard of https://www.johnathanbehr.com/?
 

comrade

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I have heard of him. He gets virtually no attention from Style Form.
His website is terrible and the examples of his work look quite
"down market"
Years ago the Sleevehead blog recommended Enzo Caruso in Santa Monica.
From the articles Enzo,is a real tailor of the kind one supposedly finds in provincial
towns in Italy. I have never used him. He probably mainly does alterations. He's
worth checking out:

 
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stuffedsuperdud

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...I'm looking to wear a full dress white tie tuxedo for my wedding...... full fledged white tie tuxedos and possibly evening morning dress......

@_@

Everyone is jumping in with recommendations but it isn't entirely clear what you are looking for; the confusion is exacerbated by your own mixing up of the terms. So it sounds like you want to to do morning dress for the AM and evening dress for the post 6PM festivities? I assume from the difficulty you've had in finding what you have in mind that this is it, and that you don't want a tux. That's a bold move but I like it.

I'm kind of getting the feeling that price is no object, but are you interested in T&A (heh) because they seem to be the only game in town, or because they make shirts for Prince Charles and the rest of that kinda-charming-kinda-incestuous bunch? If the latter, more power to you, and if they can't do it, I am sure you can find someone else in your price range without issue. If it's strictly a "can't find it anywhere else else" issue though, it's possible!

CT Shirts of all places has a full morning kit, for a steal:

I am a peasant and not some English royalty so don't quote me on this but AFAIK, the black jacket with formal striped trousers is considered a touch more formal than if the jacket were to match the trousers in a solid gray, like what Charles usually wears.

For the evening side, here's this number from our good friends at Hickey Freeman:

All the classic details, Loro Piana fabric, and made by the good people of Hickey Freeman? ****, at that price, I'm tempted to get one for myself and just passive aggressively put it on every time my team has to work past 6PM.

For the rest (shirt, tie, shoes, evening pique vest) you can piece together from various vendors that I am seeing from a quick google search. LOLOL you can get the vest from JAB for $20. For a little garment where fit doesn't really matter? Why not.

What do you mean heartbreak for a 1st commission? Is that a normal thing when getting your first bespoke suit?

I think what they're getting at is that people assume the order of quality, whatever quality means, is bespoke >> MTM >> RTW because of the price tiers, when all you are truly guaranteed going in is that that is the order in which the things cost to make; bespoke is made using the most inefficient way possible, while RTW is the opposite. Bespoke can theoretically incorporate nuances and details you cannot get via an RTW manufacturing process that streamlines away a lot of steps included in bespoke, but a bespoke tailor might not bother with all that, plus it also opens the door to all sorts of human error at each step of the way.

It's uncommon that a bespoke jacket is a total unwearable disaster, as that is what the multiple fittings are for, but it's also possible that the result is no different from an RTW garment that has had an alterations tailor dial it in for you. Worse case scenario, you are stuck with an unwearable garment and will have to eat the cost, or, just to rub salt into the wound, run out of time and have nothing at all by the day of the ceremony.
 
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rsum

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I have heard of him. He gets virtually no attention from Style Form.
His website is terrible and the examples of his work look quite
"down market"
Years ago the Sleevehead blog recommended Enzo Caruso in Santa Monica.
From the articles Enzo,is a real tailor of the kind one supposedly finds in provincial
towns in Italy. I have never used him. He probably mainly does alterations. He's
worth checking out:


Thank you for your feedback on Johnathan Behr. I'm actually seriously considering him as he sent me examples that have been the best local things I've found thus far. However, I'm new to this and my eyes aren't as finely tuned as the experienced users here. Below are examples Johnathan sent me that I thought looked great. Can you point out to me any errors so I know what to watch out for?

White tie: I personally thought this was perfect except for hidden shirt buttons. But that could've been a choice by the client?
img_20210727_221708.jpg


Morning dress: Any errors here? I think the coat could be more form fitted, the pants more contrasty, and the waist coat shorter. This might seem "down market" to me but could've have also been client choices. I'm interested in what a trained eye would notice.
img_20210727_221714_720.jpg
 

dieworkwear

Mahatma Jawndi
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Thank you for your feedback on Johnathan Behr. I'm actually seriously considering him as he sent me examples that have been the best local things I've found thus far. However, I'm new to this and my eyes aren't as finely tuned as the experienced users here. Below are examples Johnathan sent me that I thought looked great. Can you point out to me any errors so I know what to watch out for?

White tie: I personally thought this was perfect except for hidden shirt buttons. But that could've been a choice by the client?
View attachment 1645346

Morning dress: Any errors here? I think the coat could be more form fitted, the pants more contrasty, and the waist coat shorter. This might seem "down market" to me but could've have also been client choices. I'm interested in what a trained eye would notice.
View attachment 1645347

You might want to tweet at Voxsartoria. He's someone who used to post here but doesn't anymore. I know he was interested in ordering a white tie rig from Steed. He has a bit of experience with this stuff and may be able to give you better feedback. I think Twitter is probably the easiest way to get a hold of him, if you're on Twitter nowadays. Just tweet the two photos and explain your question

 

rsum

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You might want to tweet at Voxsartoria. He's someone who used to post here but doesn't anymore. I know he was interested in ordering a white tie rig from Steed. He has a bit of experience with this stuff and may be able to give you better feedback. I think Twitter is probably the easiest way to get a hold of him, if you're on Twitter nowadays. Just tweet the two photos and explain your question

Ah, he's disabled messages on twitter. I'll have to call Steed tomorrow to see where their location is in the US and price range. Thank you!
 

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