It won't last. It needs to be pad-stitched by wizened old hands to have permanence.

Will be in UDM land for 3 weeks in September. No Vass land.

Bali tomorrow.

1. I agree with kotmj-Navy Blue is very versatile and can be used as a jacket to be worn with jeans or khakis etc. Great interview & business suits too. Don't get too enamored with the Super 150's etc labeling -Get the ones with 110 to 120 & approximately 270 to 290 gms in weight. Light cloth is great to wear but creases easily & doesn't have the longevity as heavier clothes.

2. Look under the fabric thread in this forum for places to buy textiles etc. Binwani's is currently having a sale & some of the fabrics are discounted as much as 50%. Try to buy 4 to 5 metres & make an extra pair of trousers. Trousers tend to get worn out faster as compared to jackets and it's near impossible to find matching pants

3. Fully hand canvassed suits are best if you want longevity & comfort. See kotmj's guidelines on how to instruct your tailor.

4. There are two tailors which are generally well thought off by members of this forum Bespoked at One Utama & Ah Loke Tailor at Jalan Yap Ah Shak. I would suggest you visit them to discuss your needs & obtain quotes based on your requirements .Request to see samples of their work product .

5. The classic English style ( single breasted notch lapel 2/3 button suit ) will probably give you the most milage.
Perhaps having one of your pants pleated & another done with flat fronts may allow you to wear your suit in different styles.

6. Are you partial to wearing braces with your trousers? They will allow your trousers fall better when worn with a suit.

The key is not to compromise comfort over style.

This is personal to me but my preferences are as follows:-
1. Single breasted 3 button rolled into 2 with lower button stance and a generous lapel roll ,slightly longer jacket
2. High gorge on lapel , lapel to be pick stitched .
3. Side Vents
4. Horn buttons
5. 4 working button holes on cuffs-all button holes to be hand made with silk thread
6. Fitted jacket with high arm holes, waisted
7. Natural shoulders i.e less padding
8. Open quarters
9. Clean back
10. Colorful lining in Bemberg
11. Boat breast pocket
12. Flap pockets on side, slanted or straight

Trousers for suits
1. High waisted ,
2. Button flys with side tab adjusters no belt hoops.
3. Split waist band ,
4. Brace buttons
5. Trouser pockets cut along seams, no back pockets
6. Trousers half lined for comfort

Hope this helps. Have a look at the threads especially at kotmj's postings & gshen ( on styleforum ) for guidance.

Bali-beach, beer .. and b****es.....

off topic..imagine that u r Taek Jho Low >>> http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/07/29/wh...h-paris-hilton/

This post has been edited by silencer: Jul 30 2010, 12:33 AM

The roped shoulders was not what I requested-it's the house style. The fabric is similar to linen & renders it challenging to keep crease free. The small arm hole aperture took some getting used to. There was serious negotiations to make the shoulder softer & the artisan ( he doesn't see himself as a tailor ) eventually conceded & constructed the shoulder pads himself.
Camel hair was used instead of horse hair which gives it a softer drape. He was adamant on not making a jacket with a highly suppressed waist!!
All in all, it took several months , many glasses of grappa & red wine & several trips to a less salubrious part of Naples to complete the jacket.
One of the sole saving grace is the artisan's granddaughter who played the role of translator-A more petite version of Monica Bellucci!! My Italian friend was not able to translate tailoring terms from English to Italian.

After reading your postings & based on my experiences it was deja vu' but played in Italian as opposed to Cantonese. No galley slaves to rattle the chains,though.

How's your db coming along? A friend recently commissioned one from Norton & Sons in Navy wool flannel for the winter. He made several extra internal pockets with tiny zips as well as holes for his ear piece to connect with his IPod!!

Have fun in Bali in the interim
The only saving grace

I feel like buying a piece of wool canvas, then pad-stitch the lapel myself. I will trim the canvas, open up the bottom hem lining, push canvas to reach the lapels through the opened bottom hem, then pad stitch it.

anybody have a velvet jacket?

I don't think R. will be that pleased to see you coming in his shop with a botched job he has to rectify.

If you're not joking, the I salute you. I always wanted a burgundy smoking jacket for those occasions where I partake in the pleasures of a Montecristo no. 4 and a tipple of single malt........ actually.... not really.

Which is the reason I would never show him the jacket as long as he's alive. In fact, he asked me to bring along my jacket for comparison few weeks ago. I refused by saying I left it somewhere in your place.

Here is the list of what I've done.
1. Resew all of his buttons
2. Slightly trim padding around the sleeve head
3. Pick-stitched all over the suit
4. Reset the lapel roll
5. Remove and re-stitch sleeve lining(also removed couple of tacks securing the lining along the sleeve seam)

Well, the cloth has been bought, the hymo, silk threads, braces and buttons are all at home. Just waiting for the cloth to arrive. To my dismay, 2 days after buying the cloth the seller listed some really, really nice cloth -- among them a navy serge I would have bought instead if it was listed earlier.

If you have family or a trusted party in Singapore, you may wish to consider having your purchases sent there. A Malaysian friend who is a frequent purchaser from our favorite fabric supplier on Ebay received his items after 1 week whilst another received it after 3 weeks ( as well as frequent battles with Post Malaysia etc )A cheap way to get down to Singapore is to use the heavily subsidized buses that ply the KL Resorts World Sentosa route to collect your purchases.

Well, sitting in a bus the whole day just to pick up parcels sounds more than just a tad extreme, but I can imagine doing it to attend fitting sessions with a Singaporean tailor, or to buy superior fabrics at low prices in a job shop.

The said tailor would have to be very unique, not just good, and said job shop must have a vast inventory at firesale prices.

Gentlemen,

Allow me to say hello and join the party. I've been doing my rounds on the net and researching into getting some suits made in the next few months.
I read through the whole thread last night, so I've got a decent idea of what to expect. I plan on sourcing cloth myself and simply outsourcing the labor to one the threads "Favourite 3".

AH Loke seems to be the tailor of choice, yet hit or miss and contingent on getting your ideas and points thoroughly across the language barrier. Bespoked seems to be the safer choice, but will cost you vital organs. Where do you boys generally get your cloth from? And what can I expect to pay Bespoked for labor on a fully canvased 3-piece suit with all the trimmings (pick stitching/hand sewn buttons/etc)

Now that you're done with this thread, would be a good idea to read the previous one:

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=880938&hl

Most of the major textile shops are situated along Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.

There is an existing thread on fabric but for the purposes of simplicity, I will list down the names of the favorite few:-
1. Gulati's/Euromoda
2. Binwani's /Silk Street
3. Jakel
4. Harrisons

They are all within walking distance of each other ( & Ah Loke is just around the corner )

Best make a list of your requirements & head over to Bespoked for a quote.

Excellent, I'm familiar with that area, since I've been down there to buy shirting material/silks for linings. Never been looking for suiting material though, although I remember Euro Moda being quite pricey. I'm trying to find a large windowpane plaid like this suit below, any idea on pricing per meter?

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Added on August 4, 2010, 10:49 pmGosh, over 100 pages + Better get started. BTW e-mail sent

This post has been edited by Roguetheory: Aug 4 2010, 10:49 PM

Pics or it never happened!!

Anyway, pics as promised from yesterday's fitting. Unfortunately the trousers (single forward pleat, fishtail back) were not ready for fitting, but here is the top half of the suit. Please proceed to hack and slash away with your critiques!

Most of the plaids I've seen here are "Prince of Wales" design i.e. the more classical ones. You may probably need to look abroad ( Singapore of HK ) to obtain a similar patterned plaid as shown in the picture. Further if the fabric is supplied to a designer, it may be exclusive in the sense that it is either limited to the designer or fashion house or manufactured in extremely limited quantities.

If you have deep pockets, Loro Piana, Zegna & Carlo Barbera offer bespoke fabric services.

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Added on August 5, 2010, 9:05 am1. What fabric are you using?

2. Have you considered having a slightly boat shaped breast pocket for a distinctive bespoke look?

3. Are you having single, double or no vents?

4. Although this is personal to me, my preference is for the jacket to be slightly longer ( up to the length of your knuckles ), more built up in the chest with greater waist suppression.

It's probably best to provide feedback with the trousers which I assume is a full cut to be worn with braces etc. It would give a more accurate depiction of the overall silhouette one is trying to achieve. I would suggest you have a fitting with the trousers in order to better assess the full picture.

Let us know how this works out.

p.s. I assume this is with Iris , your regular tailor. Is there a three way mirror available for you to conduct a self assessment during the fittings?

This post has been edited by beau: Aug 5 2010, 09:05 AM

1. Minnis Rangoon in light gray (well, more like mid) - 8oz tropical worsted, very nice stuff.

2. The breast pocket is already slightly curved.

3. Double, if you look hard in the reflection you can see it.

4. Good point on length, will consider adding a little! Waist is being shaped more (about 1/2" on each side), and I'm leaving the chest as is.

Trousers are not exactly full cut, but they have a clean line and shape is in harmony with the jacket.

Iris tailor, yes, and no 3 way mirror but I usually have a buddy along to help look. The husband and wife team already provide 2 pair of eyes I trust though.

Good choice-Where did you buy your Minnis from?