First bespoke commission

[L.deJong]

Hello dear LL'ers,

Here are my photos of the first bespoke trouser and jacket via my Italian tailor.
Trousers are pretty full in cut (also the highest rise I have).

Back jacket is still a bit messy, but I will just wear it as is.
For a first commission it all fits pretty well.
I'm a big believer in wider pants, but these are a bit getting used to.

o5XtCTo by The London Lounge, on Flickr

MLqWJmt by The London Lounge, on Flickr

khbU221 by The London Lounge, on Flickr

gFf7SJK by The London Lounge, on Flickr

{{Edit Note: Remember to crop your photos and post them in a medium size, other wise we just get a view of a nice garden and a great looking Lounge Chair. I have cropped and posted the photos for you now the way they should be. Cheers.}}

[old henry]

The only way I could view the photos is save them to my phone. But the coat looks very nice. I like the pants very much too.

[alden]

I agree with Frank. This is an excellent first bespoke commission. The jacket looks well done. The waves in the back are probably due to the way you are standing. (During your fittings, make sure and stand the way you normally and naturally do. Don't assume a new stance or posture when the tailor is working to fit you.)

The trouser is very good. That is what a trouser should look like. They are not wide at all! They are well done. Its just that they don't look painted on like the trousers you see in fashion magazines that no one could actually wear.

Excellent start...stay with this tailor, and let us know how things go.

Cheers

[L.deJong]

Thanks for cropping the photo's Alden.
Will keep you updated, the newly commissioned grey 2pc suit feature trousers made in the style of Maximilian Mucska.
But a bit trimmed down at the upper legs.
So that's something to look forward too.
The coat will feature a more extended shoulder.

Your comment on stance wasn't something I had thought about, I will try to stand even more 'naturally'. Thanks! Hopefully the next commission will be better at the beg because of it.

[aston]

Michael, Frank

Are you serious about the back of the coat? It's shocking!

The back needs passing up about 3/4". The sleeve needs picking up at the back 1/2".

I wouldn't wear this out of the shop.

[L.deJong]

I wouldn't wear this out of the shop.

I do
But I will pass your feedback too my tailor.
Two adjustments noted.

BTW In his defence he is a travelling tailor, so there was only one fitting.
I have learned from this experience, next commission gets more than one fitting (at least 2).

[old henry]

Alden and I like to let gents feel good about their first suit sometimes. Put up one if your suits Aston and I'll take a look.

[alden]

Are you serious about the back of the coat? It's shocking!

Yes the prima facie evidence appears shocking. But a lot of diagnosis via poor internet pictures need a Sherlock Holmesian approach because my experience has taught me that photos can be deceiving.

This tailor has made an excellent jacket front and trouser. The style is quite good and so is the execution. Mr deJong does not look like a difficult fit. Would this same tailor have completely botched the back? Hmm, technically speaking it is possible, but I tend to think that what we are seeing in the back is either a bad photo, or a client who was moving about during fittings. I tend to think it is a bad photo, but only Mr. deJong can tell us for sure and its not even easy for him to know unless he has someone with a little experience to see first hand.

These pages contain hundreds of examples of botched backs that tend to go together with botched fronts, and brutally mutilated trousers as well as everything else in a relatively pitiful state. I do not see that in this case.

And, of course, we do not know if this is traditional tailoring or MTM. The subject could very well wear MTM or RTW, he doesn't appear to have issues. Or if he does have issues, the tailor has done an excellent job in masking them. You see, it is not at all obvious to make judgements on circumstantial evidence. "Motion denied..."

I think if any of us, Frank, you or myself were in that garden with the nice chair we could judge the reality of the situation in a fraction of a second. Not being there is a decided disadvantage in helping our young friend. But my overall impression is still positive.

Lets try some more photos of the back young man!

Cheers

[aston]

Happy to Frank, as soon as I get a spare moment.

Thanks

[yialabis]

Great trousers !!! the way they should be !! The coat surely needs a few changes ..but i would leave them for the next one !
Let's encourage young men to engage in the true art of bespoke and be happy about it !! If we do, this will encourage other younger men to sit by a tailor and learn the craft , knowing that maybe they can earn a living out of it ! Lets try and be appreciative about our members who generously send their photos here !

cheers
Vassilis

[Screaminmarlon]

Great trousers !!! the way they should be !! The coat surely needs a few changes ..but i would leave them for the next one !
Let's encourage young men to engage in the true art of bespoke and be happy about it !! If we do, this will encourage other younger men to sit by a tailor and learn the craft , knowing that maybe they can earn a living out of it ! Lets try and be appreciative about our members who generously send their photos here !

cheers
Vassilis

+1
Exactly

[L.deJong]

Thanks Alden, Frank and Vassilis for giving me a good feeling.
I will post some pictures of the back, and play with my own stance.
There are three factors at play here, I don't know which are true/false:
First: It is almost one year ago that I commissioned this pieces. In that time frame I lost some pounds (more then 10!). So that affects my stance.
Second: My stance at the fittings may have been unnatural.
Third: I changed my stance when making the photos.
In other words I think it's my fault and not my tailors. I have seen pieces made for other gents and these pieces have a nice clean back. So he is capable of making it clean.

The question of mtm/bespoke is not something I can deny. As much as I like to think that it's a custom made pattern, it is also possible that he works from a block pattern. The chance that this is the case is pretty small tough. Because he made some outrageous stuff and my new grey suit trousers did indeed have a totally different cut and featured the same shape as seen in the picture of Maximilian Mucska, but I don't know how hard that is to draft, maybe a block pattern is also capable of copying these trousers.
RTW Isn't possible because I had fittings and my tailor has a sartoria where he makes the stuff.

Vassilis:
I love the craft btw, I'm playing with the thought of going some place to learn it...but then reality checks in and I know I don't possess the skills to make it in that world. (I have pretty poor eye sight because of Keratoconus). But it's pretty stabile so who knows I'm young and full of passion.

[alden]

Great trousers !!! the way they should be !! The coat surely needs a few changes ..but i would leave them for the next one ! Let's encourage young men to engage in the true art of bespoke and be happy about it !! If we do, this will encourage other younger men to sit by a tailor and learn the craft , knowing that maybe they can earn a living out of it ! Lets try and be appreciative about our members who generously send their photos here !

+1

[alden]

First: It is almost one year ago that I commissioned this pieces. In that time frame I lost some pounds (more then 10!). So that affects my stance.
Second: My stance at the fittings may have been unnatural.
Third: I changed my stance when making the photos.
In other words I think it's my fault and not my tailors. I have seen pieces made for other gents and these pieces have a nice clean back. So he is capable of making it clean.

So for the future, you must determine a weight that you plan on maintaining for a very long time, as in, for the rest of your days. If you are buying the right cloth, the clothes you are making today will last that long and should make your sons and grandsons proud as well. But for your own use, you will need to maintain a steady weight. That is a very fundamental principle of any custom clothes investment. Staying fit for a lifetime requires a good deal of discipline and tenacity, so make sure you are up to it. If not, make sure your tailor leaves a ton of margin in your clothes for future alterations.

Secondly, you will learn to stand the way you normally do for your fittings. Every young man in recorded history, except for those who had an experienced family member with them at fittings, has made this mistake. So don't feel like you're the only one. The next time, don't pose, don't thrust your shoulders back for the mirror, this is not a Hollywood set, its a fitting for clothing....so just stand there!

No need for more photos, we have understood, and I know you have too. But let's do see photos of the next suit and its fittings.

Cheers

[L.deJong]

Sure thing. I will post more pictures of the next commission.
The 10+ pounds weight loss is the happy byproduct of a new and healthy way of living and (lest face it, eating).
I'm pretty stable now and have an eating habit that I feel will be a habit for the rest of my life.
So I hope to maintain my weight, or even losse soms more.
I didn't expect this because I have used every diet in the book. But I tried the last possible solution and it worked! So that's why I started pretty early.

PS Alden you got my crappy picture of the first fitting?