As a quick postscript, I'm not sure I know precisely what you mean by "flexible", however Raph is the most flexible I know of in terms of so-called house styles and silhouettes.  He can design a suit with lines from the 1940s to a British cut suit (Do you prefer Huntsman or A&S?) to one with more of an Italian design (He can make the much-ballyhooed spalla camicia Neapolitan shoulder in his sleep) to a classic Brooks Brothers sack-type suit.  Raph made me a sport coat with a 3-button front rolling to 2 buttons that outdoes J Press.

Marc

Last edited by Marc Grayson (2006-04-02 20:25:43)

The rain hasn't yet had a positive effect on my Logsdail suit--It still looks and fits like a POS.

Marc

You're welcome.  Raphael's preferred style is kind of an amalgam of 1940s American style combined with subtle English and Italian cues.  Lapels and shoulders are  slightly wider, however he likes to nip in the waist, if there is a waist to be nipped in.  Raphael also likes ticket pockets and hacking pockets.  The fit is form-fitting, owing to his Sicilian roots and those of his tailoring staff.  A more structured coat than, say, A&S, however not to the extent of Huntsman.  Armholes not excessively high, resulting in a comfortable fit.  Comfort is paramount with Raphael: When you wear one of hs suits, the first thing you recognize is that you don't even feel like you're wearing a suit.  It'salmost as if the suit is just sort of hovering outside your body, yet it fits like a glove.  When Mimmo Siviglia and his daughter saw pics of my Raphael suits, their comment was that they appeared to be painted on.

Frank's cut is decidedly more English, at least the suit he made for me is, with much more structure in the chest and shoulders, which are roped. 

From what I've seen of Mr. Nicolosi's work from at least two clients in Tom Wolfe and New York Gov. Pataki, there is not a specific design signature, though others with personal experience can offer comments.  Truth be told, despite all of the fanfare over TW's white suits, I've yet to be impressed with the overall fit of his suits, which kind of look sloppy and Gov.Pataki doesn't stand out to me as a style-setter, but take that for what it's worth.  Just my $.02

By the way, the suit Logsdail made for me was definitely not military in any way, unless from some sort of slovenly, undistinguished, out-of-shape military with paunchy soldiers.

Marc

Cheo is good if you're looking for an A&S cut? I can attest towards Raphael's ability - I commissioned my first suit with him a few weeks back and it is coming along superbly - he is, it seems, far more exacting than his clients,

Frank Ercole, located in Brooklyn, makes a very nice, very serviceable garment at a sensible price.  He owns the building in which his shop is situated (lowering overhead considerably), which is reflected in his prices, around $1500 or so for a 2 pc suit made from quality English cloth.  Everything made in-house, at least when I was there a few years ago.  Has a large Wall St. clientele.  I wouldn't classify Mr. Ercole's product as full bespoke in that he can't put the level of handwork and details into his product at those relatively modest prices, however, practically speaking, nobody is going to really notice.  The big picture is the fit, which is flattering and Mr. Ercole won't let you leave with the garment unless you and he are happy.  I own a couple suits from Mr. Ercole and like them very much.  Others echo my sentiments here...
http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7377421/

Wm. Fioravanti, on 57th St., has seen better days and is farming out suits.  I'm not a fan of the cut of his suits anyway, which are cut the same for any person no matter their body type.  Every time I see him on the street, he looks really uncomfortable in those suits with the high armholes.  Anyway, he's a salesman not a tailor, albeit a very successful salesman (His father was a great tailor).  He tools around Manhattan in a $300K Maybach, so if you pony up some big bucks for a lot of suits, his driver might even give you a ride home.  But, if you're not Steve Wynn ordering hundreds of garments, you might not even make it past the doorway.

Herzfeld has an in-house "bespoke" tailor who, turns out, is not a trained tailor but a designer who sends his stuff to a local factory.  He made a suit for me that would have been perfect...had I been two sizes smaller.  His father was a respected tailor who used to run the New York outpost of Bernard Weatherill, the venerable London equestrian outfitter now owned by Kilgours, and the son has been trading off of that affiliation, but, regrettably, the apple did fall far from the tree in this instance. 

Tony Maurizio, also in the twilight of his career and farming garments out to factories.  Proudly boasts of his steep prices, cynically telling me once that every time he increases his prices ($5,500 for a 2 pc suit several years ago), he gets more new customers.  As with Fioravanti, if you're not a corporate titan or a billionaire, you're a small fish in a very large pond.   

If I think of any others, I'll let you know.

Is Vincenzo Sanitate still in business/ any good?

Sanitate, whose shop I pass regularly, farms out to a factory (Last time I checked, Ciccarelli's factory did the work) grossly over-priced suits and a confusing pricing system that has one price for "bespoke" and a higher price for "bench-made"  (something like $5,000).  Bespoke and bench-made, for all practical purposes, are synonymous.  Also, much of his merchandise on display is kind of "Bridge and Tunnel":  Ready-made clothes in loud colors and shirts with wacky stripes just on the collars.

A quick postscript that if you would like to see examples of Giovanni's work, check out Roy Scheider's wardrobe in the film Marathon Man (He played Dustin Hoffman's well-tailored brother), which was actually credited to R. Meledandri.  Very nice work.  To clarify my description of GG as quirky, I didn't mean that as a knock as much as meaning he's a character in a charming sort of way.

Marc

Last edited by Marc Grayson (2006-04-03 19:13:05)

There's a gentleman named Khamal (sp?), residing in the New York borough of Queens, who I've heard is an up-and-coming bespoke tailor, working from home and catering mostly to the elite art community.  I spoke with him briefly several months ago, however never met him, and misplaced his telephone number.  If anyone knows this person, perhaps you can offer further details.

Marc

Perhaps a gang of "monkeys" will walk off with his wash and wear A&S suits...

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14052-1884213,00.html