Whats wrong with New York Bespoke tailors?

[lamplighter]

It just seems impossible! Len Logsdail after ages looking online to find him I got a phone number and called him up, got a voice message no reply after a week. David Reeves only takes bespoke clients by referral now (WTF?). Coravato only wants to make the suit he wants to make and he wants to make me three of them, Fioravanti doesnt reply to my emails. I tried going with someone a bit less established, Peter Frew at Archangel but he has a waiting list and charges you just to talk to him!

Do these guys not want to do any work? I want to work with someone good and independent but having a hard time here. I would prefer a more English style suit, can anyone put me in touch with Logsdail or refer me to Reeves?

 

[VinnyMac]

They don't respond because they know that you'll run to your computer and bad-mouth them online.

 

[lamplighter]

They don't respond because they know that you'll run to your computer and bad-mouth them online.

Come on, they aren't psychic! Seriously any advice with working with these people? Really I want to upgrade from OTR and I want something a bit nicer than the MTM places in NYC.

 

[Millerp]

Why not try the Oxxford flagship store? You can get quality MTM there and probably
the kind of customer service you are looking for.

Bespoke tailors like Logsdail and Corvato know they are rare breeds and have all
the customers they will ever need.

 

[JubeiSpiegel]

 

[lamplighter]

Why not try the Oxxford flagship store? You can get quality MTM there and probably
the kind of customer service you are looking for.

Bespoke tailors like Logsdail and Corvato know they are rare breeds and have all
the customers they will ever need.

I dont want MTM that costs the same as real Bespoke.

 

[Griffindork]



It just seems impossible! Len Logsdail after ages looking online to find him I got a phone number and called him up, got a voice message no reply after a week. David Reeves only takes bespoke clients by referral now (WTF?). Coravato only wants to make the suit he wants to make and he wants to make me three of them, Fioravanti doesnt reply to my emails. I tried going with someone a bit less established, Peter Frew at Archangel but he has a waiting list and charges you just to talk to him!

Do these guys not want to do any work? I want to work with someone good and independent but having a hard time here. I would prefer a more English style suit, can anyone put me in touch with Logsdail or refer me to Reeves?

Well, all the big savile row houses (with the exception of gieves) travel to NYC. You have your pick.

 

[joshuadowen]

Why not try the Oxxford flagship store? You can get quality MTM there and probably
the kind of customer service you are looking for.

Bespoke tailors like Logsdail and Corvato know they are rare breeds and have all
the customers they will ever need.

This is really the heart of the matter. The nature of the high-end tailoring business makes scale very difficult - there isn't enough skilled labor. Once a tailor is operating at capacity, they have no incentive to attract new customers. As these are all relatively small operations, it isn't hard for them to hit capacity. At that point, they make more money by raising prices, not by seeking out new customers.

 

[VinnyMac]

This is really the heart of the matter. The nature of the high-end tailoring business makes scale very difficult - there isn't enough skilled labor. Once a tailor is operating at capacity, they have no incentive to attract new customers. As these are all relatively small operations, it isn't hard for them to hit capacity. At that point, they make more money by raising prices, not by seeking out new customers.

+1 to this....economics 101.

 

[comrade]



I dont want MTM that costs the same as real Bespoke.

Besides, our esteemed SF member Foo detailed his unsuccessful struggle with Oxxford several years ago to get what he wanted.
As you probably know, he's now a Rubinacci customer.

 

[comrade]

Not high -end, but respected in SF, is Winston Tailors (Chipp).
They are trad-based, but so is Nino Corvato.
My experience with them dates back 20 years when I got to New York several times a year.
I only did MTM, not bespoke. But the model my MTM was based on is a model that I really liked
and would use, if I ever went bespoke. Suits and jackets they did for me look quite English,
but with very (Ivy) natural shoulders. I still have several, but except for one,they no longer fit.

 

[OxxfordSJLINY]



This is really the heart of the matter. The nature of the high-end tailoring business makes scale very difficult - there isn't enough skilled labor. Once a tailor is operating at capacity, they have no incentive to attract new customers. As these are all relatively small operations, it isn't hard for them to hit capacity. At that point, they make more money by raising prices, not by seeking out new customers. 

I know that what I am about to say is off topic, but there is actually a lot of skilled labor in England, Italy and Japan for bespoke. Several other members of Style Forum and the other fashion and style message boards have said the same things based on their own research.

I have also done my own research and what I just said regarding there being a lot of skilled labor in England, Italy and Japan for bespoke and it is absolutely true. In America, sadly, there is far too little skilled labor for bespoke. A vast majority of bespoke in America is in New York City. Franco Ercole is somewhere in Brooklyn and David Reeves is in Astoria, Queens. The rest are in Manhattan (mostly the upper east side).

Long Island has a few bespoke makers (mostly tailors that are also shirt and pocket square makers). There is a bespoke maker in Western Nassau (Lynbrook or Manhasset, I believe) that just does shirts and pocket squares. Enzo's custom tailor in Smithtown only does bespoke suits and garments similar to suits (jackets, pants, vests and so on and so forth) and has a house style similar to the bespoke tailors in the southern 1/4 of Italy (based on what I saw on the mannequin passing by the shop on Main Street/Route 25-25A). Enzo's, last time I checked, starts at $2,000 (half hand made) and $6,000 (all hand made).

Based on what I saw on the website, Montella's custom tailor in Bellport Village also has a house style similar to the bespoke tailors in the southern 1/4 of Italy (which is the Neapolitan Italian cut, FWIW). Last time I checked, Montella's starts at $4,500 (all hand made).

A high end mens store in Greenvale on Glen Cove Road called Victor Talbots also does bespoke but only suits and garments similar to suits (as described above with Enzo's in Smithtown). Unlike Enzo's, Victor Talbots does not have a house style and can do any style you want. The style they do the most for their bespoke, IIRC, is Sack American, a la Brooks Brothers. Last time I checked, they started at $1,400 (mostly hand made) and $1,900 (all hand made). Enzo's in Smithtown loses a lot of customers (all of whom live in Commack, Kings Park, Mount Sinai and everywhere on the North Shore of Long Island in between these towns) to Victor Talbots for bespoke suits and similar garments (despite Victor Talbots being located 25 to 45 miles away from these towns).

 

[joshuadowen]

I know that what I am about to say is off topic, but there is actually a lot of skilled labor in England, Italy and Japan for bespoke. Several other members of Style Forum and the other fashion and style message boards have said the same things based on their own research.

Which is why the tailoring operations from these countries are able to grow bigger than anything in the US. There's still a limit to their ability to scale - since skilled labor tends not to be a particularly fluid asset - but bespoke operations in the UK and Italy can be much bigger than anything in the US. The result is greater interest in attracting and maintaining new customers, which leads to measurably better customer service. If these operations were to reach capacity, I suspect you'd see similar behavior. Shoemakers Edward Green might be a good example. They've seen demand rise much faster than their output capacity over recent years, and their customer service has taken a real hit as a result.

 

[David Reeves]

Duplicate post

 

[David Reeves]



I know that what I am about to say is off topic, but there is actually a lot of skilled labor in England, Italy and Japan for bespoke. Several other members of Style Forum and the other fashion and style message boards have said the same things based on their own research.

I have also done my own research and what I just said regarding there being a lot of skilled labor in England, Italy and Japan for bespoke and it is absolutely true. In America, sadly, there is far too little skilled labor for bespoke. A vast majority of bespoke in America is in New York City. Franco Ercole is somewhere in Brooklyn and David Reeves is in Astoria, Queens. The rest are in Manhattan (mostly the upper east side).

I am at Union square these days.