Should I buy tailored clothes?

March 3, 2005 2:27 PM

I'm at the point in my career where I'll need to buy more business attire. I've had a little trouble buying off the rack stuff that fits well, due to my build (athletic, but stocky, rather thick-necked. 10 years of rugby will do that). So I'm curious about tailored clothes What can I expect? In what price range should I expect to pay? Are there some things that just aren't worth seeing a tailor for?
posted by electroboy to clothing, beauty, & fashion (14 comments total)

Men's Wearhouse has never let me down. Good selection, great service, great prices. no, I don't work there.
posted by pmbuko at 2:54 PM on March 3, 2005

You don't say where you live which may be a factor here. I knew a shirt shop in a high price trendy mall that made tailored monogrammed dress shirts that were the same price the major department stores where charging on their no name brands.
posted by thomcatspike at 3:19 PM on March 3, 2005

I once received a gift of four custom shirts from Ascot Chang. The shirts were great (I still have a couple, after seven years), and the whole process was really fun. You can get them for about $90 apiece and up, which is pretty close to what you'd pay for off-the-rack stuff. The thing is that this particular shirtmaker requires a minimum order of four shirts, at least for the first order.

Suits are a whole different thing. Really good bespoke suits (also called "custom," whereas "made to measure" is a different thing) can cost you $3,500 and more. There are also lower-end custom tailors whose ads I see in the Times, and they have various deals in the $1,000 range. I am also given to understand that a lot of people go to Hong Kong or Thailand just to get the much cheaper custom clothing offered there. These will maybe be in the $200-300 range. I'm not certain about the price because I have never really even considered making the trip. I have, however, seen some of these suits and can report that they certainly appeared to be of good quality.

You may be interested in the blog of a bespoke tailor that appeared in the Blue a little while back, English Cut. The guy works on Savile Row, so his prices will be around the top of the market, but it's an enjoyable and educational read.
posted by lackutrol at 3:23 PM on March 3, 2005 [1 favorite]

You might want to check out English Cut, the blog of a London bespoke tailor, mentioned on the blue recently.

Now bespoke is waaaaay out of my price range, but I found the post on the difference between off-the-peg, made-to-measure, handmade off-the-peg, and bespoke very interesting, and might provide useful background for you.

On preview: what lackturol said. :-(
posted by bright cold day at 3:25 PM on March 3, 2005

Great minds post alike, right bright cold day?
posted by lackutrol at 3:29 PM on March 3, 2005

Both "great" and "well-dressed", I imagine. ;-)
posted by bright cold day at 3:33 PM on March 3, 2005

Just seconding the suggestion for a suit tailored in Hong Kong, if that's at all a travel option for you, electroboy. A friend of mine was there a few months ago, and he got an exquisite suit, several custom shirts, and a cashmere overcoat for something like US$800 total. The suit alone would have easily been twice that here.
posted by scody at 4:57 PM on March 3, 2005

My best friend used to be a tailor so I'm a little biased but I'm also constantly amazed at how many people I see in terribly-fitting suits. If your body shape varies from the "normal" then a bespoke suit or two is certainly worth the investment. Taking on board everything in the English Cut article above - which is absolutely spot-on - you've basically got four choices:

Note: I'm assuming you're English since you play rugby. This is a good thing.

1) Full bespoke. Bloody expensive but worth every penny. Seriously. When you consider that a decent suit might last ten or more years, the cost doesn't seem too awful. Still, budget around £1,500.

2) Buy a decent-fitting suit from the high street and have it altered. This could be a brilliant solution or a disaster based purely on the skill of the alterations tailor. Ask around for recommendations. Make sure that the neck & shoulder area fits; this is the only part that can't easily be altered. Sleeves, length and back (to an extent) can all be fixed. If the shoulder pads project three feet from your shoulders or the fabric between your blades is as taut as a drum, there's little that can be done. M&S are good. Really.

3) The chap who advertises in the Times is worth considering - he's certainly cheap. But be warned - the standard fabric he uses is terrible quality. If you go down this route, spend a hundred or two extra and get a decent fabric. Don't choose fabric solely on the brand name. In all honesty, Zegna is nice but the Indian equivalent will be half the price and nearly as good. Make sure you see a large sample of the fabric before buying. This isn't true bespoke - effectively, they're altering patterns based on your measurements - but you'll probably get a pretty good fit. Bear in mind that the suit arrives by post - if it doesn't fit, you may have problems.

4) Fly out to Thailand / HK and have suits made up for you there. If you buy two suits and half a dozen shirts, the trip will pay for itself. Cost will probably be in the £800 range for all of the above. Crazy.

As a start, you could get a shirt or two made up. They'll cost around £150 each and you'll be able to see if bespoke really makes sufficient difference to justify the extra cost. If it does, take the leap and get a suit.
posted by blag at 5:07 PM on March 3, 2005

I live in Baltimore, I'm not English, and also read English Cut earlier today. That's what got me thinking about the whole tailoring deal. The only tailor not attached to a drycleaner in Baltimore I was able to find with a cursory Google search was this guy, but I have no idea about the quality of his stuff. I visit NYC every so often, so any recommendations of tailors in NYC could be helpful as well.
posted by electroboy at 7:45 PM on March 3, 2005

I'm not completely out of the "norm" body wise, but I have always had good experiences with the tailors at Barney's. And if you purchase from them and aren't happy with the tailoring, I believe you can walk away from the entire purchase.
posted by hummus at 8:06 PM on March 3, 2005

Electroboy, I'm in New York and you can feel free to email me. I haven't had anything made recently, being too poor, but I'd be happy to get recommendations for you. I would imagine that New York would be better for you than Baltimore, just because there's much more competition.

Somewhat on a tangent, I'd say that bleg's information applies even outside of the UK. My first suspicion of the cut-rate tailors would be that they use lower-quality fabric, my second would be that they're not as good at what they do.

So I would suggest, if you have the time, to get a few shirts custom, to see if the difference is important to you. Then you could decide on whether or not you want to spend serious cash on the bespoke suits.

To reply to hummus: Barney's certainly has good tailors, among the best in the business. I guess that electroboy is trying to decide whether or not to go custom, though, which is a different decision. When Barney's offers made-to-measure, it's not the same as bespoke.
posted by lackutrol at 8:27 PM on March 3, 2005

freq suggested this site in one of the other men's clothing threads. Custom shirts, made in Hong Kong, ~US$38 + Shipping. I came across it the other day and spent a good while going over it. I haven't ordered anything, so I can't vouch for it, but it's cheap enough to order one shirt and see the result for yourself.
posted by maledictory at 10:00 PM on March 3, 2005

Sorry for the assumption - I didn't realise that you chaps played civilised sports!

Anyway, best of luck. All the advice here is good.
posted by blag at 11:37 AM on March 4, 2005

The benefits of custom tailoring are having just the clothes that you want--just the fabric and color, perfect fit and quality construction. I grew up in the Far East so have used Hong Kong Tailors all my life.

Now I live in the US, and use an Oregon company that represents Hong Kong tailors in the US. I've ordered probably six suits from them, and love the quality. I buy very light wools, because offices are warm. My suits don't look like tropical weight, but they are. I wear the same weight year 'round.

My tailor is http://www.pierremohan.com. I have used other Hong Kong tailors too, but have had trouble with them, particularly with shipping and duty.

Dave Roberts
posted by daveroberts at 8:01 PM on January 22, 2006