MTM in NYC for around $1,000: Mr. Ned?

Originally Posted by bjm

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heres my 2 cents. I had Mr.Ned make me a suit last year. Its a perfectly good suit, not saville row obviously. But is it outstanding in any way no.

As I am an off the peg size, I have come to realize that I can do better buying suits and shirts for that matter on deep discount which isnt hard these days. For example I bought a bunch of RLPL suits for a low of $250 to a high of $699, these are $4k full retail, and the fit, cut and material are superb and superior to my Mr.Ned suit. Again not to dis Mr. Ned in any way he does a good job for what you pay.

I had the same realization with shirts after having had a bunch of shirts made by a well known NY based outfit. Perfectly fine basic shirt, that fits. But I can buy Truzzi,RLPL/Turbull and Asser for the same cost and they are far superior in quality and materials than the basic $120 custom job. Which gets you a shirt that fits but very basic macys type material. For the finer material the price escalates quickly.

If one is not an off the rack size then it makes sense to go mid-level custom, otherwise I think your better off picking up great proven quality suits/shirts at blowout prices...which is not hard these days.

Regards,
Monet Oliver de Place

Where did you get a RLPL suit for $250?

Last year at the Woodbury Common RL blowou sale....you can do a search here and read all about it.

Originally Posted by taxgenius69

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Where did you get a RLPL suit for $250?

Originally Posted by Mark Seitelman

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I have heard that Mr. Ned is good.

I have used LS Mens Clothing on W. 45th St.

LS doesn't make the suit in-house. He uses outside factories, such as H. Freeman, Southwick, Coppley, and a local workshop.

I think that either one would be a fine start.
,,,,

Originally Posted by goldknots

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scruff, is this from Mr. Ned?

It's not, no.

Originally Posted by taxgenius69

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Please do!

How did you describe the style you wanted?

I used the tailor's house style (or, at least the completed and in-progress pieces he had in the shop) with some modifications based on my best fitting otr suit

Originally Posted by bjm

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heres my 2 cents. I had Mr.Ned make me a suit last year. Its a perfectly good suit, not saville row obviously. But is it outstanding in any way no.

As I am an off the peg size, I have come to realize that I can do better buying suits and shirts for that matter on deep discount which isnt hard these days. For example I bought a bunch of RLPL suits for a low of $250 to a high of $699, these are $4k full retail, and the fit, cut and material are superb and superior to my Mr.Ned suit. Again not to dis Mr. Ned in any way he does a good job for what you pay.

I had the same realization with shirts after having had a bunch of shirts made by a well known NY based outfit. Perfectly fine basic shirt, that fits. But I can buy Truzzi,RLPL/Turbull and Asser for the same cost and they are far superior in quality and materials than the basic $120 custom job. Which gets you a shirt that fits but very basic macys type material. For the finer material the price escalates quickly.

If one is not an off the rack size then it makes sense to go mid-level custom, otherwise I think your better off picking up great proven quality suits/shirts at blowout prices...which is not hard these days.

Regards,
Monet Oliver de Place

Not to derail. I can see where BJM is coming from and I think the logic is sound. BUT, fit and detailing are almost never optimal when you are dealing with OTR, even good stuff. Fit may be close, but you will almost always have to spend aditional money on alterations. Even then it probably won't be quite as good as decent MTM (provided it is properly executed). A good example is armoles, which are almost never small enough OTR and can't be made smaller.

Detailing is a total crapshoot - if you are picky about detailing OTR gets tough.

As for fabric, BJM makes a good point - you can get nicer fabrics from high quality, discounted OTR than your typical mid-range MTM. BUT many of these fabrics will also be less durable.

I get all my suits and shirts from places similiar to Ned (suits: English America, shirts: MyTailor-esque places). With some of the earlier garments, ordered with less education, I may have been better off going with quality OTR and extensive alterations.

But I have been doing this mid-range custom stuff long enough now that I know just what to specify. The fabrics I get may not be as luxurious as they would be with comparably priced OTR, but they are still nice and are generally much more robust than the market-friendly "super fine" and "luxury/super" fabrics that one universally finds with, say, a $125 OTR shirt or a $1000 OTR suit.

Good points. I definately pay up for the OTR suit alterations and dont cheap out on this crucial step. This is Key. So I bring RLPL suit for example to the RL store where they charged me $170ish for button holes, trouser cuff and seat, and jacket nip and tuck. Suits look every bit the 4k they retail for and blow away the Mr.Neds of the world and for less money.

Also hear you on the wear aspect, I have enough inventory that rotation keeps wear to a minimum. The RLPL stuff for sure is not meant for flogging with everyday 9-5 duties.

Originally Posted by The Louche

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Not to derail. I can see where BJM is coming from and I think the logic is sound. BUT, fit and detailing are almost never optimal when you are dealing with OTR, even good stuff. Fit may be close, but you will almost always have to spend aditional money on alterations. Even then it probably won't be quite as good as decent MTM (provided it is properly executed). A good example is armoles, which are almost never small enough OTR and can't be made smaller.

Detailing is a total crapshoot - if you are picky about detailing OTR gets tough.

As for fabric, BJM makes a good point - you can get nicer fabrics from high quality, discounted OTR than your typical mid-range MTM. BUT many of these fabrics will also be less durable.

I get all my suits and shirts from places similiar to Ned (suits: English America, shirts: MyTailor-esque places). With some of the earlier garments, ordered with less education, I may have been better off going with quality OTR and extensive alterations.

But I have been doing this mid-range custom stuff long enough now that I know just what to specify. The fabrics I get may not be as luxurious as they would be with comparably priced OTR, but they are still nice and are generally much more robust than the market-friendly "super fine" and "luxury/super" fabrics that one universally finds with, say, a $125 OTR shirt or a $1000 OTR suit.

I spent most of today at Nordstroms and Century 21 trying on different suits and gathering opinions. I've determined that for the most part, American cut suits don't work well for me, and I found Canali to be the best fit, followed closely by Armani (two suits from the spring collection) does anyone have experience with the quality of the Armani suits? Something tells me the price is based more on the name than the quality but maybe I am wrong. I've also determined I need to drop the 15 pounds I have gained since July (the grad school diet is not optimal to keeping good weight!!). In terms of Canali, I like them but the cheapest I found them were for $899 at Century 21, any ideas where I can get them for a bit less and still fit in alterations for around $1000 total. Otherwise, I think I will at least go check out Mr. Ned's fabrics to get a feel for what is available.


Also, if anyone is interested, the Century 21 in Long Island had a fresh batch of Gucci PS's and RLPL ties.

Ive got one Armani that isn't a bad suit, but like you said, the price pays for the name. For $1700, one would expect better than only half-canvass.

I also liked some of the Corneliani suits but did not have a chance to try any on, are these good suits for the price ($450 - $599) @ Century 21?

I've used Ned for two suits over the last year. The first was ok, and the second was very nice. I will be going back soon for some summer suits. Vahram is very accommodating on number of fittings and open to suggestions and changes. However, it will help tremendously to know what you want beforehand (eg, height of arm hole, shoulder padding, sleeve width, etc.) since you won't have a rack of suits to get a sense of the house style or fit. I agree that your expectations should be reasonable.

i have been going to mr ned alot lately (3 suits and 2 jackets) and im very happy with the work done there. all with 2-3 fittings. varham is a straight shooter. he has been able to do EVERYTHING I've asked him to do like small, high armhole, moderate skirt flair, roped shoulder, wide peak lapel, surgeon cuffs, etc.

Originally Posted by jasonmarshalljazz

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i have been going to mr ned alot lately (3 suits and 2 jackets) and im very happy with the work done there. all with 2-3 fittings. varham is a straight shooter. he has been able to do EVERYTHING I've asked him to do like small, high armhole, moderate skirt flair, roped shoulder, wide peak lapel, surgeon cuffs, etc.

Good looking suits!

Originally Posted by Politely

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I've used Ned for two suits over the last year. The first was ok, and the second was very nice. I will be going back soon for some summer suits. Vahram is very accommodating on number of fittings and open to suggestions and changes. However, it will help tremendously to know what you want beforehand (eg, height of arm hole, shoulder padding, sleeve width, etc.) since you won't have a rack of suits to get a sense of the house style or fit. I agree that your expectations should be reasonable.

I've always been keen to try Ned out. Do you think the reason your first was just OK was b/c you weren't specific enough when ordering it?

Originally Posted by The Louche

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I've always been keen to try Ned out. Do you think the reason your first was just OK was b/c you weren't specific enough when ordering it?

No, I think it was because he didn't properly fit me. It wasn't a style problem, simply a fit problem (and a fairly major construction flaw on the lapel). The second suit was much, much better. It was actually the third that was the worst.

I have a connection that will do MTM in NYC for about $700 with Zenga (Super 150s / Cashmere), Holland and Sherry (130s), etc. and also Loro Piana for a bit more.

I did not ask the company whether they are ok with me posting their contact info, but if you are interested, please PM me.