Best Custom Clothier in America?

Who is the BEST custom clothier in America, and why?

Criteria: design skill/creativity, fabric selection, tailoring quality, accessories, customer service, etc.

My only experience purchasing custom clothing was with Astor & Black in San Francisco. The clothier that I worked with was absolutely fantastic, and the experience definitely wet my appetite for custom clothing, but she is no longer with the company and I am curious to see what else is out there.

Tom James claims to be "#1 in custom suits," but their website seems pretty expensive (especially considering that their $5k 1-suit packages don't even mention brand name fabrics).
Elevee appears to be similar to Astor & Black, but the fit on some of their suits seems a little baggy/boxy.
Paul Stewart looks pretty nice and I plan to stop by their NYC store next time I'm out East.
I was planning to check out Cable Car Clothiers here in San Francisco next, but I thought I'd cast my line into the SF waters and see what I can catch.

I am fairly certain that NONE of these are the BEST (Google search results be damned!) so any answers, opinions, thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

This question has been asked a few times, and does not get less silly through repetition. It is not a well defined question. It's like asking, "what's the best restaurant in America?" There are many fine restaurants in America. There are differences between them, but which characteristics appeal to you depend on your own personal tastes and goals. You will find on SF information concerning many tailors. But which one is the "BEST" for you, only you can decide.

Mario Zuccala is the best, but he's difficult to contact.

The best restaurant in America is Le Bernardin if you like bland food.

unbelragazzo said:

This question has been asked a few times, and does not get less silly through repetition. It's is not a well defined question. It's like asking, "what's the best restaurant in America?" There are many fine restaurants in America. There are differences between them, but which characteristics appeal to you depend on your own personal tastes and goals. You will find on SF information concerning many tailors. But which one is the "BEST" for you, only you can decide.

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I totally appreciate your opinion. However, when the "Best Restaurant" lists are compiled, certain names, like French Laundry for example, are always at the top. Regardless of personal taste, consistent excellence is hard to ignore. Who is the French Laundry of custom clothiers?



Haute In Cali said:

Who is the French Laundry of custom clothiers?  

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Are you asking which tailor has the most annoying customers?



Haute In Cali said:

I totally appreciate your opinion.  However, when the "Best Restaurant" lists are compiled, certain names, like French Laundry for example, are always at the top.  Regardless of personal taste, consistent excellence is hard to ignore.  Who is the French Laundry of custom clothiers?  

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Well, in this case, F. Corbera has answered you. Mario Zuccala.

F. Corbera said:

Mario Zuccala is the best, but he's difficult to contact.

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I imagine he must be hard to get ahold of - the only article that I can find about him says that he's been abducted by aliens: http://www.ufoevidence.org/cases/case757.htm

His work must be out of this world.

F. Corbera said:

Are you asking which tailor has the most annoying customers?

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Ha ha.

Ideally, all of the foie gras and none of the bourgeois.



F. Corbera said:

The best restaurant in America is Le Bernardin if you like bland food.

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Hater.
And how come no one has answered the OP's question.We all know the answer. Are you guys trying to keep it our little secret?
http://www.bijan.com/

KObalto said:

http://www.bijan.com/

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Wow. Thank you, sir. That is what I'm talking about.

OP: A major step up, in quality and price, from Astor & Black would be something like Oxxford. They make what is widely considered to be one of the best suits you can get from a major MTM/bespoke company that is widely available in most major cities. Above that, you can go fully bespoke with one of the (few) master tailors in the country. For a slightly more modest price you can get MTM from Samuelsohn, who happen to make most (all?) of Paul Stuart's custom suits. I've also heard good things about Sid Mashburn, if we're sticking within the budget range of good.

To get the "best," you'll have to pay quite a bit. $5000+ for a two-piece suit. Or $10000, if you're prepared to breathe the rarified air inside Teh Bijan. It is the favorite, I hear, of wealthy Persian emigrees in gleaming white BMWs, and of Tom Cruise, a scientologist even more powerful in the Force than I.

F. Corbera: The only thing that Google turned up for Mario Zuccala was a report that he was abducted by aliens — insert "out of this world" clothier joke here — but, seriously, if anyone knows how to track him down I'd love to learn more.

KObalto - Thanks for the tip on Bijan. That place looks like Heaven on Earth. Unfortunately, they are probably not in my price range any time in the immediate future, but this is exactly what I was looking for. One of the things that I love about custom is that, while I may not be able to afford Bijan's tailoring or fabric quality, I can afford to have an entry-level version made.

Mr Treehorn - Thanks for your thoughtful response. I am definitely going to look into Oxxford and Samuelsohn.

UPDATE:

I have been on a mission to upgrade my wardrobe and have tried a few clothiers since posting my question.

Here is a quick synopsis of the results.

William Fioravanti (New York City): This was a great experience. Mr Fioravanti is an extremely charming elderly man and the shop is run by a very serious younger woman (his daughter?) who seems much less concerned about charming her clients than Mr Fioravanti. Suits start at $5k, which is a bit more than I was hoping to pay for entry level fabrics (my suit was made from "Drago" fabric), but the tailoring quality was first rate and I love that it is made i America. The suit was made right in the back room of their shop. Their shop had a very "old world" feel and the in-house tailors made me feel like I was in good hands. Fit was great with no alterations.

Anto (Los Angeles): I got six nice shirts for $185 each. Anto specializes in shirts and does a great job. Very professional. The only thing I didn't like was that they have a six shirt minimum order, but the shirts were great.

Bijan (Los Angeles): I checked out Bijan as recommended, but did not buy anything. Beautiful clothing, but totally out of my price range...maybe when I'm pulling up in a $2 million Bugatti like the owner of the shop, I'll have more to report!

Tom James (San Francisco, Everywhere Else): Tom James is apparently America's biggest clothier and they came right to my office. I tried their entry level shirts (Patagonian; $130) and their best suit (Ventura; about $3k). The shirts were okay, but I was not impressed with the suit. I felt like I was wearing my father's suit and my stylist just said it looked great. Well, I'm glad at least one of us thought so. I feel like I paid roughly the same price at Anto and VZ Exclusive and got much better service and much better clothes from both.

Wilkes Bashford (San Francisco): I ordered two custom suits from Wilkes Bashford at about $4k each. The fit was a little "old man" despite my request for a modern fit. But, overall, I am happy with my suits. I feel like their key demographic is about 40 years older than me so the fit is pretty loose but, after a few alterations, I got two suits that I am happy with.

VZ Exclusive Bespoke Clothiers (San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles): I was referred to VZ Exclusive by a colleague after asking about his alligator shoes, and this has been my best custom clothing experience thus far. My stylist also came to my office in San Francisco and the whole process took about 45 minutes. Their entry-level suit was by far the most affordable of any company I've worked with so far (except Tom James; same price), yet their best suits are actually handmade in Italy or on Savile Row in London (sadly, this was a bit out of my price range, so I have nothing to report. But, apparently, these are the suits that Larry Ellison wears and he officially endorses them). I got three of their entry-level shirts for $125 each - they fit beautifully and I plan to upgrade to ALUMO or Thomas Mason fabric for my next shirt order. I've only bought one suit so far, which cost $3k (Holland & Sherry fabric made in America), but it is probably my new favorite suit - the fit is perfect and they actually created a custom silk lining with my company's logo on it...needless to say, this has been quite the hit with my partners and employees.

Overall, I am happy with my purchases from all companies.

Wilkes Bashford, Tom James and Astor & Black came in last place, and I would not go out of my way to recommend them, but even those suits fit better than most off-the-rack suits that I own. I would highly recommend Anto, William Fioravanti and VZ Exclusive to anyone.

I still plan to try Cable Car Clothiers in San Francisco and Martin Greenfield in NYC (And Oxxford, if I can make it to Chicago), but, unless I am absolutely blown away, I will probably return to VZ Exclusive for the rest of my wardrobe upgrade. They are pretty much head and shoulders above any other custom tailor I've tried so far.

"the fit is perfect and they actually created a custom silk lining with my company's logo on it...needless to say, this has been quite the hit with my partners and employees"

I hope you're not planning on changing job soon, then

AdamWill said:

"the fit is perfect and they actually created a custom silk lining with my company's logo on it...needless to say, this has been quite the hit with my partners and employees"

I hope you're not planning on changing job soon, then

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I founded the company and I don't expect to leave anytime soon, but that is certainly something to consider!

I'm a big Giants fan and I'm considering a "game night" sport coat with an orange and black lining, but that's probably about as far as I'll go with the crazy personalization.