[pics] bespoke for a newbe--last minute alterations?

That's good to hear. I'll have the suit pressed when I get back to the States, and the shirt I'm wearing is just a $5 shirt I bought off the street here (not one I will interview with) and the tie is one from the tailor that I won't be buying. I figure I'll pick up a couple of BB's cheaper white/light blue dress shirts when I get back to the US.

I paid $300, so it sounds like I got an ok deal. Maybe a bigger question was whether I shouldn't have had another suit made as well given that the arms are a bit wonky on this one (2nd suit will be navy two button with a touch smaller lapels, and it will be ready tonight--I stupidly put the deposit down before posting here), but hopefully that one will turn out well. I figured I really needed two suits for OCI and $550 for two wasn't a bad deal even if they weren't quite perfect. I communicated with the tailor about the armholes for the second suit but I'm somewhat skeptical of them getting it right with that suit either.

I think the fabric's good for both suits, as does the tailor, but ultimately neither of us are experts on that so I guess that's a bit of a gamble. The fabric says, at least, that it's 100% wool (I think super 150s), and I did the burn test and it smelled like burnt hair, but it was my first time ever doing the burn test and you never really know with these things in east-Asia. The fabrics for the suits were some of the most expensive the tailor offered, but he mostly had cheaper fabrics (~$20/meter) so I have no idea if these were actually synthetic blends that I'm overpaying for (I think they cost $35/m and $25/m respectively) or if they're good fabrics like the tailor says. For what it's worth, I really believe the tailor thinks they're good wool; if I'm getting synthetic labeled as wool it's because the tailor was the victim of a scam.

In my country you can find a lot of ****** 100% wool fabrics at very cheap price. Burn test doesnt say too mucn in this situation. I am newbie in fabrics so I would choose reputable tailors or go CMT.

Front balance too long, right shoulder drop unaccounted for, no back of armscye drape for arm mobility, sleeves the worst I've seen, sleeves too long, trousers too, lapels flat.

Also, your hips protrude forwards. Typical of office workers who do no real exercise. It's a deeply unflattering posture.

Originally Posted by hymo

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no back of armscye drape for arm mobility
Please explain this part?

Originally Posted by Maccimus

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Please explain this part?

Hmmm, I think you might have overpaid... I'm getting a suit made for that price by a chinese-thai in bkk at the moment and it is quite a bit better than that, almost none of the wrinkles yours shows int the sleeves and elsewhere... in fact it's better than the bespoke full-canvassed suit I got in Hongkong. I don't blame you, bkk is an impossible place to find a decent tailor, I did a year of research before I went. I assume your tailor is an indian? Not that all indian tailors are bad, but they generally are focused on churning out product rather than quality, especially if they're offering the '2 suit discount' deal you mentioned. Don't go back to this guy... PM me if you want a more reputable tailor in the city.

Originally Posted by hymo

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Also, your hips protrude forwards. Typical of office workers who do no real exercise. It's a deeply unflattering posture.

I think this is one of the limitations of 2-dimension, unprofessional photographs and not necessarily a real flaw in the suit's fit. If we had a pic of the OP moving in that in that suit, it would probably look a lot better. One problem is that the pic might not have been taken at eye-level, it almost looks like it was taken from the waist up, thus bulging the size of his hips. Nearly all the SF 'critique' threads have subjects with these seemingly bulging hips. I have the same problem with suit pics, and I have almost no body fat and fairly good posture... I look like an obese clown when I'm standing static, but fairly decent when I'm moving.

haha I love the physique critique. I have virtually no body fat, and this picture was taken by a very short woman which potentially accounts for the hips. Then again, I am an aspiring lawyer so it's not like I'm exercising as much as I should be.

Anyways, thanks to all for the help and advice. The sense I'm getting is that I may not have gotten a great suit, but one that'll be plenty respectable for OCI and next summer at the firm, which I guess is all I really need it for (obviously I was hoping for more, but hey, not much I can do now).

As an update, my navy suit, I think, is better--the arms allow me to move around just fine, and the lapel cut is a little nicer. The shoulders might be the tiniest bit too big, but at this point I'm leaving the country too soon to do anything about it.

Originally Posted by abl

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haha I love the physique critique. I have virtually no body fat, and this picture was taken by a very short woman which potentially accounts for the hips.

lol, just as i suspected ! one thing you can do is take a small movie clip of yourself moving in the suit, paste the stills here, and we'd have a much better idea of how it actually fits.

Originally Posted by hymo

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I don't think you need drape for 'arm mobility'...

Originally Posted by Sanguis Mortuum

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I don't think you need drape for 'arm mobility'...

Not if you're on SF, I suppose.

The drape you like would appear when OP stands in a more relaxed way.

Originally Posted by Maccimus

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The drape you like would appear when OP stands in a more relaxed way.

Originally Posted by hymo

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Not if you're on SF, I suppose.

So the only people who ever visit non-drapist tailors, Huntsman etc, are SF members? Everyone else on the entire planet who can afford bespoke goes to A&S or one of their expatriates?