How to know if I can trust a custom tailor?
I got a custom blazer recently and had a bad experience. The tailor promised me it'd be handmade but it doesn't seem to be (although sleeve buttons are removable). It also doesn't fit me very well; too large in the chest but too narrow in the waist.
In the future, what are some ways to figure out if a tailor is trustworthy to avoid repeating this experience.
29 Replies
What do you mean by "custom tailor"? Was it internet or in person?
What were you expecting with “handmade”?
As opposed to machine-made.
This was in-person.
Made to measure, to be more precise.
Pretty much all clothing is hand-made, very little can be effectively automated. How can you tell / what signs are you looking for to tell if it's handmade? I assume you're not expecting them to have done all the stitching by hand as opposed to using a sewing machine?
Most tailoring at most levels involves at least some machine stitching. You could post a photo here, tell us more about the cost and process, and some of the suit guys will be able to give their two cents on whether it's fixable and whether you got your money's worth
In terms of ways to tell if someone is trustworthy/ of reputable quality, the main ways to tell are: reviews(!), is their pricing undercutting the market rate (usually a bad sign), and do they have examples of their work you can see
It might also just be worth going back to them for a 2nd sitting as it were, to work out any adjustments needed
Right. Do you want the fabric hand-woven? All of the stitching done by hand? “Handmade” doesn’t mean anything specific but you seem unsatisfied with what you received so I’m trying to figure out what exactly you expected vs what you got.
I have a feeling your expectations need to be adjusted and it’s possible the product delivered was also sub-par tho
MTM is also quite different from bespoke
He told me it'd be handmade, so if one says "all clothing is hand-made," then he is disingenuous at best. By hand-made, I meant the finishes and pick stitches.
In any case, the jacket just doesn't fit me very well, and the construction is not great. I likely could've gotten a better-fitting jacket off the rack for much cheaper.
I think it'd be pretty difficult to find proper bespoke this side of the pond.
Well isn't bespoke far more likely to have handiwork than MTM? It sounds like the person who sold it to you used somewhat misleading marketing but it also helps to be specific asking questions to avoid unmatched expectations
Fit wise it'd help to post a pic, and people here can assess and tell you whether it can be salvaged
I would assume bespoke would have more handiwork than MTM.
Also, style and fit wise, MTM uses a block pattern which may not work for you so it's important to learn more about the pattern and try on/take a look at already made garments in that pattern
Will do. I will post pictures of the interior as well.
it is confusing and it's unfortunate your experience didn't work out
Handmade isn’t a prerequisite for high quality. I could make a suit by hand and it’d be total garbage. You haven’t given nearly enough information for anyone to help you. If you want to complain I guess that’s fine but with no pictures or information about the process, what you asked for vs what you received no one can help you
what do you mean by that? Britain, USA?
both have plenty of bespoke tailors
what confuses me tho in addition to the lack of context is why you weren't able to get the blazer altered?
did you not tell the tailor it was ill-fitting?
did you tell him and he refused to fix it?
USA. I can't think of many major bespoke houses here. There are many in the UK.
There’s tons of trunk shows
There's a number of bespoke makers in the US but setting that aside, did you bring these complaints to the tailor/fitter and what have they done to make it right? Post photos.
Yeah...I think it's not reasonable to expect "handstitched", but it IS reasonable to expect a suit that fits.
Well, he did say "handmade". So he was either ignorant or taking advantage of my ignorance.
I don't think they were taking advantage of you. I think you both had different interpretations of what "handmade" means.
If I had a sewing machine and used it to make a shirt, I would call that "handmade".
And if a tailor measured you and made a suit for you, I would call that "handmade", regardless of how much of it was done with a sewing machine.
Gonna keep it 💯 I'm not sure you know what "handmade" means
The important, unanswered question is still did you tell him it didn't fit well? Even someone doing a hem at the dry cleaners will normally work with you if you're not happy with the result.
We also still haven't seen pics and idk what you're unhappy about it being "handmade"
So what isn't handmade?
Look, do we want to dither over handmade or solve problems? I wanna help solve problems, we can debate definitions after the problem is solved
mass-produced, ready-to-wear garments
but also what gimp said
I'd still love to see a picture of the jacket istg
Honestly not very much. Especially in tailoring. It depends on what you're expecting. Like button holes being hand sewn is a common upsell/"handmade" thing similar with the pick stitching. But the sleeves were probably attached "by hand" meaning that a real human was involved, even if they used a sewing machine.
When people think of "handmade" they often have an incorrect view that it's someone sitting there with needles and thread when really "handmade" is much more often a person operating a machine. This is handmade and the reality of garment making almost always