Stepping up to bespoke?

dirk diggler · Oct 1, 2006

drop the crotch area an inch or so to you have more room

poorsod · Oct 1, 2006

chorse123, the jackets I have seen you wear seem quite well fitted. One area I think you will get a better fitting with bespoke is with the armholes and the fit of the jacket below the armpits because in most RTW they are a little loose (at least on me). However, if you think that the armhole fitting and chest fitting is very good in your RTW, then you may not get a much better fitting from bespoke.

TRINI · Jul 31, 2009

BUMP!

Curious to hear more opinions on this given the number of people who probably now go bespoke via Chan, etc.

Film Noir Buff · Jul 31, 2009

Originally Posted by globetrotter

honestly, here is what I would do - go to a good cloth store in Manhatton and buy cloth for 4 or 5 suits. Take you wife for a week to thailand. on the first day, get fitted for a suit in cheap fabric. if you like it, have 5 suits made in your good fabric, meanwhile, travel to an island for 4 or 5 days, lie around on the beach and drink local rum and and mango juice, eat thai food. coem back, pick up your suits, fly hom. cost you about the same as a bespoke suit from saville row, and, for your purposes, will be just as good.
Sounds like a great idea except maybe bringing the wife to Thailand.

pabloj · Jul 31, 2009

Originally Posted by edmorel

... Bespoke is all fine and dandy but it's one of those things where the incremental value is very small for the large sums above RTW that you are paying. ...
Not being US based I can say that entry/mid level bespoke is generally less expensive than big RTW names and the results are very good.
As an example Graham Browne can do a bespoke suit for less than 1000 GBP (1650 $) while an Attolini suit on STF is between 1549$ and 1999$

pabloj · Jul 31, 2009

Originally Posted by chorse123

... I'd like to establish a relationship with a tailor ...
The relationship is very important, I've had my first suit made by an old tailor and when I was finally won to bespoke ... he retired

and I had to start searching again.
So my advice is to look for a tailor about your age.
BTW this evening I'll know if the quest will end

ld111134 · Jul 31, 2009

Originally Posted by dkzzzz

Buenos Aires vacation + MTM suits.

Oh how prophetic this proved to be. "Hiking the Appalachians" while secretly getting fitted.

mkarim · Jul 31, 2009

Originally Posted by pabloj

Not being US based I can say that entry/mid level bespoke is generally less expensive than big RTW names and the results are very good.

That seems to be true in general.

jamesbond · Jul 31, 2009

My first experience with bespoke was by no means perfect. I used a smaller local tailor with a good reputation but unfortunetly not the style that i had in mind. Luckily i didn't shell out what some others here have but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. It was certaintly a learning experience (costly) and I'm now knowledgable enough about fit and style to not make the same mistake again. I have done both Bespoke and MTM and out of the two I wear my MTM much more often then the Bespoke. The next suit or jacket i commission will be from WW Chan. I really like some of the things i have seen from them and the price is reasonable for me. If i was balling like Vox or Iammatt i would be at A&S or Rubinacci on a regular basis but alas now im dreaming.

TheWraith · Jul 31, 2009

Originally Posted by chorse123

I'm curious to hear from some of you regarding your decision to order your first bespoke suit. When did you make the decision? What made up your mind? I'm toying with the idea right now. I don't have a huge need for a suit, nor do I even have the money right this moment, but it's something I would love to do, and am considering saving for one suit. I generally shop the super-discounts, but have been able to get a number of garments of very high quality which I love and which fit well, though far from perfectly.

Of course, for the cost of Option A (one true bespoke suit, say, $4000), I could order Option B: a MTM suit, MTM jacket (or two), and a few pairs of trousers from someone like Mr. Ned. Oh and a pair of special order Gaziano Girling shoes.

Oddly enough, I think my wife would probably support Option A more. Then again, it would probably mean I couldn't buy anything ever again without catching some grief.

I'd go with Steven Aver MTM and save the rest of your money for a holiday or anything else you might need right now.

The Louche · Oct 27, 2009

I've found a MTM maker that I like very much considering his very reasonable prices (~ $900 for two piece suit, full canvas, H&S basic worsted). I have been building my suit wardrobe using this fellow, and will continue to do so for at least a few more years until I have a really solid rotation of well-fitting suits (~ 12-15). At some point I would love to get a full bespoke suit, if for no other reason than to try it out. I think when the time comes, however, it will be from a tailor that is well respected, is accessible for multiple fittings, and is reasonably priced - this really only leaves the HK tailors while in HK. At that point I trust that I will be versed enough to guide the process very well and be satisfied with the outcome.

baba-au-rhum · Oct 27, 2009

Originally Posted by The Louche

I've found a MTM maker that I like very much considering his very reasonable prices (~ $900 for two piece suit, full canvas, H&S basic worsted). I have been building my suit wardrobe using this fellow, and will continue to do so for at least a few more years until I have a really solid rotation of well-fitting suits (~ 12-15). At some point I would love to get a full bespoke suit, if for no other reason than to try it out. I think when the time comes, however, it will be from a tailor that is well respected, is accessible for multiple fittings, and is reasonably priced - this really only leaves the HK tailors while in HK. At that point I trust that I will be versed enough to guide the process very well and be satisfied with the outcome.

Hi,
I had my first bespoke suit made around the age of ten --in the mid-sixties-- by the tailor at Old England (Paris). It was a charcoal grey flannel, two-vent affair, with braces trouser turnups. My mum also bought me the shoes, tie, shirt, etc. to go with it. I was hooked for the rest of my life!
I have had suits made wherever and whenever, and the pure joy of it is in the process of choosing the cloth, agreeing with the tailor on the suit's cut, and then reliving all that when you actually wear it. In times of hardship, I would say, go for Austin Reed, Regent's St., London, and wait for their annual sale so you can have a rebate thrown in.

reachforit108 · Dec 8, 2009

Originally Posted by The Louche

I've found a MTM maker that I like very much considering his very reasonable prices (~ $900 for two piece suit, full canvas, H&S basic worsted). I have been building my suit wardrobe using this fellow, and will continue to do so for at least a few more years until I have a really solid rotation of well-fitting suits (~ 12-15). At some point I would love to get a full bespoke suit, if for no other reason than to try it out. I think when the time comes, however, it will be from a tailor that is well respected, is accessible for multiple fittings, and is reasonably priced - this really only leaves the HK tailors while in HK. At that point I trust that I will be versed enough to guide the process very well and be satisfied with the outcome.
Louche, Which MTM maker do you use? are they available in dc, as i am interested in finding a good MTM provider in dc?

The Louche · Dec 8, 2009

English American Clothiers in Westminster, MD. They are about an hour and a half from DC, hour from Baltimore. PM me with further interest. Like I said, not up to the pedantic level of perfection espoused here, but damn nice for the money. I always get compliments on all but the most staid basics that I have gotten there.

Stepping up to bespoke?

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