Getting a suit tailor-made

[Oscar Tong]

I have the rare opportunity of having my next suit tailor-made. This is what I have in mind so far.

Jacket:

• Double-breasted
• Peak lapels (of course!)
• Black with white pinstripes that are not too thick
• High armscyes (the technical term for the lower part of the armhole, according to Clothes and the Man by Alan Flusser)
• Square or squarish shoulders
• Visible waist, provided it doesn't make me look unsightly (I am slightly overweight)
• Double-vented
• Four buttons on each sleeve (or was that "cuff"?)
• Two functioning and four decorative buttons on the front

Trousers:

• High-rising trousers, right up to my waistline
• Trouser cuffs: 1.75" high
• No belt loops (I'll be using suspenders)

What I cannot decide on, whether out of indecision or lack of knowlege, are:

• Whether to get flap or slit jacket pockets
• Whether to get a tall waistband for the trousers
• What type and weight of fabric to use

The fabric problem has me perplexed. Since I consider this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I would like to select the right fabric so that I will have a sort of all-season suit. From what I have read in other topics, the fabrics used in the past were heavier and sturdier. However, since I am quite sensitive to coldness and especially to heat, I am worried that a heavier fabric would result in my overheating in the summertime. I'm partial to gabardine, but I'm not sure whether that's such a good idea this time. Do any of you have any suggestions and comments about this and the other points above? Thanks!

 

[shamus]

Did you win a vintage suit contest? How is this a once in a lifetime thing? And please keep us posted on the progress. I bet if your tailor does a great job, he might have a few more orders...

 

[Zach R.]

He said he considered it a once in a lifetime thing, probably the cost.

 

[Oscar Tong]

He said he considered it a once in a lifetime thing, probably the cost.

That's right. It's the cost. This brings up another issue—choosing a tailor. My stepfather thinks that Canadian tailors today are inferior, generally speaking. My mother knows some Chinese tailors, but I'm not sure whether I can trust any of them in terms of their handiwork. (Besides, we may not understand each other, since I speak only a negligible amount of Cantonese and virtually cannot speak Mandarin.) I don't suppose any of you happen to know of a good tailor or two who operates in the British Columbian cities of Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, New Westminster, Delta, Surrey, or White Rock. (Incidentally, these cities, I believe, are part of Greater Vancouver and the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia.) Oh, well. I'll try to keep you all posted, at any rate.

Would any of you mind giving me some tips on how to tell whether a tailor might be good? The only criterion I have right now is that he must listen to me. (Don't you hate it when people like tailors and hair cutters say that they will do as you say but do as they please, anyway?)

 

[crazylegsmurphy]

Hey,

Why not ask go to a tailor and explain that you are trying to get a suit as close as possible to a vintage suit. Explain that you are on this website and there are a whole lot of people that haven't had very good luck with custom suits because the tailors tend to add thier own thoughts and such, thus making them too modern.

Then, say that you would like them to make you a suit out of a cheap material such as Muslin, or something. Let them make this mock up suit, and then have you go in and "nit pick" it until they get it right.

This way, you haven't spent all your cash on the "real deal" and gotten a suit that sucked. At teh very least, you can take the mock up to a different tailor and explain where the first one wouldn't listen. You may find that if it comes to this, and you hit a bunch of tailors in the same area, you might stir up some rivalries and they might make you the perfect suit just to show up the other guy.

Just a thought.

Regardless....if you have to, e-mail me directly and let me know what you find especially if you are in Canada. I can't seem to find any suits that I like, and the thrift stores here are lame!

Thanks.

 

[Ferragamo]

Tailors

Would any of you mind giving me some tips on how to tell whether a tailor might be good? The only criterion I have right now is that he must listen to me. (Don't you hate it when people like tailors and hair cutters say that they will do as you say but do as they please, anyway?)

Oscar, let me just throw in my 2 cent here, I have over the last 9 years had all my suits made. I have had some good experiences and some bad. I think you hit it right on the head, the main thing to look for is a Tailor who will listen. Most tailors consider themselves artist of sorts and look at us the buyer as their canvas. These are just a few things I have learned to look for hope they help:


1 DETAILS-Write down what you are looking for, down to the side at which you want your name stitched inside the jacket and color of thread and also lining color of jacket or back of vest!

2 ASK- Ask the tailor to see his style book, sometimes you will find similar items from which he can take certain aspects to add to your creation.

3 SEE- request that you see some work that he has done NOT PHOTOS a good and busy tailor will have at least one suit there for you to exam, lapel construction, stitch quality etc..

4 FEEL- Don't be afraid to un roll a piece of fabric, feel the weight and even crumple it in your hands to see how its holds wrinkles and its quality.

Hope this helps, I learned a $1,400.00 dollar lesson by not doing one or more of these! :cry:
Good Luck!!!

 

[Ferragamo]

"Whether to get flap or slit jacket pockets?"


Almost forgot, go with the flap pockets, if you want the look of the slit simply
push the flap into the pocket. Gives you the option to change on the fly!!

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Try custom made.

This may help you. Custom made shirts and suits.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=1720&page=1&pp=15&highlight=custom+made+suit

 

[Matt Deckard]

Agreed about the flap pockets, though rarely seen on vintage they can always be tucked into the besom pocket.

I would take a few pics and if you can find an example of the vintage style suit you want made take it to the tailor. As was said above I would also mention that you have been talking to many people on the Fedora Lounge who have had experiences where the tailor makes what he wants and not what the customer wants as it is the truth.

here is no such thing as a year round suit. indoor climate control has made most suits today very thin and lightweight.

Fabric... The higher the twist count the less wear the fabric can take has been my experience. I would go with 13 oz. and above for durability and that vintage drape, thogh if you are concerned about being too hot get something lighter. I usually opt for a summer style fabric like cotton or linen if I fear being too hot, and tend to keep my wools for cooler weather.

Do you have any pictures of what you want made?

A trademark of 30's suits is their pinched waist style, skeleton lining and no vents.

Good luck

 

[Mr. Rover]

I'm in a similar situation, because I went back to New York over the summer to visit my grandmother. Well, she surprised me with a bolt of black English wool that she said belonged to my grandfather. Apparently, my grandfather was prone to having suits made in England. So, now I can get a suit custom made from this vintage wool. I'm not sure of the weight, but I'm sure I can find out when I visit my tailor.

 

[Oscar Tong]

RE: Skeleton lining

A trademark of 30's suits is their pinched waist style, skeleton lining and no vents.

Skeleton lining? What's that?

 

[Matt Deckard]

Partially lined in the back with taped over seams. Much more costly to do than a full lining as the workmanship is exposed, and who wants to show off shoddy workmanship.

Most vintage suits I have seen have tapered sleaves as well... they don't bell out at the bottom like on modern jackets.

 

[Oscar Tong]

Update: Began shopping around

Today, I visited a shop in Downtown Vancouver called Quorum (rendered "QVØRVM"), which a businessman-friend of mine recommended when I asked him about any tailors whom he knew. Italians ran the shop, which appeared to cater to the modern businessman; not at all surprising for a high-end menswear shop in Vancouver.

The man to whom my friend referred me, Mr. Nigro, was friendly, although sort of in the way a salesman was friendly. Prices for made-to-order suits started at about 900 CAD, I think, depending on the grade of the fabric. He seemed quite willing to cooperate with me. He didn't bat an eyelash when I said that I prefer my trousers cut to hang from the waistline, which improved my opinion of him considerably. He even said he had a book depicting styles from the 1930s that we could use during the consultation. Overall, Quorum seemed like a promising choice, except that Mr. Nigro appeared to be a salesman or the manager, not a tailor.

Mr. Nigro said that their made-to-order clothes were made in Canada using fabrics imported from Italy. He showed me another customer's new suit, which came back to Quorum in a brown cardboard box with a shipping label on it. On the other hand, he did say something about being able to examine some sort of mock-up of an order before completing it. I hope this means that I will be able to nitpick the suit to death before finalizing and paying for it.

I should probably visit some other tailors before committing to one. My brief experience at Quorum, however, was positive. I just might go with them. What do you all think?

On another note, I was reading about the fit of vintage suits in the thread where Crazylegsmurphy was talking about his new vintage suit. This thread effectively opened my eyes to the importance of the cut of a suit. This is quite new to me. What should I tell the tailor or consultant concerning the cut of the jacket? Please be as detailed and explicit as possible, since I am horrible at guessing and inferring. Thank you all again. I appreciate your input and patience.

—Oscar Tong

P.S. Matt, it really embarrasses me to admit this, but the kind of suit I have in mind comes from several pictures of Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon. The only change I have made in my mind is having square or squarish shoulders instead of natural shoulders. I thought that this would make the suit somewhat reminiscent of a uniform. (I love the properness of uniforms.)

Here are the pictures.

(Gulp!) Be gentle. (Oscar slinks away, feeling humiliated from his confession.)

 

[shamus]

oscar,

just reading your post you sound like you have second thoughts about this guy... Unless he's the only guy in town.. go with your gut.

 

[Wild Root]

TAM THE TAILOR!

I know of a REALLY GOOD tailor in Winnipeg MB. I know he's not very close to where you are but, you would do right to look this guy up. He has a tailor shop in Winnipeg and I'm sure you could look up his number. I might even have his card still some where. I had a suit made by him and it was just what I wanted! But, the only thing I don't like about it is the weight of the fabric. It's a little to light. Since you’re in Canada, I would suggest you buy the heaviest fabric you can seeing that it gets -40 most of the year up there!

Good luck friend!

Root.

 

[Oscar Tong]

RE: TAM THE TAILOR!

I know of a REALLY GOOD tailor in Winnipeg MB. I know he's not very close to where you are but, you would do right to look this guy up. He has a tailor shop in Winnipeg and I'm sure you could look up his number. I might even have his card still some where. I had a suit made by him and it was just what I wanted! But, the only thing I don't like about it is the weight of the fabric. It's a little to light. Since you’re in Canada, I would suggest you buy the heaviest fabric you can seeing that it gets -40 most of the year up there!

Good luck friend!

Root.

Thanks for the tip, Root. Actually, in Vancouver and, I think, most of the Lower Mainland region, of which Vancouver is a part, the winter temperature rarely dips below -10ºC (or, if I am statistically incorrect, it never gets anywhere near -40ºC). I think provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario (or perhaps only parts of Ontario) are the ones that experience extreme temperatures. My guess as to their cause is that these provinces are far away from large bodies of water like oceans. (Mind you, my knowledge of general science is only somewhere near the tenth-grade level.)

—Oscar Tong

 

[Wild Root]

No, you're right! Over on your end it's a lot wormer! I had to endure the rough cold of the planes and it's not very fun at all. BC is the place to be!

Root.

 

[Merlin]

Rock the Casbah, man. There's nothing better than a bespoke suit. A word of caution, though; you're going to be spending your own hard-earned dough on the suit, so make sure you get one that works for your body type. What looks good on Bogie might not necessarily look as good on you. If you watch "The Maltese Falcon", and I can see that you have, you'll notice that he's a pretty thin guy. Slighter framed men can get away with double-breasted suits a lot easier than husky dudes, because a double-breasted jacked adds width. If you've already got broad shoulders, you may want to try on some double-breasteds before you have yours made, just to be sure that the look flatters you. Same thing goes for the pockets; sure, flap pockets are more 1930's than besom pockets, but they add a layer of bulk around the waist (and now I'm just quoting Alan Flusser!), so be sure it looks good on you before you commission it.

In any case, make sure you post some pics once you get it delivered!

 

[Wild Root]

I'll have to disagree on that note. The double breasted coat can add width but, if done right it will look nice. Take a look at most photos or movies from the 30's and 40's. Double breasted suits were on most body types! It was one of the more popular styles of the 30's and 40's. The double breasted suit was also a status symbol of those years! Most men of money were heavy set older men. I say have what you want made ! Spend the cash the way you want to spend it and if any one person says the suit makes you look bigger, then deck them and say: That's right B****!

I say buy what you want and you'll be happy! That's what I'd do.

All the best,

Root.

 

[Oscar Tong]

RE: TAM THE TAILOR!

Hey, Root, is this the business of the tailor about whom you were speaking?

Tam Custom Tailor Shop
802 Ellice Avenue
Winnipeg, MB R3G 0B9
Canada

Tel: (204) 775-1160