Advice wanted: re-building a wardrobe

[culverwood]

From the photos I saw I would say that Belimad has a trimmer figure than that suggested by the coat in your photos b&b.

[bond_and_beyond]

From the photos I saw I would say that Belimad has a trimmer figure than that suggested by the coat in your photos b&b.

Yes, but I think the photos still illustrate the point well.

BB

[belimad]

Hi all,
apologies for the radio silence, as I had to fly to Buenos Aires for a family situation. And thanks all for your comments - I'm a man with a large ego on those things I think I know, but little ego in those I don't, so I'll be the first one to admit I don't know what I'm doing with regards to building a bespoke wardrobe.

Some additional context that may be helpful for this discussion: I used to be a much larger man (145kg for 175cm - that's 320lb for 5'9"), and my suits were tailor made because nothing off the rack or MTM would look decent. I always longed to look good, but I didn't believe I could pull it off given my size. Then I switched industries, so suits were not part of my daily worries anymore, and shortly after I underwent gastric surgery and lost about 50kg (and still going).

Why is this important to mention? It only goes to say that, as someone pointed out, an ignorant customer is probably as much to blame as an overly accommodating tailor; I asked Russell for a suit that would fit me "tightly", a slim fit of sorts, because I like my "new shape", and I enjoy feeling and looking slim. Probably my insistence in legs, arms and overall fit being slim made for a sub-standard suit, or as Old Henry told me, an "MMA fit"! - I don't know.

I would love to find the right balance between a beautiful suit that accommodates my shape but also how I want that shape to look to me. I imagine this is not an easy task, one that takes a lot of work and iterations. The good news is that I'm happy to embark in this journey, because I know it will be an enjoyable one.

I wish Frank's shop was in London and I could visit him every other day - I'm sure 30 fittings, even completely unnecessary and probably highly unnerving to him, would yield tons of learnings for me

As it stands, I'm in NY only 5-6 times a year, so it will take a while until I can get my first finished suit from him. In the meantime, I would love to continue getting your advise on this journey!

Thank you again,
Mariano (btw feel free to call me Mariano instead of Belimad)

[old henry]

The fit of a suit is NEVER even %1 the customers fault. Never.
On style issues, yes.
But fit ? Never.
And also... One John Kent suit is my advice.

[old henry]

My mind has been working, Mariano.
First off , as Mr Alden says, YOU WOULD LOOK GREAT IN A WELL FITTED SUIT. A guy with your stature has the potential to look stunning in a well fit garment. More so than others.
I seriously thought that you were an athlete. An MMA warrior. You are now trim and solid. So that part is done. Now you need only well fitting ,comfortable suits. Well fitted ,comfortable and elegant go hand in hand. Too small is not well fitted. You now need a suit that fits correctly ( easier said than done, I know). You need a suit that fits. you have done the rest.
Fit=Ease=Elegant
FS

[davidhuh]

Some additional context that may be helpful for this discussion: I used to be a much larger man (145kg for 175cm - that's 320lb for 5'9"), and my suits were tailor made because nothing off the rack or MTM would look decent. I always longed to look good, but I didn't believe I could pull it off given my size. Then I switched industries, so suits were not part of my daily worries anymore, and shortly after I underwent gastric surgery and lost about 50kg (and still going).

Why is this important to mention? It only goes to say that, as someone pointed out, an ignorant customer is probably as much to blame as an overly accommodating tailor; I asked Russell for a suit that would fit me "tightly", a slim fit of sorts, because I like my "new shape", and I enjoy feeling and looking slim. Probably my insistence in legs, arms and overall fit being slim made for a sub-standard suit, or as Old Henry told me, an "MMA fit"! - I don't know.

I would love to find the right balance between a beautiful suit that accommodates my shape but also how I want that shape to look to me. I imagine this is not an easy task, one that takes a lot of work and iterations. The good news is that I'm happy to embark in this journey, because I know it will be an enjoyable one.

Dear Mariano,

this is really helpful information from your side, thank you. When I saw your fitting pictures, I thought something was going wrong - now I understand. Get these suits done now, they might serve you a bit. The question is how to proceed.

Given that you had gastric surgery, and given your current weight which is not the final target if I understand you well, I would probably not invest in more than 3 - 4 suits at this point. You might also consider a good MTM. Perhaps you do 2 pairs of grey and/or tan trousers on top, so can vary a bit with the jackets.

Once your weight is more or less stable or close to target, invest in a first real bespoke suit. I'm not blaming your current tailor at all - he made what you asked for. You might want to give him a chance to do better, you might walk a bit around to find somebody else (Kent was mentioned, but go to see a few others, too - Hitchcock is great, Steed is very good, Benson & Clegg was also recommended to me - but there are others). You need room in your suits. You're not very tall but still a strong build. I'm convinced you will get there.

Saludos, David

[bond_and_beyond]

Mariano,

How did the suits turn out in the end? Would be interesting to see.

BB

[belimad]

Mariano,

How did the suits turn out in the end? Would be interesting to see.

BB

Hi BB,
The suits turned out quite all right in my view. And by allright I mean i) they are not perfect but I quite like how they look and how I look wearing them, ii) they are very comfortable to wear, and I feel good wearing them, iii) they have helped me learn quite a bit about the process of commissioning a suit, and iv) solved my “need a good suit fast” issue.

Not sure if other people would agree this is the expected outcome, but I have to say I’m happy about these four developments. I’ve ordered an additional two trousers and a jacket from Russell, and he is working on them. I guess that confirms that I’m happy with his work.

I’ve also commissioned a suit from Frank, and one locally with John Kent. I am enjoying the process of building up my wardrobe tremendously, and it’s great to have members of this forum advising me at every step.

I am in Brazil at the moment but will take some pictures over the weekend when I’m back in London.

[bond_and_beyond]

Great to hear Mariano and good for you. You are the person who’ll be wearing the suits so in the end it is how you feel about them that matters. Would be great to see some photos at some point.

I think Russel is a great guy and a very good cutter and he’s made a lot of suits, tweed jackets, overcoats and even a dinner suit for me that I’m very happy with.

Funny that you mention John Kent, I also ordered a suit from him just last week. A funny and charming guy who definitely seems to know what he’s doing. Struck me as very old school. First fitting in April which I’m looking forward to.

BB

[belimad]

As promised, here are some pictures of the new wardrobe "building blocks". I'll start with the two suits from Russell at Graham Browne:





I had the first fitting with John Kent yesterday but I did not take any pictures. Second one is in 10 days or so. I'll keep on adding pictures over the coming days.

[Concordia]

The blue one looks better all around, but you did OK for getting started.

Longer sleeves than the grey one's, and shorter trouser legs on both would be my suggestions for useful incremental improvements.

[bond_and_beyond]

Very nice Mariano. I think the suits turned out quite well and you look very confident in them!

Only minor quible is that you may consider having the trouser legs shortened a bit and a bit higher rise, but that is more of a personal preference.

Thanks for sharing and looking forward to more photos of your sartorial journey

BB

[old henry]

Russell-Stunning Mariano.
Comfortable. Happy. Confidant. At ease
I think michael can now move you the Benchmade.

[davidhuh]

The blue one looks better all around, but you did OK for getting started.

Longer sleeves than the grey one's, and shorter trouser legs on both would be my suggestions for useful incremental improvements.

Dear Mariano,

thank you for posting the pictures - it is so much easier to comment. After all, this is good for a start.

I agree with Concordia, the blue is clearly better. Biggest possible improvement is fixing the trouser length.

Are you wearing suspenders or a belt? Suspenders are far better in keeping things in place, and more comfortable on top. And as BB also mentions: the trouser rise could be higher, on your natural waist. It might feel a bit strange at the beginning, especially after wearing RTW for years. But you might quickly feel the gain in comfort and see the difference on a full body picture, especially when you move.

Last but not least: you have big feet, it seems to me. The shoes look a bit clunky to me, but it might be the picture as well. Something to look at soon - the shoes could be more elegant while still being comfortable. They are the first thing ladies look at, after your eyes.

Cheers, David

[belimad]

Thanks David (and all) for your comments.
I tried suspenders, but my shirts to get all wrinkled very quickly or they bunch up on the back, so I gave up. Both suits have waist band adjusters, so no belt either. I will ask Russell to fix the trousers length. I dont like how I look when the trousers sit on my natural waist, at least with these trousers, and it’s something I’ve been discussing in my two interactions with John Kent. We’ll see if what he creates solves the problem, then I can hopefully replicate.

Wrt to shoes, I am a big believer in the barefoot movement, and since I adopted barefoot shoes my stance has improved considerably and back pain has dissapeared. Thus, I have decided I am not going back to regular shoes. I’ve looked at several barefoot brands, and the only one I found that has decent formal leather shoes is vivobarefoot, a UK brand which I really like. I’m trying to get in touch with the founder to see if I could order something more elegant, but for the time being their Lisbon model will have to do.