Ah yes, thanks for the reminder. I've reread it and it points to



Honestly I don't understand much of the terminology used but will research upon it.

Well, at this stage, you have to worry only about the armholes. Tell him you want really small armholes, just big enough for your arms to slide in (with difficulty).

This is a low armhole:


This is worse:


This is also no good


What you're looking for is this


Or this, from 1935 by Anderson & Sheppard


However, you may find that you cannot stretch your arms forwards (reaching for a glass of water) if the tailor is not accustomed to this cut. You must tell him to add additional cloth to the back of the armsyce to compensate for the lost of size in the armhole. The extra cloth must be restricted to the back of the armscye, the upper back should remain clean and smooth. My tailor has enough IQ and taste to follow this; I imagine many do not.

And yeah, I subjected my tailor to a lengthy photographic dissection of various well-fitting jackets on my ThinkPad. But you cannot just show him pics of suits you like. You have to point out exactly what parts of the suit you like, and how they differ from his.

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Added on April 15, 2010, 6:50 pmAnd take lots of well-lit pics (front, back, side) during your first fitting and post them here. Just stand in your natural posture and relax your shoulders. Let your arms hang where they want to.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Apr 15 2010, 06:50 PM

This extra cloth you are talking about, is it visible on a finish jacket?
Any pictorial guide?

You are a life saver. A really big thanks.
I'll have another chat with the tailor tomorrow and see how it works out.

Seems like there is a tradeoff between a clean back and higher armholes

Jind...u can procede with your pool order with Kenneth as I'm thinking to get different source of supply of Bemberg Cupro lining instead of Ermazine.

I am still interested in it. Need to get the order in soon though since I plan to get right down to my suit making soon enough. Even with two people only it is big slash to the delivery cost already.

Don't forget to purchase the horn buttons too as the price is reasonale at that online store

So I went for the second fitting of my linen jacket today. I am very happy with it, but I am even happier with the tailor. The days where we got each other's blood pressure up are pretty much over.

The shoulder pads are hand-made. It is 3 layers of greyish felt, arranged like the topographical lines of a hill. Hand-padded. They are dangerously thin. I wanted to say something about how thin they are, but kept my mouth shut.

The strong flaring of the skirt has been ameliorated. There is zero drag or pulling of the cloth anywhere. There was too much drape at the shoulder blade level which wasn't there the last time. That's the problem with linen. It shrinks when wet like your wiener in the cinema, and as you wear it and subject it to stress, it expands and "bags". A linen jacket is always sort of rumply, like you just slept in it. So I'm not expecting the precision of fit of mohair.

There is more drape than I like at the back of the sleeves. He pinned them up a quarter inch and I tried raising my arms forward. It made a huge negative difference. The movement was tight and restricted. So I will have to live with the drape. The drape is not excessive, just like whoopee's above.

The armholes are indeed small. No complains there.

He saw that I was not too happy with the pinning of the extra drape at the shoulder blades. I mean, I don't know how they will turn out once he makes it up. I want a clean back!! So he suggested that he resew the center back seam while I wait. He sat at the sewing machine himself and redid the seam. 5 minutes later, I put on a jacket with perfect upper back. But then, this is linen and will probably stretch and bag there after a wear.

I really like the colour of the jacket. I am very optimistic about this.

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Added on April 16, 2010, 10:48 pmI really do not believe in the concept of using foreign tailors. I also do not believe in using ultra branded international tailors who occasionally sends over a fitter from Italy or wherever to do fittings, and who otherwise man their high-rent shop with useless salespeople.

I'm convinced the right tailoring concept is local, affordable, and personal. I do not want to use an expensive tailor, someone I have to save up to use. I like to have lots of stuff made, and an affordable tailor allows me to go to him often. Someone who isn't precious. For me, clothes isn't luxury the way single malt whiskey is. It's a necessity. It's utilitarian. I just need some clothes to wear, you know, and it is not a way of pampering myself.

He should also be local, and not in HK or Savile Row or whatever, because clothes require maintenance. A quick repressing, mending rips, sewing back loose buttons, dealing with coffee stains (happened to me once) etc. Or maybe my efforts in the gym are finally showing (about time) and the thighs on my trousers need to be let out, etc. By being local, I can just pop in and have him deal with it. And pick it up a few days later, or have him post it to my office. You completely lose out on this after sales service when using a foreign tailor. The process would be too slow and too cumbersome.

And of course he should know me and understand my peculiarities. I don't want to start from square one each time I go there.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Apr 16 2010, 10:59 PM

I've talked to the tailor uncle, mainly about making the armhole smaller.
He understands that smaller armhole will prevent the jacket from rising with your arm, and the extra cloth behind the armscye will give flexibility to arm movements.
But he also insists that the jacket shoulder rising is a normal thing to happen.
We parted on he making the armhole an sensibly small as possible. Hope that is going to turn out okay...

Wow...I believe that the mystery lining,blend of Bemberg Cupro and Viscose material ....!!!!

This post has been edited by silencer: Apr 17 2010, 07:12 PM

Nah, it's not the super breathable 60%Cupro/40%Viscose. This is a super thin pure Cupro Made in Japan for the US market. $7/m + $7 postage. It's very light, unlike ermazine which is robust and heavy. I still think I would prefer ermazine.

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Added on April 18, 2010, 12:10 pmBTW, AL has never heard of Bemberg, nor of Cupro. He knows polyester taffeta and viscose twill, the latter is his premium lining. But as you all surely know (hah!) twill is a particularly non-breathable weave.

I asked several cloth merchants and none of them know anything about linings. They always recommend haboutai.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Apr 18 2010, 12:10 PM

ouch..bemberg cupro lining is widely use in high end OTR suits.....it feels better than ermazine...

Dear all,

I`ve recently purchased a suit from E-bay and it fits me quite well. As for my information, a suit is only worn for formal occasion ( work, wedding dinner and etc)

I`ve notice that for a more casual appearance, a blazer is much more appropriate. Hence , i would like to ask. When is a blazer worn and what should be worn with it ( jeans? polo T?)

Thanks in advance

a picture of u wearing it...will tell us a thousand words...whether it is perfectly fit yours....

Only with a proper collared shirt. Long sleeve.

Hmmm, Calvin, do politicians wear black suits? Or is it dark charcoal or midnight blue? I don't watch any TV so I wouldn't know...

"Black? What do you think?"

This post has been edited by bloke1: Apr 18 2010, 11:40 PM

Difficult to tell, looks like midnight...





I must say they look blackish, but it's difficult to tell from pics...I do know that lots of people wear black in this country.

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Added on April 18, 2010, 11:45 pmI think now that's navy. Compare with the black sofa in the background.

This post has been edited by kotmj: Apr 18 2010, 11:45 PM