culverwood wrote:Another photographed by Sean. I assumed the photograph was more for client identification than fit.
I do not understand the idea of travelling to another country just to buy clothes. Perhaps in the UK I do not need to but it just seems to be taking the dandy thing a step too far. That does not mean I would not buy clothes on holiday or when working but unless I had a reason to return to a city regularly I would not consider bespoke abroad.
Sean photographed me as well. He took shots from a few different angles, so I assume it was related to fit.
I'd actually like to moderate my earlier criticisms of Sean a bit. Although he didn't respond to my emails, when I called, he said that he could easily fix the problems, and suggested I drop the shirts off on my next visit to London. I do like his shirts very much and there are just two minor fit issues at this point. It's been enough of a headache though, that I may try Paris or Ascot Chang in NY before deciding whether or not to use Sean again.
I agree somewhat with your comments about travelling to buy clothes. For me it's a question of getting the style and fit I want at a reasonable cost. Getting a drape style suit from a NY area tailor can be very expensive, but there are many A&S alums who travel here at least twice a year, and whose prices are more reasonable. London is one of the few locations to which I can usually get a flight using my air miles and I also have a cheap place to stay there. So it's entirely possible for me to spend an occasional long weekend in London without too much cost or inconvenience. On the other hand, using a tailor or shirtmaker based in Paris, Rome or Naples just wouldn't be practical for me, unless they travelled to NY frequently.
So far I've had pretty good luck using a UK-based tailor and shoemaker, but shirts have been more problematic. My assumption has been that once the fit is perfected, then most of my business can be conducted remotely with visits once or twice a year to iron out any issues that develop. If there's no consistency from order to order though, then obviously I'll need to find someone closer to home.