Found And Tailored – The Gray Suit For Spring 2010
It’s sad when a suit can be put away in the TO BE TAILORED pile only to be completely forgotten about.
Case in point a fine gray 3 button suit I purchased at Daffy’s for a mere $95. At first it fit like a box, there was a really awful neck roll, and after two tries at a shitty dry cleaning tailor (this is before I met Matt at Imparali), I got this as an end result:
While not completely terrible, the armholes ended up being too tight, the pants were bunching in a really sloppy manner, the neck roll actually got worse, and the arms were still totally uneven. Completely frustrated with the results, I ended up bagging the suit only to forget about it as part of my tailoring list.
After the apartment redo, I came across the ugly duckling and realized that with the aid of Matt and his staff, I would most likely be able to transform the suit into something along the lines of this:
And while it’s not a bespoke Kilgour, at least I could have my own version of the classic, lightweight gray suit that Grant wore without having to take a small loan out from the bank to pay for it.
I began to make a mental checklist of what I love about CG’s suit in North By Northwest and came up with the following to do’s for the staff at Imparali:
1. Fix neck roll.
2. Since the pants are slightly pleated, add a cuff at the bottom and fix bunching at the same time.
3. Since the waist is a perfect fit, have belt loops removed.
4. Fix the uneven sleeves.
5. Fix the tightness around the armholes.
6. Keep top button rolled over.
I wish I had a better before photo or maybe you just had to see the way it fit in real life but Imparali did a miracle job on it. For example, the neck roll is completely gone:
Like I said, in just the photos you can’t see a huge difference from the before shot but believe me, the way the suit FEELS on me has completely changed.
That funkiness on the legs got fixed towards the bottom and although there is some bunching on the thighs, it doesn’t show at all in real life. It may have something to do with the weight of the fabric as it is extremely light wool. Also, the sleeves are completely even now although it doesn’t look like it in the photo. I had shifted just as the camera snapped which explains why they look a little off.
The only thing that could not be done from the list were removing the belt loops because they were sewn on too tightly.
And while I am in no way Cary Grant, here’s how great the suit looks if I were to be chased by a crop duster plane in an open field.
The shoes I am wearing are a deep chocolate brown by Kenneth Cole:
The suit is fused, not canvassed, yet it holds up pretty nicely when pressed.
I’m excited to have this one back in my wardrobe because of it’s lightweight wool. It will be perfect on those semi-warm spring days.
I rather like the cut as it is a departure from my normally tight fitting suits. This may be a new direction for me in terms of tailoring…possibly.
Great job. I must say a checklist before tackling such a mammoth task is important. Few things I like about the suit:
The 3 button roll to two button.
The fit.
Those pants and especially the cuffs on the pants.
You look great man.
Well done.
Hey Mxolisi,
Thank you so much, man. I really appreciate you digging it.
After everything I learned over the past year writing this blog probably the #1 thing to do is BE READY for the tailor.
Having the checklist made it very easy to communicate what I needed done very quickly. I have to get better shots of the cuffs on the pants. They really did a bang up job.
All the best,
Dennis
Might I add that you’re putting immense pressure on me to make sure my grey suit is on point
Just keepin’ you on your toes, man!
Sharp, I love the action poses!
THANKS!!! At least I know the suit can hold up in some serious Hitchcock situations.
Hi Dennis,
How do you know if a suit is fused verus stitched?
Hi Jeff,
That’s a great question. In this case, I kind of KNEW it was fused because of the way it felt in comparison to my canvassed suits.
Also, I asked my tailor.
There is a fantastic article written on the subject on The Art Of Manliness that you can find here:
http://artofmanliness.com/2010/02/12/the-art-of-manliness-suit-school-part-i-fused-vs-canvassed-suits/
Thanks again,
Dennis
the being chased by a crop duster plane in an open field photo… great shot man!
and now my grey suit is on my “to be tailored” list as well now.
Dennis, just to be clear, Grant was unbuttoned as the plane attacked. Also, the image of CG on your site is horizontally stretched. The lapels are not really that wide.
True on all points.
Thanks, Dack!
Hi Dennis.
First post here. Nice writeup on the importance of finding good tailors.
Quick question: Where do you get your shoe trees from? Also, do you do your own laundry for your custom shirts, or are they dryclean only?
Thanks for your time. Hope to pick your brain more!
-Alex
Hey Alex,
Thank you so much for your comment and for reading the blog.
The shoe trees pictured are from Ebay. A very kind reader tipped me off to them. They were 2 for $26.99 but it looks like the seller has ran out. Doing a search, I found some great deals:
http://tinyurl.com/y8oshjq
Otherwise, you can always check your local cobbler or shoe repair shop. I was stuck on plastic shoe trees for a while until my readers had a massive intervention and got me off that evil. Thank the lord they did. Cedar is definitely the way to go.
Shirts I refuse to dry clean more than once a year. And that’s only if they are seriously stained. Excessive dry cleaning chemicals destroy the fabric and the shirts will fall apart. What I suggest is WASH AND PRESS services at your local cleaners. Now that my freelance work has slowed down, though, I have to save money so I wash them at the laundromat with a little bleach and detergent then press them myself.
All the best,
Dennis