Tailored Suit

May 6, 2005 10:02 PM

What is the least I can expect to pay for a decent tailored suit?

I'm average height, a little fat, and I live in the US (if that has anything to do with anything). I'm not happy with the fit of an altered store-bought suit, but I don't even know the ballpark price of one made for me.

posted by Ignatius J. Reilly to clothing, beauty, & fashion (11 comments total)

Obligatory English Cut link.

Looks like a couple thou for full-on bespoke. There's also "made-to-measure" where the suit is made from a template adjusted to your measurements; better than store-bought and cheaper than bespoke.
posted by trevyn at 10:16 PM on May 6, 2005

Once you've got one bespoke, you can order more from overseas based on the measurements for that one. My dad has several jackets from a south korean taylor that he paid pennies on the dollar for, and they were all hand stiched with some of the finest stiching I've ever seen.
posted by SpecialK at 10:55 PM on May 6, 2005

taylor = tailor. :-P
posted by SpecialK at 10:55 PM on May 6, 2005

and I live in the US (if that has anything to do with anything)

It does.

You can get a bespoke suit for about $100 in Thailand. IIRC, when I was there my friend picked up three suits (2xArmani wool 1xVersaci silk, both design rip-offs), 5 shirts and an overcoat for around $350.

Same goes for India. There are parts of Hong Kong where, if you know the right guy/place, you can get similar deals (perhaps another couple hundred).

There are actually groups of HK/Indian/Burmese tailors that travel around the country (US) making bespoke suits. I was sorely tempted to take advantage of one when I was in Boston. The way it works is, they advertise that they're going to be fitting people (in this case, it was at a big Hotel downtown), you pick the suits you want and put down a deposit, then a couple weeks later they have you try on the suit for a final fitting. A couple days later, you pay the remainder and pick up your suits.

Sounds dodgy, I know, but they're legit.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:09 PM on May 6, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

Yes, but how about within the United States? (slightly over average height, a little fat, and not going to Asia anytime soon.)
posted by Guy Smiley at 12:48 AM on May 7, 2005

Depending on where you live in the U.S. (I only know SF, NYC, Chi and Seattle) you can get a pretty good tailor made suit for $1,500-1,750. As far as an upper bound, you can really spend as much as you want ($5,000 and up). I don't have any specific recommendations for you, as I only had one done through a guy I met at a trunk show at Mario's (men's clothing store) in Seattle. If you go have Barney's or similar high end men's clothing store in your area, they can probably hook you up with someone who can accommodate your budget.

If you compare the entry-level cost of a hand made suit and you don't have the body of a professional athlete or model, you're much better off getting a suit made than spending a comparable amount of money on Armani, Zegna or Vestimenta.
posted by psmealey at 7:40 AM on May 7, 2005

Civil_Disobedient, where does one find the "traveling tailors"?
posted by flummox at 8:57 AM on May 7, 2005

You can get a bespoke suit for about $100 in Thailand.
+
Depending on where you live in the U.S. (I only know SF, NYC, Chi and Seattle) you can get a pretty good tailor made suit for $1,500-1,750.
=
Save up for a trip to visit Thailand. Fly from the US to Bangkok, get measured in Bangkok, tour the country while they make your suit, pick up the suit when you arrive back in Bangkok, fly back to the US, and still save money over having one made in your own country.
posted by pracowity at 10:36 AM on May 7, 2005 [2 favorites has favorites]

As a sort of additional caution to psmeasley's comment, be aware that the "tailored" suits offered by some high-end men's stores aren't really bespoke, in that they do not make a new pattern based on your measurements, but alter "standard" patterns. So apparently the fit is not quite as good.
posted by lackutrol at 11:06 AM on May 7, 2005

flummox & Guy Smiley: The travelling tailors would advertise that they were going to be in town in the paper. In my case, I happened to see an ad in the free Daily in Boston--I forget the name; it's like 8 pages long and you can find it in the T.

I tried Googling for them, to no avail. Either keep your eyes on your local papers, or alternatively take pracowity's advice. A round-trip ticket to Thailand is about a grand. Buy 10 suits. Total cost: as much as a single bespoke suit would cost in the U.S. Added advantage: seeing a new country.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:33 AM on May 8, 2005 [1 favorite has favorites]

May I refer the questioner to a previous response?

Raja Fashions is the HK-based chap who's over in London quite often. Looks like he does the US, too.

Heh. Spell Check suggests "kebab" in place of "HK-based".
posted by blag at 12:21 PM on May 8, 2005