Garrison Bespoke Toronto

Past by this place recently. Very posh, great service and nice people. I am surprised that the price is not outrageously high. Full custom suits starts at low $1000s and they are 100% locally made in Toronto!! I've bought a bunch of suits recently but will definitely give them a serious thought on my next purchase. They are located at the downtown core on 26 Wellington St., very convenient.

Anyone has any experience or pics of their finished product?

Originally Posted by Fast Eddie

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Past by this place recently. Very posh, great service and nice people. I am surprised that the price is not outrageously high. Full custom suits starts at low $1000s and they are 100% locally made in Toronto!! I've bought a bunch of suits recently but will definitely give them a serious thought on my next purchase. They are located at the downtown core on 26 Wellington St., very convenient.

Anyone has any experience or pics of their finished product?

Yes - there are quite a number of reviews/feedback threads on them (search for "Fifth on King" as this was their name prior to their relocation to Wellington Street) as well as other Custom Ateliers.

Originally Posted by Fast Eddie

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Past by this place recently. Very posh, great service and nice people. I am surprised that the price is not outrageously high. Full custom suits starts at low $1000s and they are 100% locally made in Toronto!! I've bought a bunch of suits recently but will definitely give them a serious thought on my next purchase. They are located at the downtown core on 26 Wellington St., very convenient.

Anyone has any experience or pics of their finished product?

Are you sure they are 100% Toronto made? All their suits used to be all made in China.

Originally Posted by TorontoEX

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Are you sure they are 100% Toronto made? All their suits used to be all made in China.

Stopped by today to check out the place. I was told that the clothes are made locally. And jackets are fully canvassed.

I'm going to get started with a shirt and pants (and maybe SC) and see how it goes.

The people seemed incredibly friendly and knowledgeable (well compared to my limited fashion knowledge anyways).

I believe they said it takes 4-6 weeks for shirts and suits to be made.

I'll post pics once it's all done if there's interest.

Its 100% local. I was very pleased with the 3pc suit they put together for our wedding and would highly recommend them

I gave them a call the other day based on what people had said on here. I have to say, they left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I was interested in getting some basic pricing information (as in, what price point do your two-pieces start at) and the manager kept giving me the run-around and was very evasive. Not only would he not give me a rough estimate on their pricing model, he insisted that the only way he could tell me how much my suit would cost would be to see me in person and have me pick out a fabric. I explained to him that I'm a four hour train-ride away, and wasn't going to spend 8 hours on a train coming to see them if I didn't at least know whether they were competitive price-wise with the other options I was looking at. His response was again, evasive and vague, saying I'd be paying about 20% less. Less than what he wouldn't say. I mentioned I was interested in having a dinner jacket and trousers done for my wedding and he immediately suggested that $6000 was a reasonable price for such an event. I may still go in and talk to them the next time I'm in Toronto, but I can't say that phone call left me encouraged.

I guess I'll see how my first meeting goes. If a suit is $6,000 then I'm definitely in the wrong place.

I've heard shirts in the 250 range and suits in the low to mid 1000s range, which is more what I had in mind.

Originally Posted by tricky

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I guess I'll see how my first meeting goes. If a suit is $6,000 then I'm definitely in the wrong place.

I've heard shirts in the 250 range and suits in the low to mid 1000s range, which is more what I had in mind.

tricky, your impression of pricing is consistent with my experience at Garrison, and I've had a number of pieces made. I'm not sure how to explain the $6000 quote for a jacket and trousers as nothing I've looked at in the shop was even close to that range.

I was quite surprised myself when he suggested it. I had made it clear I was looking at an entry level type of fabric, so when he said $6000 wasn't out of line for a wedding suit I was taken aback. I chalked it up to a couple of things. Either he was hoping he could upsell me (quite dramatically), or he thought I was an idiot who didn't know what I was talking about and he would convince me that six grand was a reasonable starter price for a bespoke suit.

It just seemed kind of hinky to me. More the hallmark of a sleezy OTR salesman trying to trick his customers into getting something they don't need because they don't know any better, than the friendly, helpful staff I had read about. I was especially surprised because it was the manager, not just an SA.

Now, in retrospect I do recall mentioning that I liked the "Tom Ford look" when he asked me what kind of style I was looking for, so I don't know if that may have given him the wrong impression. However, I was very clear that I was looking for entry level, not the equivalent quality (in fabric or construction) of Tom Ford.

Maybe he misunderstood what you meant by wedding suit?

I visited them at their old location. My take was the following:

The good - Has a good eye for fashion and what is in. Good fabric selection at the lower price range. Seems like a nice guy with good customer service.

The bad - I was wearing a MTM suit from a tailor that makes everything from fused to bespoke. They tried to convince me that my suit was fused (it is full canvass) and that the pinch test showing them otherwise did not prove anything since all suits now have middle floating layer (wtf - no idea where he came up with this).

The confusing - Why did they change their business name and try and reinvent themselves 3 times over a period of a few years?

Originally Posted by GradSchooler

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I was quite surprised myself when he suggested it. I had made it clear I was looking at an entry level type of fabric, so when he said $6000 wasn't out of line for a wedding suit I was taken aback. I chalked it up to a couple of things. Either he was hoping he could upsell me (quite dramatically), or he thought I was an idiot who didn't know what I was talking about and he would convince me that six grand was a reasonable starter price for a bespoke suit.
There's no way in hell any suit with entry level fabric can cost $6000. For that much you can commission a suit from Steed in London, with decent mid-level fabric and still have enough left over for a posh weekend. I think they've been spoiled by other grooms who don't balk at the once-in-a-lifetime-so-why-cheap-out shtick. (hell those poor suckers probably just shelled out $40K for a wedding ring) Also...if they're made in Toronto, then you should have at least 1 basted fitting and paper pattern cut out. If there is no basted fitting, then for sure a lot of the cutting/assembly is still done in China. He's pretty much on point about general quotes though: it really does vary on fabric. You could start with some basic VBC but it starts going up with Zegna Trofeo, Loro Piana, etc etc. If you go to Trend Custom Tailor I believe they start at approx $1300 for a suit in entry level fabric.

Me may have thought you were the competiton and didn't feel like discussing prices on the phone.

Originally Posted by wetnose

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I think they've been spoiled by other grooms who don't balk at the once-in-a-lifetime-so-why-cheap-out shtick.
In fact, he more or less used that exact line. He basically said that he wouldn't feel comfortable putting me in entry level fabric for my wedding, that it would be a mistake I would regret for the rest of my life. Then he fired out the $6000 amount and said that was more what I should be looking to spend. Never mind that our entire wedding budget is a modest $22,000 and my bride to be will be wearing a dress that cost 1/3 of the $6000 I should apparently be spending on my tux.

Originally Posted by Nicola

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Me may have thought you were the competiton and didn't feel like discussing prices on the phone.
I suppose that's possible. Though if I was the competition I had a pretty elaborate story about being a PhD student living in Kingston. Which I stuck to, because, of course, it's true. Just to be clear, I'm not saying anything about their product or operations other than the impression I got from one phone call. It's entirely possible that I'm wrong and they are great. In fact I hope they are and that it was a misunderstanding. I'd like to have a good, reasonably priced tailor I could get to. I'm curious to hear about others experiences. But I have to be honest and say I'm less enthused than I initially was, especially since they gave me the impression that if I wanted to have something with a Tom Ford look, I'd have to spend as much (or more) than just going to Harry's and getting Tom Ford MTM. I understand that better fabrics would up the price substantially, but isn't part of the custom/bespoke process being able to specify the type of look you'd like, regardless of fabric? Can't I get a nipped waist, ticket pocket and roped shoulders without buying $4000 fabric? I'm pretty sure I can. Now if they genuinely can't do it in the price-range I'm looking in, so be it. I won't begrudge them that. However, I know other companies who are willing to do the look (albeit not the quality) without feeling as though that entitles them to charge more based on an aesthetic. I was hoping to find a local alternative that could do the same. I just got the impression that as soon as I mentioned Tom Ford what the manager heard was "ka-ching ka-ching" and was then on a mission to try and make me believe that the aesthetic was only doable with high-end fabric.

Originally Posted by GradSchooler

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but isn't part of the custom/bespoke process being able to specify the type of look you'd like, regardless of fabric?.

Is that the house look? Or are you asking for them to do something they don't normally do?

My first question was whether they had a house style, as I didn't want to waste either of our time if they couldn't do what I was looking for. I was told there was no house look and it was up to the customers preferences. Then I got some evasive non-answers around pricing, and the $6000 figure when I mentioned Tom Ford. So, honestly, I'm not sure. That conversation left me more confused than I was before.