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Turnbull and Asser bespoke review?

rsum

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@_@

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.



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.

At the time of the original post, I wasn't sure what I was looking for either besides white tie. I was thinking of a tux for the afternoon so I have something more reusable from my wedding. However now I've decided to go morning dress and white tie with no tux because they complement each other better :) Price is an object though otherwise I'd be at Huntersman this weekend getting fitted :). (I'm willing to pay around $5k per suit, not $12k being the starting price point)

I appreciate your findings on the budget options! Well done.
 

dieworkwear

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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!

Sorry, yes to clarify, you would have to tweet him publicly. I think he's usually responsive.
 

dauster

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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.
brioni and tom ford have RTW, so do a bunch of brands at neiman marcus like kiton, isaia and zegna. edit if we are talking tuxedo - unsure about morning coats thats probably very specific but this link might be usueful for OP

 

rsum

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brioni and tom ford have RTW, so do a bunch of brands at neiman marcus like kiton, isaia and zegna. edit if we are talking tuxedo - unsure about morning coats thats probably very specific but this link might be usueful for OP


Thank you for this! Very helpful. Do you have any thoughts on the evening tail coat example in their pictures? It all seemed pretty legit until I got to that example because I thought the waist coat should not hang below the tail coat?
 

Despos

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@rsum
Will you ever wear this again? If not, you will get a better tuxedo or suit for your money than tails within that budget. Your budget fits in a MTM price point not really a custom garment. Unless it's made in China or India.
It's risky to order tails as a first custom made garment. Not impossible, but risky.
A lot depends on your expectations. Getting balance in the proportions and all the elements to align in a cohesive look takes effort. The picture of tails form the LA firm is an example. Every thing is too low. The trouser rise should be higher the vest and front length of the jacket is too long and the tail is too short.
Another point is I would NEVER make tails with a plain front trouser like they did.
You will be better served by a local tailor so you can get more fittings which will result in a better outcome. Would not suggest using a traveling tailor. Basing this on results I have seen in the past.
It's a crap shoot to find RTW tails that will hit all the right spots regarding the trouser rise, vest length and coat length.
Again, depends on your expectations.
The shirt in the picture is a fly front. Traditional to have a formal shirt with one stud .
Shirt cuff should take a cuff link but not be a French cuff. It's a regular cuff and doesn't fold back.
You also want the vest, shirt bib and tie all from the same fabric.
Won't work if you piece things together from multiple vendors.
 
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Despos

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two examples
iu-1.jpeg

iu.jpeg
 

rsum

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@rsum
Will you ever wear this again? If not, you will get a better tuxedo or suit for your money than tails within that budget. Your budget fits in a MTM price point not really a custom garment. Unless it's made in China or India.
It's risky to order tails as a first custom made garment. Not impossible, but risky.
A lot depends on your expectations. Getting balance in the proportions and all the elements to align in a cohesive look takes effort. The picture of tails form the LA firm is an example. Every thing is too low. The trouser rise should be higher the vest and front length of the jacket is too long and the tail is too short.
Another point is I would NEVER make tails with a plain front trouser like they did.
You will be better served by a local tailor so you can get more fittings which will result in a better outcome. Would not suggest using a traveling tailor. Basing this on results I have seen in the past.
It's a crap shoot to find RTW tails that will hit all the right spots regarding the trouser rise, vest length and coat length.
Again, depends on your expectations.
The shirt in the picture is a fly front. Traditional to have a formal shirt with one stud .
Shirt cuff should take a cuff link but not be a French cuff. It's a regular cuff and doesn't fold back.
You also want the vest, shirt bib and tie all from the same fabric.
Won't work if you piece things together from multiple vendors.

Thank you for your detailed feedback! You didn't quote a post but I assume you are referring to here: https://www.styleforum.net/threads/turnbull-and-asser-bespoke-review.688321/post-10793208

I don't have many plans to wear these outfits again. While my fiance and I were in the early stages of dating, we went out more. This included an opera once every couple of years. It was fun to have the excuse to dress up so we did... It's also something we don't do much anymore. I think maybe a suit like this might make us want to go back out to the opera if at least for the sake of extreme dress up. Other than that, I have no other occasions where this suit can be useful unless I find a social circle that enjoys dress up parties.

In regards to the example image and getting that cohesive look:

Proportions: You are right, the waist coat is too long which in turn means the pant waist is too short and the jacket cut is too long. It was the first tailoring example I seen where pieces were proportionality wrong but at least the waist coat wasn't below the jacket and it covered the trouser waist enough. I'm wondering is this could have possibly been a request of the client.

Plain front trouser: Why wouldn't you use a plain front? Are pleats or plain front not simply an option of the wearer but a hard rule?

Shirt studs: Agreed.

Shirt cuff: Agreed.

Matching fabrics and from same vendors: Definitely agreed.

I appreciate you putting your eye to the example photos and point out issues. I plan to meet the tailor Monday and find out whether these choices were made deliberately or not.

Do you have any comments on the morning dress?
 

dauster

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Thank you for this! Very helpful. Do you have any thoughts on the evening tail coat example in their pictures? It all seemed pretty legit until I got to that example because I thought the waist coat should not hang below the tail coat?
I personally would get a nice wedding 3 piece suit that also can be worn as a 2-piece suit. If you spend that kind of money it would be nice to get something you can regularly wear. If you have 5-10k just to blow and don't care and want the experience get the tails...
 

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