To the point of measurements: one of the real benefits of bespoke is that the cutter will leave a lot of extra fabric in a garment specifically to allow for significant alterations both during the process and after completion.
Dear Tom, you're right, but in good MTM companies, the factory will also leave some extra fabric in the seams for the same reasons (of course less than a bespoke tailor but still sufficient most of the time). Warm regards, Hugo
Hi Tom, As you already know this extra fabric worked into the bespoke garment is referred to as the "seam allowance", which should hopefully include at least two inches on each side of the seam for taking the garment in or for opening the garment. Cheers ! Sonya
Greetings from England! To answer your question at 08:15, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) gives the pronunciation of baste (in both British English and U.S. English) as IPA /beɪst/ Baste rhymes with haste, paste, taste and waste. Basted, basting and bastes are pronounced similarly.
Sonya's efforts to direct Hugo's enthusiasm always make me smile. She knows it can't be directed, which is easily the best part of sartorial talks, but still tries, which is a close second.
I just had a very nice suit made in Hoi An in Vietnam. I feel it was MTM by your definition, but the waistcoat was bespoke (they had no double breasted waistcoats in the shop and I emailed a photo of what I wanted for them to copy) and it was ready in 3 days with 3 fittings! Even for MTM it was very good value and I am very happy. I am going to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow and will visit CNES to look at shoes for a local Vietnamese price :)
Thanks for your feedback Steve. Tailoring in the far east is some kind of a lottery. Sometimes it can be very good, but sometimes really bad. If you found a good MTM operation there, then you should stick with it for sure because it's kind of rare. All my very best, Hugo
I somehow missed this a couple days ago, but thanks, as always, for advocating for elegance in the best that we can do for our budget, while still protecting and advocating for traditions and mastery of craft!
I have so enjoyed learning from your video productions as well as your book, The Parisian Gentleman. Thank you for your efforts to preserve education on our culture, and make the world just a bit more.....gentlemanly. Merci bien.
Thank you very much for the effort put in to make these videos. I’m now retired and enjoying, to a degree, not having to wear a suit every business day. I was by no means a dandy but was CEO of a large business which brought with it expectations about the standard of dress. My suits were almost always MTM and I was happy with that compromise. However, just as importantly, was how I wore these clothes. My shorts were always fully washed and ironed by me as I could then guarantee that the collar and cuffs were properly pressed - unfortunately, I could not not stand for the way that the collar on Hugo’s shirt in the first segment looked. The ties were steamed regularly but, more importantly, had to be tied and kept in lace all day at the collar junction; no slippage allowed. My suits were regularly cleaned but pressed weekly by me; again, the lapels had to look immaculate as did the trousers. My shoes tended to be from Loakes - a good solid brand of traditional shoes - but were always kept in good repair and shined properly each week; to my mind, nothing looks worse than scuffed or dirty or badly maintained shoes. The whole point to me was that you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. I had to immediately look efficient; not particularly fashionable but solid. Once over that, I could allow my personality to soften where I though it needed to soften. Business casual was becoming more apparent firstly, it seems it was one day a week “dress down Friday”, then it 2 days a week and, finally, any day. However, to me, it was a misnomer; there were still uniforms for men; suits were almost always worn with the occasional pair of pressed chinos. The only real concession might be the absence of a tie - fine for some occasions but not always appropriate. My only guidance for people is not to worry overly about how much you spend on clothes; it’s easy to spend a lot and still look dishevelled. Buy wisely but, most of all, spend time maintaining your clothes. I still have Loakes that I bought 40 years ago; well repaired; often moisturised; never worn 2 consecutive days and always kept with shoe trees in them.
This is one of the most gracious comments we have received so far. It has certainly inspired me to upgrade my own ways of doing things and I will refer back to your words several times in the future. Thanks from Hugo as well, Sonya Glyn
Dear Hugo and Sonya, the playful and synergistic dynamic between you two is so fun and inspiring to watch! God bless you both! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I'm going for my basted fitting for my 2nd suit in 2 weeks. Thanks for your all your advice, over all these years. I hope both of you are healthy and well, and have a Merry Xmas!
Excellent video presentation. Thank you for the thoughtful yet charming discussion. Clearly a wonderfully happy couple much in love. Look forward to more.
I am very excited to say two things. First is that I am a great proponent of hats for men (and women who wish) and I have gotten my father, best friend, and even a coworker interested in fedoras. I wear my variety of fedoras everyday and am excited to get people into this. Second is that I am finally able to set an appointment with Cifonelli for my first bespoke suit experience. I am excited to go and experience this for myself. MTM has served me well through work, and will continue to do so, but I am ecstatic to experience true bespoke for the first time. I look forward to meeting Lorenzo and Massimo Cifonelli. P.S. I apologize for any misspelled names. I also loved the little blooper with the laughing in this video. I enjoy seeing both Hugo and Sonya happy and laughing. I hope you do more laughing often. All my best, Devin
Thanks Devin! And when you meet the Cifonelli (Lorenzo and Massimo) tell them you are in contact with us. It won't hurt! Cheers and happy holidays, Hugo & Sonya
@@SARTORIALTALKS 😂I will be sure to mention it. Thank you! I expect to love the experience. You both have given me many ideas over the years, so choosing will be my main dilemma.
Just wanting to wish you both a Merry Christmas, I have learnt so much from all of your episodes over the years. Keep up the fantastic work, it it well appreciate by all that watch. Take care. Dino, Brisbane Australia.
Another wonderful video folks. Your knowledge is second to none .Yous bounce of each other perfectly. Have a wonderful Christmas. God bless from Glasgow Scotland. SLANJ..
The overall risk of MTM is the consultant/stylist. There are many MTM companies that like to push an appointment into 45minutes to one hour. The other 'weakness' is the block pattens. If the block doesn't fit the person, there's nothing that can fix it. My tailor keeps additional material aside for later use, in case another set of trousers is needed. Love your show, and my deepest respect for the both of you. Thank you.
Excellent as usual and season's greetings to both of you! On a funny note I was expecting Sonya to end the presentation with 'Well, yu'all come back now, ya hear!' LOL. Joyeux Noel chers amis.
An absolute treasure trove on information! Thank you. I would love to hear Hugo's and Sonya's opinions about the modern "business casual" style which is more and more prevalent in the business world. Apologies if has been covered already before.
Dear Toomas, we did cover the subject here and there, but it sounds like we need to go further on the "business casual" side of things. We'll do. Happy holidays, Hugo
I work for a MTM company. You are very correct that one "Achilles's heel" of this service is the stylist. However, the clientele determines a lot as well. I've been doing this work for almost two years and my experience so far has been that the MAJORITY of men are very, very hesitant to trying something that is more classical or proportional. They want the fit they think looks good on them, regardless of what may actually be more beneficial. I get many with pronounced bellies and they insist on a low rise pant for their belly to hang over, I point out that the button stance can be changed to change the silhouette and they prefer to leave it as high as possible, and you say "I think you should have a more structured shoulder" and they think you are trying to put them in a "power suit." It's not just the workers, who, sure, may or not have a clue what they could do, but also the clients, many who insist on perpetuating bad stylistic decisions that then speak for the company to the world.
Merry Christmas you guys! Always love your content and after watching all these years still learning so much! Hugo & Sonia best wishes to you both! Btw love the jacket Hugo!
Although I am far away from starting any journey I really did enjoy this video! Great duo and wise advise. If I should use my suits enough and find them not adequate enough, then I might start a deeper dive with an MTM. Enjoy your vibes and passion and you have a good balance of structured approach and also side-talks with little details and trailing off. Love it
My first two MTM suits came from Suit Supply. On both occasion I had a great experience with the team of the shop. And most importantly the suits came out great. A nice mid blue three piece for a more formal setting, needed it for a wedding in winter. But great versatile in combining it with different pantalons. For a summer wedding I opted for a light blue two piece suit which is of course more for summer. Both suits fitted perfectly and I enjoy wearing them or even just the coats dressing them down with a chino or (dark) jeans.
So funny dear Hugo to clean your lips from Sonya"s lipstick ))))),,, ,,and the time i was thinking and wondering where are you Guys ,,you just came ! So happy to see you back ,,,specially dear Sonya with her elegant scarf ,)),,,Thanks for this great information ,,,,and Merry Christmas to you in advance,,,Love to you from Cairo.
@@SARTORIALTALKS Thanks Hugo ,,and sorry if my comment was silly for you & Sony ,,,I apologize dear,,,Both of you means a lot to me ,,,,Much love to you.
Other class of style and good taste! I would take advantage of the opportunity to wish everyone a great 2023, plenty of God love in our lives, good health and happiness! Best regards from Brazil 🇧🇷
As someone who does historical sewing (though not yet historical tailoring), I am curious on one particular point: if a highly skilled home sewist makes a tailored historical garment for themselves using traditional handsewing and steaming techniques and the garment is fitted precisely to their own measurements, is that 'bespoke'? Does that change if the person also makes a living doing historical tailoring for others, but they are presently making the garment at home, for themselves? If the person has gone through the traditional apprenticeship process for tailoring but now does historical dress for themselves, does that change anything? My own intuition is that 'bespoke' is not the right word, at least in the first of these cases - that it is necessarily a professional term - but I don't know what word one would actually use. I find people often saying 'couture' to mean fitted to an individual body which (1) as a dressmaker's term doesn't make sense for tailoring and (2) is at least as restricted a term as 'bespoke'. However, I don't know what the correct word is for someone who has gone through the trouble of fitting a garment for themself precisely to their own body. Is there a not-for-professionals term?
Agree with Hugo about Bespoke tailors who make the same suit every time. I'm originally from a military city in the UK, although I live in London now, and we have a tailor in my home city who makes bespoke suits, as well as alternations for military officers dress uniforms etc. He is in his late 60s and all of his suits look like they are from the 1980s. However, the price he charges is incredible for a fully bespoke made on site in the UK suit (he starts at £700!). Wouldn't use him myself I don't want such a dated suit, even at such an incredible price for very good workmanship.
I went from MTM Suitsupply to a small MTM Salon, ordered 2 Drapers fabric suits through them and should've ran away as soon as I could in the start as they didn't knew if the canvas was horsehair or not, Lapel hole milanaise was "never heard of" and so on... It took them 5 months full of problems & bad service/follow up and not even my complains solved in a professional way. I got a feeling they just want quick money and focus on compnies who order many suits and don't check on small details... it was so much crap service for 2 suits with a total of 2300euro's. I'm going back to Suitsupply as it was a much better service and magnificent quality.
OK important question: sometimes there are ''degrees'' of bespoke. Some garments are still made to your measurements, a pattern is created, and there is a basted fitting. However, to expedite the process or to reduce cost, some elements of the making of the jacket are not hand sewn, but sewn with a sowing machine (still ''hand made'', but not in the tailoring sense of the word). Collar, button holes etc. Tailors may also use some fusing here and there, sometimes it's a half canvas instead of full canvas. Now for these types of garments, some people do not consider them bespoke. But they're not off the rack, and still not made to measure. I consider these bespoke. What do you think? Thanks.
Viberg out of British Columbia does excellent MTM for boots and shoes using world-class leathers from the likes of Horween out of Chicago and British C.F. Stead.
I did not know Sonya was from the USA and the south nonetheless, she would have stuck out like a sore thumb with her sartorial preferences in the southern population here. It's all about cowboy hats, boots and lifted trucks around here. Only Sonya can pull off what she does so elegantly, very sprezzatura!
Very informative episode, Sonia and Hugo - thank you for this! I suppose Hugo you're wearing your green Solaro suit? Which suit is Sonia wearing? I guess Cifonelli (by the roped shoulder)?
Richard James on the Row did talk once about the difference. His tailoring firm does bespoke and made-to-measure. Once you go bespoke you'll never go back to any form.
Richard James is a great reference---glad you mentioned. It's only recently that we've started trying MTM because so many MTM makers have (greatly) improved upon what's possible, compared to just a few years ago. The real feat is finding the correct MTM maker to try. Cheers ! Sonya & Hugo
Compliments as ever for the clarity of informations! Please Hugo, how can i buy your Shoes book in english? I already have The Parisian Gentleman (i’ll visit Camps de Luca, Charvet and Aubercy in the near future) and The Italian Gentleman, but i miss the Souliers one. Thank you very much! A Roman Gentleman 😄
I was at a Christmas party yesterday and everyone was dressed normally casual, only a lady who was over 60 years old she was wearing a very nice suit and of course I told her I really like her outfit and then she was flirting with me i thought she is 25 years too late :)
i shop for vintage blazers, suits, and I sometimes find great fabrics and there will be a moth hole or worn spot making it not resellable. You could however repurpose and make scully caps out of this fabric. Looking for a company interested in purchasing these vintage wool items and repurpose them.
That's an excellent idea. I know one company in France (Cinabre) who is recycling old pieces of cashmere and transforming these in cashmere beanies. All my best, Hugo
So if the same customer goes to the same bespoke tailor the second time, would the patterns be made from scratch again, or they will reuse patterns from previous suit?
Actually, if you make the exact same jacket and if your measurements did not change (weight gain or loss), then you personal pattern will be re-used. But never forget that in authentic bespoke, the tailor has at least 2 to 3 fittings to reshape his work (unlike MTM). All our best wishes for the Holidays season. Sonya & Hugo
@@SARTORIALTALKS thank you for clarifying Hugo. Maybe let them know that it would help if they put on their website where the tailoring is done. It really feels like they omitted talking about that intentionally and it's window dressing.
Dear Ram, there are numerous MTM places in Germany. We appreciate, for example, Reiser Manufaktur in Munich and also Massura in the same city. Otherwise you should also read our good friend Bernhard Roetzel's blog (Der Feiner Herr). You'll find tons of information about tailoring in Germany. Hope it helps, Hugo
Why you make very few videos sir?? We want to make more and more videos on this channel and we also want videos of commissioning of your suits from A to Z like kirby allison sir does .I hope you fulfill my humble request sir ❤❤
Dear friend, this last month has been full of travels and sartorial adventures and we shot a lot of new material in the USA. So please be patient (and watch Kirby's channel also of course, as he's a good friend). Oh by the way, next week we'll be in Dallas to shoot an episode with Kirby!! Cheers, Hugo & Sonya
Evening Sir, I wanted to know if single slit three piece suits can be worn for formal events?I'm 5ft8, skinny with little fat, short legs, I've always worn double or ventless, wanted to try single vent, and I chose pinstriped grey three piece with high trousers, inspired from a character from peaky blinders, luca changretta, I was hoping to wear it for formal occasions, now I'm regretting it, wanted to go back to double, but since my tailor just now said he's already cut the slit, and he can't do anything, I need to get a new blazer stitched if I need double slit, should I worry this much? I'm terrified, since Christmas and ball dance is not far, please give your thoughts on it.
Dear Sir, don't worry too much. Nobody is going to notice the middle vent in the back of your jacket if the suit looks good. The middle vent is generally looked upon as less formal (the vent was cut in the middle to accommodate the jacket to horse riding), but honestly it doesn't matter that much today (even if ventless remains the norm for Tuxedos). I hope it helps. All my very best, Hugo
@@SARTORIALTALKS thank you very much, it's just that people bashing centre vent, almost looking at it like a cheap, non elegant, worried me too much, cause its my first time wearing single slit, that's all. Thank you very much for this. Got one last doubt, what should be the length of the slit acc to you 4 inches, or 8inches?
This seems to be a great brand. We've written about them for years based on testimonials, but haven't tried their work---but would not be opposed to the possibility. Thanks for mentioning, Hugo & Sonya
Superbe, je vous avez rarement vu avec votre femme, la vidéo était très agréable. Moi qui me questionnait pas mal là dessus. Je pense pas me tromper, mais je crois bien que vous avez comme moi une petite différence d'hauteur entre vos deux épaules et j'aimerai savoir si dans un Made to measure, une simple mesure permet de prendre en compte se genre de différence.
J'ai en effet une épaule plus basse que l'autre (comme beaucoup d'entre nous) et oui un bon salon de MTM prendra cela en considération.Bien amicalement, Hugo
Mucska is fabulous value for authentic bespoke. If ever you contact them, don't hesitate to drop our name as we are close friends with the whole family. All my best, Hugo
I have always heard basting pronounced with the long a like baist not bast, I have heard henry poole cutters, huntsman cutters, and John Kent and Terry Haste all say it that way.
Yes, same here but the British can be very British, and Hugo's pronunciation did not seem implausible, ha! Thank you for the definitive clarification. ~Sonya
A propos de la fabrication en dehors de l'atelier en Italie, elle est faite exprès pour réduire le coût et ne pas payer les taxes surtout. Je suie attentivement tout ou presque ce que vous publiez, donc j'ai constaté que vous êtes un grand connaisseur des profonds de Naples en terme d'elagance avec vos visites. Personnellement je suie vos conseilles et les adresses que j'ai c'est aussi grâce à vous. Que les napolitains font l'impossible pour epargner ici c'est connu dans les quatre coins de l'Italie comme on sait qu'il sont talentueux, zone défavorisés et en pointe sur plusieurs domaines, corruption et mafia, mais ils se distinguent. Même dans les meubles, et autres, pour finir avec leur Piazza,voir Mozzarella ou fruit de mer aux restaurants napolitain et une humanité unique.
Je ne saurais mieux dire cher ami. Surtout pour votre dernier point : les Napolitains sont effectivement extraordinairement accueillants et chaleureux. Bien amicalement, Hugo
Thanks I’m trying to dress nicer I regret not taking the risk in dressing elegant people do tend to stare especially if you don’t have a fancy job title.
I see your point my friend, but I disagree. It depends solely on the way you are treated (and taken care of). I've seen bespoke tailors being really rude with clients and MTM clothiers being fully engaged. The human experience is everything. Cheers, Hugo
I Happened To Stumble Across A Potentially Great Book; Which I Have Had The Displeasure Of Not Reading Fully; It Mentioned Looms; (Preferably For Silks;) I Would Love To Look Into The Insight Of Where "Japanese Silk;" Is Made!!!!
