Number of Fittings

[dempsy444]

Sort of advanced, Dempsy, but I'm happy it's not mine...

ugh. Costi, do you say that based on what you see in the photo or from what you have learned about the outcome of suit from my previous posts? I ask because I'm curious if there is anything I should have seen in the first fitting other than the fact that it is not a true baste fitting.

[Costi]

Dempsy, based on the photo. It's usually hard to judge based on pictures, as we all know, but the sleeve cut and sleeve insertion issues are pretty obvious. I understand perfectly that it's a fitting, not a finished garment. But even so, things could look better...
Some pulling radiating from the buttoning point also hints at possible issues (balance? I could be wrong).
I hope the tailor noted everything and will make the necessary adjustments. It looks like there are still things to do...
Got another fitting scheduled?

[dempsy444]

Thanks, Costi. This was actually the first fitting to the suit that started this thread. A bit of a newbie when I had it made, not that I’m much more now.
It never occurred to me that it was an advanced first fitting and not a true baste. Lesson learned. As it turned out, the suit proved your suspicion right about the pulling at the front. It came out a bit off balance and I found myself having to pull the front quarter’s closed as opposed to them touching naturally. The front button was about a quarter inch off from the button hole. When I met with the tailor last month, he noticed it and said he thought it was from the shoulder and collar being off so he has gone back to rework it.

[Costi]

Sorry, Dempsy, got a little lost in this mega-thread and forgot how it all started... On the other hand, that took the bias out of my photographic observations.
It's a sign of goodwill that your tailor continues to tweak the suit and correct errors. Perhaps he learned his lesson, too, and will do better from the outset next time.

[Scot]

My experience of fittings is that there is always chalking, pinning, tweaking and tugging to be done. The odd thing, to me, is that this happens every time; so the adjustments never seem to find their way back to the pattern. I would have thought that the time ought to come when a fitting, if needed, was a fairly rapid affair, but on the odd occaison when this has happened to me the outcome has not been good; and my experience is not confined to one tailor. I wonder if the mystique that surrounds the pattern is actually due to it. It seems to be a fairly rough guide that serves as the basis for the cutter to subsequently demonstrate his good eye and skill and generally convince you that you that the money you are parting with is well spent! I say this half in jest (but only half). In fact I quite enjoy the process because it is at least more intimate and human than picking something of almost the same price off a designers rail. If only I could persuade tailors to listen to what I say. I can cope with being bullied when I know that their gretaer knowledge is pertinent to the decision; but when the requested straight pockets come back slanted or the contrasting lining is a matching lining, that just annoys me.

[aston]

I am not sure. My curent tailor has just made suit no. 5, and the amount of changes arising at the baste stage were minimal; straight to finish from there, bar button holes, and it was virtually perfect. 3/8" off the sleeves and 1/2" through the waist, and a little through the seat, and we were done.

Each commission has been a small improvement on the last. The outcome of this, when I pick it up, should be as close to perfect as it gets.

So perhaps it is not number of fittings per suit, but number of suits per tailor.

[davidhuh]

Each commission has been a small improvement on the last. The outcome of this, when I pick it up, should be as close to perfect as it gets.

Dear Aston,

this is logic to me. The tailor knows you and get the pattern adjusted over time, which should in theory lead to improvement over time.

So perhaps it is not number of fittings per suit, but number of suits per tailor.

This is, in my eyes, not a very convincing statement. The number of fittings don't make a better suit; a good tailor does. The number of suits from one tailor should result in less adjustments being necessary - this is true as long you are ordering similar cloth. My tailor tells me that every cloth behaves differently - at least the ones he likes to work with. I feel this difference when wearing my suits. Therefore, surprises happen, even to the best tailor.

Cheers, David

[Leonard Logsdail]

ALmost all new clients ask me how many fittings the suit will take, and i give them all the same answer. "As many as it takes". Sometimes I hit a home run and could have gone straight to a finish. Other times I need a few fittings. But I will not finish a suit until "I" think it is ready and also until I see a degree of satisfaction in the face of my client. Sometimes they do not articulate what might be on their minds. If I want to have a lasting and happy client who gives me repeat orders, then I have to recognize this during the fitting process. As far as i am concerned it is part of what I am being paid for. I will always complete a suit as quickly as I can, but I always say up front that I will not act in haste and then repent in leisure just because I am being pressured to finish something I do not think is ready. Very few people come to see me with the idea of ordering only one suit and then moving on. So I tell them to let me do my job properly. If we both invest in a bit of extra time at the outset, we will both benefit in the long run.

The big factor in all of this, though, is how much diligence the tailor puts in to adjusting his clients paper pattern after each fitting. this is the key to future satisfaction and a quicker turn around.

Leonard