Good tailor in Vancouver?

Thanks for the answer

I'm new on this forum, and wanted to throw in my 10 cents worth on my experiences here in Vancouver.

After seeing a few recommendations on this board for Minichiello's shirtmaking, I decided to give them a try.

Not bad. They have what seems to be a fairly decent selection of materials in stock, with plenty of swatches of other materials they can order in, and the workmanship on their shirts appears to be really quite good.

BUT - you cannot expect to walk into Minichiello's and expect them to nail it without a great deal of firm and unwavering input from you. You need to be an educated customer so that you can specify very carefully every single aspect of the shirt you are ordering.

If you know every detail of what makes a great shirt, you can walk into Minichiello, order exactly what you want, and get a really nice shirt. If you leave them to their own devices, though, your first shirts will have large balloons of excess material around the torso (esp. in the small of the back), fairly puffy sleeves, perfect-fitting collars that become stranglers after the first wash, and they will be lacking many of the kinds of detaills that you'd take for granted with even ordinary off-the-rack shirts, such as removable collar stays.

I learned all this the hard way, but since my first visit I have spent a lot of time educating myself (I highly recommend "Dressing The Man" by Alan Flusser), and I now feel confident enough in my knowledge to be highly specific when I order shirts from Minichiello. The second batch was good, but not perfect; I'm pretty sure the next batch will be right on the money. I recommend that you just order one shirt at a time until you have reached your ideal fit and detailing. Only then should you splurge on multiple shirts per order.

On a more negative note, I have not been at all happy with the blazer I had made there, and this is an area where I have not yet reached the level of education where I feel confident I could get what I want out of Minichiello.

For a start, if asked point blank, they will insist that they create bespoke items, not MTM. Which is a big red flag, because it is plainly obvious that their work is MTM.

Again, you need to know exactly what you want down to the tiniest insignificant detail, because they will surprise you by skimping on detailing right where you least expect it. For instance, my most recent discovery is that the boutonniere hole on my blazer isn't actually a hole - it's just stitching made to look like a hole! That is not cool. At all.

But that kind of thing isn't the real problem - it's fixable. What probably isn't fixable is the very undistinguished shape and cut of the jacket. Far too long (down to the tips of my fingers!), too much slop around the chest, a poorly-rolling lapel that buckles and stands out from the chest, sleeves that slop around the wrist way too much, shoulder seams that are puckered and produce a rumpled silhouette, armholes that are too large (disaster zone if the arms are raised at all), and in general a boxy body shape that lacks panache.

Again, I probably could have avoided some of this this if I'd been more knowledgeable at the time I had been measured up. But I suspect that even the most knowledgeable customer wouldn't be able to overcome it all, because some of the problems appear to be intrinsic to the way they tailor.

So while I'm happy to have my shirts and pants made at Minichiello, I think I'm going to look elsewhere for my next jackets or suit. I can't justify the possibility of another $1,000 mistake like my blazer.

I hope I haven't come across as too harsh - Julie and the gang at Minichiello are very nice folks, and they have definite areas of strength. But the experience has highlighted to me the paramount importance of not relying AT ALL on your tailor for advice - especially in a sartorial backwater like Vancouver - until you have educated yourself first. Only then can you expect to develop a fruitful relationship with your tailor.

Has anyone here ever had anything tailored by David Wilkes? I'm thinking of giving him a shot for my next odd jacket.

Has anyone tried Johnny's European Tailors on Broadway? I was at Mark James a couple weekends ago and while they did say they had Italian tailors in their store a couple times a week, when things get really busy they send their overflow to Johnny's. I'm looking to have some work done a few suit jackets.

Anyone tried/heard of Romarock Custom Tailors in Richmond?

Originally Posted by bjan

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Has anyone tried Johnny's European Tailors on Broadway? I was at Mark James a couple weekends ago and while they did say they had Italian tailors in their store a couple times a week, when things get really busy they send their overflow to Johnny's. I'm looking to have some work done a few suit jackets.

Fine for simple alterations. He doesn't actually make anything himself, sends it back east.

How is Oakridge Tailors at modifying Suit Jacket Shoulders?

My shoulders are a bit too wide so I need to get them taken in.
How much will it cost me? Under $75?

It's an Indochino suit.

Try theperfectshirt.ca ... i am very satisfied. Not cheap but good value. Ask Bruce for his tailor recommendations too!

Originally Posted by JeremyH

Click to expand...

I'm new on this forum, and wanted to throw in my 10 cents worth on my experiences here in Vancouver.

After seeing a few recommendations on this board for Minichiello's shirtmaking, I decided to give them a try.

Not bad. They have what seems to be a fairly decent selection of materials in stock, with plenty of swatches of other materials they can order in, and the workmanship on their shirts appears to be really quite good.

BUT - you cannot expect to walk into Minichiello's and expect them to nail it without a great deal of firm and unwavering input from you. You need to be an educated customer so that you can specify very carefully every single aspect of the shirt you are ordering.

If you know every detail of what makes a great shirt, you can walk into Minichiello, order exactly what you want, and get a really nice shirt. If you leave them to their own devices, though, your first shirts will have large balloons of excess material around the torso (esp. in the small of the back), fairly puffy sleeves, perfect-fitting collars that become stranglers after the first wash, and they will be lacking many of the kinds of detaills that you'd take for granted with even ordinary off-the-rack shirts, such as removable collar stays.

I learned all this the hard way, but since my first visit I have spent a lot of time educating myself (I highly recommend "Dressing The Man" by Alan Flusser), and I now feel confident enough in my knowledge to be highly specific when I order shirts from Minichiello. The second batch was good, but not perfect; I'm pretty sure the next batch will be right on the money. I recommend that you just order one shirt at a time until you have reached your ideal fit and detailing. Only then should you splurge on multiple shirts per order.

On a more negative note, I have not been at all happy with the blazer I had made there, and this is an area where I have not yet reached the level of education where I feel confident I could get what I want out of Minichiello.

For a start, if asked point blank, they will insist that they create bespoke items, not MTM. Which is a big red flag, because it is plainly obvious that their work is MTM.

Again, you need to know exactly what you want down to the tiniest insignificant detail, because they will surprise you by skimping on detailing right where you least expect it. For instance, my most recent discovery is that the boutonniere hole on my blazer isn't actually a hole - it's just stitching made to look like a hole! That is not cool. At all.

But that kind of thing isn't the real problem - it's fixable. What probably isn't fixable is the very undistinguished shape and cut of the jacket. Far too long (down to the tips of my fingers!), too much slop around the chest, a poorly-rolling lapel that buckles and stands out from the chest, sleeves that slop around the wrist way too much, shoulder seams that are puckered and produce a rumpled silhouette, armholes that are too large (disaster zone if the arms are raised at all), and in general a boxy body shape that lacks panache.

Again, I probably could have avoided some of this this if I'd been more knowledgeable at the time I had been measured up. But I suspect that even the most knowledgeable customer wouldn't be able to overcome it all, because some of the problems appear to be intrinsic to the way they tailor.

So while I'm happy to have my shirts and pants made at Minichiello, I think I'm going to look elsewhere for my next jackets or suit. I can't justify the possibility of another $1,000 mistake like my blazer.

I hope I haven't come across as too harsh - Julie and the gang at Minichiello are very nice folks, and they have definite areas of strength. But the experience has highlighted to me the paramount importance of not relying AT ALL on your tailor for advice - especially in a sartorial backwater like Vancouver - until you have educated yourself first. Only then can you expect to develop a fruitful relationship with your tailor.

Has anyone here ever had anything tailored by David Wilkes? I'm thinking of giving him a shot for my next odd jacket.

Originally Posted by blazingazn

Click to expand...

How is Oakridge Tailors at modifying Suit Jacket Shoulders?

My shoulders are a bit too wide so I need to get them taken in.
How much will it cost me? Under $75?

It's an Indochino suit.

BUMP!

I need to know as this can totally ruin the suit if done wrong.

I think it was $125 to have shoulders taken in.

Originally Posted by blazingazn

Click to expand...

BUMP!

I need to know as this can totally ruin the suit if done wrong.

I've had them take in shoulders on a couple of suits and they did an outstanding job. As bjan says though it's $125+ ...

Originally Posted by Sharp Pointy Stick

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Anyone tried/heard of Romarock Custom Tailors in Richmond?

Yes used him a couple of times. Poor attention to detail (mixed up what to do on a shirt alteration), I've stopped using him. Nice guy though.

Read the thread and really appreciate the advice and insight from the members. Looking over the online shops (VCH, StF, and Sierra Trading Post) and am impressed by the clothing and prices and am going to give it a try. Just wondering if anyone has ordered from these shops and if they ever had to pay import duty or import fees of any type (either on clothing or shoes)? I have had friends order things online from the US and then paid a fee that ended up doubling the original price. Some people here have said that they didn't pay anything and I just wanted to confirm that they had actually bought something online from the US rather than providing an opinion. Just being cautious.

Originally Posted by dressing

Click to expand...

Read the thread and really appreciate the advice and insight from the members. Looking over the online shops (VCH, StF, and Sierra Trading Post) and am impressed by the clothing and prices and am going to give it a try. Just wondering if anyone has ordered from these shops and if they ever had to pay import duty or import fees of any type (either on clothing or shoes)? I have had friends order things online from the US and then paid a fee that ended up doubling the original price. Some people here have said that they didn't pay anything and I just wanted to confirm that they had actually bought something online from the US rather than providing an opinion. Just being cautious.

I'm not an expert in shipping but expect to pay taxes, duties, customs etc etc. The rates vary from vendor and courier.

I no longer order clothes from the US unless they ship using the United States Postal Service. If a company uses UPS I won't do business with them. Too expensive and they don't deliver well to apartments.

Just make sure that you ship either via US Postal Service, or an expedited/air courier.

You may be tempted to pick cheaper methods like UPS ground, but if you do they will tack on a 'brokerage' fee (supposedly for collecting customs) based on the cost of the item shipped. That could be $30 for a $100 item. That fee is the usual source of complaints when people talk about "duty". The actual duty charged on items by the government is usually pretty low, if it's even collected at all.

Note that Canada Post does charge a fee to assess customs, but it's about $5.

Originally Posted by dressing

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Sierra Trading Post ... Just wondering if anyone has ordered from these shops and if they ever had to pay import duty or import fees of any type (either on clothing or shoes)?

I've bought from STP many times, and they use UPS. You will have to pay GST, PST (hurry before the HST!) and brokerage. I'm looking at a receipt from January ... on an order of about $350, I paid a total of under $53 ... only $9 was brokerage.