Made To Measure Suiting: My Tailor, II

Made To Measure Suiting: My Tailor, II

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It is rare that I speak extremely positively about something here on FYGblog.  But like most things in life there are those exceptions.  And perhaps MyTailor should be classed as one of said exceptions.  Why?  You may ask.

Quite simply, my suit fits well; really well.  It looks good, really good.  And it feels good, really good.  And the service provided by Joe Hemrajani was spot on, I had no requests go unmet.  But I suppose this is all something you should expect if you were to pay $1,099 for a suit.  Sadly, I know so many gentlemen pay much more for much less.

In the first MyTailor post I spoke on the initial fitting and fabric/detail selection.  Roughly 8 weeks after the initial fitting I received my suit in the mail.  Once Mr. Hemrajani returned to New York (he comes every quarter and will be here next September 28 & 29 and October 1-5.  I have met with readers before for appointments with MyTailor and acted, hopefully successfully, as a free style consult of sorts.  If you are interested in this feel free to contact me) we met again and settled on some necessary alterations.  Of which there were only a few minor ones; we let out the thighs, nipped the waist and lengthened the pants.  MyTailor takes care of all alterations free of charge.  However, the downside of having MyTailor handle the alterations is that it will take a few weeks to get your suit back; this would be my biggest criticism for MyTailor.  However, on future suits the alterations are taken into account during production and they should be unnecessary.  Also for future suits, given that your measurements and profile are on file with MyTailor you can order from their website or via email.  Making appointments a luxury instead of a necessity and allowing you more freedom to order when you want.

The balance of price, fit, service and fabric selection is stellar.  However, be aware that suits start at $699 and that it will take at least eight weeks to have your first suit, but likely more with alterations.  But also know that the patience pays off.  For one needs to go into a venture like this with a long term, not short term view.  It is not about getting just one suit made it is about developing a relationship with your tailor.  In conclusion, I give a strong recommendation for MyTailor.  If you have any questions or comments, sound off below.

From the front it is clear the shoulders fit well and there is a nice shape and length to the jacket.  The buttoning point of the jacket is very close to the natural waist and creates a nice balance for the jacket.  I had the peaks made high, so to elongate the torso making me seem taller.  The pants are a good width and length as well.  I should note that normally my shirt cuff does show, however, in rushing to make it in front of the camera I forgot to readjust my sleeves.
From the side you see a good shape to the jacket and the sleeves have a nice taper to them.
Great jacket shape from the back.  It is clear from the back that the jacket is long enough to cover my seat, but not so long as to look frumpy.
Natural shoulder, as requested.
I had the jacket made as a self lined, or buggy lined, jacket.  This allows for maximum airflow through the jacket fabric which is great for warm weather wear.  It also gives the jacket a somewhat unstructured appearance and feel.  It also looks great.
Details on the inside of the jacket; all the necessary pocketings.
As you can see, the jacket is extremely simple.  All there is is the jacket fabric and the canvassing.  Elegance in simplicity.
A damn fine buttonhole.
The buttons are real horn and go quite well with the suit.  I would, however, prefer to see a slightly longer shank on the button.
Again, you can see the fine buttonholes and buttons.  Working buttonholes on the sleeves, of course.
A nice shank on the sleeve buttons. A shank of decent height is crucial here, otherwise the button would not be able to clear the sleeve fabric.
A well shaped flap pocket.  Note how the rear of the pocket flares a little toward the rear of the jacket; this is a good thing.
The breast pocket is well shaped and at an angle, as it should be.
Very clean on the underside of the collar and lapel.
Yes, yes and yes.  A crucial detail here.  That bit of thread below the boutonniere is used to hold in a mans lapel flower; as he should never pin a flower to his lapel.
The rear side of the buttonhole.
Beautiful lapel roll.  You want your lapel to remain curved and have volume, not creased and flat.
The hand stitching around the sleevehead is a crucial detail at this price level. Hand stitching allows for a little more give in the seam than machine stitching which over time should help the suit wear better.

 

Again, so simple and so elegant.  Clean seams and lines on the inside of the jacket like this should be a given when there is no lining.
Note the piping along the edge of the pocket.  This will add longevity to the edge of the pocket.
This extra strip of fabric is something we first saw on the Black Lapel suit.  It not only adds a little weight to the bottom of the pant leg which helps with drape and maintaining the crease but it also protects the bottom of the pant leg from everyday wear and tear.
Excellent work on the side tabs.

Note: FYGblog did receive material compensation in the form of finished goods in the process of writing this series of posts.  However, as I always note, I strive to present an unbiased and objective opinion.

13 COMMENTS

  1. I did not really like the fit of your trousers in the other outfit posts, but theese are spot on! Very nice how the suit turned out. It’s expensive but it looks to be well worth it…

  2. Fine looking suit Justin. I especially like the neat fitting side tabs unlike some of mine which are kind of Ill fitting and ungainly . Not to mention the Sydney tailor who ignored my request for side tabs and gave me belt loops on a $1699 made to measure suit!

  3. I must say Mr Jeffers, being in the fashion industry and not seeing you in a hmmmm suit, it looks and fits rather well on you

  4. Overall, I like this suit very much; however, I think the fit of the jacket’s back needs work. It’s clear from the picture that the back does not drape cleanly and bunches between your shoulder blades and around the trouser waist. I point this out in part because I’ve had problems with the fit of the back on both of the sports coats I’ve had Hemrajani make for me. Hemrajani did indeed alter my coats for free, which improved the jackets, but not to the standard that I expected. They explained to me that a soft shouldered-jacket will not drape as cleanly over the back as a jacket with structured shoulders, but I’m not sure if I trust this assertion completely—I have seen soft-shouldered jackets that draped cleanly over the back before.

    • I agree that the back of this suit needs work–quite a bit, in fact. I recommend that Justin send the suit back to Joe to have it adjusted, if he hasn’t done so already in these two years 😉

      My tailor is also Hemrajani. The best thing about Joe is that he’s willing to take the garment back time and again to make it right–he makes no excuses and does not push back, unlike so many other tailors. My first suit went back to HK twice and went from a merely good fit to an excellent one. Sending it back a couple of times makes up for the lack of a bespoke fitting process. At least for the first couple of outfits. Remember that they keep individual patterns for their customers, so that your future garments will reflect all the adjustments they’ve made to your initial ones.

      Another factor to keep in mind is that the type of stock cut that they base your personal pattern on matters *a lot*. If the cut isn’t quite right for you, then there’s only so much they can do to improve the fit. The solution in this case is to make it known to them that you aren’t 100% happy with the fit/styling of your initial garment, so that they know to select an alternative pattern for you for your next commission. In fact, Joe is always experimenting with new patterns, and every time I visit him, he has something new to show me.

      As with any bespoke tailor, it usually takes two or three garments to completely nail the fit and styling. In other words, you need to develop a relationship with your tailor. If there’s anyone you want to do this with, it’s Joe. Your patience will be rewarded.

      I’m not affiliated in any sense with Hemrajani–just a satisfied customer.

  5. Hi nice job – don’t why you didn’t tell us what material you selected, absolutely key to know the weight of the cloth, the pattern and what Holland & Sherry call it, so …?

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