Is bespoke worth it, judging by the examples posted on SF?

Originally Posted by Parker

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Yeah, amateur snapshots are not a great way to judge this kinda thing. However, having seen some of this gear up close and also doing it myself, I can say for me it's "worth it for some things". It kinda depends on your idea of "worth". There is extra time involved, extra cost, risk of not seeing the final product before buying, etc. But, there is also getting a unique garment, made for your physique, the choice of all the styling details, etc. I actually wear a lot of OTR. I can usually get a good fit with a few basic alterations, so the extra time and effort for bespoke is hard to justify. Especially with a basic navy suit or blazer. However, when I want something really specific like a tweed suit or loud plaid jacket, it's just hard to find that stuff OTR. Not to mention that in some cases, bespoke might be the same cost if not cheaper than buying something at full retail anyway. The other thing is now that I've become used to having a shoulder/chest/lapel made just for me, it's kind of addictive and now I'd rather pay extra/wait longer/risk the unknown to get that thing that's "just the way I like it."
+1. One of my favorite things about bespoke is that you can help support people who love what they do, people who have spent and will continue to spend years developing their knowledge and skill. I love participating in that kind of passion and drive. But one of the largest challenges to bespoke for me (other than cost) is that I may specify five, ten, twenty details but forget something that I thought was would have been automatic. Then the garment is irritating or even unwearable for me. But fortunately, I have brothers who are about the same size as I am. They love my mistakes. Despite the pros of bespoke, and even if I had unlimited funds for it, I would still like rtw and thrift stores. With bespoke, you are limited by your imagination. There are pros and cons to that, as one's imagination, at least mine, is limited.

I am pulling for "yes" in this poal. My livelyhood depends on it.

Originally Posted by fritzl

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nice scenario

Originally Posted by Despos

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I am pulling for "yes" in this poal. My livelyhood depends on it.

Carl-from-CEGO makes bespoke clothes. His technique involves throwing people out.

That alone makes it worth it.


- B

Originally Posted by Despos

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I am pulling for "yes" in this poal. My livelyhood depends on it.

From what I read, there is bespoke, and there is Chris Despos.

Kind of like how there is wit, and there is Vox, or snark and the late RJman.

Thank you, I try.

I actually try very hard because I have no other skills to fall back on.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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I once saw Carl-from-CEGO consume the entire Le Bernardin salad bar.

- B

Now I understand the genesis of their famous "Cego Salad" It's a BIG salad.

Originally Posted by SartorialGhostOfVTR

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With a good tailor and proper direction, your suit will look just as good and wear just as well as one that cost 3-5 times as much.
If you have a non-average body size/shape then OTR will probably not look or fit as good as bespoke, no matter how much tailoring you throw at it.

At a minimum it is very fun. I've found quality to always be leaps and bounds above what you'd get for a similarly-priced RTW garment, whether that be at the $800 HK tailor price point or the $2000 Rizzo price point. This is especially the case when one does CMT with good cloth.

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

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...

Bill,

i never thought, i have to lift the curtain, what happens between gmunden-vienna-papa.

but now, when the lion is out of the cage...

i give you this pics.





hard to believe that i survived... ...i think your paprika saved my life.

at least no weapons

ps: imagine, that my clothes are not far from a steed number. ok, i wore them to work.

Originally Posted by Manton

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^^^ Hmm. '84 was a disastrous vintage, '86 was spectacular.
Well, it is a situation comedy. I thought that was the funniest part of the joke.

Originally Posted by fritzl

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"It's about this big..., the shoes I meant "

Originally Posted by emptym

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From what I read, there is bespoke, and there is Chris Despos.

I think there's a lot of truth in this.

The forum puts a lot of stock in "bespoke" as a romantic ideal -- go bespoke for "perfect fit" and have your every wish fulfilled. Look at how we're discussing it in this thread: Is bespoke, as an abstract concept, worth it?

I say no. There's too much bad bespoke for a blanket endorsement. Sometimes it's the tailor's fault and sometimes it's the client's. Sometimes it's both. To invoke Sturgeon's Law, 90 percent of everything is crud.

But that doesn't mean there aren't great tailors/shoemakers/artisans out there. There's been some fantastic stuff posted here. The problem, as I see it, is that too often we get lost in the romance of the idea of having clothing made. It's like saying that hiring a painter will get you a masterpiece. Well, no. Is "hiring a painter" worth it? Who can say?

SF is at its best when it cuts through the romance of high-end clothing, be it RTW or bespoke. Great bespoke, I'd argue, can be a bargain. Bad bespoke, regardless of price, is a waste of money. But "bespoke" as a concept is neither good nor bad. It just is. Trying to talk about this stuff in such general terms does no one any favors.

Just my 2 cents.

Well put, Doc.

Originally Posted by onix

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"It's about this big..., the shoes I meant

"

yes, manton wears this size, but in this case it was the brick they threw after me in this csarda, when we made fun of mulatschag, csardasfürstin and zigeunerbaron.

glad i'm still alive.

Doc, how often, in real life, do you see guys wearing bespoke numbers from the great centers of tailoring?

Some have it, some see it but don't have it, some see it only in professional or amateur photography, and most never encounter it at all.

Reaction to this topic differs by these categories I think.

Good tailors, whether they alter or they make your clothes, are an essential but diminishing commodity. There is nothing intrinsic to the RTW process that protects you from a bad tailor.


- B