Spring is the time to look for made to measure linen suits
Spring is the best time to arrange your made to measure summer wardrobe with linen’s and cottons.
Perfect for warmer weather linen is probably the most misunderstood of fabrics. It is the most comfortable of cloths, it is perfect for warm weather and travelling and whilst it creases because it’s linen, no one cares.
Here at travellingtailor.co.uk we have a fantastic range of Irish linen and Cotton’s in striped, checked or plain patterns which are perfect for a Summer wedding, those getting married abroad, travelling in or for anyone who simply loves wearing linen.
You could be forgiven for thinking that with a name like travellingtailor.co.uk we are all about made to measure suits, jackets and trousers; we’re not, we also specialise in ready to wear garments as well as offering a shopping buddy service.
Our shopping buddy service does exactly what it says, Michael will accompany you on a men’s clothing shopping trip for either half a day or a full day, you choose.
With over 30 years of experience in the men’s ready to wear clothing sector he can advise you on what looks good on you and what you should be wearing, all you pay for is his time (and travel expenses).
There is no pressure to buy, it’s your choice, all Michael will do is offer suggestions and probably encourage you to try garments that are different from what you might normally choose but ultimately, the final decision is left to you.
This week has all been about Ready to Wear Menswear at TravellingTailor.co.uk and men’s trousers to be more specific with me visiting clients on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday to discuss their specific trouser needs.
On Monday I visited a client in Liversedge to deliver some men’s ready to wear trousers to him. This particular client had complained that he was unable to get trousers that had a sufficiently long enough fly since many trouser manufactures had gone down the road of the fashionable short rise.
I managed to provide him with a pair of Navy and a pair of Camel colour Douglas & Grahame San Remo Poly/Wool trousers that had the more traditional slightly longer rise but not the high rise style that a certain reality show judge wears!
These trousers are machine washable at 40˚C and come in a variety of colours including, Navy, Black, Charcoal, Mid Grey, Camel, Petrol Blue and Brown. They are available in sizes 32” – 48” Waist and cost £64.95.
Why not contact Michael at TravellingTailor.co.uk to discuss your trouser needs.
You are an individual, why would you choose to wear a mass produced ‘one style’ fits all suit? With a made to measure suit you are getting a suit that is specifically designed, styled, cut, tailored and fitted for you. As we often say, ‘you’re unique, why isn’t your suit?’
#2 It’s all about the fit
Your tailor understands that your made to measure suit is all about the fit and when we say that, we really mean that, whether you want a skinny fit, a slim fit, a regular fit or a more generous fitting suit, we can accommodate your wishes, after all, your new suit is made to measure, that’s your measurements and not a pre-determined industry specific standard fit.
#3 Choice, why limit yourself?
With literally 100’s of cloth and lining patterns as well as style details and fits, your choice of made to measure suit is limited only by your imagination unlike ready to wear when you’re limited to what a buyer has decided to stock or a supplier has decided to offer the buyer.
Want a Cerise Pink suit? Not a problem. Want pleated trousers, that’s easy. Oh, and I would like a matching waistcoat – you’ve got it!
#4 Call that a lining?
Linings
There is an old joke that does the rounds within the tailoring profession and it goes like this:
The Tailors wife is walking through the local park when a man jumps out from behind a bush, opens his raincoat and flashes her. She stands there aghast and says ‘Call that a lining?’
But all jokes aside, often the lining of a suit can say as much about a man as the cut and cloth the outer is made from. A well thought out lining can transform a suit and your tailor will have an extensive range of patterned, shot and plain linings for you to choose from.
#5 Don’t get caught out in the trouser department.
Think about how you wear a suit, for the majority of people, it’s the trousers that get the most wear. You may work in an office environment where you hang your suit jacket up as soon as you get to work or you might have to travel long distances in a car where you again take your jacket off and hang it up – having the ability to get a second or third pair of trousers made will prolong the life of your suit.
Many of our clients have a second pair of trousers made at the time of ordering a made to measure suit as wearing each pair alternatively will add a great deal of service your suit. However, you don’t have to have a second pair made at the time of ordering your suit, for the majority of fabrics your tailor will carry are in pattern bunches, the mills will keep producing further quantities of cloth for many years to come meaning that a year or two down the line, if you should need a replacement pair of trousers your tailor probably can still make these for you.
#6 Power dressing isn’t just about stripes and shoulder pads
As a child of the 60’s I saw quite a lot of ‘Power Dressing’ during my teenage years in the 80’s with bold stripes and shoulder pads considered the norm but the old notion of power dressing has become out dated and has been replaced by confidence dressing and nothing can give you more confidence than a made to measure suit.
Knowing you’re dressed well, knowing that people will recognise that you’ve taken the time to consider your clothes, the design and how it fits does give you a confidence boost and in today’s competitive workplace, any boost you can get has to be welcome.
#7 Fashions fade, style is eternal
As Yves Saint Laurent once famously said, “Fashion fades, style is eternal” and a made to measure suit gives you style in abundance.
Made to measure is all about style, the style you choose, it’s not dictated to or controlled by fashion which is only around for a season or two at the most. A made to measure suit can be whatever you choose it to be because it’s you who dictates the fashion element within the garments and you who control the style, you are the designer.
#8 Help, I need somebody, help
Your tailor is there to help you, after all they want you to come back time after time, they want you to think of their name, their brand as soon as you consider a new suit and so your tailor will help you as much as they can with cloth selection, style details and fit.
Your tailor will have had years and years of experience in measuring clients, in advising them about the suitability of certain cloths over others dependent on your own requirements, use this experience, get the most out of your suit and you will be back for more.
#9 Cut your cloth accordingly.
Tailor working in his shop cutting a roll of dark fabric on which he has marked out the pattern of the garment he is making with tailors chalk close up view
Whilst a made to measure suit isn’t the cheapest option, it doesn’t have to be the most expensive either. In general, the main variable in the price of a made to measure suit is the cost of the cloth and unlike a ready to wear suit where you might be paying a hefty excess simply for a label, made to measure is really all about the cloth.
Whether you choose the least expensive cloth your tailor will show you or the most expensive, the cost to make your suit is often the same with the cost of the cloth being the only difference. Many tailors will also offer a CMT (cut, make and trim) service where you can bring your own cloth to them to be made into a suit.
This allows you to quite literally ‘cut your cloth accordingly’
#10 It fits, it’s the best I’ve tried, it’ll do !
Walking through a Department Store one day I witnessed a man trying a sports jacket on, he looked in the mirror and said to his wife ‘It fits, it’s the best I’ve tried, it’ll do !’
I looked across and the man in question was wearing a jacket which had sleeves that were at least 1” too long and the shoulders were far too wide for him, in truth he was wearing a jacket that was at least half a size too big for him but as he said ‘it was the best’ he’d tried.
Made to measure is exactly what it says, it’s made to your measurements, your body shape and not to some generic size that designers believe you should be or in truth that manufacturers produce because it accommodates a variety of body shapes.
This ‘one size fits all shapes’ approach was often brought home to me when we used to measure wedding parties for hire suits. We would have groups of 6 or 7 young men all of a similar age group but who were quite obviously different body shapes however, when they were measured for their hire suits, they often would all have very similar ‘off the peg’ garment sizes with the inside leg being the only difference.
These garments would quite obviously fit some shapes better than others but were the best possible fit from the limited range of ready to wear sizes available, the same is so with off the peg suits, they fit – after a fashion.
Don’t settle on something because ‘it’s the best you’ve tried’ get a suit that really fits your bodies size and shape, get made to measure.
If you’re interested in learning more about TravellingTailor.co.uk and their made to measure garments in Yorkshire and Lancashire contact Michael on 01484 511088
We’ve had a busy week this week as far as the Travelling Tailor van is concerned.
The paperwork finally came through allowing us to swap number plates and put our old Laurie Hopkins Menswear L1HOP mark on the van.
We also had the van booked into customdesignsuk.com for vinyl graphics putting on, Steve has done a fantastic job and the TravellingTailor.co.uk van is now more visible than ever.
So watch out for it as we drive around bringing quality made to measure suits and ready to wear garments to the men of Yorkshire and Lancashire.
View from my of office today at Scapegoat Hill, Huddersfield
With a name like travellingtailor.co.uk you could be forgiven for thinking that we only provided the good people of Yorkshire and Lancashire with made to measure suits but that’s not the case, we also offer a large range of ready to wear suits, jackets and trousers, all available on a stock service basis and all from various suppliers.
Take today for instance, I have visited a customer at his home in one of the outlying villages around Huddersfield to deliver him a third pair of trousers to a Digel Super 100’s Suit that he bought from Laurie Hopkins Menswear early last year.
The fact that the suit was on a stock service meant that despite damaging one of the pairs that he originally bought in an accident at work, in effect he could still wear that suit because I could get a replacement pair – the accident didn’t result in a total write off of a very nice Super 100’s Digel Menswear suit, all it cost him was the price of a pair of trousers.
Stock service ready to wear suits are available in a variety of fabrics, styles, fits and sizes, why not telephone us to discuss your requirements?
Here at www.travellingtailor.co.uk we have (in association with Laurie Hopkins Menswear, Lindley) been offering the good people of Yorkshire one of the finest Made to Measure Suit experiences for over 30 years.
We have built up a reputation and a client list from all over the county with customers from Huddersfield (naturally), Holmfirth, Leeds, Bradford, Harrogate, Halifax, Sheffield, Doncaster and Barnsley.
TravellingTailor.co.uk is our new conception, we’ve taken all the quality of a Laurie Hopkins Menswear made to measure suit and taken it on the road. We now make having a made to measure suit measured and fitted so much easier by visiting you either at home or in your office.
We understand that in today’s fast paced work environment time really is money and so to save you both time and money, we’ve put our made to measure service out onto the road.
Simply ring Michael on 01484 511088 or 07885 298700 to book an appointment that is mutually convenient, then at the allotted time, Michael will visit you to discuss your Made to Measure suit requirements, show you our fine selection of Yorkshire cloths, discuss the style and fit you desire and measure you, it really is that simple to start the ball rolling and book our visiting tailor service in Yorkshire.
Quite often I am asked, do you suggest I get my new made to measure suit as a 3 piece suit or a 2 piece suit and my answer is always go for the 3 piece (if you can afford to.)
Finance and fashion aside and we all know how fashionable it has become to wear a waistcoat (or vest as it’s called in the trade) over the last few years; a 3 piece made to measure suit is more practical.
If you consider a suit worn for work in an office, quite often the jacket is hung up or put on the back of your chair as soon as you get there but a waistcoat is worn all day. The waistcoat element of a 3 piece suit provides you with warmth, pockets and. generally keeps you looking smart and tidy
3 piece suit
If like me you’re a little corpulent then the waistcoat covers a multitude of sins, no longer can colleagues see gaping shirt buttons or shirt tails hanging out the back of my trousers.
The waistcoat isn’t only for those who are a little thick around the midriff, a waistcoat can also improve the appearance of someone who is thin. If you have a well-fitting waistcoat and use the strap and buckle at the back, you can draw the vest in at the midriff to emphasise your chest to waist ratio and thus making you look more athletic.
A 3 piece suit worn correctly can improve how you look no matter what your body shape.
At the end of the day, when you come to make your choice with made to measure, it’s all down to your own personal preference, after all, that is what a made to measure suit is all about, your choice, your style, your suit but there is one other piece of advice that I give all my made to measure suit customers when they are debating 2 piece or 3 piece and that is:
“A 3 piece suit can always be a 2 piece suit, a 2 piece suit can never be a 3 piece suit!”
Delivering made to measure garments in the Clone Valley
This was the stunning view from my office on Saturday morning as I delivered Made to Measure suits to Marsden and Slaithwaite in the Clone Valley, Huddersfield.
I’m loving the freedom of being a Travelling Tailor.
