Tailored suit for a bald man

[Tyler]

Do we have any tailors as members?  I'm really interested in learning more about having a suit or multiple suits and shirts tailored to me.  I could obviously search for a tailor near my house, but I really want to get some advice from either a tailor here or any of you that have had suits tailored to you.

Does anyone have any tips for me?  What should I consider when having a suit tailored for me?  How much does it cost?  Etc...

[mrzed]

You want to go to thailand.  There are tailors on every street corner. Good prices, too. Shirt, coat and two slacks for about 200.

Here in the us, i shop at mens warehouse. Watch the sales. The have them frequently.

[Mikekoz13]

What's a suit? I don't think Harley Davidson makes them.

[Blitzed]

One of the reasons to have custom tailored clothing is that they will last forever. I've had my suits made in London for 50 years and, finally, thickened enough to the point that they were no longer expandable but perfectly serviceable. I use the tailor that my adopted father, his father and his grandfather used so it's something of a family tradition. (The only drawback is that I'm a bastard, an adoptee from South Africa but it was part of the Commonwealth.)

I will agree that you can get amazing bargains in the Far East but you'd better know something about the ins and outs of tailoring to assure yourself you are not just receiving a good looking piece of clothing but one that has staying power as well. For example, real button holes as opposed to buttons sewed on, rampant on a field of overstitching. Learn how to look for double stitching and where having it is not just a must but an absolute necessity. Can you take cloth between your thumb and forefinger and judge the quality? (This is a trick to fool tailors, I come from a line of drapers [dry goods] so I'm familiar with cloth. However if you take cloth in front of a tailor and do this they will assume you know what you're looking for and probably will produce a better garment.)Understand the lingo which is international. If you wrote out that you want a DB It peaked double back do you know how that translates? (Double breasted Italian cut with a higher collar and double vented jacket. And every man should have double vented jackets, those with no vent are destined to spend a lot of money on pressing and/or dry cleaning. A double vent does not accentuate your butt no matter whether you're very overweight or skeletal.) A good tailor should ask you whether you "carry left or right" to adjust the interior inseam of one leg or the other for a third leg. Obviously, there's lots more but armed with the verisimilitude of knowledge, you'll get a better suit. And one last thing, if you have one made in a very short time frame, always have it dry cleaned before you leave that country for two reasons; Hygiene, pressed and great looking it may be but clean it's not and...a dry cleaning will reveal structural flaws and problems before you take it home and have no recourse when shoddy work is discovered. Ask the tailor to recommend a cleaning service and gauge their reactions. That may be the moment when they "notice" some slight imperfection and ask you to leave it for some "small repairs". Draw your own conclusions. Which is why, as with any contracted work, you don't pay the whole amount up front. If they demand that you do, go elsewhere.

If you've friends who have used a tailor ask them for a referral and, further, ask them to send a note to the tailor advising them that they are sending them a client and, of course, you will expect the same perfection as they received. And if they were conned, weren't satisfied or whatever, have them tell you about that as well. Also, ask them to show you the piece and point out the deficiencies. In other words, get and check references. This is your money your spending, how much or how little is up to you but how much you lay out also has a bearing on what you get.

In my experience shirts are the hardest to have made for reasons that are as complicated as the man who wears it. Unless you are only going for the look, then have nothing but cotton or silk/cotton for a dress shirt. If you've never worn a pin collar but liked the look, buy one commercially-Brooks Brothers-and try it. Many men find them restrictive and if you live in a hot, humid place, even worse. If you don't or haven't worn cufflinks then French or Barrel cuffs may be something you'll wish to avoid. If you do, then, to me, nothing is more classic than an 18 kt knot which, in a pinch can be hocked for cash. Best tip I ever had on shirt ordering came from a Captain with BOAC/Cunard (now British Airways) who said, "Tell the blighters you want it done up as for a proper captain. Best quality, smartly cut, pearl buttons..." And he was right. Of course, I did neglect one instruction and so I got shirts fit for a captain. Compete with epaulets.

Sorry for the length but you found a topic that matters to me; If one is in science (Physics) it's best to be well turned out and not the sloppy, Einsteinian "look" that many prefer from egg heads. (And by that I of course mean  the intellectual sort not our sort which, of course  I am). Good Luck!!

[Switchy]

You want to go to thailand.  There are tailors on every street corner. Good prices, too. Shirt, coat and two slacks for about 200.

Here in the us, i shop at mens warehouse. Watch the sales. The have them frequently.

Ditto , if you are watching the price.  Warehouse also has sales by 1 get 2 free etc..

[Blitzed]

You want to go to thailand.  There are tailors on every street corner. Good prices, too. Shirt, coat and two slacks for about 200.

Here in the us, i shop at mens warehouse. Watch the sales. The have them frequently.

Ditto , if you are watching the price.  Warehouse also has sales by 1 get 2 free etc..

Thought the question was in regard to "custom made clothing" but I'll say this. Men get the worst bargains in clothing of any group, children, young girls, ladies all go to sales and come away with better quality merchandise than is generally sold to men. The mass retailers have demonized good cloth in favour of synthetics, sell goods that are of questionable manufacture and, in fact, are made overseas in many cases in sweat shops. Buy American Made if possible not just sold in American

[Tyler]

Blitzed, thank you for the awesome replies.  Yes, the question was due to a custom tailored suit. 

I have suits that I've purchased from a variety of big box stores and even my suits from Nordstrom are good, but not perfect.

[VOT]

Buy a good quality off the peg suit and take it to a tailor to alter is another option. It can be a bit daunting choosing fabrics when you cant really visualise what an entire suit in that fabric would look like. That option avoids the problem

[tomgallagher]

What's a suit.?

I hear ya Mike. I gave up on suits and ties a long time ago.