Ongoing Bespoke Projects

[IKant]

Dears,

I'm happy to join the forum and share my two last comissions.

The first one is a pair of bespoke shoes made by Jan Kielman in Poland. It's my third pair with them and we did a bi-material (Hippo and american cow leathers) two eyelets derby. Here the finished upper :

View attachment 2075825

The second projet is a bespoke suit in green Caccioppoli Flannel by Sartoria Florio in Paris France. It's a tailor from Roma who decided to open recently his Atelier in Paris. It's a very nice guy who is very dedicated to his work. His IG if anyone is interested : https://www.instagram.com/sartoria_florio/

I chose structured shoulders and peak lapels which goes well with the fabric :

View attachment 2075837

View attachment 2075839

wrong tailor mate. I expect the first garment to fit well.

I had a similar experience with a Naples tailor. Jacket is only wearable open, had another tailor make a new pair of trouser in the same fabric. I call it the experience from hell - they still have 3 pairs of trousers that don’t fit. I’ve honestly just given up getting those trousers.

When you have a good tailor, the first result should be quite good. But, to @tim_horton’s point, maybe I’m a better orderer now too. I’m not sure.

@jonathanS I am trying to learn as much as I can from those on this thread, especially those with bad experiences. Did you ask for any kind of refund or anything like that or just took the lost and chalked it up to cost of learning a lesson? It seems like you have lots of bespoke experience with some being excellent and some horrific and some great advice too.

Can you show us some of your better and worst commissions? Of course, you can keep the names of the tailors anonymous. I understand why you may want to do that.

 

[clee1982]

Yes, five years is a long time but there’s only so much they can do being a traveling tailor. A majority of the British tailors use outworkers so the mistakes are inevitable. I suspect things would most likely be different if they were centrally located in DC and all of their staff was in house.

When I had issues with Formosa they would fix one thing and then another problem would occur. I finally had the last jacket they made before the tailor retired repaired by Will Field in DC. It took him a few tries before getting it right. The whole process took two months.

Given my experience I’m not the biggest fan of hopping from one tailor to the next. If you’re going to do that be ready to have a few jackets made before things begin to purr. If you’re trying a new traveling tailor demand multiple fittings even if things look okay at the initial fitting. Also, when you find someone who does good work for you stick with them.

What’s been your experience with the bespoke process?

I'm easy to fit in RTW so bespoke for me has always more been about stylistic choice, I know there are things RTW has "wrong" (right/left shoulder imbalance, and of course that doesn't translate as well into DB) but never bothered me enough (especially when a good chunk are like $500 from eBay..., even department store stuff is still easy to hit sub $1k or $1.5k).

I had a bespoke experience a while back, it fitted correctly (and definitely the best fitting trouser I ever had) but stylistically speaking I didn't "love" it. I have one with Anthology right now (4x1 DB) and one with MB (won't have anything to comment until he comes back in Spring) so we shall see I suppose.

 

[Sreezy36]

I'm easy to fit in RTW so bespoke for me has always more been about stylistic choice, I know there are things RTW has "wrong" (right/left shoulder imbalance, and of course that doesn't translate as well into DB) but never bothered me enough (especially when a good chunk are like $500 from eBay..., even department store stuff is still easy to hit sub $1k or $1.5k).

I had a bespoke experience a while back, it fitted correctly (and definitely the best fitting trouser I ever had) but stylistically speaking I didn't "love" it. I have one with Anthology right now (4x1 DB) and one with MB (won't have anything to comment until he comes back in Spring) so we shall see I suppose.

I’ve always said that if could fit rtw well and comfortably, I would more than likely not bother try bespoke. As of 2023 there are a plethora of extremely high quality RTW/mtm/mto brands in existence. Unfortunately for me, bespoke is absolutely necessary if I want something that fits comfortably at even a minimal level.

 

[Sreezy36]

@jonathanS I am trying to learn as much as I can from those on this thread, especially those with bad experiences. Did you ask for any kind of refund or anything like that or just took the lost and chalked it up to cost of learning a lesson? It seems like you have lots of bespoke experience with some being excellent and some horrific and some great advice too.

Can you show us some of your better and worst commissions? Of course, you can keep the names of the tailors anonymous. I understand why you may want to do that.

I definitely commend your willingness to learn.

Unfortunately, with bespoke on must “pay to play.” Botched projects, remakes, mistakes, aesthic clashes, unrealized expectations, and poor decisions seem to be unavoidable for most if not all bespoke customers. You, will find that the majority of people on this thread had one or a few of those experiences in their journey with bespoke.

However, if you have the patience and time the process may be rewarding for you.

 

[clee1982]

yea I order bespoke specifically for 4x1 DB because it's hard to find RTW 4x1 DB and because the right/left imbalance just means on RTW the buttoning point on DB would never line up horizontally and you would always see a pull line.

as to why MB it's because I can't find that style in RTW

 

[jonathanS]

@jonathanS I am trying to learn as much as I can from those on this thread, especially those with bad experiences. Did you ask for any kind of refund or anything like that or just took the lost and chalked it up to cost of learning a lesson? It seems like you have lots of bespoke experience with some being excellent and some horrific and some great advice too.

Can you show us some of your better and worst commissions? Of course, you can keep the names of the tailors anonymous. I understand why you may want to do that.

Hmm…. I think the best way to describe it is that I learned how things should fit. (Eg balance, shoulder collapsing etc.). I also learned where my major problem areas are, especially with bespoke so I mention it ahead of time.

For example, I’m a very difficult fit with trousers: my quads look like that of a football player (not offensive line but still big). I had one tailor need to buy more fabric to recut a pair of trousers because he didn’t have enough inlay (in Naples, they insisted I need to go on a diet, which I’m not sure how that helps with quad but what do I know, I’m not a doctor). (For the record, a honest tailor would remake a pair of trousers.)

But, I digress, when I work with a new tailor, I mention to pay special attention to the quads because if that. And I’ve had very good results mentioning that in advance. It gives them a heads up that this is an issue that they may not seen just taking static measurements.

Another example is, because it my body composition, my laps are tricky to fit because, while a garment may fit while static, it’ll have more of an issue when I move around. And this changes with fabric - if you have a fabric with more give in it, it’s less of an issue. But if it less give, (eg frescos), it’s an issue.

Simon wrote about his journey with bespoke shoes, https://www.permanentstyle.com/2023/11/roberto-ugolini-bespoke-boots-review.html which is a similar idea.

Thinking aloud, maybe I’ll post the story from hell with the Naples tailor at some point - I know Friends on here who I’ve privately told the story to encouraged me to post it. I just don’t think about it & I don’t get upset, but it still pisses me off when I think about it. I choose to block it out of my mind. Now that I mentioned it, I should post the story because there are some honest tailors (who are my friends) in Naples that do good work & I don’t want to hurt their business by mentioning this story online.

 

[lordsuperb]

5yr is definitely a long time...

Ya I had to re-read that it says years. You have the patience of a saint.

Here are my initial garments from Steed with the repaired shoulders.

Forgive my ironing job on the pinstripe I just took it out of storage.

 

[IKant]

Hmm…. I think the best way to describe it is that I learned how things should fit. (Eg balance, shoulder collapsing etc.). I also learned where my major problem areas are, especially with bespoke so I mention it ahead of time.

For example, I’m a very difficult fit with trousers: my quads look like that of a football player (not offensive line but still big). I had one tailor need to buy more fabric to recut a pair of trousers because he didn’t have enough inlay (in Naples, they insisted I need to go on a diet, which I’m not sure how that helps with quad but what do I know, I’m not a doctor). (For the record, a honest tailor would remake a pair of trousers.)

But, I digress, when I work with a new tailor, I mention to pay special attention to the quads because if that. And I’ve had very good results mentioning that in advance. It gives them a heads up that this is an issue that they may not seen just taking static measurements.

Another example is, because it my body composition, my laps are tricky to fit because, while a garment may fit while static, it’ll have more of an issue when I move around. And this changes with fabric - if you have a fabric with more give in it, it’s less of an issue. But if it less give, (eg frescos), it’s an issue.

Simon wrote about his journey with bespoke shoes, https://www.permanentstyle.com/2023/11/roberto-ugolini-bespoke-boots-review.html which is a similar idea.

Thinking aloud, maybe I’ll post the story from hell with the Naples tailor at some point - I know Friends on here who I’ve privately told the story to encouraged me to post it. I just don’t think about it & I don’t get upset, but it still pisses me off when I think about it. I choose to block it out of my mind. Now that I mentioned it, I should post the story because there are some honest tailors (who are my friends) in Naples that do good work & I don’t want to hurt their business by mentioning this story online.

Thank you. BTW, how do you dress for work? Suits, sport coats/blazers or casual?

I think we would all benefit from seeing some of the beautiful bespoke garments that you've periodically referenced and mentioned here.

 

[IKant]

Here are my initial garments from Steed with the repaired shoulders.

Forgive my ironing job on the pinstripe I just took it out of storage.
View attachment 2076775 View attachment 2076777

Looks fantastic! The thing I have noticed about bespoke is that you really appreciate it in person much more than in photos. I think I can usually recognize a bespoke garment in person even with my rookie sensibilities. Of course, I've seen great RTW too.

 

[Sreezy36]

Here are my initial garments from Steed with the repaired shoulders.

Forgive my ironing job on the pinstripe I just took it out of storage.
View attachment 2076775 View attachment 2076777

I commend you on your persistence and dedication. Most “traveling” bespoke clients don’t have that level of patience and would have given up.

The time factor is probably the biggest drawback with regards to traveling tailors.

All things considered(ie: outsourcing coat and trouser making), I’m more than sure that many of the issues would have been resolved much sooner if Edwin had a local tailoring shop.

 

[lordsuperb]

I commend you on your persistence and dedication. Most “traveling” bespoke clients don’t have that level of patience and would have given up.

The time factor is probably the biggest drawback with regards to traveling tailors.

All things considered(ie: outsourcing coat and trouser making), I’m more than sure that many of the issues would have been resolved much sooner if Edwin had a local tailoring shop.

I figured I’d put my experiences out in the open for anyone struggling to navigate the process. A lot of the knowledgeable bespokers will remain silent on these forums and only provide insight by PM.

The suits from Steed were close enough that I had enough faith in Edwin to fix the shoulders.

The real fun begins once you and your tailor figure each other out.

Jacket #…..

 

[WhereNext]

Had a surprise fitting on my in-progress burgundy jacket today (needs some small tweaks to the upper sleeves) that should be done next week. I was so pleased with this first order from this tailor that I picked the below dark/mid grey (slightly darker than the front shot and maybe 2 shades lighter than the fabric code shot) for a 3 piece suit to get going on a conservative option. Everyone needs at least 1 boring suit!

 

[camez_]

Had a surprise fitting on my in-progress burgundy jacket today (needs some small tweaks to the upper sleeves) that should be done next week. I was so pleased with this first order from this tailor that I picked the below dark/mid grey (slightly darker than the front shot and maybe 2 shades lighter than the fabric code shot) for a 3 piece suit to get going on a conservative option. Everyone needs at least 1 boring suit!

I'd argue that you need at least 3-6 boring suits

 

[oldworldelegance]

Here are the first fittings of two suits in progress (by different tailors).

1. LL Reverse Stripe SB suit

2. LL Premium Mid-Grey Flannel DB
Unfortunately, a good tailor is not equivalent to a good photographer. The photo was taken at a low angle, but you get the idea.

 

[DorianGreen]

Here are the first fittings of two suits in progress (by different tailors).

1. LL Reverse Stripe SB suit
View attachment 2077087

2. LL Premium Mid-Grey Flannel DB
Unfortunately, a good tailor is not equivalent to a good photographer. The photo was taken at a low angle, but you get the idea.

View attachment 2077085

Both look very good to me, even at this stage. Especially fond of how the trousers look and drape.