Made To Measure: a worthy middle road, or a waste?

[Kylawyer]

I have definitely been at the RTW pricepoint, but with wearing a suit 4 days a week, and becoming more critical of my present wardrobe, I am thinking of moving upward in the suit world.

I see two problems with bespoke in my situation. First, I am in Louisville, KY - No bespoke here, as far as I can tell (or Indi or Cincinnati). Second, I can't justify the cost, with so many competing expenses, as I'm just a couple years into my first real job. So far I've bargain hunted and found Samuelsohn or similar suits for under $500 at sales, etc.

Is MTM a good middle option for me, or will I be overpaying, and might as well find bespoke?

Tom James is in town, as is Hart Schaffner Marx's measure program.

Your thoughts?

[Concordia]

How easy a fit are you?

If your RTW suits fit pretty well, then MTM will give more or less dependable improvements in style and maybe construction quality (depending on where you go). What you are willing to pay for that level of improvement is your call.

Alternatively, if you have a fairly simple fit problem, like needing a particular size pair of trousers to go with the jacket, or requiring pleats to be happy, MTM will fix you right up and be worth the money in most cases.

If, however, you are between sizes (47ML), or especially long-waisted, or have some other reason for not fitting into suits well then you might do OK with MTM, but finding the right maker (or fitter at the right maker) may be a bit of a crap shoot, just as it would be with RTW. Incremental improvements are probable, but not certain.

[Will]

There is risk in having clothing made, whether it's MTM or bespoke. If you stick to established suppliers the risk is minimized.

However you can fairly confidently expect that a complete fully canvased MTM suit will cost roughly half of a world class bespoke suiting using the same fabric ($2,000 vs. $4,000, rounded).

With each, you have a broader choice of details and fabric than you do off the rack. For your money, successful bespoke, will offer a more refined silhouette and an even broader range of details.
.

[Mark Seitelman]

If you are a "perfect 42" in Samuelsohn, then you should stick to it and try to buy on sale.
Its MTM might not fit you much differently.

However, if you want styling and cloth options which are not available in RTW, then you have to go MTM.

Tom James is good for the busy executive who does not want to shop. I suspect that you would not fit its customer profile in that you have shown interest in clothes by coming to the forum. The plus side of Tom James is that it does its own manufacturing, and there are some economies of scale. Another plus is that it has different price ranges for MTM which reflect its different lines with different levels of craftsmanship. You can get a machine, fused suit to a fully handmade suit with a full canvas front. Tom James has different levels of manufacture to meet each pocketbook.

I would suspect that Tom James and Hart Schaffner are neck and neck on quality at the same pricepoints.

I looked-up Lexington, KY, on the Oxxford and Hickey Freeman websites. Both are sold at a store called Rodes which I assume is one of the best stores in town. The Hickey Freeman pricepoint is probably more affordable, and I would not be surprised if the store didn't carry its own private label which might be more affordable.

Good luck!

[Mark Seitelman]

I didn't directly answer your question.

No, MTM is not a waste of time as long as you don't have requirements and expectations that are unrealistic.

[jekarwoski]

I recall that Mr. Logsdail informed us about the redesigned website of the Custom Tailors and Designers Association, and the "find a tailor" lists the following in Louisville, KY:

Executive Image
3416 Trail Ridge Rd.
Louisville, KY 40241
Tel: 502-327-8827
Fax: 502-412-2564
Contact: Ken Grossman
Email: Ken.Grossman@insightbb.com

http://www.ctda.com/newsite/Find-a-Tailor.html#KY

and there are several in Cincinnati. Perhaps another LL member can
discuss the credentials one must have to be a member. Of course many
fine tailors are not members - Mr. Nicolosi is not listed for New York.

I have two suits through the Hart Schaffner Marx (HSM) MTM program, the
second result better than the first because I was a bit more educated and a bit more
demanding about certain things. If you go the MTM path, I'd suggest waiting until
the manufacturer's rep is in town and work directly with him - somtimes the local
habadashery personnel aren't entirely up to date on what's possible.

You don't mention why you're thinking about MTM. As others said, you will get
more cloth options. But if you are looking for certain styling options, you
should ask about what's possible from each manufacturer - that might guide your decision.
For example, I prefer front trouser pockets either besom (jetted) or
on the side seam. If an MTM program didn't allow that, I wouldn't be interested.
Same goes for jacket vents, etc. Asking what's possible might give you some ideas.

[zegnamtl]

Samuelsohn makes a very good suit for RTW.
500 dollars is a very god price too.
Samuelsohn is never advertised on sale in my home market,
and rarely, if ever go on sale.
A rather large portion of my jackets and suits are Samuelsohn and I have never been disappointed in a single piece.
I have MTM Samuelsohn also but opted for this route solely because of fabrics available in the MTM program that were not available in the RTW lines.

They have three new suit bodies that are very nice, some with much softer shoulders.

I am now learning and adding bespoke to the collection,
but my Samuelsohn's are still amongst my favorite pieces.

In a recent chat with Mr. Bizzocchi of Kiton, I was wearing a Samuelsohn jacket in Zealander wool, Mr. Bizzocchi said he keeps his eye on what Samuelsohn is doing and that they alone in their price point.

[Baron Kurtz]

I've heard some good things about Leon Tailoring Co. in Indianapolis for custom tailoring. They have a website so should be relatively easy to locate. They appear to be quite reasonable on price (I was quoted approx $900-$1000 for a three piece winter weight suit).

bk

[alden]

Dear Sir,

It has been said earlier in this thread that MTM costs half the price of full bespoke. So let me phrase a question in the following manner: Would it be better to have a wardrobe of ten MTM suits or five suits that are full bespoke?

I would prefer the five.

In the Windsor suits report I spoke about the classic designs of SR as evidenced by the measures of these suits. The measures of one man standing 5’2” in 1932 and the measures of a man in 2006 standing 6’3” are the same given a foot difference in height.

The stock MTM patterns I have seen do not possess this timeless, balanced formula. So you are starting off with a major disadvantage. The architect’s plan for your dream house is faulty.

The qualities that make a great suit, given the existence of a classic cut, are quality material and craftsmanship.

Most of the cloth choices that MTM makers offer are not of a quality that one would choose.
The hand crafting of bespoke is largely non existent in MTM.

When you add it all up, MTM should cost one-fourth of bespoke and not one-half of same.

Five bespoke business suits with a timelessly elegant cut, made of proper material and crafted by a master will last a lifetime: one suit a day, five days a week, one weeks rest for each suit. Pass them onto your children. If the cut is right they should get a few years use out of them as well.

Cheers

[Kylawyer]

Thank you all for your contribution. It sounds like I should keep wearing the suits I've got until I can spring for a bespoke.

Thank you also for the direction on local people.

Jason