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What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

nytimes.com

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Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#11

Post by slantyyz »

enraged_camel wrote: post #6
graupel wrote: post #3

One of the first things I did when I got my first 'real' job was get a custom-made suit from a place in our neighborhood; it was $1000 and he did like 25 measurements and said it would be 2 weeks until it was ready. Turns out he was sending the measurements to Korea where the suits are custom made then shipped back, and then they do final alterations in the US. I've ordered 3 more since then by just sending an email…

I've thought about doing this too. The problem is my weight and body composition keeps changing a lot as I pick up different sports, so a thousand dollar suit I buy today may very well become too small or too big six months down the line.

If you get a custom suit (you don't necessarily need to spend 1k), usually they make it with enough fabric that you can adjust it in or out by at least an inch or so.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#12

Post by stusmall »

ghshephard wrote: post #5

If there was _every_ a task ideally suited (no pun intended) for automation, this is it. Plunk the 16 measurements required and you should have a high quality bespoke suit.

That's slightly different. That's called made to measure. Its where you have one stock design and then its custom made to your body. For every M2M suit of a style, the patterns will match, label style will match, pockets will match. Its just the size that is different. I hear indochino does a pretty good job of making affordable M2M suits. For their prices I'd imagine a lot of the process is highly automated.

When you get a bespoke suit made, you walk in and sit down with consultant and you figure out every little detail. He helps you pick a pattern that matches your coloring, label width that matches your body size, number of buttons that match your personality. You end up with a suit that is 100% unique to you.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#13

Post by lanstein »

graupel wrote: post #3

One of the first things I did when I got my first 'real' job was get a custom-made suit from a place in our neighborhood; it was $1000 and he did like 25 measurements and said it would be 2 weeks until it was ready. Turns out he was sending the measurements to Korea where the suits are custom made then shipped back, and then they do final alterations in the US. I've ordered 3 more since then by just sending an email…

Could you say, are you in SF? Also, your email isn't visible in your profile unless you put it in the 'about' box.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#15

Post by T_S_ »

Why can't the TSA make me a suit? They already have the measurements. I'm barely half joking here. Seems like this is one of those unsolved "solved problems".

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#16

Post by thomaspaine »

lanstein wrote: post #13
graupel wrote: post #3

One of the first things I did when I got my first 'real' job was get a custom-made suit from a place in our neighborhood; it was $1000 and he did like 25 measurements and said it would be 2 weeks until it was ready. Turns out he was sending the measurements to Korea where the suits are custom made then shipped back, and then they do final alterations in the US. I've ordered 3 more since then by just sending an email…

Could you say, are you in SF? Also, your email isn't visible in your profile unless you put it in the 'about' box.

If you're looking for a bespoke tailor in SF that does this, visit Spoon Tailor in Chinatown. Hong Kong tailors are some of the best in the world, and I believe suits start at $700+ depending on fabric.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#17

Post by stcredzero »

T_S_ wrote: post #15

Why can't the TSA make me a suit? They already have the measurements. I'm barely half joking here. Seems like this is one of those unsolved "solved problems".

You may have something here. You wouldn't even need millimeter waves to do it. Just a 3D scanner setup, which can amount to an old projector and some webcams. We should be able to use technology from 3D motion capture to build a physical model of someone's skeleto-muscular system. The hard part would be the domain knowledge. Someone would have to work closely with a tailor to convert his/her specialized knowledge about fabrics and seams and how clothing hangs off the body into algorithms. (And even then, you'd probably need a trained operator with a sense of design.)

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#18

Post by lmm »

Would we really be better off in bespoke suits? It doesn't sound like this Frew has a very good life if he's having to work in his living room and can't afford his own suits. Wanting to have a someone personally spend 75 hours on your suit seems terribly egotistical; if they do it for the love of it then fair enough, but honestly I'd feel more comfortable in a suit I knew hadn't consumed so much human life energy.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#19

Post by [deleted] »

stusmall wrote: post #12
ghshephard wrote: post #5

If there was _every_ a task ideally suited (no pun intended) for automation, this is it. Plunk the 16 measurements required and you should have a high quality bespoke suit.

That's slightly different. That's called made to measure. Its where you have one stock design and then its custom made to your body. For every M2M suit of a style, the patterns will match, label style will match, pockets will match. Its just the size that is different. I hear indochino does a pretty good job of making affordable M2M suits. For their prices I'd imagine a lot of the process is highly automated. When yo…

[deleted]

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#20

Post by rhplus »

Not mentioned in the article, but if you're willing to wait, some of those Saville Row suitmakers will produce a bespoke suit for much cheaper than $4000. The trick is to add a 4 week wait time and ship the measurements off to India. And of course, if you can make the trip to India yourself (or plenty of other countries in SE Asia), then a bespoke suit will cost you less than $100.
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