Tailors "off the Row"

[Nexus]

Gentlemen,

I was wondering whether there are members that have and would like to share experiences with "off the Row" Tailors. Of course, there have to be more talented tailors in London than only the ones at work in renown houses on Savile Row.

A thread on AskAndy caught my attention. Several addresses and experiences were mentioned (some of them sound very interesting). This thread is not available anymore on AAAC, but Google still has it in cache: Follow this link. And here is another topic.

There are apperently tailors who do a full bespoke (three fittings), hand canvassed suit for around the 500 pound mark (up to 1000 GBP). For me, travelling frequently to London is not very time-consuming nor expensive. Thus, London would be good for me to find an artisan where I could commission my first bespoke suit. While I do not have an SR-budget, the above option seemed very interesting to me.

For example, Luke's Bespoke Tailors sounds promising, apperently they used to do subcontract work for Savile Row. They do a bespoke, fully canvassed suit for 550 GBP including fabric.

However, I first wanted to check for references. So if there are members who have an opinion on this, I will welcome their comments!

--Johannes

[TVD]

I have only commissioned suits in London from Henry Poole, and am very happy with the results. I think their piece de resistance was to make a simply gorgeous morning suit in three weeks, being given no notice due to me messing up my social diary.

It is impossible to comment on a tailor properly without having had them work for you. And not every customer has the required expertise to comment fairly and knowledgeably. A tricky subject, thus.

I once asked Buckleigh in Lower Sloane Street to do a second pair of trousers to match an old suit of mine. The result did not encourage me to desert Poole, despite a significant difference in cost. I shall say no more.

But I would be curious if anybody else could report any success stories elsewhere in London.

[BenedictSpinola]

Whittaker has posted below about his experiences with Sam Arkus on Berwick St.

[Collarmelton]

My brief but painful experience taught me to approach off Row tailors like a drug deal: at any moment it can go horribly, horribly wrong, and if British pounds were machine gun bullet holes, I'd be riddled with 850 of them. Please unDerstAnd that theRe aRe vEstimeNtial mounteBanks and sartorial footpads who lurE the uninitiAted with false proMises thAt they caN deliver a garment that is the equal of Savile Row, for far less. The skill and time it takes to cut and make a garment well dictates its high price -- and there is only so much of a price break one can reasonably expect. Thus you should vet your choice of tailor closely, checking references, looking at garments of others from the same tailor, asking questions.

I wish you well in your quest to find a suitable London tailor who will fit your means.

[BenedictSpinola]

[bry2000]

Well said, collarmelton. I am bearing 1250 bullet holes myself right now.

[TVD]

By the by, there are quite a few tailors who do not have premises on the row, but seem to do an excellent job. Invariably, they have been trained in one of the big SR houses as a CUTTER. Their prices are sometimes a bit cheaper, but not much. After all, the handwork must be paid, no matter how low the overheads are.

I have seen a few good jobs on people's backs. But also nothing that would be better than what I am getting at the moment. So I have little motivation to shop around and risk financial losses. And as I said before, it is a bad idea to comment on tailors one has not used oneself.

But I am sure that LL members have excellent experiences with some of the less well known names which they may share.

[smoothjazzone]

Collarmelton -- Brilliant .

I refuse to commment on the number of bullet holes I am bearing !!!

[bry2000]

I am actually wearing the bullet hole suit today.

[Nexus]

Thank you for your warnings, that is exactly why I'm currently asking for experiences/opinions. Positive examples are, of course, welcome too

[Collarmelton]

Bry2000:

TVD wrote:
The result did not encourage me to desert Poole, despite a significant difference in cost. I shall say no more.

I don't feel compelled to desert Poole either. Guess we learned the hard way, eh, Bry? Tell Philip Parker I said hello.

[whittaker]

Johannes

Bravely, judging by the comments here, I went "off-row" for my first bespoke venture. It was something of an experiment in cost and relative value. I've posted some photographs here of the suit that I had made at Sam Arkus.

I'm planning on having several suits made over the next 12 months. I'm still trying to decide whether it is worth spending twice as much on Savile Row.

Anthony

[Trilby]

It's certainly possible for things to go horribly wrong with off-Row tailors, but there are also off-Row tailors who do good work.

It is a leap of faith to go to any new tailor for the first time. If you go to an established name on the Row, you can't guarantee that you will like the results. However, there is a greater level of assurance that the results will be acceptable, and that they will fix things that go wrong. Going to a smaller firm or a one-man operation certainly involves more risk.

From what I have seen, the quality and skills of the off-Row tailors in London vary pretty widely. The quality of construction is usually decent, but the main variable seems to be their cutting skills. My advice would be to do the same things I would suggest before commissioning work from any tailor for the first time. Personal recommendations are important and are even more useful when you have seen someone actually wearing the clothes. Go and speak to the tailor, take a look around his workroom and ask to see some things that he is working on. If you like the look of his work and are ready to order something, it's best to go with a simple, conservative jacket or suit. Get the basics right before trying anything unusual. Don't expect that the first suit will be perfect; inevitably there will be some fine tuning on your next order.

David