New Limited Editions
Spring Socks: Part II |
|
| |
Greetings!
Thank you all so much! Your response to my
request for things you would like to see us
add to CustomShirt1 was awesome ... and
overwhelming! Just the perfect shopping list
for my trip. I just returned from Zurich and
Milan. Many things I found and others are in
the works. A full report in our next issue.
Of Note:The newest member of
the Zimmerli Women's line will premier
shortly on our site. Similar to Richelieu but
much more feminine in styling, the 100% Swiss
cotton Vertigo is simply precious. Of course,
supplies are quite limited at first ... as
always with
new Zimmerli items.
The series on tailored clothing by maestro
Jon Green continues in this issue. Again, our
thanks to Jon for his invaluable assistance
in expanding the focus of Sartorial
Excellence News.
In Response: Due to the number
of requests, we have now
made all the Sartorial Excellence News
Caveat Emptor articles
available on our web site. Click here.
Finally ... don's miss: Our
Spring Pocket Square collection has arrived.
These are quite unique. Each beautiful
Italian Silk square has four different
colored hand-rolled edges to allow you four
different color-coordination themes for each
square!
See below.
Best regards,
Alexander Kabbaz
|
| |
| |
| |
Caveat Emptor
. . . An Ongoing Series:
A Tailor's Qualifications ... |
| |
Editor's Note: Jon
Green (better known
as The Maestro as ordained by
Departures Magazine in an article
about the finest men's tailoring) is not just
my friend but also my tailor. In contrast to
most of the old-world tailoring school who
tend to stay rooted to their benches, Jon has
an insatiable appetite for knowing all about
the upper echelons of fine clothing. He has
spent countless hours both here and on the
Continent checking the attributes ... and
detriments ... of virtually every well-known
"upscale" brand of
clothing.
While still a high
school student, he talked his way into an
after-school job in the finest men's store in
Texas. Jon moved rapidly up the ladder. He
became supervisor of the store's entire
tailoring department until he
left to attend Juilliard. Jon's interest in
clothing never waned. He has remained a
strong force in tailoring and risen to the
top of the miniscule group of New York
tailoring firms largely regarded
as among the finest in the world.
In sum, who
else would I possibly call upon for their
expertise when we decided to expand
Sartorial Excellence News beyond our
fields of bespoke shirtmaking and luxury
furnishings? It is with pleasure that we
present this second in a series of tailored
clothing articles by The Maestro, Jon Green.
Caveat
Emptor . . .
Part VIII:
Tailors' Qualifications:
Busting the
Myths!
THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK
WHEN INTERVIEWING A TAILOR
... is
better thought of as ...
THE MOST
IMPORTANT ANSWERS TO LISTEN FOR
WHEN
HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH A TAILOR.
An American friend who lived in Paris for
many years immediately following WWII once
told me that at that time in Europe most
men's and women's clothes were made by
tailors because there was no other option.
She added, "And you were very careful about
what you had made because you would be
wearing it for a long time."
In those days it was clear who was a tailor.
Today that distinction is purposefully
blurred. Most of the traditional functions of
a tailor such as designing, pattern making,
sewing, fitting, busheling (old German for
altering and mending), selling, guidance,
and customer care have been appropriated in
the marketplace by designers, stylists,
factories, machine operators, needle workers,
salesmen, retail stores, and the media.
As you go through the process of finding a
tailor, you will have the obvious questions
of price, fabric, style, and time. But if you
don't know if the quality is there, if the
design and color are right for you, or if it
fits properly, the answers you get may be
meaningless. If you are looking for a custom
tailor today you've got to know what you are
doing. Caveat Emptor!
Having clothes properly made isn't "off the
rack" handy and convenient, and it is costly.
Given the time required and the expense, the
first person to question is you. Consider
what you want from a custom suit, jacket, or
trousers that you cannot get with
ready-to-wear or made-to-measure garments
from a retail men's clothing store. Many
off-the-peg garments are well made and will
fit fairly well when you find the right make
and model for you, and made-to-measure
clothing can be less expensive than custom.
If, after that important self-inventory, you
are still convinced this is for you, gather
information from magazines and books and
search the web. Ask those you know who have
their clothes made and get their
recommendations. Some have been known to walk
up to strangers wearing a garment they liked
and ask, "Where did you get that?"
Bespoke tailors can be intimidating but most
enjoy talking with those who share a love of
beautiful, hand made clothing. Approach
tailors whose work you respect and let the
relationship develop to see if there is a
match. Listen, listen, listen, and you will
get your answers. Your evaluation should
include several, if not all, of the following
considerations:
- Quality
- Price
- Fit
- Style
- Self-expression
- Solutions, Services and Benefits
- Trust
- Coaching
- Value
QUALITY
Tailors are craftsmen and some are better
than others; rarely do you find one person
who does it all well. One may be great at
sewing but not at styling or fitting.
Another, visa versa. Beware of the tailors
who pass off made-to-measure factory garments
as their own "custom" suits.
If you read my prior installment on the
different ways to construct a suit, you know
that with a factory suit's ready-made canvas
installed it will never be a great suit
regardless of the hand needlework that goes
into the finishing. Conversely, a hand made
canvas may be well made but it does not
ensure quality if the rest of the suit is not
what you want.
What to do? Do your homework so you
can recognize what you want when you see it.
Look, look, and look again. Notice the suits
on people around you. Pay particular
attention to attractiveness, appropriateness,
and proper fit. Over time your "eye" will
develop.
PRICE
If your idea of a good time is searching for
the perfect bespoke suit at the lowest price,
then go for it. However, when price is
paramount you can end up paying what you
want, but not getting what you hoped for.
In
the long run you will be better off waiting
and saving for the best suit ... the one
which won't be the least expensive. Many
bespoke clients buy one or two garments a
year and steadily build their wardrobes. You
can use this learning curve to your benefit
by applying what you have learned to each
subsequent commission. Your satisfaction will
grow exponentially.
Remember, you are not shopping for a
pre-existing widget, you are entering a
relationship with a talented craftsman. The
price of a bespoke suit varies but for the
level we are talking about here it should
start above $5000, plus your time and
traveling expenses for numerous fittings of
which you should expect a minimum of three
for at least your first few suits.
STYLE
"You can tell a lot about a man by the cut of
his clothes." Timeless style, not temporary
fashion, is what high quality custom, or
bespoke, clothing is all about; that, and the
personal expression in your presentation ...
as opposed to being dressed in an attractive
selection of unrealated wardrobe components.
This kind of clothing will last 20 years if
you want it to and take care of it. Consider
the cut you select and how it will fare over
a long period of time.
FIT
By definition a bespoke suit should fit you,
but again, who's the judge? If you aren't
qualified to tell, you must trust your
tailor. I'll write a great deal more about
proper fit in future articles which should
give you a number of "talking points" when
reacting to your tailor's judgments.
SELF-EXPRESSION
What is meant by being "expressed" by the
clothes you wear? Why is it important? Your
self is expressed in the world when your
clothes fit your body, enhance your coloring,
and compliment your personality and body type
so that others notice you instead of whose
clothes you are wearing. For at least 25
years designers have had a lock on the "look"
of ready-to-wear clothing. The customer
wears the logo or the identity of the
designer, often unaware that their personal
presentation, i.e., the visual presenting to
the world of the individual's values, tastes,
and what they can be counted on for, have
been smothered by a designer's lifestyle
message.
An authentic self-expression is a
powerful communication. It's scary, but many
studies have shown that as much as 87% of a
presentation is visual; for the pre-language
human brain, indeed seeing is
believing. Authenticity in your personal
presentation speaks louder than words. Will
your tailor's clothes do this, or will they
be his expression grafted on to you?
SOLUTIONS, SERVICES & BENEFITS
Wearing a selection of clothing components,
regardless of their beauty and quality, is
not the same as dressing well. When a
wardrobe is created to function within your
personal context, fewer pieces are needed and
all garments and accessories work together.
Having a tailor or clothier who can respond
in emergencies for specialty garments, who
can teach you how to tie your tie, answer
your questions about what to wear for
different occasions, and save you time and
money by valeting your clothes and thereby
protecting your investment are the kinds of
solutions you should expect from your tailor.
COACHING
Coaching clients in the art of dressing well
is the collaborative element that makes
having a tailor you trust so useful and
satisfying; then, a need has been superbly
met. I think I can understand what Babe Ruth
meant when, after being told that the Boston
Red Socks had offered him a contract,
replied, "You mean they're going to pay me to
play baseball?!" Find a tailor with the
expertise who is willing to help you with
more than just a well made suit.
TRUST
There is an intimacy to the relationship with
your tailor, as with your doctor, in that
both deal with the body and the mind.
You
will be working together closely, so it is
important that you be comfortable with and
respect each other. The right tailor can
help you realize a dream.
VALUE
There are "Value Added" benefits to consider
when purchasing a bespoke suit from a great
tailor. Don't allow yourself to get focused
on price. You want to work with a tailor who
will listen to what you want and who will
make what you request rather than simply
making his "house style." Bespoke tailoring
is about getting what you want. A client
once said to me, "I will happily pay what is
required if it's what I want. If it's not
what I want, it's useless to me! If it's
what you want, it will pay off for a lifetime.
IN SUM ...
The 'Bespoke Experience' is not for
everyone. No one needs a
bespoke suit ... but then again, nobody
really needs a beautiful
sunset, a great bottle of wine, or a Mozart
symphony. However, when the time and the
tailor are right you will know it, and you
might just love it. Go prepared and have fun!
Ed's. Note: Jon Green can be reached
at Jon
Green New York.
In future
Caveat Emptor Articles
- Basic fitting parameters for Suit
Jackets (Next in the series)
- Basic fitting parameters for Trousers
(Next in the series)
- How to dress in this new economy
- How to get the clothes from a store which
are the best for you
- The impact of personal appearance on
presentation
- Traditional vs. Contemporary Suit
Styling
- Considerations when selecting various
weights and weaves of woolens
- The differences in the patterns of a true
bespoke suit and a made-to-measure suit
- Why is craftsmanship thriving in our
high-tech era?
- Developing a personal style: pulling it
together
- The intangibles of dressing well
- The elements of a well made suit
- The care of fine clothing
|
| |
|
| |
A Quick Look:
Italian Silk Hand-rolled Pocket Squares with Unique Edging |
| |
These are really different. The beautiful
prints speak for themselves. What requires a
close look are the very special edges. These,
hand-rolled of course, have the added
versatility of being made in four different
colors on each square! In this way, you can
coordinate the square to your color theme -
with four different choices per pocket
square. We haven't many as they were made in
a very small batch.
The new formal squares have the same
feature. A white edge, a black edge, and a
silver grey edge for coordinating with any
conceivable dress kit.
|
| |
|
| |
| |
Copyright © 2009
CustomShirt1.com div.Kabbaz-Kelly & Sons.
All rights reserved.
FYI: Forward
Sartorial
Excellence News to
a friend. Email
us their
name. When
they order you'll
receive a $100 Gift Certificate.
Click
to Forward.
|
| |
|
| |
|
