I stood in front of the wall of socks this morning & thought of you.

I remain a Burlington Boy...

It's hard to pin point why anyone gets custom clothes; Daddy got them- I have money- I want to be a gentleman- I love clothes. It's easier to spot people who appreciate them. They are few and far between. Thus, if you are asking what the point is, it is not for you.


If it is well designed, I think OTR and MTM are perfectly good alternatives. Suits should enhance you and follow the lines of the body (and disguise glaring defects in the body) but these are guidelines, not matters to obsess over.

Properly made bespoke clothes, in and of themselves, can be appreciated and enjoyed as works of art, but more practically, they enhance the appearance of the wearer, and they are also very comfortable.  As someone who naturally gravitates to well-worn jeans and flannel shirts for their comfort factor, I also appreciate being comfortable wearing "nice" clothes that fit so well that I don't even feel I'm wearing them.

I turned toward "bargain bespoke" (W.W. Chan) in my case largely because I couldn't find RTW suits and jackets that fit me well anymore. The lapels popped on just about everything. I have been informed that this is because my chest is disproportionately deep in comparison to the width of my shoulders. I don't know why this is. Garments I purchased more than six years ago are still a good fit.

I do have some RTW garments I consider very satisfactory. My favorite RTW jacket would be a Nordstrom house-brand in a 95-5 wool-cashmere blend that's an Italian-woven "tweed." (Can one call a fabric that doesn't come from the British Isles a "tweed," I wonder?) It cost me $300, and, yes, it's fused. Nonetheless, it is a very handsome, good-fitting garment. If it is not quite as nice as my Chans, the difference is not great, and it was one-third the price. If could routinely and customarily get garments this appealing at a fraction of Chan's prices, which in turn are slightly less than half what the only custom tailor of note in my city charges for identical garments, then I doubt if would feel the need to spend more. I am quite satisfied with RTW trousers and shirts at comparatively low prices, in fact, usually at extremely low prices. All but two of my RTW jackets, however, I mostly use for bumming around the house and neighborhood--nothing more dressy than a run to the local market.

However, aside from issues of fit--and well done bespoke is extremely comfortable--it becomes highly addictive--the endless choices in fabrics, your control over the styling, etc., all go to confirm the maxim" "Once you go bespoke, you can never go back." Even at fairly large clothing emporium, one will usually only find a fairly paltry assortment of suits and jackets in his size, and the fabrics used in many of those will be quite unappealing.

Last edited by The_Shooman (2008-01-16 20:13:54)