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What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

nytimes.com

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Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#71

Post by lanstein »

eric_j_j wrote: post #36
thomaspaine wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm headed to a suit tailoring event that Indochino is doing in downtown San Francisco in a couple weeks. You can get measured for free and order right there it sounds like. Prices are decent ($400) and people here say the quality/fit is spot on. Glad to hear the industry is still alive for craftsmen like Frew. http://www.indochino.com/traveling-tailor/display

Thanks, both of you.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#72

Post by exhaze »

jonnii wrote: post #62

My best friend from highschool has ended up in this world through his passion for all things sartorial ( http://www.thearmourystore.com/ ). He was involved in creating a wonderful documentary that follows suit makers of Naples called O'Mast ( http://vimeo.com/16443611 ), which even for someone like me who knows nothing about suits was really interesting. I suggest checking it out as it'll give you an idea of the kind…

Is Mark your best friend? I had the pleasure of seeing the documentary when it was screened in San Francisco and meeting Mark and Gianluca. It was pretty eye-opening to talk to people who really live and breathe men's tailored clothing.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#73

Post by aidenn0 »

patio11 wrote: post #60

Frew, who apprenticed with a Savile Row tailor, can — all by himself, and almost all by hand — create a pattern, cut fabric and expertly construct a suit that, for about $4,000, perfectly molds to its owner’s body. In a city filled with very rich people, he quickly had all the orders he could handle. You don't have to be Wall Street to figure out the bleedingly obvious solution to being a starving artist who has so m…

Indeed if he makes $50k off of 48 suits a year, he could nearly double his income by raising his price by 25%; if he is turning away customers that seems like a no-brainer.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#74

Post by jonnii »

exhaze wrote: post #72
jonnii wrote: post #62

My best friend from highschool has ended up in this world through his passion for all things sartorial ( http://www.thearmourystore.com/ ). He was involved in creating a wonderful documentary that follows suit makers of Naples called O'Mast ( http://vimeo.com/16443611 ), which even for someone like me who knows nothing about suits was really interesting. I suggest checking it out as it'll give you an idea of the kind…

Is Mark your best friend? I had the pleasure of seeing the documentary when it was screened in San Francisco and meeting Mark and Gianluca. It was pretty eye-opening to talk to people who really live and breathe men's tailored clothing.

Indeed. I was the best man at his wedding.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#75

Post by harryh »

patio11 wrote: post #60

Frew, who apprenticed with a Savile Row tailor, can — all by himself, and almost all by hand — create a pattern, cut fabric and expertly construct a suit that, for about $4,000, perfectly molds to its owner’s body. In a city filled with very rich people, he quickly had all the orders he could handle. You don't have to be Wall Street to figure out the bleedingly obvious solution to being a starving artist who has so m…

The real question is why hasn't he done this already? It's a fairly obvious solution. I suspect that there is some other force at work here, though I'm at a loss to guess what it might be.

It's too bad that the NYTimes didn't raise this question.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#76

Post by dredmorbius »

pclark wrote: post #66
dredmorbius wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I'd kill for isn't a suit, but a decent set of casual clothing that actually fits (see my post elsewhere on this post). I rarely-to-never wear suits. While not completely fashion-averse, I'm pretty pragmatic when it comes to clothing: it should cover my nakedness, not be uncomfortable, be easy to care for, and look reasonably well. Jeans or khakis and button-downs work well for me, a washable wool could also wor…

Chinos from ten years in the future: http://shop.outlier.cc/shop/retail/chino.html

... at 4.5x the price of an OTR pair of slacks.

Really?

Even counting a nice (but not extravagant) pair, easily 2x the cost.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#77

Post by emmapersky »

dredmorbius wrote: post #40

Yet another submarine: http://paulgraham.com/submarine.html The suit is dead for any number of reason, dittos bespoke clothing. $4000 is several times what I spend on clothes in a year. It's several times what I spend on clothes in several years. There's a far less expensive option that's highly satisficing. Suits, once an inexpensive, practical, standardized alternative to more ornate and expensive clothing, are now…

You don't wear a bespoke suit to fit the minimal requirements for a given occasion, you do it because of the way it makes you feel - there is nothing quite like wearing an item of clothing that is perfect in every possible way. It's really not comparable to a made-to-measure which tends to follow one of a set of patterns, none of which might be perfect for you.

If I wore suits I would have a bespoke one made, but as it is, bespoke women's clothing is more complicated financially - you simply wouldn't wear the same dress as often as you would the same suit, probably by an order of magnitude.

Lastly. Men in suits. Hot. Men in bespoke suits. Blisteringly so.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#78

Post by asr »

patio11 wrote: post #60

Frew, who apprenticed with a Savile Row tailor, can — all by himself, and almost all by hand — create a pattern, cut fabric and expertly construct a suit that, for about $4,000, perfectly molds to its owner’s body. In a city filled with very rich people, he quickly had all the orders he could handle. You don't have to be Wall Street to figure out the bleedingly obvious solution to being a starving artist who has so m…

No offense, but this could be really bad advice. Maybe the customers who'd pay 10k for a suit won't go to some guy's living room for fittings. Or maybe the price of top bespoke tailors in town is comparable, because they make better use of lower-paid assistants. Or maybe, to convince a bank to make the loan he needs to move into a nicer place, he needs to show the bank he has a large backlog of orders. Or maybe he's in the middle of following your advice, just raised his price, and will shortly raise it again because he's still getting enough orders.

I'm not saying you're wrong. I'm just saying we don't get nearly enough information to decide! And that's ok, because that's not the point of the article.

Re: What's a $4000 Suit Worth?

#80

Post by waterside81 »

Indochino.com is your friend. Bought a few suits there, and two shirts, fantastic fit & quality. You take about 20 measurements yourself at home (you need a partner to help) upload your details on their site, and boom. Free shipping, free alterations. Not affiliated with them, just a happy customer.

Plus Steve Nash is an investor; an NBA MVP can't be wrong, can he?

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