Custom Made Suits and Blazers
Discussion
Having spent the last few weeks looking for new suits and sending them back because they are not quite correct, I have decided I am going to purchase 2-3 decent custom-made suits. Some of the stuff available is also really poor quality. Usually the £250 M&S suits looked fine and were reasonably hard wearing. Not so much these days.
Some of the usual online suspects look quite promising for custom but I genuinely fear that some of the stuff that I will actually receive will make me look like that boy from Gangnam Style in a Shiny Suit....
Recommendations welcome.
Some of the usual online suspects look quite promising for custom but I genuinely fear that some of the stuff that I will actually receive will make me look like that boy from Gangnam Style in a Shiny Suit....
Recommendations welcome.
ant1973 said:
Having spent the last few weeks looking for new suits and sending them back because they are not quite correct, I have decided I am going to purchase 2-3 decent custom-made suits. Some of the stuff available is also really poor quality. Usually the £250 M&S suits looked fine and were reasonably hard wearing. Not so much these days.
Some of the usual online suspects look quite promising for custom but I genuinely fear that some of the stuff that I will actually receive will make me look like that boy from Gangnam Style in a Shiny Suit....
Recommendations welcome.
"Custom made" really covers two options: Made to measure or bespoke. Made to measure uses a standard pattern that is modified to fit you, bespoke a pattern is made specifically for you.Some of the usual online suspects look quite promising for custom but I genuinely fear that some of the stuff that I will actually receive will make me look like that boy from Gangnam Style in a Shiny Suit....
Recommendations welcome.
You can get made to measure suits made by Reiss on the high street. A range of cloths and linings and you can personalise things like buttons, pocket styles etc.
There are many online firms offering to make you a suit to your measurements and I wouldn't touch any of them. For that matter, I would avoid most small town tailors.
This is what I would do, depending on the budget:
1. Medium budget (£600 all-in) - buy a decent ready to wear (off the peg) suit and get a skilled alterations tailor to make it fit properly.
2. Bigger budget (£600-£1300) - Made to measure. Reiss will sort you something at the lower end, at the higher you'll get a decent tailor off Savile Row to do something for you.
3. Top budget (£4500- ) Bespoke. Again, one of the more modest Savile Row tailors. The better tailors start around £5k now.
Of course there will be tailors in the provinces that will be good and inexpensive. But for every good one I have seen I have seen many more shockers.
Unless you have a standard body type i would not touch made to measure. I tried some of the best regarded M2M suits in the US and they were terrible. The issue was that stretching the standard design to my proportions just did not work. There are forums dedicated to suits and now I have owned 4 of my own I can see the tell tail signs where they just do not hang right. For mine, being close to NYC, I was able to get the vendor to measure me so it wasn't down to my on ineptitude. Even after a tailor tried to sort it they were still only fit for the bin. To be fair to the vendor, they refunded everything including tailoring costs. It was a huge disappointment though because I wore suits every day for work and really liked the concept.
I also would not consider bespoke until a much higher price point because the time and effort required to get it right should cost a fortune. Many bespoke places really are M2M.
I went back to buying off the rack and taking to a tailor. Find a suit that is a near fit and then have it adjusted. For me, Hugo Boss and surprisingly Canali were both good starting points.
Do some research on fabrics as well. Higher numbers do not mean higher quality. They could just mean hotter! Find a fabric that works for the situation you will be wearing it in.
I have not worn a suit for years. My current company do not want me to wear a suit to customer meetings because that is what the other "guys" do and that makes them old.
I also would not consider bespoke until a much higher price point because the time and effort required to get it right should cost a fortune. Many bespoke places really are M2M.
I went back to buying off the rack and taking to a tailor. Find a suit that is a near fit and then have it adjusted. For me, Hugo Boss and surprisingly Canali were both good starting points.
Do some research on fabrics as well. Higher numbers do not mean higher quality. They could just mean hotter! Find a fabric that works for the situation you will be wearing it in.
I have not worn a suit for years. My current company do not want me to wear a suit to customer meetings because that is what the other "guys" do and that makes them old.
What’s the typical ratio of suit cost to earnings?
Clearly it will vary, but are the people paying £5k for a suit, earning £50k p.a., £200k p.a., £500k p.a.?
I’m intrigued, as I’ve worked with people who swear by bespoke suits (the way the feel as well as the way they look to others), but we wear suits so rarely these days that I’m not sure whether it’s worth the cost for me.
My existing suits do need to be replaced and I’d probably be looking for at least 2 suits for the UK and something much lighter weight for business trips to Asia.
Clearly it will vary, but are the people paying £5k for a suit, earning £50k p.a., £200k p.a., £500k p.a.?
I’m intrigued, as I’ve worked with people who swear by bespoke suits (the way the feel as well as the way they look to others), but we wear suits so rarely these days that I’m not sure whether it’s worth the cost for me.
My existing suits do need to be replaced and I’d probably be looking for at least 2 suits for the UK and something much lighter weight for business trips to Asia.
Louis Balfour said:
ant1973 said:
Having spent the last few weeks looking for new suits and sending them back because they are not quite correct, I have decided I am going to purchase 2-3 decent custom-made suits. Some of the stuff available is also really poor quality. Usually the £250 M&S suits looked fine and were reasonably hard wearing. Not so much these days.
Some of the usual online suspects look quite promising for custom but I genuinely fear that some of the stuff that I will actually receive will make me look like that boy from Gangnam Style in a Shiny Suit....
Recommendations welcome.
"Custom made" really covers two options: Made to measure or bespoke. Made to measure uses a standard pattern that is modified to fit you, bespoke a pattern is made specifically for you.Some of the usual online suspects look quite promising for custom but I genuinely fear that some of the stuff that I will actually receive will make me look like that boy from Gangnam Style in a Shiny Suit....
Recommendations welcome.
You can get made to measure suits made by Reiss on the high street. A range of cloths and linings and you can personalise things like buttons, pocket styles etc.
There are many online firms offering to make you a suit to your measurements and I wouldn't touch any of them. For that matter, I would avoid most small town tailors.
This is what I would do, depending on the budget:
1. Medium budget (£600 all-in) - buy a decent ready to wear (off the peg) suit and get a skilled alterations tailor to make it fit properly.
2. Bigger budget (£600-£1300) - Made to measure. Reiss will sort you something at the lower end, at the higher you'll get a decent tailor off Savile Row to do something for you.
3. Top budget (£4500- ) Bespoke. Again, one of the more modest Savile Row tailors. The better tailors start around £5k now.
Of course there will be tailors in the provinces that will be good and inexpensive. But for every good one I have seen I have seen many more shockers.
Slaters is always good for suits. Free Alterations too.
https://www.slaters.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjws-OEBhCkA...
https://www.slaters.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjws-OEBhCkA...
ant1973 said:
Louis Balfour said:
ant1973 said:
Having spent the last few weeks looking for new suits and sending them back because they are not quite correct, I have decided I am going to purchase 2-3 decent custom-made suits. Some of the stuff available is also really poor quality. Usually the £250 M&S suits looked fine and were reasonably hard wearing. Not so much these days.
Some of the usual online suspects look quite promising for custom but I genuinely fear that some of the stuff that I will actually receive will make me look like that boy from Gangnam Style in a Shiny Suit....
Recommendations welcome.
"Custom made" really covers two options: Made to measure or bespoke. Made to measure uses a standard pattern that is modified to fit you, bespoke a pattern is made specifically for you.Some of the usual online suspects look quite promising for custom but I genuinely fear that some of the stuff that I will actually receive will make me look like that boy from Gangnam Style in a Shiny Suit....
Recommendations welcome.
You can get made to measure suits made by Reiss on the high street. A range of cloths and linings and you can personalise things like buttons, pocket styles etc.
There are many online firms offering to make you a suit to your measurements and I wouldn't touch any of them. For that matter, I would avoid most small town tailors.
This is what I would do, depending on the budget:
1. Medium budget (£600 all-in) - buy a decent ready to wear (off the peg) suit and get a skilled alterations tailor to make it fit properly.
2. Bigger budget (£600-£1300) - Made to measure. Reiss will sort you something at the lower end, at the higher you'll get a decent tailor off Savile Row to do something for you.
3. Top budget (£4500- ) Bespoke. Again, one of the more modest Savile Row tailors. The better tailors start around £5k now.
Of course there will be tailors in the provinces that will be good and inexpensive. But for every good one I have seen I have seen many more shockers.
But I think some of the Boss suits are okay, Reiss suits will be probably be alright (but I have also seen some tatt there) Hackett is also worth a look, but avoid the sale. Slightly ahead of those names I would look at Suit Supply. Ignore their slightly rubbish name, they do offer some quite reasonably made suits at affordable money. They do on site alterations, if you can get into their shops (all in London AFAIK).
Worth a trip to Londons Saville Row, I had a made to measure by Oswold 12 years ago for my wedding and then to become the weddings, christenings and funerals suit... wore it to a funeral a couple of weeks ago and several people commented on how good it still looked.
So if you do invest in a fee decent suits and look after them in the long run they will give you the payback.
So if you do invest in a fee decent suits and look after them in the long run they will give you the payback.
Louis Balfour said:
"Custom made" really covers two options: Made to measure or bespoke. Made to measure uses a standard pattern that is modified to fit you, bespoke a pattern is made specifically for you.
You can get made to measure suits made by Reiss on the high street. A range of cloths and linings and you can personalise things like buttons, pocket styles etc.
There are many online firms offering to make you a suit to your measurements and I wouldn't touch any of them. For that matter, I would avoid most small town tailors.
This is what I would do, depending on the budget:
1. Medium budget (£600 all-in) - buy a decent ready to wear (off the peg) suit and get a skilled alterations tailor to make it fit properly.
2. Bigger budget (£600-£1300) - Made to measure. Reiss will sort you something at the lower end, at the higher you'll get a decent tailor off Savile Row to do something for you.
3. Top budget (£4500- ) Bespoke. Again, one of the more modest Savile Row tailors. The better tailors start around £5k now.
Of course there will be tailors in the provinces that will be good and inexpensive. But for every good one I have seen I have seen many more shockers.
What would your recommendations be forYou can get made to measure suits made by Reiss on the high street. A range of cloths and linings and you can personalise things like buttons, pocket styles etc.
There are many online firms offering to make you a suit to your measurements and I wouldn't touch any of them. For that matter, I would avoid most small town tailors.
This is what I would do, depending on the budget:
1. Medium budget (£600 all-in) - buy a decent ready to wear (off the peg) suit and get a skilled alterations tailor to make it fit properly.
2. Bigger budget (£600-£1300) - Made to measure. Reiss will sort you something at the lower end, at the higher you'll get a decent tailor off Savile Row to do something for you.
3. Top budget (£4500- ) Bespoke. Again, one of the more modest Savile Row tailors. The better tailors start around £5k now.
Of course there will be tailors in the provinces that will be good and inexpensive. But for every good one I have seen I have seen many more shockers.
A. Small budget.
B. Tiny budget.
The Mad Monk said:
What would your recommendations be for
A. Small budget.
B. Tiny budget.
Same answer, start with a cheaper suit? A. Small budget.
B. Tiny budget.
It just has to fit properly to look good, and not be an awful fabric. Both are doable on a budget I would think.
I have a cheap(er!) bespoke from King and Allen I rather like. Think it was around £1,100 - while not quite the full bespoke experience, you choose the fabric and lining, etc. and come back for a first fitting before they finish the suit, followed by trying the finished article on to make sure it’s right.
This article is really good and worth a read for anyone thinking about moving away from off the peg suits and towards made-to-measure.
It covers brands, prices, timescales, reviews etc.
Suits from £399-1500, all from UK stores.
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gallery/best-made-to...
It covers brands, prices, timescales, reviews etc.
Suits from £399-1500, all from UK stores.
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gallery/best-made-to...
Lord Marylebone said:
This article is really good and worth a read for anyone thinking about moving away from off the peg suits and towards made-to-measure.
It covers brands, prices, timescales, reviews etc.
Suits from £399-1500, all from UK stores.
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gallery/best-made-to...
But having read it, don't for crying out loud think that it is acceptable to:It covers brands, prices, timescales, reviews etc.
Suits from £399-1500, all from UK stores.
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/gallery/best-made-to...
1. Wear plimsoles with your suit.
2. Spend all your time fiddling with your cufflinks.
As you were.
Louis Balfour said:
But having read it, don't for crying out loud think that it is acceptable to:
1. Wear plimsoles with your suit.
2. Spend all your time fiddling with your cufflinks.
As you were.
Completely agree.1. Wear plimsoles with your suit.
2. Spend all your time fiddling with your cufflinks.
As you were.
Since when has it been de rigueur for men to fiddle endlessly with cufflinks while having their photo taken? It looks ridiculous.
I can't even bring myself to discuss the plimsoles/trainers with a suit. I blame Paul McCartney for all that nonsense.
If you are near Bristol these guys were recommended by a family member.
http://www.cliftonsuits.co.uk/index.html
http://www.cliftonsuits.co.uk/index.html
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