Reader Questions

From Ken
In a comment some time ago, you noted there were a half dozen excellent bespoke tailors in the United States, but you only named Chris Despos in Chicago. Since that time, I have often wondered who the other five are. Please name them.

There are hundreds of tailors in the U.S. that will make a suit. Only a handful can make one to the best standards. Off the top of my head, in addition to Despos there's Jack Taylor in Beverly Hills and Cheo, Nino Corvato, Leonard Logsdail, Vincent Nicolosi, and William Fioravanti in Manhattan. I'm sure I'm overlooking a couple.

Image courtesy of Ermenegildo Zegna.

Hong Kong Tailor Report

My friend Jonathan recently returned from a trip to Hong Kong where he purchased his first three bespoke suits. The following is his report on the experience.

"The first place I went after checking into the hotel was W. W. Chan in Kowloon. They have what is perhaps the most daunting approach to a storefront that I've seen since I went into some buildings in the Tenderloin to hand out lunches for Project Open Hand. 3-4 flights of stairs in a gloomy, damp stairwell on staircases that look like they'd give way at any moment (I'm not kidding). The inside was great... until we got to the fabric books.


They didn't have Lesser or Minnis, their H&S selection was limited to 140s and up, they didn't have fresco in anything but horrendously bold, squarish patterns, and no CrispAire. WTF? They quoted me at something like $18,000 (at an exchange rate of about 1:7.78 = $2,300 USD) for a two-piece in a 120s (which was the thickest sheep fuzz they sold) solid navy worsted from Scabal. I thought that was slightly ridiculous and asked if they could order something somewhat more practical; they said they'd have to request it from England and that it would take at least 4 days. At that point I jotted down what info I had, smiled and said that I might be back.

Note: Jonathan later emailed Arnold Wong at Chan and was told that there had been a mistake in the price. A Scabal S120s cashmere and wool two piece suit was re-quoted as HK$10,550 (about $1,300 USD).

Next stop was A-Man Hing Cheong in the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. Wonderful location. They were very nice and helpful, but had almost the exact same fabric limitations as W. W. Chan. Their prices, however, were much more reasonable ($11,000 HKD or $1,400 USD for that same 2-piece in the same fabric). Maybe I just look like a pushover who's made out of money, but I'm not sure how W.W. Chan justifies this price difference. I took a couple of swatches and sat on the decision to be measured that very second; the guy was getting out the tape and looking very determined...


From the Mandarin, it was a quick jaunt over the Galleria and H. Boroman, which also came recommended. There's not much on them in the internet forums, but in HK they're reputed to clothe a lot of the downtown executives. I ended up getting two of my suits made there. Their prices were practically the same as A-Man's, but I was won over by the quality and style of suits they had in progress and what appeared to be a very good understanding of what I wanted. They had the same fabric limitations as the other two. Maybe Lesser, Minnis and anything agreeable from H&S isn't in season in September, or maybe it's not as easily marketed to the Hong Kong crowd.

I had a two-piece, Scabal 120s worsted, dark gray, two-button, side-vented, peaked lapel suit made with flat front pants with side-tabs, a high waist, and buttons for braces. Also, a three-piece, Scabal 120s navy worsted, two-button, side-vented, notch lapel suit made with the same pants and a standard vest.

I also went to a place nearby Chan's called Sam's Tailor to have a two-piece tweed herringbone suit made for practically half of what it cost at H. Boroman and A-Man. I will never go back there. I almost jumped over the counter and slugged the guy who took my measurements and did my first fitting after they cranked out a finished (that's right, ready to take home) piece of crap two days early (that's 4 days from hello) two sizes too big after a single fitting where it looked like I was wearing a XL football jersey with an arm attached. We spent the next 5 days fixing his mistake while he grumbled that I was too picky for wanting what I asked for to begin with.

Anyhow, much learned. I have a little remorse from each purchase I made. I think it came from assuming too much of the tailors. One really has to know exactly what he wants and be sure to explain and inculcate down to the last detail and during every fitting. And that's without a language barrier.

The two suits I got from Boromon weren't cut high enough in the arm scyes (something I realized in the second fitting, when it was too late), so the sleeves aren't well articulated. I notice it when my arms aren't on either side of my body. When I have my hands extended in front of me, practically the whole cuff on my shirt is visible.

The silhouette also isn't exactly what I wanted. I asked for more waist supression, but my experience in talking to the tailors in Hong Kong is that they think they know what's best for you and are quite argumentative when you assert otherwise. I had to practically beg to have the suits not look like they came off the rack from Brooks Brothers. The navy one still does. The dark gray one, which is supposed to fit exactly the same, save the addition of the waistcoat in the navy version (not sure if that makes a difference), has been spared this affectation for reasons I'm unaware of.

All that grief aside, I like the result. It's not so much that I love the garments, because whenever I see myself in the mirror wearing them I'm reminded of the errors that I neglected to prevent, but it's that I'm cured of any desire for fashion, name brands, and RTW clothing. I went to the mall with my friend this weekend and then to practically all the boutiques downtown, and I couldn't be pleased by any suit or shirt from a single one. Nothing fit right, everything that was worth wearing was far too expensive, and then there's that lack of choice (fabrics, cut, details, etc.). I don't need to tell you, but bespoke feels different. More importantly, I feel different when I'm wearing it. I've found that this difference is well worth my money."

A Pause in the Travels of Dege & Skinner

The venerable firm of Dege & Skinner, founded in 1865, is a leading men's and ladies' bespoke tailor and shirtmaker. From its workrooms in Savile Row, London, Dege produces suits, shirts, neckties, military uniforms and riding clothes for clients around the world. The firm has one of the two most extensive travelling tailor programs that I'm aware of, visiting customers in the UK, USA, Europe, the Gulf States, and Japan on a regular basis. Last week they paused in San Francisco.

Graham Lawless, sales director, alternates with Managing Director William Skinner on the road. Outside of London, either Lawless or Skinner are the face of the firm to tailored clothing customers. Each travels most of a month each year. Says Lawless, "We don't believe we can just sit back and wait for our customers to come to us. We go where they are." He's wearing one of the firm's suits, a three button roll top.


The Dege house style evolved from its uniform work for the British cavalry in the 19th century. It's a military cut with a lot of structure, like these samples. To the left is a one button, peak lapelled odd jacket of silk and linen. On the right is a double breasted worsted. The other three coats hanging in the room when I visited were riding jackets.


Dege is the only Savile Row tailor with its own staff making bespoke shirts and neckties for customers. Robert Whittaker, who joined the firm 13 years ago from Bowring & Arundel (once among my favorite haberdashers), takes great pride in the bespoke necktie program. Dege commissions its own necktie silk, weaving just enough for four neckties in any colorway. Once the silk is sold out, it's gone forever.

Of course, bespoke clothing with a 150 year heritage is not inexpensive and the strength of the British pound means it keeps getting more so. Two piece suit prices start at £2,265 ex VAT (approximately $4,530) and blazers at £1,695 ex VAT (approximately $3,380 ex VAT). Bespoke shirts start at £142.50 ex VAT(approximately $285 USD). And it looks to me like next year the dollar cost will be still greater. But they don't have anything like this at Barney's New York.

Au Revoir

Sadly, today was my last day in Paris as I must cut my trip short. Fortunately, the sun was shining after several days of gray, and, after missing several of the people I had planned to see last week, I was able to conduct in-depth interviews with Lorenzo Cifonelli of the great Cifonelli tailoring house as well as Pierre Corthay the bespoke shoemaker. Watch for essays in the coming weeks.

I also visited Berluti, perhaps the iconic Paris shoemaker, but there was little worthwhile to report. The ready to wear shoes have neither construction nor styling to warrant the prices, in my opinion. Instead, let me refer you to Bergdorg Goodman in New York where Corthay's ready to wear line went on sale today.

Corthay's shoes, pictured above, are as Parisian as Berluti but the construction, after Corthay's three years of hard work setting up a plant in Paris, seems as good to me as Gaziano & Girling's MTO shoes. And that's high praise. If you like Corthay's shape, it's as good a machine-made shoe as you're likely to find. I'll be interested to see what Bergdorf asks for a pair.

Darren Beaman Re-Appears

Darren Beaman is a London-based "tailor" who is apparently attempting a comeback after disappearing for 18 months to avoid his angry customers. He's been showing photos of partially completed jackets on the Film Noir Buff forum, the same trick he used during his first incarnation.

If you find yourself tempted by this faux tailoring, be advised that I personally know at least five men that gave Beaman money and never received their suits. I'm one of them.

After seeing some of his work and talking to men who had been customers, I gave Beaman a 50% deposit on four suits a couple of years ago. After two fittings, two of them looked done and two needed another fitting. I asked him to send me the two completed suits. He said he'd send them and charged my credit card. That was April. Of course, the suits never arrived. When I finally reached him two months later after a dozen unanswered calls and emails, he muttered something about them being stuck in customs and he'd get them right out. Nothing, and no further response to any communication.

In October of that year a friend of Beaman's who was on his way to London agreed to stop by and pick up the suits. When he got there, it turned out that they were being held by a subcontractor (this despite the statement on Beaman's web site that he does all his own sewing) and I was once again told that Darren would be sending them along shortly. The friend told me that he did have the two incomplete garments. Disgusted, I asked him to bring me those so that I could have them completed locally.

When they arrived, they did so minus the cloth and parts necessary to finish them. One was even minus the trousers. Note the photo of the jacket ticket indicating the name of the tailor. And, of course, I never received the other suits. To top it off, my credit card company refused to reverse the charges saying too much time had passed.

I freely admit that I was both stupid and not paying enough attention. What is not understandable to me is that Beaman's never responded or acknowledged that he has taken $8,000 of my money and never delivered anything but garbage. So far as I am aware he has not filed for bankruptcy, and still owes me the money. If he'd so much as said "I regret that your suits are being held by a contractor that I am unable to pay but may be reclaimed by you if you wish to pay the money I owe him for the work" I could have dealt with that. Or, he could have offered to make another suit. Instead, his response on FNB's forum was that "Some day the other side of the story will come out." I look forward to that day.

Let the buyer beware.

Packing for Europe

I'm off to Europe next week for some time relaxing in the country as well as shopping, fittings and writing in Budapest, London and Paris.

I plan to visit a couple dozen tailors, haberdashers and shoe makers while I'm travelling. If there's a source in those cities that you're particularly interested in reading about, let me know and I'll see if I can arrange to cover it.

A Suitable Wardrobe will be updated daily, though post times may be erratic when I'm in transit.

A Season is Ending

Spring season is coming to an end, one of the two times each year when perhaps two dozen of the world's better tailors and shoemakers (and the occasional poseur) go on the road to meet their customers. Most days during the Spring and Fall, a few hotel suites in New York, Zurich, Chicago and other major cities are filled with men speaking quietly while they leaf through cloth swatches and leather samples, or cross the room to test how their new shoes, or new trousers, fit. London's Henry Poole has perhaps the most ambitious schedule, visiting the U.S., continental Europe, China and Japan.

It's a process that works well for men that value bespoke clothing but live in cities without world class makers of their own. Most visiting artisans come twice a year. A man orders during one visit and has a fitting on the next, so that the completed item can be completed, paid for and sent to the customer several weeks later. The downside is that if a man is very picky about small details, he had better be prepared to fly to the tailor's regular domicile, or wait a very long time for his clothes.

There are risks to this approach of course, but they can be minimized by dealing with makers that have been making the rounds for decades. And some relative bargains may be there to be had from new guys who are out to build their reputation. Thomas Mahon and Gaziano & Girling each began business with a series of trunk shows early on, and both they and their customers benefitted. Of course, G&G in particular had a reputation from the first day.

On the other hand, two years ago another tailor conducted a brilliant Internet visibility campaign and then delivered only a small number of acceptable suits before disappearing with the rest of the customers' money. But it's not hard to avoid the outright frauds if you insist on talking to references who have received completed clothes before you hand over your credit card.

Reader Questions

From Joshua

"Many sources say that the customary length for jacket sleeves is to reveal at least 0.5 inches of the shirt cuff. However, I have not been able to find a similar custom on the length for sleeves on a top coat. Would you please tell me and the rest of your readers what is customarily accepted as the proper length for our topcoated selves?"

Despite how it looks in the drawing to the left (either the artist erred or the tops of the men's gloves are folded down), a topcoat or overcoat should fall to the bottom of the hand so it covers jacket and shirt cuff. That way, a man's gloves extend up into the sleeve and there's no skin exposed to the weather.

From Pat
"When going to a new tailor, do you ever leave written instructions behind? For instance, I have selected a new tailor to make a dinner jacket for me. For once, I have very specific ideas about what I want, and feel confident that I can communicate my wants to him. However, I am sorely tempted to write a letter reiterating my specific wants and desires, to leave with him."

Specifying a drapey Neopolitan jacket to a tailor who makes clean, Roman style clothes for is a recipe for failure. I believe that we should choose tailors for their reputation and house style, and should then be comfortable enough with that style to let the tailor decide all but the major details of cloth, lining, style (double, single with three buttons, etc.), and pockets.

Past that, the fitter should be writing things down as you mention them and if you lack confidence in his ability to read what he's written you've almost certainly chosen the wrong man (or woman). I've had more than one get details wrong but that's part of the game and they are usually reparable.

Reader Questions

From Jon

"I have tended to stick to black shoes for the vast majority of my suits with the very occasional pairing of a burgundy pair of shoes with navy. My wife recently bought me a pair of tan shoes. Since they were a gift, I feel I should wear them occasionally, but I can't figure out for the life of me what to pair them with. Do you have any insights?"

As you can see on the feet of the Italian dandy in the photo to the left, light brown shoes work well with light gray. They are equally effective with light blue, tan, cream and the various shades of seersucker, all of which are warm weather colors usually worn in Spring and Summer. I've worn fox suede oxfords with navy flannels in winter, but it's not a combination for the office.

From Jonathon
"My sister has decided that my brother-in-law needs a suit. Who would you recommend in Hong Kong?"

The usual suspects are W. W. Chan, which travels to major cities in the United States, and A-Man Hing Cheong, which does not. A-Man, in the Mandarin Hotel, may be the better of the two but each of them has supporters (I have no personal experience with Chan).

If your brother-in-law has a choice, he's likely to get a better suit if he can order it in Hong Kong and get fitted there. The W. W. Chan model in the U.S. is measure on the first visit and then ship a completed suit. That works perfectly some of the time, but when it doesn't the alterations process can take a while.

How to Shop for Men's Clothing

Legend has it that men dislike shopping for clothes but I don't agree with that. I think men are happy to do their own shopping once they learn how to do it efficiently so they can get on with life. They don't want to spend their Saturday afternoons shopping, and I don't blame them.

In my opinion, there's no reason for a man's clothes shopping to require much more than two hours a year unless he wants it to. As with most things, the key is get a proper foundation in place. Once that's done, buying a season's garb is principally a matter of picking up the phone or writing a couple of emails. Of course, there are worse things than a morning walking around the 7ème Arrondissement in Paris and browsing at Arnys.

Shopping is simplest when you don't have to think about where to shop. For example, for most of the first half of my life, I, like many American men, did essentially all my shopping at Brooks Brothers. The problem with that approach is that there are very few places that can serve as a single source any longer (including Brooks Brothers and the mens' sections of department stores with one or two possible exceptions in Manhattan). There may be a life-long U.S. partner among the stores in Esquire's list of the best men’s specialty stores if one is close by. But most men will have to use several providers.

Men's clothing providers tend to specialize in shoes, tailored clothing, shirts or haberdashery (some shirtmakers are also great haberdashers but more often the two are a separate category). Though specialists usually dabble in other categories, they tend to do a great job in only their primary area. That means each man may need a source for shoes, one for suits, a third for shirts and perhaps a fourth for everything else.

The benefit from having established providers comes when it's time to shop. Men who want to spend only the minimum necessary time need do little more than see their tailor (that's Rubinacci's location in London to the left) twice a year to confirm the fit of that season's clothes and select swatches for delivery in six months. Shoes and shirts can be ordered with emails specifying the styles and colors. A periodic visit to an online haberdashery source like Ben Silver or Kabbaz-Kelly will take care of any remaining needs.

Spring and Fall
Just as seasonal clothes arrive in the stores before the season begins, bespoke clothing must be made in advance of each season. For example, I order my clothing for cool weather each Spring and in the Fall I order warm weather gear. When the clothes are ready the season then is just around the corner.

Ready to wear items follow a similar pattern and you may even be able to shop last season's sales while you're taking care of the coming season's necessities.

Finding Sources
The hard part is finding a set of relationships that satisfy. New bespoke and made to measure sources require a lot of trust, and it takes months before a man knows if his faith is going to be rewarded (as I've written elsewhere, the only time to have new clothes made is when you don't yet need them). Reputation helps, but personal recommendations are even more important when, as I've learned on more than one occasion, a great reputation sometimes lags behind a more ordinary reality.

Spend a year establishing relationships with a set of providers and there'll be no more reason to dislike shopping.

The Cloth Club

About two years ago, Michael Alden of The London Lounge web site wanted a flannel suit in a large format Prince of Wales check and couldn't find suitable cloth anywhere. He solicited a dozen other London Lounge members to join him and have a length of the cloth woven to his specification. The success of that first project was the stimulus for The Cloth Club, perhaps the world's only informal organization commissioning custom weaving of cloth for classic men's clothing.

Fifty years ago, tailors accounted for much of the consumption of suiting cloth, and the cloth merchants offered them a wide variety of patterns and weaves. Today, the cloth suppliers focus on the ready to wear market, whose long production runs are incompatible with unique fabrics. They weave plenty of blues and grays but fewer of the patterned suitings of the past.

By commissioning its own cloth, The Cloth Club is doing what some of the large tailoring houses have done for years. Savile Row's Anderson & Sheppard usually offers several specially commissioned worsteds and Huntsman is famed for its house tweeds while Mariano Rubinacci of Naples is known for his house hopsacks. The difference of course is that Cloth Club members can take their fabric to the tailor of their choice for a "cut, make, & trim, " the tailoring term for the process of making a garment from customer-provided cloth.

Since the first commission, The Cloth Club has delivered a large scale black and white glen check tweed, and a gray flannel with a large blue overcheck, pictured in the drawing at the upper left. Current projects include a gray flannel with a blue windowpane called 'Eden in Paris' after the drawing to the lower left, a gun club tweed for odd jackets, an off-white flannel trouser cloth with blue and gray accents, and a striped worsted suiting.

To inquire about participation in The Cloth Club, contact Michael Alden through the web site.