# I'm getting a tailored suit, in london. Advice:



## Taxamo Welf (Dec 17, 2008)

Its time.

Tailored suit advice please, where, what and what price range.

I am up for being fairly creative, this is not a court or work suit, this is out of a love for suits. So past fashion movements are great. If there's a website that tells me about Mod and skinhead suits that's wicked but i'm up for being even more creative. 

what do you know? TELL ME NOW!!


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## brix (Dec 17, 2008)

I don't know much myself but I remembered this thread that might be of interest: http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=263864&highlight=walworth+road+tailor


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## Taxamo Welf (Dec 17, 2008)

my living fuck, thats the exact one i was thinking of 

_noooooooooo gedoutta my head charles!!!!_


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## brix (Dec 17, 2008)

Taxamo Welf said:


> my living fuck, thats the exact one i was thinking of
> 
> _noooooooooo gedoutta my head charles!!!!_



What's that last bit about?


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## Taxamo Welf (Dec 17, 2008)

ok £600 starting price.

No.

Sooo onto the ones that are £200 and you get measured up and they make it abroad...


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## Squatticus (Dec 17, 2008)

Mr Rajah M Daswani of [Something Scottish I think] Road, Kowloon?


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## Citizen66 (Dec 17, 2008)

I generally hire them when needed. Other than that have light-fingered friends who work for up-market department stores. Makes you feel less of a cunt even if you've got to keep tight-lipped about it.


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## dolly's gal (Dec 18, 2008)

cheg got an amazing one made about a year ago. by these dudes who service the city lot but cos they don't have premises it's relatively cheap. think he got his for about 300 all in, and it's a fucking amazing suit. pm him for details - he was very impressed with them


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## albionism (Dec 18, 2008)

http://www.acefaceclothingcompany.com/


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## Xanadu (Dec 18, 2008)

I think dolly's gal may be talking about King & Allen : http://www.kingandallen.co.uk/

They now have a store in Surbiton, but they have fitting days around London constantly.

I'm going to be heading to the store sometime next week to check it out.  They're around £300-£350 per suit.


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## dolly's gal (Dec 18, 2008)

Xanadu said:


> I think dolly's gal may be talking about King & Allen : http://www.kingandallen.co.uk/
> .



yes they're the chaps!


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## g force (Dec 18, 2008)

Go to TM Lewin - they have a fair few branches. You get an "off the rack" suit in terms of waste size and chest size but they'll alter the trousers, sleeves etc. I got a new suit from there for £260 all in (usually £500 but there's a sale on)


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## Nanker Phelge (Dec 18, 2008)

dolly's gal said:


> yes they're the chaps!



Just got fitted suits from King and Allen for our Receptionists - after a few months they are fallling apart - this was after waiting months for them to be completed in the first place...


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## Xanadu (Dec 18, 2008)

g force said:


> Go to TM Lewin - they have a fair few branches. You get an "off the rack" suit in terms of waste size and chest size but they'll alter the trousers, sleeves etc. I got a new suit from there for £260 all in (usually £500 but there's a sale on)



They always have a sale on - the suits are only worth around £250.  In general they look better than standard M&S suits.


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## dolly's gal (Dec 18, 2008)

Nanker Phelge said:


> Just got fitted suits from King and Allen for our Receptionists - after a few months they are fallling apart - this was after waiting months for them to be completed in the first place...



really? chegs is still going strong and looks fab after a year


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## ovaltina (Dec 18, 2008)

But a reception suit will be in use all day every day. My suits spend almost all their time in their dry cleaning bags and are bought out for special occasions. My jeans are on their last legs.


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## Xanadu (Dec 18, 2008)

Hmmm that's rather disheartening.  I need about 3 work suits that will be worn day in day out for a while.  I don't want to spend too much on them, so was going to try out a King & Allen suit.


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## 100% masahiko (Dec 18, 2008)

Before deciding what brand of suit to buy, please consider the following:-

1. Fabric - most important I reckon because it determines the quality and feel of a suit. Wool is perhaps the most desired fabric but can be expensive depending on the type. _Worsted_ is perhaps the dog for the makings of the ultimate suit. 

Stay away from alternatives like polyester, cotten and linen - they don't keep their shape well and die too soon. 

2. Cut - a good suit should hug your body. The sleeves should not surpass your wrists and should a minimum of 4-6cm of shirt sleeve (think fancy cufflinks). Look at the sorts of collars you like, how you want your shoulders, the size of the lapels, how many buttons etc. Alot of bad cut suits make the body too 'boxy.'

3. Tailor - Have a look at the style of the tailors. For example, Threadneedleman have a great history of producing Britboy suits but if I wanted something a little more formal/conservative, I'd choose http://www.dress2kill.com/suits.asp

As for expense, I can't imagine getting a decent tailored suit for under £400.


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## 100% masahiko (Dec 18, 2008)

Xanadu said:


> Hmmm that's rather disheartening.  I need about 3 work suits that will be worn day in day out for a while.  I don't want to spend too much on them, so was going to try out a King & Allen suit.



Why don't you buy a suit in TK Maxx?

I've picked up some great bargains there - Calvin Klein (100% wool) for £100.
Westood tweed £100, Hilfiger for £200 and William Hunt for £100.

Just make sure it's a snug fit and get a tailor to do the rest


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## Taxamo Welf (Dec 19, 2008)

100% masahiko said:


> Why don't you buy a suit in TK Maxx?
> 
> I've picked up some great bargains there - Calvin Klein (100% wool) for £100.
> Westood tweed £100, Hilfiger for £200 and William Hunt for £100.
> ...



this is an interesting idea... I just feel that a tailor would need to do absolutely masses to any off-the-peg suit i bought, they simply never ever fit. I'm very short 

its sucks in general actually 

How do i know what is too much for a tailor to fix?


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## RubyToogood (Dec 19, 2008)

Taxamo Welf said:


> this is an interesting idea... I just feel that a tailor would need to do absolutely masses to any off-the-peg suit i bought, they simply never ever fit. I'm very short
> 
> its sucks in general actually
> 
> How do i know what is too much for a tailor to fix?


What are the main bits that don't fit you, Tax? 

I don't know a great deal about men's tailoring per se, but having done a lot of dressmaking and some pattern cutting I'd say:

Dead easy to fix: length of sleeves and trouser legs
Fairly easy: shaping of jacket around the waist and hips
Not so easy: length of jacket body (not sure, might be considered fairly easy)
Better not messed with: chest width, fitting around the armhole and probably crotch seam too, sleeve width.

Not sure about leg width - I don't think it'd be a good idea to buy something far too big and try to get it altered.


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## zoltan (Dec 21, 2008)

100% masahiko said:


> Before deciding what brand of suit to buy, please consider the following:-
> 
> 1. Fabric - most important I reckon because it determines the quality and feel of a suit. Wool is perhaps the most desired fabric but can be expensive depending on the type. _Worsted_ is perhaps the dog for the makings of the ultimate suit.
> 
> ...



also- make sure the canvas lining is stitched, not glued - ask if you have to - a glued lining will bubble on the surface after a hard dry clean & you cant do anything about it  - cheaper hand made suits glue them, due to cost involved - then again, some say you should steam & brush a good suit & never DC


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## Taxamo Welf (Dec 23, 2008)

RubyToogood said:


> What are the main bits that don't fit you, Tax?



sleeves, length, and on the shoulders. I'm not an abnormal shape you see i'm just a bit smaller than a 36, and that's the smallest size suits come in in shops.


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## RubyToogood (Dec 23, 2008)

My gut feeling is then that (unless there's somewhere that does a sort of petite range, like the opposite of High & Mighty) you're probably better off getting something made than monkeying about trying to alter a ready made suit. The shoulders would be tricky to alter IMO.

Edit: actually thinking about it, people were smaller in the past, have you tried vintage suits?


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## Taxamo Welf (Dec 23, 2008)

RubyToogood said:


> My gut feeling is then that (unless there's somewhere that does a sort of petite range, like the opposite of High & Mighty) you're probably better off getting something made than monkeying about trying to alter a ready made suit. The shoulders would be tricky to alter IMO.
> 
> Edit: actually thinking about it, people were smaller in the past, have you tried vintage suits?


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## nick h. (Dec 27, 2008)

Interesting project. How about going to Ozwald Boateng and Ted Baker for inspiration and then getting Threadneedleman to make it for a sensible price? Ted Baker sometimes has unusual limited edition stuff in some of their branches. The Floral St one is good. 

If Ted Baker stuff fits you their sample sale is handy. Lots of stuff is 80 or 90% off. I went a year ago and got about four suits and six jackets and a sheepskin coat and a padded jacket. Total bill was about £600. One suit was shiny gold, one was VERY shiny ivory, another was blue velvet. The jackets were even more fun. I could be a guest on the Graham Norton show forever and upstage him every time. The only disadvantage of buying samples is that some of the stitching is a little temporary.


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## Taxamo Welf (Dec 28, 2008)

nick h. said:


> Interesting project. How about going to Ozwald Boateng and Ted Baker for inspiration and then getting Threadneedleman to make it for a sensible price?



cos his 'sensible price' starts at £600?

much as i'm ready to pay for fashion, that is way beyond me. Not just financially i just don't believe clothes will ever be worth £600 to me full stop. I'll pay for certain labels amd shell out for vintage nick-nacks, but the real, proper, fashion world that actually thinks some slip of material is worth thousands of pounds....

Not for me.

Here's a thought; how much would it have cost you in the 60's to get a suit? were tailors immensely cheaper?


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## tufty79 (Dec 28, 2008)

taxemo welf, tomorrow:


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## RubyToogood (Dec 28, 2008)

Taxamo Welf said:


> Here's a thought; how much would it have cost you in the 60's to get a suit? were tailors immensely cheaper?



I would suspect that in the past the cost of getting a suit made was not so different from an off the peg one, not because tailors were cheaper, but because factories were more expensive. Ready made clothes are stupidly cheap for us these days because of the differential between what we get paid and what the third world workers who now make them get paid. In the past people paid a lot more for clothes as a proportion of their wages, so you'd have fewer and make them last longer, get them repaired etc.


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## terrythomas (Dec 28, 2008)

i'm taking a chance on ebay at the mo, the feed back is great, a slight gamble but if it pays off will be amazing as I can never get clothes to fit:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_...ade+to+measure+suit&_sacat=See-All-Categories


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## Taxamo Welf (Dec 28, 2008)

terrythomas said:


> i'm taking a chance on ebay at the mo, the feed back is great, a slight gamble but if it pays off will be amazing as I can never get clothes to fit:
> 
> http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_...ade+to+measure+suit&_sacat=See-All-Categories



oh my, thats interesting! So, whats the dillio? You win the bid, send them your measurements, and they send you a suit? Thats mental cos there's one for only SEVENTY FIVE POUNDS.


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## Xanadu (Dec 28, 2008)

You could always try making your own suit?  It might be fucking difficult as hell, but you could give it a go.  A friend of mine's (non-tailor) dad does this.


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## terrythomas (Dec 28, 2008)

Taxamo Welf said:


> oh my, thats interesting! So, whats the dillio? You win the bid, send them your measurements, and they send you a suit? Thats mental cos there's one for only SEVENTY FIVE POUNDS.



yeah i've just done it for a dress cos i'm taller than average (i'm a girly despite the user name) and the waists are all in the wrong place.  my mate got one and it fit her like a glove so for 50 odd quid i figured it was worth the gamble.  

i did the buy it now thing and sent off my measurements the other day, now all i have to so is wait.  dead exciting


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## terrythomas (Dec 28, 2008)

yeah so you send them your measurements, i asked them to send me pics of all the fabrics and colours available (not that many but hey who am i to be fussy for 50 quid).  try different searches, custom suits, made to measure etc, i think theres quite a few of them....


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## GarfieldLeChat (Oct 14, 2010)

why the fuck are you bumping a two year old thread??


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## Johnny Canuck3 (Oct 14, 2010)

Taxamo Welf said:


> Its time.
> 
> Tailored suit advice please, where, what and what price range.
> 
> ...


 
'Taxamo Welf' is going for a tailored suit.


God: give me strength.


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## Crispy (Oct 14, 2010)

How about he gives you the ability to read the date?


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## Citizen66 (Oct 14, 2010)

Johnny Canuck3 said:


> 'Taxamo Welf' is going for a tailored suit.
> 
> 
> God: give me strength.



Old school anarchists used to wear suits to blend in and disguise the fact they were anarchists.


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## Johnny Canuck3 (Oct 14, 2010)

Crispy said:


> How about he gives you the ability to read the date?


 
The fact that Taxamo Welf sold out to the Man two years ago is supposed to make me feel better?


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## Citizen66 (Oct 14, 2010)

I saw him not that long ago in a boozer in whitechapel. He wasn't wearing a suit although Ian Bone was in there and he was. He drinks posh wheat beer too.


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## Crispy (Oct 14, 2010)

Johnny Canuck3 said:


> The fact that Taxamo Welf sold out to the Man two years ago is supposed to make me feel better?


 
How about a big bucket of ice cream? That makes me feel better when my heroes let me down


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