Custom Suits

Straight-of-grain Waistband Made Easy

2012-01-18T00:41:00.001-08:00

If you enjoy sewing apparel, chances are that you'll encounter waistbands cut on the straight-of-grain frequently, especially with the popularity of separates in our wardrobes. In fact, so many of our garments have waistbands, and we open and close them so often, we tend to take them for granted. So let's take a look at why these waistbands deserve closer attention, and how to sew perfect ones.

Functions of a waistband

Waistbands are one way to finish the top edge of skirts, pants, and other separates. They're also part of the opening that provides entry for the garment. And perhaps most importantly, they anchor the garment at or near the waist. This small strip of fabric performs a big job: a waistband "carries" the entire garment.

Structuring waistbands

Because of these various functions, it's very important that waistbands are supported properly, which is accomplished through interfacing the waistband fabric. There are many interfacing materials that can be used, and the best one to choose depends on the amount of support and structure that's required for the particular garment style, fabric, and width of waistband. (Typically, wider waistbands need more support than narrower ones.) By experimenting with fusible interfacing, sew-in interfacings, and products specifically made for making waistbands, you'll discover which give you the results you like the most with specific fabrics and styles.

Selecting a waistband interfacing

The best way to choose which interfacing product to use for the inner support of a waistband is to make several test samples for each garment you make. Simply apply a few different interfacings to scraps of fabric after you've cut out the garment. With your fingers, feel the difference between the samples. You can also make a practice waistband if you want to make sure the interfacing in question will do a perfect job. Place the practice waistband around your body and try bending over and sitting. Does it keep it's shape or does it fold over? Is it too stiff? Does it feel comfortable? You'll also want to take into account what kind of wear the garment will receive; what kind of cleaning process the garment will undergo; and what type of closure the waistband will have.

Waistband materials

Waistbands are usually cut from the same fabric as the garment. Patterns generally call for the length of the waistband to be cut using the fabric's length-of-grain. This is preferable because the cross-grain normally has more inherent give than the length-of-grain. For design purposes, waistbands can be made from contrasting fabrics, or even from ribbon or other trims.

How wide should a waistband be? Most frequently, waistbands are either 1-1/4" wide or 1-1/2" wide, but there is no rule that says you must make your waistbands either of these widths. Some people like a narrower waistband - even as narrow as 3/8"; others prefer a wider waistband - 2" or more. Both comfort and style (design) will influence how narrow or wide you choose to make your waistbands.

Getting a comfortable circumference. Some people prefer snug waistbands and others prefer a looser fit. Commercial patterns have approximately 1" of ease in the waistband pattern (i.e., the finished waistband will be 1" larger than the waist measurement for the given size). But people's preferences vary a lot: some people like their waistbands equal to their actual waist measurement; some like their waistbands larger than their waist measurement; and some people like their waistbands smaller than their waist measurement. This is a personal choice - and part of the benefit of getting custom tailored garments is that you can make a waistband fit exactly how you like it!

Waistband closures

Some people choose a buttonhole and button closure, while others prefer a skirt/pants hook and eye (this is a flat hook-and-eye set that is about 1/2" long). The choice is yours, depending on the look you want to create. Using a hook-and-eye closure results in a very clean looking garment, while buttons can be a decorative element.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Color Coordination

2011-11-24T23:52:00.001-08:00

COLOR ME KNOWLEDGEABLE

“Honey, does this red shirt and orange tie look OK together?”

We don’t need a degree in color engineering, but a lot hinges on this! Everyday you put together many elements of your attire. Your choice of the colors you mix and match can make a significant impression on how you look to others.

Colors are like kids and employees. Some work together, and get along just fine; others always fight.

Color is energy, if you’re wearing the colors that are right for you, you’ll look dynamic. Color coordination not only makes you look good, but also gives you an organized and professional image.

We’ll try to put an end to those mornings that find you late for work, standing in front of the mirror, holding up six ties, and two shirts against your new suit! Some basic color knowledge, and a lot of experience will help you coordinate those dazzling ensembles with confidence and ease, and maybe even have time for a second cup of coffee.

Men have it easier than women in the color world since most business is conducted in navy, or gray suits, white or blue shirts, and only in our ties and pocket squares are we “allowed” the freedom to get colorful (but even there one rarely sees fuchsia!). Well maybe on the golf course, but even there we look better if the colors match!

The word match comes from an Old English word "gemaecca" which was shortened to "macche" meaning mate or companion!

Why pink for little girls and blue for little boys? An old European fairly tale had baby girls springing forth from pink roses! Blue is the color of the heavens and parents thought it would protect infant sons from the Devil!

We’re not even going to discuss here coordinating the other factors like patterns or fabric weight, and texture. However when all the colors mesh and the patterns are not all the same design or size, you could pull off wearing all patterns!!

Note this News :

Perception of your IQ may be reflected in your shirt color!

When others are repulsed by “loud”, do they mean the volume of your voice or the colors of your clothes?

Both!

According to Clare Spiegel, president of Your New Image, a career consulting company, bright colors and loud talk give an impression of low intelligence!

As reported in Men’s Health Magazine, speaking in a mid volume during a speech or presentation projects more intelligence than speaking too loudly. Speaking in moderate tones presents a calm and authoritative image rather than an appearance that you are desperate to convince everyone of your point. Too loud also can be perceived as boisterous and obnoxious.

The same goes for loud clothing colors, Spiegel says! For example, if you’re going to don a Hawaiian shirt for an event where you need some semblance of astuteness, make sure the shade is dusty or muted, not bright.

Maybe that’s why serious business attire has always been navy or gray set off by a white shirt, and some necktie color to draw attention to your face. And now we know it’s a consideration for casual clothes!

E-Tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Make Your Own Custom Clothes Patterns

2011-11-24T23:48:00.001-08:00

How to make your own custom clothes patterns. If you don't have the perfectly symmetrical body that clothing patterns are designed for, then this article will help you to alter them so they look custom made.

When you look at someone whose clothes fit perfectly, do you wonder what their secret is? It really isn't a secret, it is knowing how to custom fit patterns so you, too can have clothes that fit perfectly. Perhaps one shoulder is higher than the other, or perhaps one arm is bigger around than the other. Many minor physical differences can be made unnoticeable when your clothing fits.

You can do this in one of two ways, it is your choice depending upon your skill as a seamstress and the amount of time you have.

In the first method, you simply use a lightweight cotton fabric (such as sheeting) cut the pattern out and sew using basting stitches. Alter the garment as needed and then take the basting stitches out and use the altered cloth as a pattern.

In the second method, you first measure yourself, or have a friend help you. Measure both left and right sides of your body, and front and back on the left and right. You will end up with measurements that you can use to draw an accurate picture of yourself.

Use a dressmaker's dummy, or if one is not available, a large piece of paper to draw an accurate rendition of you, down the the inch. Now lay your pattern pieces on the drawing, notice where dart lines, waist measurements, underarm seams, etc., fall. If they don't land where you need them to, then adjust the pattern by adding or taking away. Darts can be moved up down, left and right. Waistlines can be lowered or raised. If the pattern does not fit across you can add a little extra.

Where possible, work from the center of the pattern to help keep the pieces symmetrical. Also remember that any changes to one piece will change any other pieces that attach to the one you changed. So if you change a neckline don't forget to adjust both front and back necklines, and any collars or facings.

After you have adjusted the pattern to fit you, cut out your material and sew it with basting stitches. Try on the garment to insure that the fit is what you want. Make any other adjustments before sewing with finished stitching.

For a more professional, custom made look follow the tips here. When you finish seams, make sure they are straight and even, finish the inside of the garment, attach buttons with several neat stitches. Tack down facings with hand stitches where seams are at the shoulder and the front. Pressing after each seam will insure a more professional look in the finished garment. When you have sewn the last button on, and are finished with the garment, wash it as you would normally, give it a final damp press and it is ready to wear.

Your garment will look as if it were expensively custom tailored to fit you, because it was. As you become more experienced with adjusting patterns you will find it takes the same amount of time as when you just stitched up the pattern as it came. Don't forget to remeasure yourself periodically, since we all change our shapes depending upon season, age etc. Enjoy your new clothing.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Mandarin Suit

2011-06-23T05:41:00.001-07:00

The mandarin suit is less well known than its relatives, the Italian, British and American styles of mens suits, but it is the perfect attire for some occasions. Inspired by the lines of menswear in the east, this suit style might not be what you would choose for a highly formal occasion, but it has its place among the business suits in many a savvy dresser's wardrobe.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of the mandarin suit, think of the Nehru jacket, or the jackets worn by the rather more controversial Chairman Mao. Imported into western tradition, mandarin style mens suits have found their way into business suit ranges, and even into the realms of formal wear, including tuxedo design.

The hallmark of the mandarin style is the collar on the jacket. This is a small, upright collar band. It does not fold over, in the sense in which we are more used to understanding the word "collar" in western traditions. If you have never seen this style you might be surprised to see how they have been taken up by contemporary designers, in the western world as well as their eastern homeland.

The modern mandarin collar suit has the elegance you might expect if you are familiar with the lines of oriental art. The jacket is sleek, snug and simple-without fussiness or unnecessary detail. Depending on the materials and colors used, the suit can be just as stylish as a designer suit by a big name Italian designer, and has earned its place in the pantheon of business suits. In light colours and linen and similar fabrics, this style of suit can also be summery and elegantly casual.

The look of these mens suits is clean and minimalist, with the jacket often substantially longer than jacket of a conventional suit. Without the V-shaped "gorge" of the conventional suit, the mandarin jacket will usually also have a number of buttons. The eye is drawn to the vertical, making this a flattering jacket style for men of shorter stature, although long jackets should be approached with caution by men with shorter legs. The length of the jacket tends to emphasise the torso, at the expense of leg length.

Mandarin suit styles aren't just for people whose roots lie in eastern lands. If you have an individualistic sense of style, or a dislike for conventional suits, then the great thing about this oriental style is that it is still unusual enough to make a bold statement. A big bonus for some men is this: with a mandarin collar, you simply can't add a tie, even if you want to, although you'll have to have appropriate shirts to wear these distinctive business suits with. If you want to make a slightly different fashion statement, this could be one of the suit styles that will help you do that.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Dressing Tips For Short Height Person

2011-06-10T03:39:00.000-07:00

In order to achieve a taller appearance, you must establish a unified look from top to bottom that uses vertical lines, smooth transitions and thematic consistency. The goal is for people to perceive you either in passing glance or by general perception as a whole and not broken up in parts. Below are the top ten tips tactics (in no particular order) on how to look taller.

Short Hair:
Be sure to keep your hair short and neatly trimmed. Shorter hair allows us to see your neck and well trimmed short hair can create visual lines from the back of your neck up behind your ears, tapering into the body of your hair. Long hair hides your neck and forces our sightlines to naturally follow the growth of the hair down

Fit:
there are two aspects to "Fit" that are critical to appearing taller. First, your clothes must fit you well. Oversized or to tight, either way poorly fitted clothes accentuate every aspect of your body that you would prefer others to ignore. If you're not a tall man and want to build in good practices to appearing taller, be sure to find a good tailor and get your clothes fitting you as best you can. The second "Fit" element is your physical fitness. Shorter men who wish to appear taller must pay close attention to their fitness level. Being vertically challenged is no fault of your own but being unfit is all you!

Vertical patterns:
Stick with pin stripes or vertical patterns and absolutely avoid horizontal, big or loud patterns - simple as that!

Trousers:
Pleated Trousers are best to achieve a vertical sight line. A single pleat is recommended, much more in the way of fabric can defeat the purpose. Cuffs are not helpful in achieving height as they create unnecessary horizontal lines so go without cuffs.

Shoes:
Mens dress shoes typically have heels and most men do wear heeled dress shoes so be sure not to put yourself at a further disadvantage by wearing flat shoes. Incorporate heeled shoes into your work and causal wear wardrobe.

Monochromatic color scheme from top to bottom:
This tactic is one of the most important in order to achieve that unified look. Monochrome implies one color using different "tints and shades" of that same color. Staying with one hue (color) helps establish that unified and consistent theme. Here is a great example using black in a monochrome color scheme...black dress shoes, black socks, black trousers, black belt and a fitted long sleeved dark grey v-neck merino wool sweater.

Shirts:
dress shirt collars should be classic straight or narrow shirt collars with elongated collar tips. Sweaters should be v-neck not rounded. Skinny or slender neck ties with smaller knots, no bow ties. Again, our goal is vertical lines, bow ties and spread collars are horizontal and should be avoided.

Belt:
We always suggest your belt should match your shoes. We continue to stand behind this recommendation however, if can, get yourself dark brown or black dress shoes and let them become staples in your wardrobe. If you're hoping to achieve tall points having a noticeable horizontal element like a belt is bad news. Use a belt that is darker than your trousers, avoid thick belts, avoid clunky buckles and don't violate the match your shoes rule.

Jackets:
Single breasted is your best option. Never double breasted! Follow the tactics like pinstripes or vertical patterns, monochrome color schemes and above all be sure your jacket is tailored to fit you. A nicely tailored 3 button single breasted jacket will server your needs perfectly.

Posture etc:
You should not have to be told, if you're below average in height you don't have the latitude for poor posture. Don't slouch, stand up-right, project your confidence, walk with purpose, be assertive, speak clearly, definitively and in controlled lower tones...That's how to look taller!

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Interview Attire

2011-05-19T02:46:00.001-07:00

Interview attire is certain to be a critical element in the employer's first impression of you. Taking the extra time, energy and even costs to get this part right is paramount.Let's just suffice it to say, within the first 7-17 seconds of meeting you, the employer is formulating deep personal impressions of you that are terribly difficult to change. Take advantage of this and get your appearance right then we can talk about the other elements that affect the first impression.

As far as your interview attire, conservative and professional is the name of the game. Your goal is to look polished and be so appropriately dressed that the prospective employer notices your qualifications and not your distracting or poor choice of attire.

Business Suit:
Conservative colors and styles. Dark tones like charcoal grey or navy is recommended. If you don't own or wear suits on a regular basis it's probably best you avoid suits with patterns as matching patterns in suits, shirts & ties is an aquired skill for most men. In terms of style, single breasted two button is most simple and traditional and will fall in line with your conservative, professional look.

Dress Shirt:
Again, conservative and professional is the objective. For job interviews stick with the crisp white or blue dress shirt with a straight or traditional spread collars.

Tie:
The tie should obviously coordinate with your suit and shirt but it's also important not to overindulge here. Avoid big or busy patterns and overly loud or bright colors. In order to achieve our conservative, professional look, your tie has to be consistent with that theme. Be sure it's tied properly and that the length reaches the middle of your belt. Lower is too long and higher is too short.

Shoes:
Good leather oxfords (balmorals or bluchers), dark brown or black. Loafers can be acceptable but be sure to follow our rules for Loafers with Suits. Make sure your belt matches your shoes and make sure your shoes are polished and in good repair.

Socks:
Socks should be the same color as your trousers or darker. Be sure your socks are high enough to not show any leg when seated.

Grooming:
Well groomed! we're not here to tell you how long or short your hair should be or how much if any facial hair you should have. However, make darn sure you're trimmed, hair combed and neat, finger nails trimmed, nose, ear & brow hair trimmed. If your a scent man keep it to a minimum.

Accessories:
Accessories for men interviewing should not extend beyond a watch, glasses & ring. No earings or other peircings, exposed necklaces or braclets. Remember were conservative today!

Fit:
The last piece of advice we offer regarding interview attire is that your clothes fit. This seems to be a simple and obvious thing but many men try to get away with an emergency suit off the rack and/or that suit they have not worn in 4 years. Fit is vital in looking professional and put together. Too big and you look sloppy and immature, too tight and you'll look like it's been a while since you've done anything important enough to wear a suit. Be sure your clothes fit.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Elements Of Formal Clothing - Part 4

2010-12-19T20:15:00.001-08:00

Waistcoats

Waistcoats (often called vests in the USA) were almost always worn with suits prior to the 1940s. They were revived in the 1970s and remained popular throughout that decade in some parts of the world, and remain popular, for example, in Germany. Waistcoats can be either single-breasted or double-breasted. A style that was quite popular among fashionable young men in the 1920s was to wear a single-breasted coat with a high-waisted double-breasted waistcoat. High-waisted single-breasted waistcoats were popular in both the 1920s–1930s and in the 1970s, and were often made with either five or six buttons. Today, many suit makers sell suits with waistcoats, although they often cost much more than a simple two-piece suit. A suit with a matching waistcoat is often called a three-piece suit. They are much more popular in continental Europe than in the USA, Britain, or Japan.

Trousers

Suit trousers are always made of the same material as the jacket. Even from the 1910s to 1920s, before the invention of sports jackets specifically to be worn with odd trousers, wearing a suit jacket with odd trousers was as an alternative to a full suit. However, with the modern advent of sports jackets, suit jackets are always worn with matching trousers, and the trousers have always been worn with the appropriate jacket.

Trouser width has varied considerably throughout the decades. In the 1920s, trousers were straight-legged and wide-legged, with a standard width at the cuff of 23 inches. After 1935, trousers began to be tapered in at the bottom half of the leg. Trousers remained wide at the top of the leg throughout the 1940s. By the 1950s and 1960s, a more slim look had become popular. In the 1970s, suit makers offered a variety of styles of trousers, including flared, bell bottomed, wide-legged, and more traditional tapered trousers. In the 1980s these styles disappeared in favor of tapered, slim-legged trousers.

One variation in the design of trousers is the use or not of pleats. The most classic style of trouser is to have two pleats, usually forward, since this gives more comfort sitting and better hang standing.This is still a common style, and for these reasons of utility has been worn throughout the twentieth century. The style originally descended from the exaggeratedly widened Oxford bags worn in the 1930s in Oxford, which, though themselves short-lived, began a trend for fuller fronts.The style is still seen as the smartest, featuring on dress trousers with black and white tie. However, at various periods throughout the last century, flat fronted trousers with no pleats have been worn, and the swing in fashions has been marked enough that the more fashion-oriented ready-to-wear brands have not produced both types continuously.

Turn-ups on the bottom of trousers, or cuffs, were initially popularised in the 1890s by Edward VII, and were popular with suits throughout the 1920s and 1930s. After falling out of style in World War II, they were not generally popular again, despite serving the useful purpose of adding weight to straighten the hang of the trousers. They have always been an informal option, being inappropriate on all formalwear.

Other variations in trouser style include the rise of the trouser. This was very high in the early half of the century, particularly with formalwear, with rises above the natural waist, to allow the waistcoat covering the waistband to come down just below the narrowest point of the chest. Though serving less purpose, this high height was duplicated in the daywear of the period. Since then, fashions have changed, and have rarely been that high again with styles returning more to low-rise trousers, even dropping down have waistbands resting on the hips. Other changing aspects of the cut include the length, which determines the break, the bunching of fabric just above the shoe when the front seam is marginally longer than height to the shoe's top. Some parts of the world, such as Europe, traditionally opt for shorter trousers with little or no break, while Americans often choose to wear a slight break.

A final major distinction is made in whether the trousers take a belt or braces (suspenders). While a belt was originally never worn with a suit, the forced wearing of belts during wartime years (caused by restrictions on use of elastic caused by wartime shortages) contributed to their rise in popularity, with braces now much less popular than belts. When braces were common, the buttons for attaching them were placed on the outside of the waistband, because they would be covered by a waistcoat or cardigan, but now it is more frequent to button on the inside of the trouser. Trousers taking braces are rather different in cut at the waist, employing inches of extra girth and also height at the back. The split in the waistband at the back is in the fishtail shape.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Elements Of Formal Clothing - Part 3

2010-11-15T02:45:00.000-08:00

Single- vs. double-breasted jacket

Most single-breasted suits have two or three buttons, and one or four buttons are unusual. It is rare to find a suit with more than four buttons, although zoot suits can have as many as six or more due to their longer length. There is also variation in the placement and style of buttons, since the button placement is critical to the overall impression of height conveyed by the jacket. The centre or top button will typically line up quite closely with the natural waistline.

Double-breasted jackets have only half their outer buttons functional, as the second row is for display only, forcing them to come in pairs. Some rare jackets can have as few as two buttons, and during various periods, for instance the 1960s and 70s, as many as eight were seen. Six buttons are typical, with two to button; the last pair floats above the overlap. The three buttons down each side may in this case be in a straight line (the 'keystone' layout) or more commonly, the top pair is half as far apart again as each pair in the bottom square. A four-button double-breasted jacket usually buttons in a square. The layout of the buttons and the shape of the lapel are co-ordinated in order to direct the eyes of an observer. For example, if the buttons are too low, or the lapel roll too pronounced, the eyes are drawn down from the face, and the waist appears larger.

The custom that a man's coat should button "left side over right", anecdotally originates in the use of the sword, where such cut avoided catching the top of the weapon in the opening of the cloth (since the sword was usually drawn right-handed). Women's suits are buttoned "right side over left". A similar anecdotal story to explain this is that women were dressed by maids, and so the buttons were arranged for the convenience of their, typically, right-handed servants; men on the other hand dressed themselves and so the buttons were positioned to simplify that task.

Jacket lapel

A notched lapel
A peaked lapel
A shawl lapel

The jacket's lapels can be notched (also called "stepped"), peaked ("pointed"), shawl, or "trick" (Mandarin and other unconventional styles). Each lapel style carries different connotations, and is worn with different cuts of suit. Notched lapels are only found on single-breasted jackets and are the most informal style. Double-breasted jackets usually have peaked lapels. Shawl lapels are a style derived from the Victorian informal evening wear, and as such are not normally seen on suit jackets except for dinner suits.

In the 1980s, double-breasted suits with notched lapels were popular with power suits and the New Wave style.

In the late 1920s and 1930s, a design considered very stylish was the single-breasted peaked lapel jacket. This has gone in and out of vogue periodically, being popular once again during the 1970s, and is still a recognised alternative. The ability to properly cut peak lapels on a single-breasted suit is one of the most challenging tailoring tasks, even for very experienced tailors.

The width of the lapel is a varying aspect of suits, and has changed over the years. The 1930s and 1970s featured exceptionally wide lapels, whereas during the late 1950s and most of the 1960s suits with very narrow lapels—often only about an inch wide—were in fashion. The 1980s saw mid-size lapels with a low gorge (the point on the jacket that forms the "notch" or "peak" between the collar and front lapel). Current (mid-2000s) trends are towards a narrower lapel and higher gorge.

Lapels also have a buttonhole, intended to hold a boutonni?re, a decorative flower. These are now only commonly seen at more formal events. Usually double-breasted suits have one hole on each lapel (with a flower just on the left), while single-breasted suits have just one on the left.

Pockets

Most jackets have a variety of inner pockets, and two main outer pockets, which are generally either patch pockets, flap pockets, or jetted pockets. The patch pocket is, with its single extra piece of cloth sewn directly onto the front of the jacket, a sporting option, sometimes seen on summer linen suits, or other informal styles. The flap pocket is standard for side pockets, and has an extra lined flap of matching fabric covering the top of the pocket. A jetted pocket is most formal, with a small strip of fabric taping the top and bottom of the slit for the pocket. This style is most often on seen on formalwear, such as a dinner jacket.

In addition to the standard two outer pockets, some suits have a third, the ticket pocket, usually located just above the right pocket and roughly half as wide. While this was originally exclusively a feature of country suits, used for conveniently storing a train ticket, it is now seen on some town suits. Another country feature also worn sometimes in cities is a pair of hacking pockets, which are similar to normal ones, but slanted; this was originally designed to make the pockets easier to open on horseback while hacking.

Sleeves

Suit jackets in all styles typically have three or four buttons on each cuff, which are often purely decorative (the sleeve is sewn closed and cannot be unbuttoned to open). Five buttons are unusual and are a modern fashion innovation. The number of buttons is primarily a function of the formality of the suit; a very casual summer sports jacket might traditionally (1930s) have had only one button, while tweed suits typically have three and city suits four. In the 1970s, two buttons were seen on some city suits.Today, four buttons are common on most business suits and even casual suits.

Although the sleeve buttons usually cannot be undone, the stitching is such that it appears they could. Functional cuff buttons may be found on high-end or bespoke suits; this feature is called a surgeon's cuff. Some wearers leave these buttons undone to reveal that they can afford a bespoke suit, although it is proper to leave these buttons done up.Modern bespoke styles and high end off-the-rack suits equipped with surgeon's cuffs have the last two buttons stitched off-centre, so that the sleeve hangs more cleanly should the buttons ever be undone.

A cuffed sleeve has an extra length of fabric folded back over the arm, or just some piping or stitching above the buttons to allude to the edge of a cuff. This was popular in the Edwardian era, as a feature of formalwear such as frock coats carried over to informalwear, but is now rare.

Vents

A vent is a slit in the bottom rear (the "tail") of the jacket.Originally, vents were a sporting option, designed to make riding easier, so are traditional on hacking jackets, formal coats such as a morning coat, and, for reasons of pragmatism, overcoats. Today there are three styles of venting: the single-vented style (with one vent at the centre); the ventless style; and the double-vented style (one vent on each side). Vents are convenient, particularly when using a pocket or sitting down, to improve the hang of the jacket, so are now used on most jackets. Ventless jackets are associated with Italian tailoring, while the double-vented style is typically British.(This is not the case with all types of jackets. For instance, dinner jackets traditionally take no vents.)

Belted jackets

Suit jackets with belts on them became popular after World War I, especially on the exaggerated "jazz suits" which were popular in 1920 and 1921. After 1921, a more subdued style prevailed in which the belt was placed solely on the back of the coat, a half-belted back. This continued on many suit coats throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, usually on very fashionably made suits for the young. This style made a brief comeback in the 1970s when some suit coats again featured belts on the back.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Linen Clothing

2010-06-29T03:40:00.001-07:00

If you are a man who is in the market for a new look, the most comfortable look to come in for a while involves the classic and deliciously relaxed linen pants! Linen pants are a great way to exactly as sharp or as laid back as you like, and though they first got their recent notice as proper attire for beach weddings, they are making a real splash in environments as various as the boardroom to the gym. Whether you are looking to make a statement or you are simply tired of stodgy cotton, take a look at what these comfortable garments have to offer.

Linen is a material that people have been wearing for thousands of years, and it is no wonder! It's natural, feels wonderful against the skin and depending on the weave can keep you warm or cool. The well-dressed ancient Egyptian man would never consider going out without a properly folded and immaculately white linen kilt, and you shouldn't call your wardrobe complete without a few pairs of linen pants, either!

Linen dress pants can be pressed to a razor sharp crease while never loosing their extremely comfortable quality and they are formal enough for the most conservative office. Look for a classic fit pair of linen pants for a more casual style, with a straight leg, and you'll be ready for anything.

This still doesn't mean that your linen pants can't be casual, slouch-around-the-house wear, either. Look for loose fit, drawstring linen pants when you just want to spend a Saturday sitting around the house, ordering pizza and watching movies. You'll find that these wide cut pants are ideal for movement and if you can find a pair that is pure linen, you'll be able to work out hard and feel the sweat just wicked away from your body. These pants are great for a light workout or a heavier one, depending on what you are doing.

When thinking about how to take care of your linen pants (you've probably heard horror stories about wrinkles that never go away) just follow the instructions on the label.
If they don't forbid it, you can even hand wash them in a pinch, which is safer than machine wash.
Use a detergent for delicate clothes and spot test to make sure that the color won't run, and avoid bleach entirely unless the pants are white to start with. Wash gently and iron will still a little damp to get the best results. Remember, the more you wash them, the softer they'll get and the less prone to wrinkles they will be.

Take some time to think about this important addition to your wardrobe and make sure that add a few pairs to your general rotation before too much longer.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Important Points Need To Consider While Selecting Double Breasted Suit

2009-12-23T21:51:00.000-08:00

The return of the much-hyped original 1980’s power suit is slated for this fall season. Most of the major designers of men’s apparels, ranging from Armani, Zegna and Tom Ford, featured their double-breasted suit in their collections during the recent NY fashion week. While what may seem, at first, the same piece as that of the 80’s power suit, many major differences, in abundant measure, can be noted in this latest incarnation of the double-breasted suit which makes it a more trendy piece of clothing.

The double-breasted suit dates back to a time much earlier than the 1980’s. It is remembered as a Reagan era suit which one would wear when he meant business. The main point is that these suits were cut the 80’s way as it featured wider lapels, huge shoulder padding, low button stances, triple-pleated trousers and a high rise. Slim and trim, tailored silhouette forms today’s modern double-breasted suit’s best design. In simple words, there is a huge difference between the 1980’s version and today’s.

Darker colors are always the way to go. This is one fact that hasn’t changed all through the years when it comes to double-breasted suits. A darker suit matches almost everybody’s skin tone and also conveys the expression of authority. Almost every CEO owns a closet full of dark suits. Choose a suit in either a dark black charcoal or a navy blue color. Soft and subtle patterns go well with double-breasted suits as they don’t necessarily require help from any type of bold fabrics and also manage to attract enough attention.

Double-breasted suits can be kept buttoned which in turn will give you a slim look. Consider wearing a tie along with the suit even though it would seem a little stuffy. But, then again, this is another reason why the double-breasted suits became the power suit of the 1980’s and 30 years later too, it is still said to be so.

A double-breasted suit has two rows of buttons and the front overlaps sufficiently to allow both flaps to be attached to the opposite row of buttons. Tall and thin gentlemen would benefit greatly from double-breasted suits as these suits would give them a matching appearance to their physique. These suits can however draw attention to the midsection in the case of men of heavy stock. Therefore, careful attention is required and an expert tailor must be employed.

Lapels can be found with a number of options in a variety of styles. The width of the lapels is always considered an important factor with the extremely-narrow lapels of the 1950’s standing in stark contrast to the excessively-wide lapels of the 1970’s. However, lapels of moderate width are considered timeless in the case of classic fashion. Suit lapels also come in two styles in accordance with different widths. The two styles are: notched, which has a wide V-shaped opening where the lapel and collar join; and peaked, which flares out in a sharp point with a very narrow deep V at the joint. Both notched and peaked lapels are equally classic. Although peaked lapels are often found on double-breasted jackets.

The flap-like slits found at the bottom of the jacket which accommodate movement and offer easy access to the trouser pockets are known as vents. Jackets usually have three styles: center, side, and none. Ventless jackets, just as the name implies, have no vents, and are popular on Continental suits. Even though it can lead to wrinkling when the wearer sits down, they provide a sleek look to the back of the jacket. Center-vented jackets, usually very popular on American suits, have only a single slit at the back, allowing the jacket to expand at the bottom when sitting. A side-vented jacket has two vents, one on either side, generally just behind the trouser pockets, to provide easy access.

These are some of the points that need to be taken into consideration before selecting a double-breasted suit

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Topstitching or Edge Stitching On Lapels And Pockets

2009-11-24T22:08:00.001-08:00

What is it?
Topstitching is a single or multiple set of lines of stitching showcased on the garment right side, either for decorative or functional purposes. It's found on many types of garments, from sporty to formal, tailored to heirloom. The term is often used interchangeably with edge stitching, though generally topstitching refers to a stitching line about 1/4" from the edge or a style line, such as seaming or pockets. Edge stitching, as its name suggests, is done very close to the edge. Occasionally, both types of stitching are used in a single design area. For example, a collar may be both edge stitched and topstitched. Topstitching helps to hold garment layers in place and keep edges flat, or it may be a means of attachment for a design feature, like a pocket or band. On a collar or lapel edge, the added stitching keeps facings rolled under and gives a structured look.

Thread Tricks
Because topstitching is meant to be seen as a design detail, it's often done with a contrast and/or heavy weight of thread for prominence. Many thread companies make a "topstitching weight" in basic colors, and a sometimes in a variety of fibers, including silk.

Topstitching can also be done using regular sewing-weight thread, either in a matching or contrasting color. It's also possible to put two all-purpose threads through a single needle to make a more visible stitching line.

Stitch Smarts
Most topstitching is sewn with a straight stitch, using a slightly longer length than is used for garment construction. When using topstitching thread, it's imperative to lengthen the stitch to create a good quality stitch.
Topstitching can also be done using a triple straight stitch, where the machine actually stitches backward and forward in the same line, creating a more prominent look.
Decorative machine stitches can be used for topstitching if they seem appropriate to the garment styling.

Thinking Straight
Since topstitching is highly visible, it's important that the stitching lines are perfectly straight. Most machines have a presser foot where the distance from the needle to the foot edge is 1/4", which can be used as a guide.
Some machine brands also offer a 1/4" topstitching foot, with a raised edge guide, either fixed or adjustable.

Twice as Nice
Topstitching can also be done using a twin needle to create two rows of straight stitching on the garment right side, spanned by a zigzag on the underside. The two threads may be the same or differing colors. This technique is often used on knits for hemming.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Emerging Craze of Custom Cloths

2009-11-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

As the world becomes more and more complex, the sane seek more sanity in simplification. It seems pure shopping pleasure just isn’t there anymore. Is it just because we have no time? Are the choices just too overwhelming? Or do we just detest fitting rooms? While many of us can answer “yes” to at least one of these, the question remains, what do we do about it? We have to wear clothes in most societies and most people have a desire to be attractive in public, polished and well groomed in the office, and comfortable enough not to be thinking about their appearance all day. Let’s face it, spending Saturday at the mall begins to lose it’s appeal sometime after our 25th birthday.

Little has the power to make a person feel more uncomfortable than an ill fitting ensemble. No matter how fabulous it looks on the hanger, if it drapes poorly on your body, it is a mistake. But don’t despair! Just because a particular cut fails to flatter your body, it certainly doesn’t mean you have to abandon the idea all together. A custom clothing professional can re-create something more suitable to your frame in keeping with the style you desire.

Here are a few points to take under consideration as you revamp your wardrobe for the coming season

1. When you buy career wear, evening wear, or even a good jean “off the rack”, the chances of a perfect fit are rare. If it flatters your body, you feel good in it and it requires simple alterations, it is money well spent to spring for the little added expense of having a trained professional alter the garment to fit your body.

2. Time is money! How many times have you spent an entire day shopping only to come home empty handed or with disappointments? A better use of your time and hard-earned income is to find a professional in your area to make a custom creation for you. It may seem an impressive expense. Certainly, custom clothing is an investment, but done in the finest fabric you can afford and created especially to fit your body, it is a contribution worth making.

3. Whether engaging a custom clothier or a seamstress to create a garment for you; don’t hesitate to ask for reference or to see some examples of their work. A qualified professional should welcome the request.

4. When investing in custom clothing, be sure to insist on generous seam allowances. None of us like to imagine the possibility of finding the need to accommodate a few extra pounds, but the expense of a slight alteration will be considerably more welcome than the price of remaking the garment.

If you still aren’t convinced custom clothing are for you due to the rapidly changing world of fashion trends, consider basing your wardrobe on well fitting essentials. The simple little black dress, made to perfectly flatter your frame, will rescue you from many last minute emergencies for years to come. A basic, impeccably tailored pencil skirt or pant in your choice of neutral color will serve as a companion to the trendy new tops you find off the rack. A good, classic overcoat will be your best friend for years to come. You don’t have to be wealthy to invest in good custom pieces. Think of them as a business investment since, let’s face it, image counts for a lot. With well fitting garments, you can look great regardless of your shape or size.

The wrong accessories will spoil your perfectly groomed image. Be sure to choose good quality shoes and handbags which reflect your personal good taste and style. A tattered handbag will spoil any outfit, no matter how beautiful your ensemble, it is the first thing people will notice. After seeing an inappropriate bag, their eyes will drop instinctively to your shoes and your custom clothing expense will be an unnoticed effort.

Consider investing in one good custom piece to add to your wardrobe this season. Try it, and I estimate by next season you will be adding as many pieces as you can afford. You will surely wonder how you ever managed without your custom wardrobe!

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

What To Wear With Men Blazer Jacket

2009-09-28T21:24:00.001-07:00

The beauty of the men's blazer is that it goes with almost anything. For the purpose of this discourse, by blazer we mean a classic single-breasted navy wool coat with brass buttons. Over gray flannel slacks, a white button-down oxford shirt and a striped tie, it makes a classic outfit that in the United States registers just shy of a suit on the formality scale. On the weekend, the same blazer over chinos and a polo shirt makes a very smart casual outfit. In this article we will discuss some basic means of wearing a men's blazer jacket for work and leisure.

If you work in a business casual office, the blazer gives you a simple solution to the tricky problem of dressing respectably without appearing aloof. In a workplace dominated by polo shirts and khakis, the man who has the class to throw a blazer on over the ensemble looks distinctive without standing out. A dress shirt with a button-down collar and gray flannels are also worthy accompaniments for a blazer; add a tie to take it up a notch. A point collar shirt formalizes the ensemble a tad more, and here one should stop. Contrast collars really belong under a suit, and even if the formality of French cuffs were not an issue, having cuff-links next to brass sleeve buttons creates a discordant clash. For footwear, bluchers, loafers, and monk-strap dress shoes are all good options.

The outfits described above are also smart choices for dinner in a nice restaurant or a morning religious service. In fact, the blazer will serve you well for most weekend activities, from taking in a play in most American cities to cheering on a girls' softball team. It looks aristocratic and dignified over an ecru turtleneck and your trusty gray flannels; for a laid-back look in the summer wear it with off-white pants and a bright polo. While it is perfectly acceptable to wear a blazer with jeans, and indeed the combination can look very stylish, one must take care that pants and coat are not too close in color. This goes for any jacket and pants combination: if it's not a suit, it shouldn't look like one from a distance.

When it comes to dress shirts, as said above a button-down oxford is the classic. Besides solids, a broad variety of stripes and checks, including many that would look garish with a suit, mix well with a blazer. The latter's dark, solid fabric looks good next to just about anything, and the shiny buttons amply counterweight bold patterns. For a more casual look go with a long-sleeve polo shirt or a turtleneck depending on the climate. The urbane silk tee-shirt and tight-fitting knit shirt tend to clash in their modernity with the blazer's long heritage, and work better with a suit jacket.

In cooler weather, you way want to don a sweater under your blazer jacket. If you're going without a tie, a cable-knit or argyle crew-neck will add some life to the outfit. The V-neck worn over a tie may also be patterned or textured, but can be solid as well.

A few words on neckwear and accessories: the tie you wear with a blazer should be in

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Invest In Custom Clothing - It Pays

2009-08-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

The Importance of Proper Fit

Dress clothes should always be comfortable. If they are not, it is the fault of the clothes' fit, and not of their nature. If the fit of a garment makes its wearer uncomfortable, he will look it; indeed a man looks his best when his clothes fit so well he barely notices them. The clothes send a message to the world about you, and if they fit is well, then it will always make a good impression.

Unfortunately most men today wear poorly fitting clothes; it's not their fault though, as that the clothing sold in stores is cut to fit as many people as possible. When buying a garment the retailer is often of little help, as that the department stores rarely have a salesman on staff that has a deep understanding of fit. Thus as in so many things it falls to each person to take responsibility for the fit of his own clothes and not to be swayed by the prolific selection of poor choices or the dubious influence of models or salesmen.

Proper Fit - Dress Shirt

A dress shirt's yoke or shoulders should cover the shoulders and nothing more; the shoulder point should not extend down his sleeves. As for the sleeves, you want a shirt with enough fabric so that when you rotate your arms and hold them out from your sides all of your arm remains covered; close fitting cuffs will help with this. You want anywhere from 3 to 6 inches of play in both your stomach and chest areas, and the shirt should be long enough so that when you bend over it doesn't un-tuck from the back or sides. Finally, the neck collar, when buttoned, should be tight enough to fit no more than two fingers in the space between collar and skin.

Proper Fit - Suit Jacket

A jacket must fit correctly in the chest and shoulders, as that these are very difficult to alter and in some situations downright impossible to adjust. When you stand with your jacket buttoned and arms hanging at your sides, the jacket's lapels should lie flat against the front panels, the buttons should hang close to or rest lightly on your stomach, and your biceps should just barely break the drape of sleeve from shoulder. If you tug on the top button, you should have enough room to easily slide your hand in between your lapels and chest, but not enough room so you can slide in your fist. As for your stomach, you should not be able to see it pull more than 3 inches from your belly. Of course, all of this depends on the fit you feel comfortable with. Sleeve length should end at about the wrist, although the exact point is also a matter of taste. As for the relationship between the shirt and the jacket: The shirt's cuffs should protrude approximately ½ inch from the jacket's sleeves when you stand with arms hanging. The shirt's collar should protrude about ½ -1 inch above the jacket collar, with both of them slightly touching.

Proper Fit - Trousers

Pants or trousers should be worn at the natural waist, near the navel. Young people with flat stomachs may choose to wear them lower but they gain little in doing so. The man with a belly, on the other hand, looks much better with high-rise trousers draping from his middle than with his stomach spilling over a low-rise waistband; for this he should consider suspenders. Trouser bottoms should touch the upper part of the front of the shoes and should brush the top edge of the sole at the shoe back; a single break in the front is considered perfect by most, but shorter pant legs that just brush the tops of the shoes can look better on the shorter person.
Shorter men tend to do better without cuffs on their trousers, but should they want them they should be in proportion to their stature.

How to get the perfect fit?

Off-the-rack clothing is designed for the hypothetical model - for each brand, this person's dimensions change a bit, but unfortunately these measurements are never very close to yours. How can you get a proper fit?

Your alteration specialist - A good alteration specialist can do wonders for clothing that somewhat fits you. They can bring in waists, shorten sleeves, and open up room in the stomach after the holidays. The limit here is that they can often only alter an imperfect garment; in the end it is still imperfect.

Invest in Custom Clothing - Notice I use the term invest; this is because owning clothing that is made to compliment your features is a smart move for anyone. The beauty of custom clothing is that it is designed with your measurements; by its very nature it fits you better than anything else in your closet, and as a result will look better than anything you've ever worn.

It is a wonderful feeling to wear garments that fit you perfectly. One feels light and comfortable as the clothes seem to float around the body, neither heavy nor tight anywhere but rather resting evenly throughout. A person in clothing that fits feels confident and free to focus on the task at hand.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Dressing Guidelines For Different Industries

2009-03-27T00:49:00.001-07:00

Dressing appropriately in today’s workplace is essential. Your clothes are the first impression you make whether on a job interview, representing your firm to a new client, or making a presentation within your company. But today the simple act of dressing can be confusing. Mistakes can be costly not only to you budget, but to your career.

Industry guidelines
The guidelines which you are about to read tend to be consistent within each profession. Key is to Dress conservatively while interviewing, and, once you get the job, be alert. Each office has a distinct culture and fashion slang with it.

ACADEMIC
Whether the job is dean of students or tenured professor, the academic dress code is the same: Business casual. That means tailored, presentable pieces that are authoritative but still approachable. Geography and, at time, the nature of the school will determine the exact interpretation. A Columbia biology professor situated in uptown New York City is likely to dress differently from her counterpart at the New Hampshire-based Dartmouth. There is the same slogan: "I dress to inspire confidence, to let people know I'm a professional who hasn't just come on the scene."

CONSULTING
A consultant should dress to establish herself as a figure of authority with the company for whom she's consulting. Generally, this means a custom tailored suit. Dressing professionally can serve another key purpose for those giving advice. It helps ensure they'll look worthy of the money the company is shelling out for the outside expertise.

RETAIL
A retail salesperson's appearance should represent the merchandise she is selling and the caliber of her clientele. Someone selling khakis a cotton twill trouser will dress differently from her counterpart in designer sportswear.

SERVICE INDUSTRY
Service positions-hotel managers, restaurants workers-often require a uniform. Otherwise, the rule of thumb is to wear crisp, well-ironed, and presentable clothes that fall into the business casual or business appropriate range, depending on the position.

ADVERTISING
Like many creative media, the dress code in advertising tends to be corporate creative.
For entry-level positions, that means whatever is in fashion at the moment-low-rider pants or ladylike dresses.
Mid level employees take liberties within a corporate casual to business appropriate range; you see the look: a lot of leather and a purple suede shirt worn with three or four long gold necklaces.
Senior executives dress with similar diversity, in everything from designer suit to devil-may-care denim.
Clearly, the more conservative the firm or a particular client -the more conservative the dress

FINANCIAL
While skirt suits, stockings, and high heels were once the norm, investment banking and its financial counterparts have slightly loosened their dress demands in recent years. A pantsuit is fine. Investment bankers and financiers like to present an image of power and also monetary success to their clients, and so a business appropriate look is the key. In New York suits or a look approximating it is common. But location is everything.
In San Francisco; where slacks, a jacket and a sweater or a blouse is common. Nobody seems to be wearing hose or heels. You do see business skirts. If someone has a meeting, the look will be more suit like. But in general people wear a more casual look.

MEDICINE
Some of the policies describe the medical dress code as ‘tasteful and professional’. What it means is no low-end; yes they give an actual number measurement for their dress. They have to wear a white coat at all times. Underneath it are suits or pants or a dress, all tailored to fit perfectly and well ironed.

LAW
While law and banking are considered the last bastions of truly formal business attire, even their staunch guidelines have softened in recent years. In metropolitan regions, a suit is commonplace, and closed-toe shoes and stocking legs are required. These and other particulars -including skirt length, Friday dress, and court room attire are governed by the mandates of each individual firm. If you're too polished, people could perceive you as pandering or condescending. That doesn't advance the ball.

MEDIA
Jobs in the media-television and film production, magazine publishing-generally inspires a creative take on business attire. Translation; Suits with an edge. Associate appropriate attire, down wear business appropriate attire, often with a hip twist.
Editors and assistants tend to follow suit. The magazine dress code tends to be business attire, often with a streak of high style.
It's rare for high style to wander into the hallowed halls of book editors, where the common dress is business casual to business appropriate. The marketing side of book publishing thrives on timeliness and trends, and stylish, business appropriate attire is a common uniform

REAL ESTATE
Clothes that enable your clients to relate to you, “The leather pants, a denim blazer, look like them so they can connect with you.” But as they say, location is everything. In contrast, a real estate agent working in a suburb of Chicago might wear a colorful suit, gold jewelry, and conservative heels.

PUBLIC RELATIONS
You have to satisfy those expectations down to the clothes, which mean suits with a dash of fashion. For those in non-executive PR positions, No matter what level the employee, however, one rule always applies: The nature of the client can sway the dress code. "If you're with a very corporate client, you have to know enough to streamline your look and be a little bit more conservative.”

ARCHITECTURE
The dress code in architecture is similar to that in advertising. No jeans, no sneakers, no T-shirts. Casual but neat, and more often than not, creative!! But when you go to any kind of client meeting, the dress is business attire. Translation: Suits. As with any industry, larger, more formal firms can often have more conservative dress codes.

ACCOUNTING
You are in a position of giving advice, and you get more respect when you dress appropriately. Generally, those in executive accounting positions tend to dress in corporate attire. But for all other accounting titles-book keepers, semi senior accounting firms may be corporate casual while larger firms to dress professionally, aka business appropriate.

INTERNET
The internet has evolved into just another medium, and the dress code is media dress. The styles are slightly edgier, there is more individuality. While anything-goes are still the rule at dot-coms, slacker khakis have begun to be traded in for cutting-edge fashion and the latest techno looks. You see heels, but they're not conservative, pumps- it's a thicker heel, an interesting toe.

For clearer picture of the formal dress appropriate for different industries please have a look at our catalogue by clicking at the following link. http://www.mycustomtailor.com/shops.php?ShopID=1

www.mycustomtailor.com

Dress Casual Corporate Sytle

2009-03-01T19:23:00.001-08:00

We all enjoy the freedom that causal business dress allows us in the workplace.
To be able to pull off the business casual look is quite tricky, you want to be comfortable, appear stylish, and still look like an executive, even when you're wearing jeans to work.
If you're presenting yourself to the public, a client, or just your office colleagues, and wearing business casual, here are some pointers that will help you create a crisp, yet casual business image of an executive.

For women, business casual includes pantsuits, tailored separates - such as skirts, slacks, blouses, sweaters, sweater sets, and jackets.

Jeans
When you have several pairs of jeans for work, then you're on your way to your executive casual styling. No torn hems, no ill-fitting jeans, no holes, no matter how chic they are at the time.

White Blouse
A must have for an executive in a business casual situation. With jeans, khakis, any style of casual slacks, a white blouse is dazzling and versatile. Worn with jeans, and an attractive belt, the white blouse has the ability to be the basic pallet for a variety of business casual polished looks.

Well-tailored clothes that fit your form do add authority to your entire appearance. Even khakis or blue jeans can be classic if made to measure to your own perfect fit and custom made to your exact unique measurements, not too baggy and not too tight as it would be with a off the peg clothing in most cases, made to fit perfectly at each part of your body. If coordinated to a quality custom made top would give you an amazing casually dressed business executive’s look. Or Wear a dress shirt. If you like to get away with a plain scoop neck or v-neck shirt with your slacks, go for a crisp, ironed button-down dress shirt and wear it tucked in. Finish the look off with a nice belt.

Dresses
Business casual does mean dresses are allowed. Just be careful not to show too much skin, or consider wearing your sun dresses or anything that resembles sleep-wear in the business environment. There's a wide variety of dresses that are perfectly suited for business casual, so choose styles that are easy to wear and not too revealing.

Fabrics and Colors
Leading ladies need not hide in beige and browns, but they ought to steer away from neon and loud patterns. Sexy see-through fabrics and gaudy or childish prints have no place in the office. Powder pink and baby blue speak of innocence, but not intelligence and innovation. Classic looks simply attribute class to the wearer. Solid colors like navy, black, gray, brown and khaki are safe bets for business casual attire.

Accessorize Astutely
An exceptional leather belt with a polished and understated buckle is an absolute requirement. A quality wristwatch can be a powerful fashion statement as well. A few well-chosen pieces of genuine or fashion jewelry can complete a classy look.

If your company does not have a set policy. It is not mandatory to conform to business casual if you are more comfortable wearing traditional or conservative outfits on the job.
Traditional business attire includes business suits, dress shirts, and ties for men. It includes business-oriented suits for women, both skirted suits and tailored pantsuits.

Your confidence in what you are wearing does make an impression!
All you need to do is to believe in yourself and your abilities, and then you are free to dress any way you choose in business while looking just like an executive.

Look Smart Executive!! You will always be taken seriously.

We Remian with Best Regards
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Right Dressing Can Boost Your Confidence

2009-02-23T20:03:00.001-08:00

Geography isn’t as important as it once was in determining how dress. As the world population is exposed to more and
more of the same influences, tastes, inevitably, have become more global, less local. So, when traveling for business,basic professional attire is appropriate just about anywhere like a tourist it is helpful to understand the tendencies in different parts of the United States and the world. You should be able to remix items from your existing wardrobe to suit any destination.

MIDWEST - CHICAGO AND DETROIT

Cities like Chicago and Detroit are more cosmopolitan than other parts of the Midwest, and women dress up for work in.

Suits. In Minneapolis and other women are comfortable with a more workday, casual look, wearing Khakis and Sweater sets.

Evening: A lot of entertaining is corporate in the Midwest. Black-tie fund raising events take place quite often in these cities. Women wear Cocktail Dresses or Pant Suits to black-tie events in dressy fabrics like velvet and satin.

Accessories are dressy and unique. Preferred colors for formal dress in the Midwest are black, deep browns, midnight,navies, and dark purples.

NORTHEAST - BOSTON

Boston is an intellectual city, which gives rise to individualism and trend-setting. However, there is a division between suburban and urban women in terms of fashion. The suburban women are slightly more conservative and wear brighter
colors and lower hemlines. The city woman prefers trendier fashions in more subdued colors and with higher hemlines.

Evening: Urban and suburban women prefer the little Black Evening Dress but personalize it with a Jacket. Because of the cobblestone streets and the periodically inclement weather, women most often wear low heels.

NORTHEAST - NEW YORK

New York City is considered the fashion hub of the country, and Business Women are fashion-conscious and impeccably groomed, yet iconoclastic. Colors are urban standard: black, charcoal, chocolate, beige, with, and splashes of color. Pedicures, manicures, a well-maintained hairstyle and color, and groomed eyebrows are essentials.

Well - Tailored Suits are standard in most industries.

Evening: For most formal parties, Long Dresses with quality accessories will do nicely: the old-money society set dresses simply and elegantly for black-tie charity functions; glitterati-literati openings and events, women dress dramatically and not necessarily in a traditionally formal manner. The newest, cutting-edge designs are popular. Many New York women own a little black dress, which can be worn to a variety of events simply by adding or subtracting accessories. They often mix separates, which contributes to enormous personal style, a hallmark of New York dressing. Suburban New Yorkers are much more relaxed and colorful.

NORTHEAST - WASHINGTON, DC
The Suit is a key in DC and traditionally a realm where women can shine and pull focus through color, though more and more are being. The no-nonsense suit is worn after dark, dressed up with a scarf or pin. A lot of women in DC tend to avoid making over fashion statements and generally frown upon seductive dressing, preferring that their political views, power, and influence make their statement.

Evening: Entertaining in Washington often takes place in the home. Politics is the talk read the newspapers, magazines, and listens to the news on TV and radio to keep up.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST- SEATTLE

Women are more concerned with being comfortable than with being on the cutting edge of fashion. Working women tend to dress business casual, wearing pants, blouses, and sweaters and only resorting. Accessories are where women indulge in being fashionable.

Evening: For formal occasions, women tend to wear a classic dress (hem to the keen; not a cocktail suit)in black or jewel tones.

THE ROCKIES - DENVER

Dressing for work in the Rockies is business casual: Pants or khakis with a blouse, sweater, or crisp white a blouse, sweater, or crisp white shirt. Color and accessories like belts and earrings is a key.

Evening: There are more charity functions per capital in Denver than in any other city in the country, providing many occasions for formal dress.
Women’s evening wear is understated and elegant. The little black cocktail dress predominates, but women will wear ankle-length gowns for very grand events. Many events in Denver call for “Creative Western Elegance.” Women
typically wear broomstick skirts and matching Western jackets with nickel or silver conch buttons.

SOUTHEAST - ATLANTA

Atlanta is a casual city, but the city’s booming business sector has attracted people from around the world, and the professional dress code is fast becoming that of a larger metropolis.
Women wear conservative suits or business appropriate skirts or pants and blouses, with mid-height heels. Black is not a popular choice in this vibrant city. On the popular are prevalent colors among women. Society women wear khakis, the “great white shirt”

Evening: Women are practical but not prissy. Style is always ladylike, which is the most important dressing guideline for women. Tailored feminine elegance is admired more than trendy extremes; women prefer clothing that can be worn
both to the office and to symphony.

SOUTHWEST - HOUSTON

Texas women have a well-deserved reputation for being the most dressed, if not the best dressed, in the nation.
Career women wear Skirt or Pant Suits in bright color with Feminine Blouses. It is not unusual for women in Houston or Dallas to change clothes three times a day exercise clothes, business attire, evening wear. Heat, humidity, bitter
cold, and the chill of air-conditioning have a lot to do with this.

Evening: Unlike in many other cities, career women almost always change clothes for the evening, whether it is a cocktail suit, dress, or formal wear. If a woman has good jewelry stones one might refer to as “jewelry” rather than
jewelry she wants clothes the show these off.

TROPICAL - MIAMI

Business wear has been influenced by the influx of South and Central Americans conducting business in this region.
Clothing is more feminine than in other cities, with shorter hemlines and higher heels. Business attire has a light,tropical feel, with suits tending toward light neutrals and dresses more prevalent than they are in other cities.

TROPICAL - PALM BEACH

Thought they, re geographically close, Miami and Palm Beach are worlds apart. Palm Beach sports an old-school, old-money look. Business attire in the two cities is similar.

WEST COAST - LOS Angeles

Business dressing is divided into three categories in Los Angeles, and all of them revolve around, or take their clues from, Hollywood:

1.The execs-the people who work in the offices and make decisions about money wear dark suits, whether they are men or women. LA is less designer label-conscious than a city like New York.
2.The creative execs-agent, PR executives, and producers all fall into this category-dress corporate creative, which means trendy, hip clothes that have professional polish: From-fitting pants with a crisp white shirt or dress with boots.
3. The talent-anyone from an actress to a director dress extremely casual, while still being responsive to the season’s new trends.

Evening: Aside from red carpet events, LA occasions rarely call for formal attire. One might wear Pants and a Top,possibly a Jacket, unless it was an opening night, and then a Pant Suit in silk or linen. At a museum party or slightly formal affair, a cocktail dress will be worn, and more Pantsuits in silk or linen. At movie premieres, the stars wear Short Dresses or Pantsuits, always designer wear, sometimes mixed with vintage clothes.

WEST COAST

Women are sophisticated, formal, and European in style. Weather is variable
September and October are the warmest months and demands a season less wardrobe. Light wool crepes and season less silks are favored; there is little need for heavy winter overcoats or clothing for steamy climates.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Dress Smart For Women

2009-02-23T19:20:00.001-08:00

Geography isn’t as important as it once was in determining how dress. As the world population is exposed to more and
more of the same influences, tastes, inevitably, have become more global, less local. So, when traveling for business,basic professional attire is appropriate just about anywhere like a tourist it is helpful to understand the tendencies in different parts of the United States and the world. You should be able to remix items from your existing wardrobe to suit any destination.

MIDWEST - CHICAGO AND DETROIT

Cities like Chicago and Detroit are more cosmopolitan than other parts of the Midwest, and women dress up for work in.

Suits. In Minneapolis and other women are comfortable with a more workday, casual look, wearing Khakis and Sweater sets.

Evening: A lot of entertaining is corporate in the Midwest. Black-tie fund raising events take place quite often in these cities. Women wear Cocktail Dresses or Pant Suits to black-tie events in dressy fabrics like velvet and satin.

Accessories are dressy and unique. Preferred colors for formal dress in the Midwest are black, deep browns, midnight,navies, and dark purples.

NORTHEAST - BOSTON

Boston is an intellectual city, which gives rise to individualism and trend-setting. However, there is a division between suburban and urban women in terms of fashion. The suburban women are slightly more conservative and wear brighter
colors and lower hemlines. The city woman prefers trendier fashions in more subdued colors and with higher hemlines.

Evening: Urban and suburban women prefer the little Black Evening Dress but personalize it with a Jacket. Because of the cobblestone streets and the periodically inclement weather, women most often wear low heels.

NORTHEAST - NEW YORK

New York City is considered the fashion hub of the country, and Business Women are fashion-conscious and impeccably groomed, yet iconoclastic. Colors are urban standard: black, charcoal, chocolate, beige, with, and splashes of color. Pedicures, manicures, a well-maintained hairstyle and color, and groomed eyebrows are essentials.

Well - Tailored Suits are standard in most industries.

Evening: For most formal parties, Long Dresses with quality accessories will do nicely: the old-money society set dresses simply and elegantly for black-tie charity functions; glitterati-literati openings and events, women dress dramatically and not necessarily in a traditionally formal manner. The newest, cutting-edge designs are popular. Many New York women own a little black dress, which can be worn to a variety of events simply by adding or subtracting accessories. They often mix separates, which contributes to enormous personal style, a hallmark of New York dressing. Suburban New Yorkers are much more relaxed and colorful.

NORTHEAST - WASHINGTON, DC

The Suit is a key in DC and traditionally a realm where women can shine and pull focus through color, though more and more are being. The no-nonsense suit is worn after dark, dressed up with a scarf or pin. A lot of women in DC tend to avoid making over fashion statements and generally frown upon seductive dressing, preferring that their political views, power, and influence make their statement.

Evening: Entertaining in Washington often takes place in the home. Politics is the talk read the newspapers, magazines, and listens to the news on TV and radio to keep up.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST- SEATTLE

Women are more concerned with being comfortable than with being on the cutting edge of fashion. Working women tend to dress business casual, wearing pants, blouses, and sweaters and only resorting. Accessories are where women indulge in being fashionable.

Evening: For formal occasions, women tend to wear a classic dress (hem to the keen; not a cocktail suit)in black or jewel tones.

THE ROCKIES - DENVER
Dressing for work in the Rockies is business casual: Pants or khakis with a blouse, sweater, or crisp white a blouse, sweater, or crisp white shirt. Color and accessories like belts and earrings is a key.

Evening: There are more charity functions per capital in Denver than in any other city in the country, providing many occasions for formal dress.
Women’s evening wear is understated and elegant. The little black cocktail dress predominates, but women will wear ankle-length gowns for very grand events. Many events in Denver call for “Creative Western Elegance.” Women
typically wear broomstick skirts and matching Western jackets with nickel or silver conch buttons.

SOUTHEAST - ATLANTA

Atlanta is a casual city, but the city’s booming business sector has attracted people from around the world, and the professional dress code is fast becoming that of a larger metropolis.
Women wear conservative suits or business appropriate skirts or pants and blouses, with mid-height heels. Black is not a popular choice in this vibrant city. On the popular are prevalent colors among women. Society women wear khakis, the “great white shirt”

Evening: Women are practical but not prissy. Style is always ladylike, which is the most important dressing guideline for women. Tailored feminine elegance is admired more than trendy extremes; women prefer clothing that can be worn
both to the office and to symphony.

SOUTHWEST - HOUSTON

Texas women have a well-deserved reputation for being the most dressed, if not the best dressed, in the nation.
Career women wear Skirt or Pant Suits in bright color with Feminine Blouses. It is not unusual for women in Houston or Dallas to change clothes three times a day exercise clothes, business attire, evening wear. Heat, humidity, bitter
cold, and the chill of air-conditioning have a lot to do with this.

Evening: Unlike in many other cities, career women almost always change clothes for the evening, whether it is a cocktail suit, dress, or formal wear. If a woman has good jewelry stones one might refer to as “jewelry” rather than
jewelry she wants clothes the show these off.

TROPICAL - MIAMI

Business wear has been influenced by the influx of South and Central Americans conducting business in this region.
Clothing is more feminine than in other cities, with shorter hemlines and higher heels. Business attire has a light,tropical feel, with suits tending toward light neutrals and dresses more prevalent than they are in other cities.

TROPICAL - PALM BEACH

Thought they, re geographically close, Miami and Palm Beach are worlds apart. Palm Beach sports an old-school, old-money look. Business attire in the two cities is similar.

WEST COAST - LOS Angeles

Business dressing is divided into three categories in Los Angeles, and all of them revolve around, or take their clues from, Hollywood:

1.The execs-the people who work in the offices and make decisions about money wear dark suits, whether they are men or women. LA is less designer label-conscious than a city like New York.
2.The creative execs-agent, PR executives, and producers all fall into this category-dress corporate creative, which means trendy, hip clothes that have professional polish: From-fitting pants with a crisp white shirt or dress with boots.
3. The talent-anyone from an actress to a director dress extremely casual, while still being responsive to the season’s new trends.

Evening: Aside from red carpet events, LA occasions rarely call for formal attire. One might wear Pants and a Top,possibly a Jacket, unless it was an opening night, and then a Pant Suit in silk or linen. At a museum party or slightly formal affair, a cocktail dress will be worn, and more Pantsuits in silk or linen. At movie premieres, the stars wear Short Dresses or Pantsuits, always designer wear, sometimes mixed with vintage clothes.

WEST COAST

Women are sophisticated, formal, and European in style. Weather is variable
September and October are the warmest months and demands a season less wardrobe. Light wool crepes and season less silks are favored; there is little need for heavy winter overcoats or clothing for steamy climates.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Power Outfit

2009-02-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

Make sure your clothes are statement makers, but that the statement never speaks louder than you do. Just because you can afford designer logos doesn’t mean they’re right for you. Are they compatible with your professional message? And just because you can buy the very best suits doesn’t absolve you from needing the services of the very best tailor.

CLOTHES NO LONGER TALK, THEY COMMAND
A woman in a position of authority must project an equal amount of distinction in her dress up. The cornerstone of the power wardrobe is still the suit, but at this stage of the game, it packs an extra punch.

Now it’s time to fine-tune your wardrobe with clothes of exceptional quality and unmistakable style. The goal: A closet full of statement making clothes that communicate success. To cultivate a collection that convey personal and professional style; and to dress, when the situation demands, casually but with authority.

Bespoke Single-Breasted
The most formal of suits, the single-breasted version has sharp lines, and notched lapel give a disciplined buttoned-up feel that adds up to create an impression of powerful authority. Fabric is a key; at this stage, a suit is only as good as its fabric. Look for light, almost silky wool that has a graceful drape and doesn’t wrinkle easily.

A tailor made straight skirt to the knee, slightly nipped-in waist, an impeccable fit. For ultimate conviction, pair with a crisp white shirt. Make sure the collar lies flat on the suit lapels. Keep buttoned up except for either top or bottom button.

Coat dress
There is no mistaking the seriousness of the business when the fabric is worked in a menswear pattern: Pinstripes, Chalk Stripes, Glen Plaids, Mini Hounds tooth are all boardroom contenders.

For a more relaxed alternative consider pairing with a black turtleneck, knee-high boots and opaque tights in fall or winter. If belted, consider replacing the companion belt with one of higher caliber.

Long Jacket
The self-assured silhouette only works when the jacket is fitted anything loose will look frumpy ; and it must be worn only with its matching companion piece, whether it’s a skirt, dress, or pants.

A single-breasted jacket, pocket flaps that lie flat, with a shirt in a similar hue, a scoop-neck cashmere sweater, or nothing but a set of pearls, all combines together an elegant authority.

Color is POWERFUL.
RED = Confidence, leadership, independence. Useful for presentations; shows security in one’s role. Attracts attention

Color is quick means of communicating authority and style. A power color is an added asset: It commands attention, conveys control, and, when properly chosen, sends a consistent message about your workplace identity.

ALL BLACK = Serious sophisticated, determined powerful and practical in urban environments.

Own a color Pick a shade you like and make it your own. Wear it consistently. Choose one or two other colors that complement your personal uniform. A monochromatic look a suit and shirt of matching colors has high impact and is also elongating.

Pattern
Patterns pilfered from menswear can pack masculine punch, while adding texture and diversity to your wardrobe. Balancing bold pattern with a simple tailored silhouette and feminine detail is a key.

Quantity Counts: Composed of highly designed, coordinated pieces, a power suit makes a statement. And a statement is remembered. Therefore owning just one or two is not sufficient. At this stage of the game, you need, and can afford more.

Tailor: A tailor you trust implicitly is crucial. Valuable traits to look for: Utter expertise in what is possible and what is not. Invisible hand work, Thoroughness - someone who when hemming pants, measures both the front and the back; when altering a skirt, measures from the floor up; someone who teaches you. Mouth is the best reference.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Choosing The Right Suit

2009-01-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

Which Suit Is Right For You?

Choosing the right suit presents a closet-full of challenges and opportunities to those faced with building a wardrobe. From suit silhouettes, pricing and fashionable obsolescence to pant fronts, button counts and lapel widths, there's much to consider.

"The biggest problem in teaching men how to dress is that there's no one for them to look at," says Alan Flusser, author of Dressing the Man (Harper Collins, 2002), who believes that one of the primary reasons business casual failed is that the apparel industry never showed men how to look good in it. "Men in general definitely need help with suits. But once it's explained why they should buy a particular garment, they're pretty quick studies."

Suits can be broken down into three basic styles:
European (i.e., Italian), British and American. The European suit typically has padded shoulders, no vents, a full-chested and V-shaped jacket and "slash"--i.e., flapless--pockets. Across the English Channel, the classic British suit sports a military demeanor with padded shoulders, two vents, pinched waist, flap pockets and boldly striped or plaid patterns. On our side of the pond, the epitome of traditional American styling is the "sack suit" favored by Ivy Leaguers back in the 1920s, with natural shoulders, one vent in the back, straight-hanging lines and flap pockets. Many designers cross cultural lines, such as Bronx native Ralph Lauren, who has a distinct Anglo-Saxon sensibility, and the Italianesque ensembles of American Joseph Abboud.

For tailoring options, the bespoke suit is the finest. Best exemplified by the enduring shops of London's Savile Row, such as Anderson & Sheppard and H. Huntsman, bespoke suits are created by exacting teams of highly skilled tailors and artisans to fit your every inch. They may take up to five fittings and six weeks of work to complete, and starting prices run upwards of $3,000. Meanwhile, Hong Kong is loaded with bespoke tailors who, though not the bargain they used to be, can still get you fitted nicely--and for a lot less than three grand.

Off-the-rack suits are the least costly and the most convenient option, provided you're happy with the fabric and fit. But these days many suit makers also offer a "made-to-measure" alternative that allows customers to choose the fabric, styling options and details before allowing a tailor to take measurements and forward the order to the factory. A semi-finished suit is then returned to the store for fitting and finishing. Brioni, Kiton, Hickey-Freeman and others offer made-to-measure lines, as do specialty men's stores such as Louis Boston. Expect prices to run 15%-25% above off-the-rack.

Whatever the tailoring option, men's suits are either "full canvas"--i.e., handmade with a free-floating piece of material between the jacket's exterior fabric and interior lining--"fused" together with glue, or some combination of the two. The benefits of full-canvas construction include attention to detail, durability and a freer and more natural appearance. Though fused suits tend to be stiffer and their glue breaks down over time, they are also vastly more affordable, with prices ranging from $200 to $1,000.

Suit fabrics come in a wide array of colors, patterns and qualities: Hickey-Freeman has some 700 swatches available for special order, while H. Huntsman's wools range from Super 90s to Super 200s--a grading designation that refers to the number of centimeters a single piece of yarn can be stretched. The longer the stretch, the higher the quality, the more luxurious the feel and the lighter the weight of the yarn.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

What To Wear For Interview - Interview Attire

2008-06-20T01:17:00.001-07:00

THE INTERVIEW WARDROBE-TOOLS TO SUCCESS

When you meet your interviewer for the time, what impression do you want to give? If you want to say, I'm pretty, wear your favorite frilly blouse. If you want to say, I'm laid-back wear the V-neck sweater you loved in college. If you want to say, I'm more competent, reliable, and professional than any candidate you will interview for this position-in other words, if you want the job-step one is: Invest in suit.
Sharp lines and authoritative stance-a suit says power, reliability, independence. And it can make you feel as confident as you look. Your interview suit-and everything that goes with-is the first tool on your prepare you to buy an interview suit and the business gear to go with it.

WHAT IS AN INTERVIEW SUIT?
Whether you are just starting out or a CEO looking to switch companies, your interview suit must convey a confident, competent "I've got it together" sense of authority. This is best a accomplished with a dark, monochromatic tone (avoid patterns) and a classic cut. That means clean, simple lines around which you will build your entire business wardrobe. Looking sharp doesn't stop once the interview is over-there is always someone for whom you need to look smart.

Shop Smart Suit
Call it the little suit that could. Your interview suit will act as the foundation of your business wardrobe, and you will wear it constantly. This chapter gets down to the nitty-gritty of choosing it well: How a tailored shape and good fabric convey competence; how a neutral color translates to flexibility; how taking your time, choosing a classic, and then having it properly tailored provide the best guarantee that you have spent your money well.

How to Buy an Interview Outfit:

BEST BUY: SUIT SEPARATES
Leave it to the English shopkeeper to discover a new truth. Years ago, Marks & Spencer, the Macy's of London, made a remarkable discovery-not all men were the same proportion. Some are big on top and narrow in the hips, or, as was more often the case, vice versa.
With this eureka moment, the haberdashers launched the concept of suit separates: Pants that fit the waist and a jacket that fit the top, whether the sizes correlated or not. And the concept works even better for women, allowing more flexibility for both size and style. Here is a list of the separates a common business wardrobe will contain

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Color: Neutral colors are versatile and professional.
Black is sophisticated, appropriate all year, and dresses up or down.
Gray, navy, and beige convey competence and easily mix with other clothes.
But beware of brown: It is seasonal, can come off as muddy(not meticulous), and is often incompatible with other colors.

Fabric:The more seasonless the fabric, the longer it will serve you.
1 Choose lightweight wool or wool blends that can be worn throughout the year.

2. A bit of Lycra, polyester, or other microfiber helps a garment retain its shape and increases the longevity of your investment.
3. Avoid knits, jerseys, and nubby tweeds for your first and main suit. They're too casual and more difficult to wear with other wardrobe pieces.
4. Before buying check for wrinkling: Clutch a handful of fabric and release it. If the material winds up in a crumple, it will certainly look that way after your commute to work.
5. Avoid clingy fabrics (some jerseys and knits) and anything with static-chances are no amount of spray will kill it.
6. Pants and skirts in thin fabrics must be lined. If a rearview mirror check displays visible panty lines , move on to the next suit-or buy a thong!

Fit:
Tailoring is mandatory-it's the detail work that will transform your suit from an mass into an emblem of power. But prior to visiting the tailor, certain key details must be checked:
1. Button the jacket. Does it pull? Do you arms move freely in it? Do the bust, shoulder, and rear seams hang well without bunching?
2. Make sure shoulders are not too round, pointy, or boxy. They shouldn't make the statement, you should.
3. Button the pants and find a three way mirror. Do you have a panty line? Is the rear too tight? Does the crotch cling or hang too low? A tailor is a great ally, but a baggy or saggy crotch cannot be fixed. An ill-fitting waistline can be taken in, and occasionally let out, if necessary. Sit. Do you feel comfortable or do the pants pull or does your skirt ride too high? And when you shop for pants or visit the tailor bring the shoes you plan to wear with them to get a proper break at the hem.

Quality/Finish:
1. Scan fabric for unnatural ripples or gatherings, which are often the result of inexpensive material and poor workmanship.
2. Make sure shoulder pads are equally positioned and the same size and that the shoulder line is smooth from end to end, front and back.
3. Buttons should be firmly attached and evenly spaced, with no loose threads.
4. Check seams for taut stitching that is neither loose nor pulled.
5. Lining should be made from a satiny material that allows for body movement.

SHOP SMART: SHIRTS
* Fabric is not so sheer that underwear or body parts are noticeable.
* Collar should not be overly large nor especially small. An average collar should be approximatey21/2 "from the collar point
* Buttons should be bone, mother-of-pearl, or animal horn.
* Avoid frilly collars and sleeves, which tend to flop out from under a jacket.
* Length must be ample enough to stay tucked in, but not so extreme that you're swimming in fabric.
* When cuffs are buttoned, you should be able to move arms comfortably.

Fit:
Should not be too baggy, definitely not tight. Bra line, breast, or nipple definition should not be apparent. Cotton is the most practical fabric and comes in a wide variety of grades and texture:
* Pima: strong, silky, most expensive.
* Sea Island: strong and lustrous.
* Oxford cloth: men's shirting fabric made in a basket weave; considered sporty.

Silk is dressier than cotton.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Design Your Wardrobe

2008-03-09T21:16:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of your career, you dressed appropriately to show respect. But at this point you want to have the respect of others, and the first step toward achieving that goal is dressing with authority. Looking the part is obviously not enough when it comes to acquiring power in the workplace you have to earn that but how you present yourself signals more than ever your position and prestige. By now, your seniority has also provided you with the resources to invest in the proper clothing befitting your status. This chapter will present the appropriate suits, shirts, ties, and accessories of the power wardrobe. Acquiring a power wardrobe is not simply about the amount of clothing you have although the more options you have although the more options you have at this stage of your career, the better. What you’re after now is quality. Finer materials and better-made clothing are what distinguish the distinguish the distinguished at this level. And when you have truly achieved a certain level of power, the power wardrobe will be incidental: Your own personal style will matter most.

“The power to define the situation is the ultimate power.”

Suits

Navy wool crepe
Unlike the navy suit you interviewed in, the wool crepe suit has a textured and slightly nubby feel to it. Wool crepe is more twisted than the worsted that most suits are made of, which means that it will wrinkle less. This makes a wool crepe suit ideal for travel. You can wear it no the plane or pack it without the fear of looking like a rumpled mess when you arrive. Like the original interview suit, a navy wool crepe suit goes with just about every shirt-and-tie combination. An overall bulletproof selection. An overall bulletproof selection.

Gray Bird’s-Eye
The name of the pattern refers to the minute black-and-white woven design, which actually looks gray. A smart-looking variation on the gray worsted wool suit, the bird’s eye has a lot of texture. Keep in mind that although it looks like a solid from far away, up close it is actually a very tiny pattern, so don’t mix it with small-patterned shirt and ties.

Single-Breasted Pinstripe
While not as dandyish as the double-breasted version this suit is no less formal. What matters here is the pinstripe: it is the pattern of power. It’s also the most slimming design for heavier men the vertical stripes provide the illusion of height and diminish width. When choosing a shirt, beware of stripes that fight with the stripes of the suit. And for an added flourish, try a pocket square or a handkerchief.

Tan Gabardine
Think of it as the navy suit for warm weather. If you live in a cold-weather city, it’s ideal for spring and summer; in warm locales it’s appropriate all year-round. When pairing shirts and ties with this suit, remember to keep them relatively light. White or light blue shirts will always work, and pale pastels are safe as well. In terms of ties, you can go a bit darker than the shirts, but in general navy or dark green would be the safest.

Double-Breasted Pinstripe
This classic style and pattern adds up to a suit you can take to the bank. Or a lawyer’s office. Or an important business meeting. Double-breasted meaning the left side of the jacket buttons on right side is a more dramatic suit cut than single-breasted, providing greater impact. The wide lapels often scare some men away, but as long as you don’t look as though an F-14 can land on your chest, you’re safe. In all this is a classic suit that power.

Shirts

Attention to Detail
Okay, so you’ll never be a designer, but you still like your clothes a certain way shirts that are wider in the chest, collars that are spread extra wide and now you can afford to have them tailored just for you.

MADE TO ORDER
A custom-made shirt is unquestionably an extravagance, but it’s also a great way to express your sartorial individuality. Typically, from the first fitting |(Where a tailor will take more measurements than you knew you had) to the final product, it takes several weeks to the final produce a custom-made shirt.
While you can expect to pay anywhere from $75 to several hundred dollars for one, the fit will be perfect. Also, the patterns and materials (frequently sea Island of Egyptian cotton) will be superior to ready-made shirts.

SNAP COLLAR
For a more sophisticated variation one the button down collar, try hidden snaps.

CUSTOM-MADE SHIRT
A custom-made shirt has expert stitching around the collar and placket. Look for 14 or more stitches per inch.

Blazers---a wardrobe of Basics
Like white shirts, khakis, and jeans, can a man really own enough blue blazers? Probably. But the point is, a blazer is so versatile and will get so much use that, after a while, having more than one becomes necessary. How you choose additional jackets depends on your needs: Would you like a line blazer for summer and one in cashmere for winter? How about a double-breasted jacket instead of a single?
TWO-BUTTON
Made popular by JFK, the two-button single-breasted jacket has remained an American favorite. It flatters most, since its elongated frontal V shows more shirt, thus lengthening the line of a body.
DOUBLE-BREASTED
Traditionally, the double-breasted blazer is navy blue, with six metal buttons, only two of which actually function. Further characteristics are side vents, two flap pockets, a breast pocket, and peaked lapels. For business, metal buttons may be considered too casual. They can be replaced with horn.
THREE-BUTTON
A three-button jacket is considered fashionable. Most designers make them so only the top two buttons close, although some men prefer the more classic three, in which the lapel rolls to the second button and the top one remains unbuttoned and hidden behind the lapel.

Shirt &Tie Combinations
As you spend more money on shirts and ties, mix ability becomes essential. Why have a $100 tie if it only goes with one shirt and suit? So, when expanding this area of the wardrobe, thing about all the potential combinations with your existing clothes. Solid ties are particularly versatile, as they go with even the wildest patterned shirt . In general, though, you want the tie to relate to a color in the shirt or jacket.
1. Plaid shirt with spread collar and stripe knit tie.
2. Gingham shirt with solid navy tie.
3. Multistoried shirt with tonal tie.
4. Lavender oxford with small pattern.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Buy Quality Products

2008-02-18T21:34:00.000-08:00

Quality & Quantity:

There are clearly two ways to spend your money: Quantity and Quality.

As you seek a better position career, both are important. Quantity will give you more choices. If for instance, you now have seven suits instead of four, you have more options, which will only make life easier when getting dressed or packing for travel. Quantity allows you to be more versatile in different situations: Whereas you one had only a blue blazer that was too heavy to wear in, say, summer, you will now have two blazers, one for warm weather and one for cold.

Quality, on the hand, has more subtle value. Quality clothing may cost more, but it is also a kind of shorthand for status. Better clothes often send a faster signal to people that you know how to invest in yourself. The right watch, for instance, is a status symbol to many people, and wearing one that looks expensive tells people that you know more than what time it is.
And keep in mind, it only needs to look expensive. A Timex, in other words, may go just as far as a Rolex.

Another advantage of clothing that is well made is that it tends to last longer. The fabrics are more durable, the workmanship is finer, and so repairs are often easier. Think of it this way: Would you rather own an expensive car that was relatively easy to service or one that was medium-priced but a headache to fix?

THE SIGNS OF QUALITY
If the price tag is not a sign of quality and let’s be clear, it isn’t then what is? Quality comes in many forms, and understanding what to look for will help you become a smarter shopper and dresser.

QUALITY CUT
There is no single perfect cut of a suit.
Single-breasted is not better than double. Having two buttons on your jacket is not any less valuable than three.
Rather, the beauty of clothes lies in the eyes of the ultimate beholder: You.
Understanding the most flattering cut of clothing for your body type is critical to seeking out quality.

Clothing can often make up for what nature has not given us. If you don’t have broad shoulders, some padding in your suit jacket may give you a little more heft. If you are shorter than you would like, a lean-cut, vertically striped suit with three buttons will give you the appearance of length.
A little heavy in the middle? Try darker suits without a vent in the rear. The point is, what you are and what you look like.

The next step is understanding what designers and labels are most ideal for you. Some jackets are boxier than others heavier men would want to avoid these. Some are cut narrow in the shoulders, and men with broad chests would be wise to steer clear. Even if you have always coveted owning a certain name-brand designer’s clothes, they may not be well suited for your shape and size, and it would be wiser to spend your money on something that fits better. After all, you don’t wear the label on the outside.

Once you have identified brands that are tailored for your body that is your quality cut. Again, it may not be right for your best friend, but a quality cut only has to suit you.

QUALITY FABRIC

All fabric are not created equal. If they were. You could wear a pair of silk pants to play touch football in and good luck with your friends on that one and a denim tie to the office. But how a fabric looks is often not as important as how it feels. A fabric’s feel or finish will affect not only how good you look in an article of clothing, but also how it feels on. As a rule, heavier fabrics are usually more durable while the quality fabrics feel better and are more fragile.

Suit and jackets. There first suit you wore on an interview was a worsted wool. Nothing wrong with it, of course (in fact it holds a crease quite well), but it’s just not as luxurious feeling or looking as a Super 100 wool (which refers to the fineness of the fiber themselves). Nor does it drape as well or stay unwrinkled quite like a wool crepe

Shirt. The first shirts you owned were broadcloth or oxford cloth, two cottons that feel very nice, but they aren’t nearly as soft as Egyptian cotton or Sea Island cotton, which have a higher thread count per square inch. In general, if you want to spend money on better fabrics, you should think about which fabrics will be close to the body: Shirts, pants, etc.

After all, only going to feel good against your shirt.

Ties. As with wools and cottons, some silks are smoother than others. Such softer silks are said to have a finer “hand,” a fact you can test with either your left or right. A necktie made of a finer silks will often look better tied

Sweaters. As far as sweaters are concerned, Shetland is basic, durable wool, as is lamb’s wool. But neither feels as fine to the hand as merino, cashmere, or silk (all of which are often combined in sweaters). But again, quality does matter even in there categories (all fabrics are not created equal, remember?). It would be wiser to buy an expensive merino V-neck than a more expensive cashmere sweater that was thin and cheap looking. After all, why buy a cashmere sweater that pills and looks raged when you can have a smart-looking merino version for less money that will last longer?

Shoes. Nothing take a beating like your shoes, so investing in quality materials is a risky concept. A supple leather, such as cordovan, will scratch more easily than one that is more rugged. A good suede can be ruined by the rain. And snow. And dirt. Still, because you are investing in quantity and quality, you have more shoes in you closet, so you can be judicious about when you wear the nicer ones.

QUALITY WORKMANSHIP

A man who kicks the tires of a car he’s thinking of buying clearly knows nothing about quality it’s just not where you look. The same is true for clothing about quality that you can know if you’re truly getting your money’s worth. Quality workmanship often does not show. It is often hidden in subtle details such as stitching, lining, and construction. Handcrafter made than those processed on a machine. The stitching and construction are simply more reliable than on something that is mass- produced.
Suits and Jackets. There are many distinguishing signs of quality workmanship to look for in a suit or sport jacket. Here are a few that should make a difference: A jacket internal construction will drape better across the body and will retain its shape longer. You can usually feel the support inside the shoulders and across the back of the jacket, and it might also feel slightly heavier than an un constructed jacket, but not enough to weight you down. A lining in the pockets will protect them better, but the truth is, it’s best never to open your jacket pockets; stuffing them with keys, change, and other effluvia will only cause the jacket to bulge and will distort its shape.
Buttons are another sign of quality. Good jacket buttons are made out of very hard plastic and sometimes even horn. On truly superior jackets, the buttons on a sleeve will actually work, and the buttonhole on a lapel will actually be a hole. Whit trousers, well-made pants will several buttons in the inside of the waistband for suspenders.

Shirt. Stitching is what you’re looking for here. A well-made shirt will have fine stitching down the placket , and across the yoke and shoulders. Look for about 14 stitches per inch on the placket. There will also be attention paid to the collar, perhaps the most critical part of shirt. A well-constructed collar will retain its shape longer. And once again, buttons are the sign of workmanship. Mother-of-pearl buttons are among the best you can get, but a good, hard plastic that won’t crack or chip is the least you should expect.

Ties. A well-made tie will have a lining (usually linen or wool) that extends to the tip of both ends. This will help it retain its shape after many wearing. A good tie should also have hand stitching along the back. Finally, look for a loop of fabric on the wide end to tuck the narrow end into when it’s tied. This will preserve the tie better and keep you from tucking it into the label.

Shoes. Since shoes take the most punishment, great care must be paid to purchasing pairs that won’t fall down on the job. Look for leather with a smooth finish; it will better resist cracking. The soles should be leather and be lightly tanned and flexible. A well-made shoe should not have upper parts that are glued; look for stitching or, if you don’t have an eye for this, ask the salesman.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

About Wool Used For Mens Business Suits

2008-02-12T01:41:00.001-08:00

Mens Suit and Womens Suit FABRIC IDENTIFICATION

Burn Test - CAUTION. WARNING. BE CAREFUL! This should only be done by skilled burners! Make sure there is a bucket of water nearby and that you burn in a metal bucket or non-plastic sink.

To identify fabric that is unknown, a simple burn test can be done to determine if the fabric is a natural fiber, man made fiber, or a blend of natural and man made fibers. The burn test is used by many fabric stores and designers and takes practice to determine the exact fiber content. However, an inexperienced person can still determine the difference between many fibers to "narrow" the choices down to natural or man made fibers. This elimination process will give information necessary to decide the care of the fabric. Blends consist of two or more fibers and, ideally, are supposed to take on the characteristics of each fiber in the blend. The burning test can be used but the fabric content will be an assumption.

WARNING: All fibers will burn! Asbestos treated fibers are, for the most part fire proof. The burning test should be done with caution. Use a small piece of fabric only. Hold the fabric with tweezers, not your fingers. Burn over a metal dish with soda in the bottom or even water in the bottom of the dish. Some fabrics will ignite and melt. The result is burning drips which can adhere to fabric or skin and cause a serious burn.

Cotton is a plant fiber. When ignited it burns with a steady flame and smells like burning leaves. The ash left is easily crumbled. Small samples of burning cotton can be blown out as you would a candle.

Linen is also a plant fiber but different from cotton in that the individual plant fibers which make up the yarn are long where cotton fibers are short. Linen takes longer to ignite. The fabric closest to the ash is very brittle. Linen is easily extinguished by blowing on it as you would a candle.

Silk is a protein fiber and usually burns readily, not necessarily with a steady flame, and smells like burning hair. The ash is easily crumbled. Silk samples are not as easily extinguished as cotton or linen.

Wool is also a protein fiber but is harder to ignite than silk as the individual "hair" fibers are shorter than silk and the weave of the fabrics is generally looser than with silk. The flame is steady but more difficult to keep burning. The smell of burning wool is like burning hair.

Man Made Fibers

Acetate is made from cellulose (wood fibers), technically cellulose acetate. Acetate burns readily with a flickering flame that cannot be easily extinguished. The burning cellulose drips and leaves a hard ash. The smell is similar to burning wood chips.

Acrylic technically acrylonitrile is made from natural gas and petroleum. Acrylics burn readily due to the fiber content and the lofty, air filled pockets. A match or cigarette dropped on an acrylic blanket can ignite the fabric which will burn rapidly unless extinguished. The ash is hard. The smell is acrid or harsh.

Nylon is a polyamide made from petroleum. Nylon melts and then burns rapidly if the flame remains on the melted fiber. If you can keep the flame on the melting nylon, it smells like burning plastic.

Polyester is a polymer produced from coal, air, water, and petroleum products. Polyester melts and burns at the same time, the melting, burning ash can bond quickly to any surface it drips on including skin. The smoke from polyester is black with a sweetish smell. The extinguished ash is hard.

Rayon is a regenerated cellulose fiber which is almost pure cellulose. Rayon burns rapidly and leaves only a slight ash. The burning smell is close to burning leaves.

WOOL USED FOR SUITS FOR MEN AND WOMEN

WOOL is the fiber derived from the fur of animals of the Caprinae family, principally sheep, but the hair of certain species of other mammals such as goats, llamas and rabbits may also be called wool. This article deals explicitly with the wool produced from domestic sheep.

WOOL fabric brings to mind cozy warmth. Some wools are scratchy giving some people the idea that they are "allergic" to wool. Although wool fiber comes from a variety of animal coats, not all wool’s are scratchy but rather extremely soft. The wool fibers have crimps or curls which create pockets and gives the wool a spongy feel and creates insulation for the wearer. The outside surface of the fiber consists of a series of serrated scales which overlap each other much like the scales of a fish. Wool is the only fiber with such serration’s which make it possible for the fibers to cling together and produce felt. The same serration’s will also cling together tightly when wool is improperly washed and shrinks! Wool will not only return to its original position after being stretched or creased, it will absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture without feeling damp. Its unique properties allow shaping and tailoring, making the wool the most popular fabric for tailoring fine garments. Wool is also dirt resistant, flame resistant, and, in many weaves, resists wear and tearing.

Basically, there are two different processes used in wool production. Woolen fabrics have a soft feel and fuzzy surface, very little shine or sheen, will not hold a crease, and are heavier and bulkier than worsteds. Blankets, scarves, coating, and some fabrics are considered woolens. Worsted wool is smoother than woolen, takes shine more easily, does not sag, holds a crease well, is lighter and less bulky, and wears longer than woolen. Worsted wool’s require a greater number of processes, during which fibers are arranged parallel to each other. The smoother, harder-surface worsted yarns produce smoother fabrics with a minimum of fuzziness and nap. Fine worsted wool is even seen in clothing for athletics such as tennis. No, they are not hotter than polyester but actually cooler, as the weave of the fabric allows wool to absorb perspiration and the fabric "breathes," unlike polyester.

WOOL SPECIALTY FIBERS, although still classified as wool, are further classified by the animal the fiber comes from.

Alpaca fleece is very rich and silky with considerable luster. It comes from the Alpaca.

Mohair is from the angora goat and is highly resilient and strong. Mohair’s luster, not softness, determines its value. Mohair is used in home decorating fabrics as well as garment fabrics including tropical worsteds.

Angora wool is from the angora rabbit. This soft fiber is used in sweaters, mittens and baby clothes.

Camel hair is from the extremely soft and fine fur from the undercoat of the camel. Camel’s hair can be used alone but is most often combined with fine wool for overcoating, topcoating, sportswear and sports hosiery. Because of the beauty of the color, fabrics containing camel’s hair are usually left in the natural camel color or dyed a darker brown. Light weight and soft, it is said that a 22 oz. camel fabric is as warm as a 32 oz. woolen fabric.

Cashmere is from the Kasmir goat down. Separation of the soft fibers from the long, coarse hair is tedious and difficult, contributing to the expense of the fabric. The soft hair is woven or knitted into fine garments and can also be blended with silk, cotton, or wool.

Vicuna is the softest coat cloth in the world. The amount of coarse hair to be separated from the soft fibers is negligible and yields the finest animal fiber in the world. Vicuna is a member of the Llama family and is small and wild. Since it is generally killed to obtain the fleece, it is protected by rigorous conservation measures. This fiber is rare and very expensive, costing several hundred dollars per yard.

WOOL SUIT FABRICS AND THE SUPER WOOL NUMBERS

Following is an excerpt from the "THE WOOL PRODUCTS LABELING ACT OF 1939" of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States of America.

The super numbers are exactly as follows -

(A) Super 80s or 80s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 19.75 microns or finer;
(B) Super 90s or 90s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 19.25 microns or finer;
(C) Super 100s or 100s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 18.75 microns or finer;
(D) Super 110s or 110s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 18.25 microns or finer;
(E) Super 120s or 120s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 17.75 microns or finer;
(F) Super 130s or 130s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 17.25 microns or finer;
(G) Super 140s or 140s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 16.75 microns or finer;
(H) Super 150s or 150s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 16.25 microns or finer;
(I) Super 160s or 160s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 15.75 microns or finer;
(J) Super 170s or 170s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 15.25 microns or finer;
(K) Super 180s or 180s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 14.75 microns or finer;
(L) Super 190s or 190s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 14.25 microns or finer;
(M) Super 200s or 200s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 13.75 microns or finer;
(N) Super 210s or 210s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 13.25 microns or finer;

(O) Super 220s or 220s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 12.75 microns or finer;
(P) Super 230s or 230s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 12.25 microns or finer;
(Q) Super 240s or 240s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 11.75 microns or finer; and
(R) Super 250s or 250s, is when the diameter of the wool fibers used in weaving of this cloth average 11.25 microns or finer.

The average fiber diameter may be subject to a coefficient of variation around the mean that shall not exceed 24 percent.

CARING FOR YOUR WOOL SUITS

Allow 24 hours before wearing a wool garment again. The natural resiliency of wool fabric will allow wrinkles to fall out and the original shape to bounce back.

Soil and dust can be removed from wool fabric by brushing lengthwise with a garment brush. Wool garments with heavily napped surfaces should be brushed regularly. Finer wool fabric should be restored using a damp cloth instead of a brush.

If a wool garment gets damp, hang it out of direct sunlight. Be sure to brush it after it is dry.

If a label says "Dry Clean Only" take the garment to a professional dry cleaner for the best results. You may choose to hand wash the garment instead. However, the garment probably hasnt been treated for washability. Washing may result in some shrinkage, loss of color, and/or the fabric may lose some of its softness.

Removing Stains from Wool Fabric

Try to treat stains immediately to prevent them from setting into the fabric.

With a clean white cloth, blot to remove as much of the stain as possible. Do NOT rub.

Take garments with stubborn stains to the dry cleaner as soon as possible. This includes stains caused by paint, dyes, nail polish, etc.

Have a bottle of stain or spot removal solution on hand for oil based stains such as oil, make-up, or chocolate. Make sure that the product you use is safe for wool fabric. Test the solution on an inconspicuous area before using on the stain.

Be sure to remove stains before pressing. Heat can cause stains to set in wool fabric.

Hand Washing Wool Fabric

Clean wool fabric using a mild detergent in lukewarm water. Never use hot water! Do NOT use bleach. bleach dissolves wool fabric.

Completely cover the garment in water and soak for 3 to 5 minutes. Gently squeeze to allow water to penetrate the fabric. Do NOT wring the garment.

Rinse thoroughly with cool water to remove all traces of soap.

Squeeze gently to remove excess water. Do NOT wring the garment.

To dry, lay the garment on a flat surface, reshaping if necessary and allow to dry away from direct sunlight and heat. Do NOT hang to dry. This will cause the wool fabric to stretch from the weight of the water that has soaked into the fibers.

Never put wool clothing in the dryer! The combination of heat, friction and pressure will cause shrinkage.

Ironing Wool Fabric

Set iron for WOOL setting.

Add water to the iron. Always use steam heat when pressing. Never iron wool fabric dry.

Squeeze gently to remove excess water. Do NOT wring the garment.

Press garment on the inside of the garment to avoid surface shine.

Use a pressing cloth when top pressing. A clean white handkerchief or cotton cloth may also be used.

When pressing napped fabrics, place a piece of the same fabric or a thick terry cloth towel on the ironing board to prevent crushing.

If napped wool fabric is slightly scorched when pressing, rub lightly with an emery board. A diluted solution of hydrogen peroxide may be used for a more severe scorch. Be sure to test on a hidden area first.

Shine created by pressing may be reduced by sponging white vinegar on surface of wool garment. Rinse thoroughly.

Some recommended notions for someone with a lot of wool to press are a steam iron, a tailors ham for pressing curved areas such as collars and lapels, a seam roll for pressing seams open without making a visible seam edge, a point presser for hard-to-reach places, and a press cloth.

Wool Fabric, Clothing, and Blanket Storage

To prevent the invasion of the clothes moth, brush wool with a fabric brush before storing.

Clean the garment or blanket. Food stains and body oils attract moths. Dry cleaning or laundering kills moth eggs and larvae.

Store cleaned wool fabric in airtight bags or containers with tight-fitting lids. When folding, add white tissue paper between folds to prevent wrinkling.

Add mothballs to the container. Do NOT put them directly on the fabric. Hang them in small loosely woven cloth bags near the fabric. Clothing will need to be aired out after removing from storage to remove the mothball odor.

STAIN REMOVAL OPTIONS FOR WOOL FABRICS

Please note :Be sure to test the fabric for colorfastness. Do not use bleach if your fabric is colorfast.

Milk or Egg Products
Rinse well in cool water. Presoak with detergent and powdered bleach in cool or warm water. Follow Package directions for dissolving bleach. Launder in cold water with detergent and liquid bleach.

Blood
Rinse in cool water and pre-treat with liquid bleach or bleach. Rinse and repeat if necessary. Launder in cool water with bleach.

Candle Wax
Harden the wax by either applying ice or placing the garment in the freezer. Scrape off as much of the frozen wax as possible, then launder with bleach and detergent in the hottest water recommended for the fabric. Repeat the laundering procedure until all the color from the wax is gone. Do not dry the garment until the wax color is completely removed.

Baby Formula
Soak in cool water. Pretreat with Stain Out or bar soap and rub gently. Wash with detergent and bleach, or bleach.

Ink- Ballpoint
Apply liquid bleach or rubbing alcohol. Rub on detergent and launder with liquid bleach and detergent in hottest water recommended for fabric. Repeat if necessary.

Ink- Felt Pen
May be impossible to remove. Apply liquid bleach and rub on detergent. Rinse. Repeat as necessary. Launder with liquid bleach and detergent in hottest water recommended for fabric.

Perspiration, Deodorants
Launder with liquid bleach and detergent in hottest water recommended for fabric. If stain has caused color change, try to restore by using ammonia on fresh stains, vinegar on old stains. Do not use ammonia or vinegar with liquid bleach.

Yellowing Dinginess
Launder garment in the hottest water recommended for the fabric with bleach and detergent. If the garment is not colorfast then regular bleach is fine.

Pollen
Vacuum, do not brush, as much of the pollen from the garment as possible. Pretreat the area with bleach. Launder normally with bleach and detergent.

Grass
Apply Stain Out and rub gently into stain; let sit 5 minutes. Then wash with detergent and bleach or bleach in the hottest water safe for fabric.

Makeup
Apply prewash stain remover such as Stain Out and gently rub into the stain; let sit for 5 minutes. Then wash with detergent and bleach or bleach in the hottest water the fabric will tolerate.

Scorching
If the damage is severe it may be permanent. Mild scorching can be treated to improve the color by brushing the scorched area and pre-treating it with detergent or bleach. Then launder normally in detergent and bleach.

Coffee, Tea, Wine, Soft Drinks
Pretreat with liquid bleach. Launder right away with detergent and liquid bleach in hottest water recommended for fabric.

Mildew
Mildew can damage the cellulosic structure of fibers as well as many manmade fibers. If the fabric shows no sign of permanent damage treat the mildew by first brushing the area to remove as much of the organism as possible. Pre-treat the area by rubbing with bleach. Launder in the hottest water recommended for the fabric plus bleach. Test for colorfastness. If the garment is not safe in chlorine bleach substitute bleach.

Grease, Butter, Margarine, Oil, Mayonnaise, Ice Cream, Chocolate, Cosmetics
Apply liquid bleach stain remover and rub into stain. Launder with detergent and liquid bleach in hottest water recommended for fabric.

Gravy, Mustard, Ketchup and Other Tomato-Based Products
Presoak in powdered bleach and detergent in warm or hot water. Launder with detergent and liquid bleach. If oily stain remains, use Stain Out on stain and launder again.

Crayons
Place the stained surface down on a pad of paper towels, spray with WD-40, and let stand for a few minutes. Turn the fabric over and spray the other side. Apply liquid dishwashing detergent and work into the stained area. Replace towels as they absorb the stain. Wash in hot water with a laundry detergent and bleach for about 12 minutes (use "heavy soiled" setting if there is no minute timer on your machine), and rinse in warm water.

Fruit-Flavored Drinks, Juices
Soak in cool water. Rub bar soap into the stain or pretreat with liquid bleach. Wash right away with detergent and bleach or bleach in hottest water recommended for fabric.

Dye That Bleeds
Dye transfer is caused when unstable dye colors "bleed" from one fabric to another. Their removal is often difficult. To minimize problem, sort loads by color, and always remove clothes from washer as soon as rinse cycle is complete. Re-launder affected items right away with detergent and liquid bleach. If color remains (on all-white fabrics only) use a packaged color remover or stripper sold under the "Rit" label.

Diaper Stains, Vomit
Rinse off soils. Presoak. Launder in hottest water safe for fabric with appropriate bleach, To kill bacteria that contribute to diaper rash, add liquid bleach to the wash cycle.

Vitamins, Liquid Pain Relievers
Pretreat and let sit for 5 minutes. Launder in hottest water possible, using appropriate bleach.

Mayonnaise, Mustard, Salad Dressing
Pretreat, launder in hottest water safe for fabric, using appropriate bleach.

We remain with Best Regards
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The S-numbers Game - Makers Tout The Super Of Their Suit - We Put 10 To Test!

2006-11-26T20:46:00.000-08:00

The men’s floor at any upscale retailer has suits in a wide range of prices colors and cuts. But many have one thing in common: The now-ubiquitous labels that promote the quality of the fabric with number like “Super 110s” and “Super 150s.
Just as cotton bed sheets trumpet thread octane, suit makers are using these number to tout their wool. Higher numbers translate to narrower fibers, which makers say are softer to the touch. It’s one of several tactics the suit industry is using to combat slowing sales. On the high end, makers are pushing suits in the Super 220s range for thousands of dollars. Discounters are also adopting the system, hoping to convince shoppers that a superior suit can be had at lower prices.
Industry groups are now calling these numbers into question, prompted in part by makers of superfine wool fabrics concerned about lower-priced suits being la-bled with high Super numbers. But the issue isn’t limited to inexpensive suits.
In a test of 10 suits by the Wall Street Journal, ranging in price from $290 to $1,995, four came back with a Super grade below what was advertised. We also tested for durability and wrinkle-resistance, and found that some suits with higher Super numbers didn’t deliver superior performance on those measures.

The in store wrinkle test
Though there’s no way for shoppers to verify a suit’s Super number without access to a textile laboratory, there are a few simple tests shopper can perform themselves in stores to gauge the quality of a suit. One trick to figure out how easily a suit will wrinkle - clench a sleeve in your fist for a few minutes, them let it go a good-quality fabric should re-bound quickly. Rayon linings known as Bamberg are generally more durable than silk or other materials, while twills, like herringbone, tend to be stronger materials than plain weaves.
The boom in S-numbers is part of a broader by suit makers to set their garments apart from the competition. Sales have cooled from the torrid pace of a couple of years ago, when the casual style of the dot-com era went out of vogue and men started dressing up again. Through September this year, Sales in the U.S. are down 10% from the same period a year earlier, according to market researcher NPD Group.

Selling with S-numbers
Makers say S-numbers are proving be effective sales tools. Many men have a hard
time deciding what to buy. The numbers add a quantitative dimension that makes decision-making less intimidating. There are also bragging rights. S-numbers give men “something to discuss at a cocktail party,” says Roger Cohen, president of the U.S. division of suit maker Cornelian.
That was the attraction for Craig Weiss, a 51-year-old psychologist in Pennsylvania, who bought $3,000 navy blue Brioni suit years ago. He says he thought a higher S-number was “a thing to aspire to.” But Mr. Weiss says the suit let him down, wrinkling more than his less-expensive suits did. It also felt so light and delicate that he worried about it ripping. “It took all the fun out of wearing it,” he says, adding that he now wears the suit only for special occasions and buys lower S-numbered suits for everyday use. Brioni says it has not heard any complaints about its Super 150s.
Part of what makes the S-number system confusing is that higher quality wool doesn’t also mean more durable wool. The number relates only to the diameter of the fiber, measured in microns. Thinner fibers are usually more fragile. These suits tend to bunch up when tailored and can wear out after a few dry cleanings. “A very high S-system number doesn’t guarantee the best garments,” says Andy Gilchrist, author of “The Encyclopedia of Men’s Clothes.” Such wools wrinkle almost as much as linen. They are delicate and not as durable as less-fine wool.

The fineness of the fabric is only one measure of a suit’s quality. Strength is also a factor, and it also depends on the length of the yarn and whether it’s reinforced with another strand to make it two ply. In some cloth, only yarn that runs vertically is reinforced, while in others, reinforced yarns run horizontally as well. The latter, called “two by two,” tends to be stronger and better at recovering form wrinkles.
Suit makers acknowledge that fabrics with high S-numbers are delicate and lightweight. But are delicate and lightweight. But some say that a suit made of high quality Sipper 150s or above could be worn to the office once a week and week and would last four or five years, if it’s rarely dry cleaned. That’s roughly half as long as a good-quality Super 120s suit under the same conditions. Several salespeople at stores from York advised us not to buy suits with high S-numbers for anything but special occasions.
To determine the accuracy of advertised S-numbers, we purchased 10 suits at retail outlets and sent them to Vartest Laboratories, a New York firm that tests fibers and fabrics for lab measured the diameter. The lab measured the diameters wool fiber in microns. In addition, we tested two other factors: durability and how susceptible the material is to wrinkling.
Six of the suits we tested passed with flying colors, with results that matched or exceeded their promised s-numbers, including two of our least expensive choices and Arnold Brant and Jos. A. Bank, both Super 110s that cost less than $300. A pricier Hickey Freeman Super 120s was found to have Super 130s fibers. Hickey Freeman declined to comment.

Warp and weft
Our overall winner in the other two categories strength and wrinkle-resistance was the @300 Arnold Brant suit. Its warp, or vertical yarns, withstood nearly 37 kilograms of pressure before ripping that’s about 18 kilograms more than the industry’s minimum standard. We also tested the weft of all our suits, or horizontal yarns, since some fabric makers reinforce only the warp.
The first Super 100s wool was developed in the 1960s, by an English fabric mill. The first merchants to see it were so astounded that, in fit of exuberance, they dubbed it super 100s, according to the book “The Suit: A Machiavellian Approach to Men’s Style,” written by Michael Anton under the pen name Nicholas Antongiavanni. By the mid-1990s, high-end clothiers, custom-suit makers and Italian mills began using Super numbers more often to market directly to consumers. Soon, the numbers began appearing on labels inside suits or on the sleeves. Says Arnold Brant, President of the clothing company that bears his name: “if it’s a navy suit and it says Super 120s, it tells the customer this is a wool that’s a better grade. This is not a typical navy suit.”

Some suit makers think S-numbers have been overdone. Oxxford Clothes, whose handmade suits are sold for thousands of dollars, plans to stop labeling everything below Super 150s, starting very inexpensive suits advertised as Super 120s and that muddies the water, chief executive
Others, like Ermenegildo Zegna, an Italian firm that makes fabric as well as suits, don’t tout the S-number on their labels either. Djordje Stefabovic, executive director of communications for Zegna, says the company relies on its reputation for making fine fabrics: “As yarn suit producers, we didn’t want to pay that number game.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Your Closet - How To Store Your Clothing - Suits, Shirts And Accessories

2006-11-06T04:44:00.000-08:00

Every closet should be lined with cedar. Cedar protects against moths that will attack garments, particularly those with a residue of sweet spills. Cedar also absorbs other body odors; consequently clothes just come out of a cedar closet smelling better. Why construct an Inner Sanctum any other way?

Every man has a different way of organizing his closet, but what’s important is that it’s organized. In an extremely detailed fashion, with Excel spread sheets if the size of one’s wardrobe warrants. You’ve invested a lot of money (haven’t you?) into your clothing, and you should protect your investment by keeping it neat and storing it properly. Doing so will prolong its life and maximize your return on investment. Suggestions for organization follow with other helpful hints on how to make an Inner Sanctum out of an ordinary closet.

Begin with organizing by season. Even if you live in a warm climate, certain colors just don’t work in fall and winter, and need to be segregated into a spring and summer section. Men who live in warm weather year round may also do business in colder climates. A special area should be reserved for these items.

Keep all your winter tailored clothing together- suits, sport coats, and trousers. Trousers on hangars, but not clipped either at the knees or on the cuffs. Hanging them otherwise encourages unsightly wrinkles, and will force you to press them each time before wearing. Hang your coats on wooden hangers with a larger shoulder area to hold their shape. Each hanger should have a bar for trousers as well. Obviously, hang matching suit pants with suit coats, and matching trousers with sport coats. This minimizes space requirements. Arrange coats by color, lightest to darkest, or vice versa depending on your preference. Dress winter clothing should be made of wool or cashmere. Flannels and heavier cashmeres go with winter, twills fall and early spring,

Organize your remaining tailored clothing into a spring and summer section. Lighter color palettes should dominate this area of the Sanctum. Separate this clothing in the same way, lightest to darkest (or vice versa), coats on hangers with wide shoulders and trousers hung on accompanying bars. Dress fabrics for spring can be lighter wools, linens, or even silks, depending on the climate and formality required in one’s business dealings.

Casual clothing should also be sorted by season and hung separately from dress items. The inexperienced dresser, or someone dressing in the uncertain light of early morning could easily confuse the two. Casual fabrics here may change- perhaps some heavier cotton or corduroy for fall and winter trousers. More silks, linens, and lighter cottons for spring and summer.

There are two schools of thought about dress shirt storage and organization. If you travel a lot, have your dry cleaners fold your shirts, and store them on a shelf or in a drawer. They’ll be easier to pack, and if used promptly, will wrinkle less than if you tried to fold and pack them yourself. Whether or nor you hang them or have them folded may also be determined by how much hanging space you have in your closet. If possible, move your top hanging bar up, and install a second bar halfway below it to accommodate additional shirts and tailored clothing. Or add an extra row of shelves on either side if you need the space for folded shirts.

Organize dress shirts either by color or by season, or if you have a lot of them, by both. Everyone has favorites, but develop a system to rotate them to ensure even wear. Again, grouping them by color from lightest to darkest works best; a well-dressed gentleman should have darker shirts only for sport or casual wear, unless you’re Tony Soprano.

Sweaters should ALWAYS be folded. Hanging them stretches out the fibers and decreases the life of the garment. Separate between warm weather silk, cotton, and blends, and winter wools and cashmeres. Again, organize them by color, lightest to darkest or the reverse. Sweaters are best stored on shelves so they can breathe.

Ties can be rolled and stored in a pullout drawer, but are best hung on a motorized tie rack fitted to one of the hanging bars. Alternatively, they can be hung on a wooden strip with metal pegs anchored to one of the closet walls. Arrange them by color- this will automatically separate seasons.

Belts should be hung on a similar wooden rack affixed preferably to the back of the closet door. If you don’t have a door, you can either anchor the rack to the wall, or hang them on a circular rotating rack hanging on one of the closet bars. Use the same procedure with braces if you have them. Braces can also be stored on a rotating tie rack, but will need longer length for floor clearance, and tend to fall off. Belts and braces should also both be arranged by color.

Ideally pocket squares should be clipped to a rotating fixture resembling those seen in finer men’s stores. If you cannot acquire a fixture, drawer storage is best. Fold them along their natural lines and arrange by season and color.

Cuff links, watches, and other jewelry should all be stored in a jewelry box, either in or out of the Inner Sanctum depending on the size of the closet and the size of the box.

Shoes should be arranged on racks to keep them off the floor and you from tripping over them in the middle of the night. Each should have a set of cedar shoe trees to preserve the shape of the shoe and absorb moisture from the leather. Each shoe should also be in a flannel shoe bag to protect the finish.

It’s also a good idea to own a wooden valet. It can be placed in or out of the closet, and made of quality wood. The valet should be used either to set out the next day’s ensemble, or to let clothes breathe before putting them back in the closet. Many gentlemen use them for both purposes.

In this article we’ve frequently discussed spring/summer vs., fall/winter seasons. What determines the changing of sartorial seasons? Historically the spring and summer season begins at Easter, and ends with Labor Day. Today common sense and weather patterns rule the day. It’s always nice to throw on some spring clothing in the midst of a winter warm spell. Likewise, it is a foolhardy not to add an extra layer during a summer cold snap.

From - Suit Your Self

We Remain wiht Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Tuxedo : Renting And Buying Basics

2006-10-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Unless you're exchanging vows on a beach in Kauai, your best Bermuda shorts won't make the cut -- you'll need formalwear in which to greet your bride. If you have season tickets to the opera, you may already be a tuxedo owner, all set to look snazzy on your big day. But otherwise, the question is whether to rent or buy.

TO RENT OR TO BUY?
Money is the main factor in your decision. Renting will cost about 10% to 30% of the price of a new tuxedo; the average price for a decent tux is between $300 and $500. If you attend three or four formal events per year, buying a tux may be worthwhile. Plus, a good tux is an investment -- you can wear it for years. But if you'd rather slather your body in hot tar than wear a coat and tie a couple of times a year, go for the rental. It's not a big hassle, and you won't be stuck with thin lapels when extra-wide ones come back in style.

Also, if you look toward Howard Hughes as your anti-germ model, you may want to go for your very own, sanitized tux. Rentals are used by who knows how many men, not all of whom share your high hygiene standards. Of course, rental tuxes are cleaned between each use (another cost to factor into your decision), but if you really can't stand the thought of another sweating-buckets nervous groom donning your tuxedo, buying may be for you.

RENTAL TIPS
Rental-minded types should keep the following tidbits in mind when choosing a wedding ensemble:

Choose a formalwear store that has updated their inventory regularly since 1976. (If you see powder blue and ruffles, run.)

A good formalwear dealer will know how to measure you properly (inseam, waist, jacket size) and give you a fitting in advance of the wedding.

The dealer should also listen to you. If you're of the fashionable persuasion and want a dark blue, 5-button mandarin collar tux, but the dealer's praising a silver tux with tails, you'll know you've come to the wrong shop. Politely say thanks but no thanks and vamoose on out of there.

The store should be able to supply you with all the accessories you'll need: bow tie, cummerbund, cufflinks, suspenders, even shoes.

Finally, have all your groomsmen get their monkey suits at the same shop, so you'll be wearing matching duds. Even though they may live in various parts of the country, reserve their tuxedos at least three months in advance and you'll be set.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Flight Suits - Your Wardobe When You Travel

2006-09-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

IT'S the beginning of another summer travel season, and passengers at some of the busiest airports look little different than if they were shopping at a mall, their increasingly casual wardrobe of T-shirts and shorts having eclipsed any remnants of the golden era of travel, that time before airline deregulation led to cheap tickets, when dressing for the airport meant dressing up.

But take a closer look, and it's apparent that many travelers are even less well dressed than if they were at the mall. Savvy passengers have discerned the subtleties of passing hassle free through the Transportation Security Administration's checkpoints. Chic at the airport this summer means no lace-up dress shoes, no belts, no heavy-metal jewelry, no jackets required.

Dressing up isn't worth the effort when it is likely to lead to the sort of indignities experienced last week by Donna Repko, a business traveler at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. After passing through security in the late afternoon rush on her way home to Boston, Ms. Repko suddenly turned to a screener and said with a sense of urgency, "I think my jacket got caught in your machine." A moment later, a gray plastic bin poked its way through the X-ray machine. Scrunched beneath it was a ball of white pleated cotton, smudged with black streaks. "This is why I don't dress up for travel," Ms. Repko said.

For decades, the old fashioned have lamented the way young people - and now most people - dress for air travel. The advent of more stringent security measures in the nearly four years since the 9/11 attacks might have been expected to usher in a return to formal dressing, as a way of appearing respectable and drawing less scrutiny. But in fact the opposite seems to have happened.

"If you have on a fine suit, you don't want to fold it up and put it through that machine," said Richard B. Lanman, a medical lecturer from Los Altos, Calif., who travels at least three days a week. "I think there is generally an incentive to be more casual. I'm more inclined to dress down. There has been a continual degradation of any fashion sense in the past decade. You can't believe what you're seeing." Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the security administration, said there was no style of dress or item of clothing that led screeners to single out passengers for extra scrutiny.

Among the 50 or so passengers interviewed this month at airports in New York, Atlanta and Chicago, there was no consensus about whether any clothes attracted extra attention. But there was wide agreement that the simpler and more dressed-down, the more efficient the experience.

On its Web site, the security administration advises against wearing metallic jewelry, belt buckles and hidden body piercings and says passengers who set off the metal detector will be subject to hand-wanding or a pat-down that includes the torso. "Screeners do have some discretion and can refer a passenger to additional screening if they notice any irregularity to a passenger's contour, or if it appears there is an item protruding underneath their clothing," Ms. Davis said.

At Kennedy Airport in New York last week , passengers who would normally consider themselves fashionable were willing to commit a faux pas to get through security. John Robshaw, a textiles executive, wore a denim shirt tucked into denim jeans, but no belt. Sarah Flood, an oncology nurse, was in white short shorts, a green T-shirt and blue hoodie that matched her carry-on bag. "This is not my fashion day," she said, a newly purchased bohemian cotton skirt, the look of the season, packed in her checked luggage.

As they have become conditioned to the intrusiveness of modern security measures, undressing and redressing in front of revolving casts of strangers, travelers have developed new routines of composure, evolving their wardrobes to speed them along. And clothing makers have come up with innovations to meet their needs. Shoe companies like Florsheim, Clarks and Rockport sell "airport friendly" shoes without steel shanks. Underwear makers promote support bras made without an underwire, as even a small bit of metal can trigger a sensitive alarm.

"Americans have simplified the way they dress for travel," said Valerie Steele, the chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. "It's not a question of dressing better or worse. It's about dressing in a way that is more transparent."

At the USAir terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York, the sartorial adaptations to modern air travel played out with a sense of theater. After collecting their boarding passes, a handful of businessmen stepped over to a ficus tree and rested their briefcases on a concrete planter as they patted themselves down, checked their pants pockets for keys, coins, pagers and cell phones, which they transferred to bags or jackets, then removed the jackets and merged into the line waiting to pass through security.

Without being told, they took off their shoes and placed them into gray plastic bins. They neatly folded their jackets - the pockets now full of the metal objects of everyday necessity - on top of their bags.

"People travel a lot differently today than they did 20 or 30 years ago," said Joanne Smith, the president of Song Airlines, Delta's discount division. For professional women, wearing a jacket now means wearing something underneath that won't cause embarrassment when the jacket is removed. Those who will only wear high heels sometimes have to make other concessions.

"I usually wear dress heels, and I take them off to avoid further screening," Ms. Smith said. "I don't like to be barefoot, so I put a pair of socks in my bag or I always try to wear hose. I know. I'm a glamour don't. But I feel very old fashioned that way."

Bishop Cheen, a financial analyst, said he had to dress up for business, and after a meeting in Manhattan on an unseasonably hot and humid spring day, Mr. Cheen, 56, was wearing a slightly disheveled suit, which he paired with an overstuffed Jansport backpack to keep his hands free while fumbling with his boarding pass and ID for his trip home to Charlotte, N.C.

He had it down to a science: he pulled a plastic identification holder from the backpack and slipped his driver's license inside, displayed on a string of metal beads around his neck.

"If I wasn't traveling for business, I'd be in a T-shirt, and I wouldn't be wearing these shoes," he said, pointing to his lace-ups.

Men like Mr. Lanman, the medical lecturer, have another secret: wearing a dress shirt with a pocket to store their boarding passes and identification, although it didn't appear to be much of a secret on a recent Delta flight to Atlanta, where business class resembled a nerd convention, recalling the days of pocket protectors. "I'm in a constant feud with my wife over this," Mr. Lanman said. "She says it's not cool."

The most obvious difference in the way people dress since security measures were increased is the popularization of easily removable footwear like loafers, flip-flops and sandals. More than a quarter of the people traveling that afternoon at LaGuardia wore flip-flops. Having slipped out of their footwear to be screened, they looked like members of a religious pilgrimage.

On its Web site, the security administration pointedly says passengers are "not required" to remove their shoes before entering a walk-through metal detector. Screeners, the site says, might "encourage" them to do so if they are wearing boots, platform shoes or the many kinds of dress shoes that contain metal. But even the casual traveler seems to suspect duplicity in this policy. The widespread assumption is that refusing to remove one's shoes is a red flag to screeners.

Doug McNamee, who works for a pharmaceuticals company, bought a pair of loafers specifically designed for modern air travel last month. He said he was told the shoes had no metal in them. But the first trip he took, the shoes caused Mr. McNamee to become the subject of additional screening.

"It may have been an overzealous salesman who said these shoes did not have a steel shank," Mr. McNamee said. "Or maybe it was a sensitive scanner, but I would try anything to get through security faster. I get frustrated standing in line watching people in boots that lace halfway up their legs. I am desperate to get a high-speed lane for business travelers. I'll give my fingerprints, hair samples, saliva, anything."

As most passengers have gotten used to the new security administration procedures, security delays have decreased significantly across the nation in the past year, the agency says. At many airports the majority of wait times recorded by the security administration now approximate its targeted goal of under 10 minutes, meaning all that travelers like Mr. McNamee have to do is wait.

from the NYT - by ERIC WILSON

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Clothes Do Make The Man ! - Or At Least The First Impression

2006-08-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

Clothes Do Make The Man! - Or At Least The First Impression

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression"
-- Will Rogers

How important really is what we wear?
Is there a cause/effect in how we are treated by the world? Does it make a difference in getting someone to help you in a Department store, or being seated at a good table in a restaurant? Can’t people look through all the superficial and see the real us?

Fortunately, we have some scientific evidence to support what you wear does make a difference in how you influence the world around you. Maybe we didn’t want to believe (but suspected) the real reason that guy down the hall who always dressed great, but didn’t know poop is now a vice president!

When your credibility is crucial, in situations such as job interviews, court testimony, sales presentations and first dates (or even second and third dates) it is important to made a "good" first impression.

Behavioral scientists tell us that this "first impression" is a strong one. And the process of sizing you up is on a subconscious/emotional level of the brain. Your evaluation by a stranger takes 30 seconds or less and can be so strong that it could take as much as five years to erase.

Don’t you think it’s easier to make a great first impression with you appearance and then follow up by showing what a capable, impressive and trustworthy person you are with a winning performance?

We’ve all heard the expression "You can’t judge a book by its cover". If you agree, it’s a good thing you’re not in publishing. Publishing houses have long since proven that a cover may not tell you what’s inside a book, but the cover is the reason that we pick up one or the other off the rack. Until a book is picked up, no sale is made!

A good example of "how you look being more important than what you say" is the first Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate. Radio listeners thought that Nixon had won while TV watchers gave Kennedy the win. Kennedy looked great, fresh and vigorous while Nixon appeared tired and rumpled. The TV audience gave more credibility to what they saw than what they heard.

When I describe someone as an assistant manger at a fast food restaurant you immediately conjure an image of that person, maybe without much conscious thought. When I mention a high level executive you get another, different image in your mind. There is a definite picture of a person with credibility, authority and power – a professional image.

Why not take advantage of the research on human nature and utilize the knowledge to enhance and control how you are accepted?

The research reports that people notice the following about another human being and in this order. Remember this is a prehistoric/subliminal evaluation.

1.Skin color
2.Sex
3.Age

We can do nothing about the first three, but we can work on the next four factors.

4.Bearing This includes height (taller people receive higher starting salaries), head movement (nodding is negative with regard to perception of authority) and body language (smiling is perceived as weakness if over done).

5.Appearance Since about 90% of us are covered by apparel, the clothing we choose makes a significant impact. This is such an important area, and on in which we can effect the greatest impression. We’ll discuss it detail below.

6.Direct Eye Contact Don’t stare, but look others in the eye 40 - 60% of the time, otherwise you’ll be perceived as having something to hide or that you don’t know what you are talking about.

7.Speech 55% of communication is non-verbal. It’s not what you say, but how you say it.

What you wear makes a difference in how you influence the world.
Why not take advantage of this. Since 90% of us is covered with clothing, the clothing you choose makes a significant impact and one area where we can effect the greatest impression!

Dressing badly can be taken as contempt for other people or the situation you are in. Clothing is a way to show others that you have respect and consideration for the situation. If you have respect for the theatre, you don’t show up in shorts and a T-shirt to a Broadway play. (The same goes for church, a job interview, etc.).

So it’s not a question of being judged. We are judged thousands of times everyday.

It’s a question of whether we want to have an affect on that judging or not.

Are we ready to see what we can do to present ourselves in the best package to project a credible, professional image?

Here are some basic tips, and faux pas to avoid in order to look your best:

1.Never wear a short sleeve shirt with a tie. Short sleeve shirts are perceived as lower class apparel. Fine as part of a uniform or if you aspire to be a fast-food manager, not if you want to project a professional image.

2.Shoes are one of the most evaluated elements of men’s wardrobes. Your shoes should be clean, shined, in good repair and appropriate for the occasion. If you are wearing a suit, wear lace-up shoes. Don’t wear the same shoe on consecutive days and keep shoetrees in your shoes when you’re not wearing them.

3.Trousers should be long enough to cover your socks, and socks should cover your shins even when you cross you legs. Pants are long enough if they have a slight break in the front. Pleats and cuffs are traditional and functional. Pleats let you sit down comfortably and cuffs add weight to the bottoms allowing for proper drape.

4.Wearing both a belt and braces (suspenders) make you look insecure. One or the other please. And if you opt for the braces, please make certain they are the kind that fasten inside your trousers with buttons.
It’s very easy to have a tailor or the alterations person at your dry cleaners put brace buttons on your pants if they don’t already have them. The metal clip-ons are for the guys who wear short sleeve shirts with ties.

5.Socks should match your trousers.

6.Belts should match your shoes in color and texture.
7.Ties should reach your belt line. This is neither arbitrary nor negotiable. Too short of a tie makes you look like a rube.

8.Properly knotted ties have a “dimple” under the knot. Clips and tacks are out of date.

9.Suit and Sports jackets are symbols of authority. However the bottom buttons of men’s jackets are not designed to be buttoned, since King Edward VII gained weight, and started a fashion trend.

About Buttons on Mens Suits
Single Breasted suits can have one, two, three or more buttons. Two and three button jackets are classic, one or more than three get you into the fashion forward arena, which is more suitable for social events than business. With two button jackets only the top button is fastened.

With three button jackets, you can close the middle, or middle and top button. Some suits are made so that the lapels roll to the middle button. On those suits you leave the top button unfastened. Some East Coast hipsters fasten only the top of three buttons!

Four or more button jackets may be designed to fasten all the buttons, even the bottom. If the bottom button of a four button can be closed without a noticeable pulling of the fabric, it’s ok to close or leave it open.

Double Breasted suits are the more formal of the two styles and can have four to six buttons with one or two “to button”. They are often identified by a two-number designation such as 4/2, 4/1 or 6/2 (also “four to two”).

Translated, the first number gives the total number of front buttons and the second is the number of functioning buttonholes. It doesn’t always mean that all the buttons have to be fastened.

Often only the middle or upper button is secured on a 4/2 or 6/2, but the Duke of Kent started buttoning only his lower button creating a longer diagonal line across his chest giving the wearer a thinner, more dynamic look.

10.Suit and Sports jackets should fit properly which includes showing ½” of “linen” or shirtsleeve at the jacket sleeve.

11.No pens or pocket protectors in your shirt pocket. Pens go in your suit coat inside pocket, out of sight. Also applies to telephones, etc. worn on the belt. Think about getting a nice briefcase!

12.Hair longer than shoulder length for women and over the ears for men diminishes perception of authority, but increases accessibility.

We live in a complex, crowded society where considerate people dress appropriately for various places and occasions. Dressing appropriately is about respect for your fellow humans and our institutions.

Men’s clothing, unlike women’s, is more traditional and less fashion oriented. It takes several seasons for men’s designers to change even slightly the width of a necktie.

The male business suit is virtually unchanged in 70 years! Part of that is the progression to perfection that has resulted in attire that looks great on most men. The theory is once you reach perfection, don’t mess with it!

So why even bother with fashion? Why not choose acceptable classic clothing items and just stick with those?

It’s important to know what the trends are, so you can update your wardrobe periodically with the fashion items IF they fit your own style and body type.

You don’t want to still be wearing a light blue member’s only jacket and red polyester Sansabelt pants, do you?

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Wool Specialty Fibers - For Mens Suits

2006-08-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

WOOL fabric brings to mind cozy warmth. Some wools are scratchy giving some people the idea that they are "allergic" to wool. Although wool fiber comes from a variety of animal coats, not all wool's are scratchy but rather extremely soft. The wool fibers have crimps or curls which create pockets and gives the wool a spongy feel and creates insulation for the wearer. The outside surface of the fiber consists of a series of serrated scales which overlap each other much like the scales of a fish. Wool is the only fiber with such serration's which make it possible for the fibers to cling together and produce felt. The same serration's will also cling together tightly when wool is improperly washed and shrinks! Wool will not only return to its original position after being stretched or creased, it will absorb up to 30% of its weight in moisture without feeling damp. Its unique properties allow shaping and tailoring, making the wool the most popular fabric for tailoring fine garments. Wool is also dirt resistant, flame resistant, and, in many weaves, resists wear and tearing.

Basically, there are two different processes used in wool production. Woolen fabrics have a soft feel and fuzzy surface, very little shine or sheen, will not hold a crease, and are heavier and bulkier than worsteds. Blankets, scarves, coating, and some fabrics are considered woolens. Worsted wool is smoother than woolen, takes shine more easily, does not sag, holds a crease well, is lighter and less bulky, and wears longer than woolen. Worsted wool's require a greater number of processes, during which fibers are arranged parallel to each other. The smoother, harder-surface worsted yarns produce smoother fabrics with a minimum of fuzziness and nap. Fine worsted wool is even seen in clothing for athletics such as tennis. No, they are not hotter than polyester but actually cooler, as the weave of the fabric allows wool to absorb perspiration and the fabric "breathes," unlike polyester.

WOOL SPECIALTY FIBERS, although still classified as wool, are further classified by the animal the fiber comes from.

Alpaca fleece is very rich and silky with considerable luster. It comes from the Alpaca.

Mohair is from the angora goat and is highly resilient and strong. Mohair's luster, not softness, determines its value. Mohair is used in home decorating fabrics as well as garment fabrics including tropical worsteds.

Angora wool is from the angora rabbit. This soft fiber is used in sweaters, mittens and baby clothes.

Camel hair is from the extremely soft and fine fur from the undercoat of the camel. Camel's hair can be used alone but is most often combined with fine wool for overcoating, topcoating, sportswear and sports hosiery. Because of the beauty of the color, fabrics containing camel's hair are usually left in the natural camel color or dyed a darker brown. Light weight and soft, it is said that a 22 oz. camel fabric is as warm as a 32 oz. woolen fabric.

Cashmere is from the Kasmir goat down. Separation of the soft fibers from the long, coarse hair is tedious and difficult, contributing to the expense of the fabric. The soft hair is woven or knitted into fine garments and can also be blended with silk, cotton, or wool.

Vicuna is the softest coat cloth in the world. The amount of coarse hair to be separated from the soft fibers is negligible and yields the finest animal fiber in the world. Vicuna is a member of the Llama family and is small and wild. Since it is generally killed to obtain the fleece, it is protected by rigorous conservation measures. This fiber is rare and very expensive, costing several hundred dollars per yard. One of the best, most luxurious wool for suits is the vicuna wool taken from the vicuna of the Andes mountains in South America.

The vicuña is a member of the camel family. It is the smallest of the six species of camel, and is thought to be the wild ancestor of the alpaca. It lives on the high, grassland plateaus of the Andes mountains which range from southern Peru to northern Chile and into parts of Bolivia and Argentina. Only tough bunch grasses and festuca grows here. The sun's ultraviolet rays burn through the thin atmosphere during the day. At night the heat of the day escapes into the atmosphere and the temperatures go down to freezing.

Although they look fragile, the vicuña is specially adapted to its high-altitude habitat. It has an incredibly thick, soft coat that traps layers of warm air close to its body and protects it from freezing temperatures. The lower teeth of the vicuña grow constantly, like a rodent's, so they can eat the tough grasses. The vicuña also walks on the soles of its feet so it can flex its toes and grab on to the rocks and gravel-covered slopes. Vicuña milk is very rich so the babies grow quickly.

Vicuñas weigh between 75-140 pounds. They are about 4-6 feet long and stand 2-3 1/2 feet at the shoulders. They have very long necks, round heads, and large, forward facing eyes. Their ears are long and pointed and stand up on their heads. Their fur is a rust color, with white around the muzzle,the chest, belly, and the insides of the legs. The white hair on their chests is longer than their other hair.
Vicuñas graze mostly on grasses. Their teeth are large and grow constantly like those of a rodent. They chew their cud when resting getting more nutrients out of the nutrient poor grass.

Vicuñas are very shy animals and run away very quickly. They have two territories that they defend from other herds; a feeding territory or about 45 acres, and a smaller sleeping area on higher ground where they are more protected. The vicuña live in herds of 5-10 members, which includes one dominant male and several females and their young. They mate in March and April and their young are born 11 months later. The young stay with their mother and the herd for another 10 months, when they are driven off by the herd. Young males will form bachelor groups and the young females try to find another group to join. This ensures that the herd stays the same size, which is important with their limited food supply.

The vicuña was almost hunted to extinction for its beautiful soft wool. The Incas used to round up the wild vicuñas and pen them in stone corrals, where they were sheared for their wool. In modern times they were almost wiped out for their meat and wool. By 1960 there were only 6,000 vicuñas left in the wild. Chile and Peru established protected national parks and put a halt to trade in vicuña wool. Now there are about 125,000 vicuñas, but they are still listed as threatened. The vicuña is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, and as endangered by the USDI

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Hire A Custom Tailor To Make Mens Suits And Mens Shirts

2006-07-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

If you can't find the clothes you're looking for at a store, consider having them made. Good tailors can create garments that reflect your personal style and fit your figure impeccably. They also can perform minor miracles when you need an item updated or altered.

The Steps:
1. Ask friends or your favorite online custom tailoring site for recommendations. A local fabric store is another possible source for referrals. Otherwise, look up "Custom Tailors" in any search engine.

2. Talk to tailors about their skills and experience. Do they specialize in a certain sort of work, such as bridal gowns or suits? Women's or men's clothing?

3. Check availability and turnaround time. If possible, give the tailor a deadline that's a few weeks before you need an item, in case of an unexpected delay.

4. Inquire about their rates. Although tailors should be able to give you a ballpark estimate, they'll need specifics before they will give you a firm price. Good websites though will display their pricing upfront.

5. For custom designs, ask to make sure they can replicate the style and design you have in mind.

6. Send any garments or pictures that would help illustrate what you'd like done. If a tailor is reluctant to try something, ask why; his or her expert opinion might change your mind.

7. Take advantage of what tailors can do to update or alter existing garments. Generally, it's far easier to take in or shorten clothes than to let them out or lengthen them. Adding cuffs, narrowing pants legs and changing necklines are all possible. Complexity adds to the price, and some alterations aren't worth it unless the piece is very high-quality, or a beloved, irreplaceable garment.

8. Once the tailor has a firm idea of what you expect, get a description of the work, the price and the delivery date in writing.

Overall Tips:Make sure that when sending in sizes, you measure both legs and arms for symmetry.

The more complex the job, the more the measurements and details will be required by the tailor.

What to look for:
Personal recommendation
Skills, experience, and specialization
Availability and price
Knowledge and thirst for detail.

Thailand and other Asian countries are known for having tailors and seamstresses who make exquisitely crafted custom-tailored clothes in a few days (or even a few hours) for unbelievable prices. A suit can be as inexpensive as $200 or shirts can be as economical as $40 for a good custom made one.

Steps:1. Ship any item of clothing that you want copied and send magazines and clothing catalogs that show designs you want made. A talented tailor can copy many garments swiftly and skillfully.

2. Ask other shoppers, view their testimonials to save your self time and money.

3. Browse fabrics, either at the tailor's site or in fabric stores. In addition to the variety of silks in Asia--such as raw silk, print silk, patterned silk and brocade--you can buy cotton and other fabrics. Flip through swatches in the site and tell them the fabrics and patterns. A tailor will charge for any fabric or trims you do not supply.

4. Give the tailor adequate guidance. If you're using a picture for reference or duplicating an article of clothing, explain any modifications you want to the piece. For example, perhaps you like a dress shirt in a photo, but you don't want the chest pocket, or you may want a slit up both sides of a suit coat, not just the back center.

5. Discuss price in advance. Expect to pay a flat rate that includes measurement and fittings. If ordering more than a few items you can always expect some sort of discount - either a flat dollar or percentage amount or a free custom made item.

6. Find out when the clothes will be ready. However, make sure you allow enough time.

You can have clothes custom-made for friends and family if you have their measurements. Ask if the tailor will continue the relationship via mail, if you want future garments created.

What to look for:
Clothing you want copied
Magazines and catalogs
Trusted referrals
Quality fabrics
Adequate guidance
Upfront price agreement

We remain with best regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Accessories For Mesn Custom Clothing

2006-05-17T22:14:00.000-07:00

You know the importance of a great wardrobe, and you take extra care to make sure you have an adequate amount of shirts, sweaters and pants to take you through every season with just the right touch of style. And shoes... you have learned the value of the right pair, especially when women make it known that you've got the shoes to make "it" happen.
But there are other items available for men that can make the difference between super style and super-sizing your style. This is not the kind of accessorizing women advocate; I'm not talking about the importance of a purse for every outfit and jewelry to make you look like royalty. I am referring to items that most men take for granted, such as a belt, cufflinks, a signature pen, and more.
These accessories can add that touch of class you need whether you're at work or out on the town, and serve to put the "pow" in power.

The Neck Tie
So you have more than 20 ties, but that doesn't mean you have the tie, the one that makes or breaks your ensemble by completely altering a shirt. If you're tempted to spend a bit more on a designer tie, whose slickness cannot compare to a lesser-known brand, take the plunge only if there is a noticeable difference. As well, keep in mind that less can be more, and while stripes (especially diagonal ones) or polka dots do liven up a suit or dress shirt, a slick and simple tie like a satin black or gray one should not be underestimated -- especially if you've got a whole tone-on-tone thing going on.

Cufflinks and/or Tie Clip
Cufflinks are considered men's jewelry, so enjoy the effect they can have on a dress shirt. From sterling silver cufflinks like the ones featured here and monogrammed ones, to a pair of unique, antique cufflinks adorned with a precious stone like mother of pearl, there are a variety of options available to suit you and link you to any style you want. As for a tie clip, although they are usually associated with "stuffy" professions, a silver or gold tie clip can add a subtle touch to the perfect tie.

The Money clip
Speaking of clips, a money clip helps you get rid of the bulge in your back pocket caused by your wallet, not to mention that it looks slick when you need to access your cash and plastic. If you prefer a wallet, just make sure it's leather (preferably black) and makes you look as though you have a lot in your bank account, no matter how much you're packing. Both stainless steel and black leather money clips will do the trick, especially the Montblanc one to the right.

A Belt
You score two points for knowing that your belt should match your shoes. Now you need to know that a stylish belt is a necessity for strapping style. If you're in the market for one, your best bet is a black leather belt with a silver buckle (regular or plaque buckle). Add other belts to your collection like brown, canvas, or suede as extra luxuries. The right black leather belt is a must for dress pants, suits and more.

A Bag
Get over the emasculating feeling of carrying around a bag; you're only allowed to feel that way when your woman relegates you to holding her bag when you're shopping together. A black or brown, rich, leather portfolio case or clutch is not only practical for carrying around important documents and essential belongings like keys, money and a cell phone, but it also makes you look like the VIP you are. A nylon bag or money belt just doesn't have the same effect as this Salvatore Ferragamo clutch, especially when you're decked out in your nicest gear.

A Business Card Case
It's one thing to have the right business card, but it's quite another to keep it in the right place. The power of a presentable business card is multiplied when you take it out of a case rather than your pocket. By storing your cards in a case, you're ensuring that they remain in good condition while making sure associates and clients take notice. Doesn't your personal advertisement deserve proper treatment?

A Pen
Imagine running into a former classmate and writing a note on your business card (see above). While you might use your PDA's stylus more than an actual ballpoint, you should always have a sophisticated pen handy for when you need to sign a check, jot down directions, or take note of an important phone number (you never know, right?). The perfect pen, such as this Tateossian pen can even be considered a piece of jewelry, and is an accessory every businessman must carry around.

Your Watch
Speaking of jewelry, a watch is a must for any and every man. If you are to wear any jewelry, this is the one piece to wear -- there are no excuses. Treat yourself to a watch that points to power, elegance, sophistication, and well, time. The style you choose should be a reflection of you; so if a Rolex or Breitling is "you," but you can't afford it, there are plenty of other watches that can do the trick until you gradually work your way up to the top. Once you get the right watch, you'll need it to make it to all the hot dates that are sure to come your way.

An Umbrella
If you use public transportation, then I don't need to list off the advantages of an umbrella, but by the looks of what some men out there use, it seems that I do need to explain the importance of a nice, high-quality one. It's one of those things we take for granted; if it's nice, no one notices, but if it looks like something you purchased at the dollar store, everyone will pay attention, and that's not the kind of attention you want to attract. So it doesn't hurt to pay a bit more for a nice umbrella (unless you tend to lose them). No need to go all-out and buy a designer one, but there is a need to purchase a dark-colored one like this black one, which looks strong enough for a man. There's nothing wrong with using a corporate umbrella to advertise your place of employment, as long as the company logo is subtle and tasteful. And if it's big enough for two, I don't even need to explain the additional advantage...

A Scarf and black leather gloves
In the same vein, a scarf is an accessory you absolutely cannot neglect; if you need to bear chilly conditions on the way to work or even while going downtown to hit the scene, make sure you have a scarf that wraps you with style and comfort. I recommend a black, charcoal or even camel one, and bonus points for cashmere or an equally rich-looking wool (this cashmere one is by Glen Heath). If you tend to care for your items and seldom lose things, splurge on a Burberry scarf or at least one that looks like high quality. As well, black leather gloves go a long way and add a level of sophistication that most men wish they could achieve.

A Lighter
If you smoke the occasional cigar, then a cool silver or black lighter can serve as a great ice breaker or conversation piece. This is more appropriate for a night out, as this accessory will come in handy when that beautiful lady across the bar needs a light.

Knowing how to dress and which trends suit you best is important, but knowing which accessories can add that extra "oomph" to any outfit is also key if you want to take your class and level of coolness to the highest of heights.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Halach Compliant Non Shatnez Custom Clothing

2006-05-09T01:47:00.000-07:00

Certain things go together naturally, like peas and carrots. And certain things don't, like toothpaste and orange juice.

The Torah teaches about the power of combinations and warns against mixing the wrong things together. One of these is the prohibition against wearing a mixture of wool and linen in the same piece of clothing, as it is written, "You shall not wear combined fibers, wool and linen together" (Deut. 22:11).

In Hebrew, this forbidden mixture is called "shatnez" (pronounced shot-nezz).

Shatnez is an acronym for "combed, spun and woven," which describes the stages in processing fabric: combing the raw fiber, spinning fibers into a thread, and weaving the threads into cloth.

The mitzvah of shatnez still applies today. We observe the mitzvah by checking manufacturer labels on the clothes we buy, and by sending suspicious items (like wool suits and coats) to a "shatnez laboratory" for checking.

Clothes are a unique part of being human; only people wear clothes. Shatnez is a constant reminder that all our actions must be "kosher."

Interestingly, "holy garments" are exempt from the prohibition of shatnez. For example, the special garments worn by a Kohen while serving in the Holy Temple contained both wool and linen. Similarly, it is theoretically permitted to wear tzitzit that has shatnez (though there are technical factors which don't allow this today). The explanation may be that these garments are already inherently "kosher."

WHAT'S THE REASON?
The Torah does not explain the reason for shatnez, and it is categorized as a chok -- a law whose logic is not evident. The Torah has many such laws; we do not know why pork is forbidden, for example. And the prohibition of shatnez is equally strong.

Why did God make a chok in the first place? What's the purpose of a commandment whose reason we have no inkling of?

The power of a chock is as follows: If the reasons for all the mitzvot were as obvious as "don't murder" or "don't steal," then a person could go through life without developing a relationship with God. How so? Just as there are many fine, upstanding people who don't murder -- not because they believe in God, but simply because they understand that it's wrong -- we might likewise observe mitzvot simply because they "make sense."

Leaving God out of the picture would be missing the point entirely. That would be humanism, not Judaism.

Having said all this, God still wants us to use our intellect to understand the mitzvot to the best of our ability. Thus the commentators suggest different "explanations" for shatnez.

One idea is that he mixing wool and linen upsets the environmental and/or metaphysical fabric of the universe. God created different species that work together in the symphony of creation. Our job is to respect and appreciate this diversity and help maintain this special orderliness.

The Midrash suggests that the reason stems from the story of Cain and Abel, as recorded in Genesis chapter 4. Cain brought God an offering of flax (the source of linen) and Abel brought a sheep (wool). The incident resulted in Cain killing Abel, and it was thus decreed that never again shall the two substances mix.

This is perhaps hinted to by the Torah juxtaposing the prohibition of shatnez with the imperative to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18-19). Each person must cherish his own uniqueness and not feel threatened by others. Cain did not understand that he and his brother had different tasks in life, different roles in creation.

PRACTICAL LAWS OF SHATNEZ

Shatnez is forbidden when it is worn as a normal garment -- i.e. to protect from the cold, rain and heat.

It is therefore permitted to try on a new outfit for size, even though it may contain shatnez.

Even the smallest amount of shatnez is forbidden. For example, if you have a wool suit and the buttons are sewn with linen thread, it is forbidden to wear the suit until the linen thread is removed.

Someone who discovers they are wearing shatnez is required to remove the garment immediately.

It is likewise forbidden for a Jew to manufacture or sell shatnez clothing, unless he can be certain that only non-Jews will purchase it.

Getting Clothes Checked
Clothes that list wool or linen on the label should be taken to a certified shatnez laboratory, where they will be checked under a microscope. Checking a suit usually costs around $10.

Even though only one of the two forbidden fibers is listed, the odds of finding shatnez is greatly increased. Manufacturers are not required by law to reveal every element in their clothing. Even if a garment says 100 percent wool, it may legally still contain linen threads. For example, linen neckties often have a wool lining.

Garments are usually safe from shatnez if neither linen nor wool are mentioned on the label. Though men's suits and winter coats should be checked for shatnez regardless of the listed materials.

Also be aware of clothes containing reprocessed materials or unknown fibers, frequently listed on garment tags as O.F. (other fibers).

In many cases, the shatnez can be easily removed because the wool and linen are not combined in the basic fabric of the garment. Once the shatnez is removed, it becomes permitted to wear the garment.
For example, shatnez is commonly found in men's suits which are made of wool or wool blends. To retain the shape of the collar area, a canvas stiffener is generally sewn into the collar, and linen is the fabric considered by the clothing industry as being the best material for this purpose. The more expensive the suit, the greater the likelihood that linen is used. If linen is found in a collar canvas, it can easily be removed and replaced with a non-linen canvas.

ONE GARMENT WORN OVER ANOTHER

There are a few more details about shatnez that are important to know.

It is permitted to wear a linen garment over a wool garment, or vice versa, since they are not attached to each other. For example, it is permitted to wear a linen jacket and wool pants, or a linen scarf wrapped around a wool dress, or a linen tie under a wool jacket.

Buttoning a wool and linen garment together -- even on a permanent basis -- is not considered an attachment because the garments can be easily unfastened. It is therefore permitted to wear a wool coat together with an inner lining of linen, if they are buttoned (but not sewn) together. The same applies with snaps or Velcro, since they can be easily detached.

There is one restriction, however, in wearing wool and linen garments on top of each other: One needs to determine if the inner garment can somehow be removed without completely removing the outer garment. If not, then the garments are considered attached to one another. Therefore, wearing wool pants over linen underwear is considered shatnez. So when wearing one garment of wool and one of linen -- like coats, sweaters, jackets, dresses and blouses -- one must determine if the garments underneath can be removed without removing the top one first.

NON-GARMENTS
One final issue:

While the Torah prohibits wearing shatnez ("shatnez on the body"), "shatnez beneath the body" (e.g. upholstery and carpets) is forbidden by rabbinical prohibition. Therefore, sitting, lying, or walking on shatnez is prohibited when there is the concern that the shatnez material may come off and cling to the body.

This prohibition largely depends on the softness of materials used. For example, if the shatnez material used in the seat of a chair is soft or plush, it is forbidden to sit on the chair.

Wool carpets can also be a problem, as linen is sometimes used as a backing. Walking barefoot or sitting on a shatnez carpet would be prohibited where there is direct body contact. If the carpet is tightly woven, and loose threads are unlikely to come off, the carpet would not be a problem.

If there is doubt about the fabric content of upholstery and carpets, you should arrange to have them checked by a shatnez laboratory.

There is a story about the "Steipler," a great 20th century rabbi. He arranged for a date with a young woman in a distant town, which necessitated taking a train to get there. The night before the train ride, he stayed up all night learning Torah, thinking that he could make up his lost sleep on the train. But upon entering the train, he suspected that the seat cushions contained shatnez -- and wound up standing throughout the entire journey, continuing to study.

When the Steipler arrived and met the young woman (actually the sister of the Chazon Ish) for their "first date," he proceeded to fall asleep right away. The woman was riled, but upon checking into the matter she discovered what had happened -- and was so impressed that she insisted they be married!

For further reading, see the book, "A Guide to Shatnez," by Rabbi Dovid Loebenstein.

We Remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How To Keep Your Tailored Clothes Clean

2006-04-24T00:21:00.000-07:00

Different Types of Cleaning - How to Keep your Clothes cleanDry CleaningDry Cleaning is by definition, cleaning with solvents and little or no water. The combination of solvents and heat is hard on fabrics and may cause as much wear as actual wearing of the garment. Perchlorethylene, the cleaning fluid used by most dry cleaners, is the most effective cleaner so far for most all types of fabrics. However, "perc" as it is called in the dry-cleaning industry is classified as a hazardous air pollutant by the Clean Air Act. Perc is toxic. Dry cleaning customers should take their garments out of the plastic bags and air their garments after dry cleaning.
You, the consumer, can inform yourself when selecting a dry cleaner. Common sense will cover the basic questions such as the appearance of the dry cleaning store - - - Is it neat and clean or dirty and cluttered? Is the location convenient and are they open when you need to drop of or pick up your dry cleaning?

Technical considerations include solvent purity. Solvent must be distilled to remove greases, oils, waxes and dyes. Poor solvent purity or quality can result in an objectionable odor in the garment and a "graying" of white clothing.

Pressing after cleaning should also be considered. Most anyone can press wool pants but it takes a skilled professional presser to do a quality job on linen and silk items. If the dry cleaner cannot explain the difference in pressing linen and silk versus wool directly and authoritatively, it is doubtful that these garments will be handled with the care they require.
Linen can withstand higher heat when ironed, and should be pressed when damp. Silk requires a lower temperature iron and should be steam ironed, preferably with a press cloth. Wool should be pressed with steam and a moderate temperature.

Packaging of the cleaned garment is also important. A garment can be cleaned and pressed well but if it is jammed into a small bag, it can become a wrinkled mess. Jamming too many finished and bagged garments into the dry cleaners rack can also wrinkle finished garments.

Finally, develop a dialogue with your dry cleaner. Note the type of stains that you have on your garment and list it for the dry cleaner. Their pre-spotting will help eliminate stains that could otherwise be heat set after the garment is cleaned.

Be an informed and fair consumer. Not all spots can be removed especially if you, the consumer, have pressed the stain into the fabric. Many stains can be heat set. Garment care is the responsibility of both you and your dry cleaner.

Wet Cleaning

Wet Cleaning is described as a new process by some cleaning establishments.
They advertise that their process will replace dry cleaning and the environmentally dangerous solvents they use. However, until this process is perfected and proven to effectively replace dry cleaning, caution should be used by the consumer. Wet cleaning is accomplished by using water based chemicals. Some cleaning establishments actually claim to have this service but just hand wash the garment and then professionally press the garment.
This process works well with some fabrics which have manufacturers labels stating "hand wash". Garments with labels printed "dry clean only" may shrink, fade, or wrinkle so badly that pressing does not restore then original look of the fabric.

New "wet cleaning" stores are available in some areas. The "wet cleaning"
process involves computer controlled machines, soap, conditioners and finishers. This new process is supposed to replace dry cleaning. However, until the wet cleaning process has been thoroughly tested, care should be taken before taking your favorite "dry clean only" garments to the new establishments. Outer fabric, interfacings, linings, shoulder pads, and finishes all react differently when washed. Some fabrics shrink or change shape when washed. Some shoulder pads are designed for dry cleaning only and may fall apart when washed.

Professional Laundering

Professional laundering is offered by most dry cleaners. Washable garments are professionally washed and pressed. Men's and women's shirts are often bleached and starched according to the manufacturers label. Some of the laundering is done with very hot water which may shrink the interfacing or stiffening used in collars and cuffs. Less expensive garments may use interfacing that either shrinks or comes loose with very hot water. These garments cannot be fixed.

Starching shirts and other cotton or cotton/polyester garments is common.
The basic function of starch is to stiffen the garment. Incidental use is to prevent stains from penetrating the fiber. However, starch leaves minute crystals in the fiber and can often wear the garment out faster than a garment that has not been starched. The choice is then appearance versus longer life for your garment.

Home Laundering

Home Laundering is not only easier to control but can add life to your garments. Choosing a detergent for home laundering is a daunting task!

Detergents are chemical compounds that contain wetting agents and emulsifiers. Technically detergents are called "Synthetic Detergents" as they are not made from fats and lye from which soap is made. Generally the labels on the detergent inform you, the consumer, and make the choice easier.

General purpose laundry detergents work well on most washable fabrics. Some detergents take more product for each wash as fillers are used by the detergent manufacture. Recently, detergent companies have started to reduce the amount of fillers in their products, thus the amount of detergent required per load of laundry is less. Read the label to determine various additives. Added bleach may gradually remove the dyes or color unless the garment is colorfast to bleach. Most all detergents have "surfactants" this is nothing new. Whiteners can be either bleach or bluing agents. More expensive is not always better.

Soap is not the same as detergents. All detergents are soaps but not all soaps are detergents. Confused? Soap was first used in 600 BC Soap was first made by boiling goat fat, water, and ash high in potassium carbonate.
Although soap has been improved over the years, it still leaves a deposit we call "soap scum" in the shower and bath. This scum is difficult to remove from fabrics if soap is used in the laundry.

Chlorine bleaches can safely be used on cotton, cotton/polyester and some man made fabrics. Consult the garment care label or properties of individual fibers listed in this booklet.

Hand washing detergents can be used for home laundry when cleaning fine fabrics. These products are often effective when using cold water. However, not all hand washing detergents are milder than regular laundry products although they are often more expensive. Properties to look for when using hand washing detergents include use in cold water, quick dissolving in cold water, and complete rinsing of the detergent after the wash.

To test hand washing detergents or any detergent, dissolve recommended amount of detergent in a quart of cold water. Allow the detergent and water to sit for 24 hours. Note the residue, if any, in the bottom of the quart jar. This residue may be difficult to rinse out of your garment.

Shampoos can also be used for hand washing garments. Use a good shampoo, not one containing "creme rinse". If your shampoo cleans your hair and leaves it shiny with no residues, it usually cleans your garment too.

Fabric softeners, both liquid and dryer sheets, add products to your fabrics. Some of the softeners are wax based which leaves a coating on the fibers creating a feel of softer but reducing the absorbency of the fiber.
Some softeners have a perfume that is allergy related for many people. If you have ever used a fabric softener dryer sheet with your polyester garments, you may have seen "grease" spots appear on your garment. This is actually a wax and can be removed by re-washing.

Some Tips and Tricks for stain removal
If you have stains on your suits, other than having them cleaned by professional dry cleaners, here are a few 'quick fixes' you can try:

Lipstick - Use hot water to rub off the oil base, then use soap to wash off

Alcohol - Breathe tobacco smoke on it to prevent rings from forming, then wash off with hot water or rubbing alcohol

Blood - Rub off with hydrogen peroxide

Ball Pen - Use petrol to rub off stain, then wash off with soap

Chewing Gum - Do not attempt to peel it off as it will stick deeper into fabric fibre. Put ice on it to solidify the gum. then peel it off when it gets hard.

Drinks - Use diluted vinegar to wash it off

Soy Sauce - Rub off with ginger juice

Shoe Polish - Rub off with petrol

Coffee - Rub off with hot water, then wash off with soap

Mercurochrome - Wash off with diluted vinegar

Rust - Rub off with lemon

Perfume Stain - Rub off gently with rubbing alcohol

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Some Materials Used In Mens And Womens Custom Made Suits

2006-04-18T02:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a comprehensive list of all materials and accessories used in making and building mens and womens custom made business suits -

Body Canvass

There are basically 2 types of canvass used, each type has a like medium & hard grade. Depending on the original consultation & the cloth, this would depend on what canvass would be used & what grade. The basic 2 grades used are woolen canvass & linning canvass
Hair Cloth
There are several different types of hair cloth used of numerous grades. I personaly use about 10 different grades depending on the construction of the coat & the weight of the cloth, shall we say for simplicity number 1 grade is very lightweight number 2 is slightly heavier & number 10 is obviously the heaviest. Again, taking the cloth & the customers original consultation into account I would chose the most appropriate hair cloth.

Domette
This is a fine cloth used to cover the hair cloth over the canvass stopping the hair cloth coming through the canvass & cloth. Some of the older tailors still do not use Domette but prefer using felt (please advise these tailors that it is now 2004 & cloth has changed in the last decade. Customer don’t just want to look good but also feel good in what they are wearing).

Body Lining

There are dozens of types of body lining to chose from, again depending on the original consultation you may chose to have a pure silk lining or
Acetate Poult - Black, White, Ivory and Greige
Acetate Microfibre Lining
Acetate/Bemberg Lining
Acetate/Viscose Satin Lining
Bemberg 100% Ponginette Lining
Bemberg Taffeta Shot Lining
Bemberg Twill Lining
Silk/Viscose Linings
Viscose/Acetate Shot Twill Lining
Viscose Rayon Heavy Twill - Military Cols.
Viscose S/L Regency Stripes
Viscose Satin Lining - Tailoring shades
Viscose Twill Lining
Ermazine Lining – Viscose
Coloured Linnings

Linen

There are several types of linen, again this would depend on the cloth. The linen is commonly used on the backing of the pockets for strength & in the cuffs where the button holes & the buttons are sewn. It can also be used at the bottom of the jacket, on the back neck & on the back syes.

Pocketing

Yes…. You’ve guessed it, there are several different types & grades & also colours. We prefer to generally use a medium weight pocketing with matching colour to the garment. More information on request as I have a personal fettish on pocketing
Collar Melton

This can be found under your collar, it is the felt like cloth which is one of 2 pieces to complete the under collar (Collar Canvass being the second part). This should always be cut on the bias & generally be of similar colour to the cloth. This is not to say you could not use a red colour melton on a blue or black jacket & create a feature of it.

Collar Canvass

There are basically 3 types of collar canvass, type 1 is a linen canvass cut on the bias generally used by Anderson & Sheppard (Savile Row). This creates a very soft collar, unfortunately it can also look a little messy in my opinion if done wrong. Type 2 is a medium grade canvass which is much stiffer & type 3 is a slightly harder canvass from type 2.
When trying a garment on for the first time, generally it will look brownish in colour on your fitting, this is the collar canvass.

Stay Tape (Linen)
Stay tape is used on the front edges of the coat, generally it would be made from linen. It is to help the front edges not to stretch or twist & should always be sewn on by hand. You will probably never see this as the facings would be sewn on for your next fitting.

Sleeve Head Wadding

This is a pre-made wadding specifically used to go around the sleeve head when finished. It is sleeve head wadding that gives the roundness to a sleeve around your shoulders. In 22 years of tailoring, only 1 company does not use this method – Anderson & Sheppard who uses a small piece of domette cut on the bias with a small strip of wadding inside & folded thus giving the soft round shoulders & sleeve head which have made Anderson & Sheppard famous.

Shoulder Pads

As a company I have a choice of over 5000 shoulder pads, we have chosen to use 3 pads that are made exclusively for us & re modeled by each of our tailor to our individual requirements. Again, Anderson & Sheppard do not use (well they didn’t use, not saying they don’t now use….. but not saying they don’t use shoulder pads) to simply say they use wadding covered by a piece of lining which they call a ‘shoulder pad’ giving that soft shoulder look.

Button Twist

Button twist is used to make button holes, there a thousands of colours, but generally most tailors will only use 1 or 2 makes for the simple reason of quality of twist.

Button Gimp
This is used when making button holes. The gimp is placed along the button hole & the button twist is sewn around the gimp giving the button hole a slightly stiffer finish. There are several different grades of gimp.

Sewing Silk
Sewing silk is used on hand sewing, your linings will be sewn with sewing silk, the under collar where the melton attaches itself to the cloth is also sewn with sewing silk, but can also be used to sew shoulders & sleeves by hand.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Flight Suits And Dress When Travelling

2006-02-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

By ERIC WILSON for NY times

IT'S the beginning of another summer travel season, and passengers at some of the busiest airports look little different than if they were shopping at a mall, their increasingly casual wardrobe of T-shirts and shorts having eclipsed any remnants of the golden era of travel, that time before airline deregulation led to cheap tickets, when dressing for the airport meant dressing up.

But take a closer look, and it's apparent that many travelers are even less well dressed than if they were at the mall. Savvy passengers have discerned the subtleties of passing hassle free through the Transportation Security Administration's checkpoints. Chic at the airport this summer means no lace-up dress shoes, no belts, no heavy-metal jewelry, no jackets required.

Dressing up isn't worth the effort when it is likely to lead to the sort of indignities experienced last week by Donna Repko, a business traveler at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. After passing through security in the late afternoon rush on her way home to Boston, Ms. Repko suddenly turned to a screener and said with a sense of urgency, "I think my jacket got caught in your machine." A moment later, a gray plastic bin poked its way through the X-ray machine. Scrunched beneath it was a ball of white pleated cotton, smudged with black streaks. "This is why I don't dress up for travel," Ms. Repko said.

For decades, the old fashioned have lamented the way young people - and now most people - dress for air travel. The advent of more stringent security measures in the nearly four years since the 9/11 attacks might have been expected to usher in a return to formal dressing, as a way of appearing respectable and drawing less scrutiny. But in fact the opposite seems to have happened.

"If you have on a fine suit, you don't want to fold it up and put it through that machine," said Richard B. Lanman, a medical lecturer from Los Altos, Calif., who travels at least three days a week. "I think there is generally an incentive to be more casual. I'm more inclined to dress down. There has been a continual degradation of any fashion sense in the past decade. You can't believe what you're seeing." Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for the security administration, said there was no style of dress or item of clothing that led screeners to single out passengers for extra scrutiny.

Among the 50 or so passengers interviewed this month at airports in New York, Atlanta and Chicago, there was no consensus about whether any clothes attracted extra attention. But there was wide agreement that the simpler and more dressed-down, the more efficient the experience.

On its Web site, the security administration advises against wearing metallic jewelry, belt buckles and hidden body piercings and says passengers who set off the metal detector will be subject to hand-wanding or a pat-down that includes the torso. "Screeners do have some discretion and can refer a passenger to additional screening if they notice any irregularity to a passenger's contour, or if it appears there is an item protruding underneath their clothing," Ms. Davis said.

At Kennedy Airport in New York last week , passengers who would normally consider themselves fashionable were willing to commit a faux pas to get through security. John Robshaw, a textiles executive, wore a denim shirt tucked into denim jeans, but no belt. Sarah Flood, an oncology nurse, was in white short shorts, a green T-shirt and blue hoodie that matched her carry-on bag. "This is not my fashion day," she said, a newly purchased bohemian cotton skirt, the look of the season, packed in her checked luggage.

As they have become conditioned to the intrusiveness of modern security measures, undressing and redressing in front of revolving casts of strangers, travelers have developed new routines of composure, evolving their wardrobes to speed them along. And clothing makers have come up with innovations to meet their needs. Shoe companies like Florsheim, Clarks and Rockport sell "airport friendly" shoes without steel shanks. Underwear makers promote support bras made without an underwire, as even a small bit of metal can trigger a sensitive alarm.

"Americans have simplified the way they dress for travel," said Valerie Steele, the chief curator of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. "It's not a question of dressing better or worse. It's about dressing in a way that is more transparent."

At the USAir terminal at LaGuardia Airport in New York, the sartorial adaptations to modern air travel played out with a sense of theater. After collecting their boarding passes, a handful of businessmen stepped over to a ficus tree and rested their briefcases on a concrete planter as they patted themselves down, checked their pants pockets for keys, coins, pagers and cell phones, which they transferred to bags or jackets, then removed the jackets and merged into the line waiting to pass through security.

Without being told, they took off their shoes and placed them into gray plastic bins. They neatly folded their jackets - the pockets now full of the metal objects of everyday necessity - on top of their bags.

"People travel a lot differently today than they did 20 or 30 years ago," said Joanne Smith, the president of Song Airlines, Delta's discount division. For professional women, wearing a jacket now means wearing something underneath that won't cause embarrassment when the jacket is removed. Those who will only wear high heels sometimes have to make other concessions.

"I usually wear dress heels, and I take them off to avoid further screening," Ms. Smith said. "I don't like to be barefoot, so I put a pair of socks in my bag or I always try to wear hose. I know. I'm a glamour don't. But I feel very old fashioned that way."

Bishop Cheen, a financial analyst, said he had to dress up for business, and after a meeting in Manhattan on an unseasonably hot and humid spring day, Mr. Cheen, 56, was wearing a slightly disheveled suit, which he paired with an overstuffed Jansport backpack to keep his hands free while fumbling with his boarding pass and ID for his trip home to Charlotte, N.C.

He had it down to a science: he pulled a plastic identification holder from the backpack and slipped his driver's license inside, displayed on a string of metal beads around his neck.

"If I wasn't traveling for business, I'd be in a T-shirt, and I wouldn't be wearing these shoes," he said, pointing to his lace-ups.

Men like Mr. Lanman, the medical lecturer, have another secret: wearing a dress shirt with a pocket to store their boarding passes and identification, although it didn't appear to be much of a secret on a recent Delta flight to Atlanta, where business class resembled a nerd convention, recalling the days of pocket protectors. "I'm in a constant feud with my wife over this," Mr. Lanman said. "She says it's not cool."

The most obvious difference in the way people dress since security measures were increased is the popularization of easily removable footwear like loafers, flip-flops and sandals. More than a quarter of the people traveling that afternoon at LaGuardia wore flip-flops. Having slipped out of their footwear to be screened, they looked like members of a religious pilgrimage.

On its Web site, the security administration pointedly says passengers are "not required" to remove their shoes before entering a walk-through metal detector. Screeners, the site says, might "encourage" them to do so if they are wearing boots, platform shoes or the many kinds of dress shoes that contain metal. But even the casual traveler seems to suspect duplicity in this policy. The widespread assumption is that refusing to remove one's shoes is a red flag to screeners.

Doug McNamee, who works for a pharmaceuticals company, bought a pair of loafers specifically designed for modern air travel last month. He said he was told the shoes had no metal in them. But the first trip he took, the shoes caused Mr. McNamee to become the subject of additional screening.

"It may have been an overzealous salesman who said these shoes did not have a steel shank," Mr. McNamee said. "Or maybe it was a sensitive scanner, but I would try anything to get through security faster. I get frustrated standing in line watching people in boots that lace halfway up their legs. I am desperate to get a high-speed lane for business travelers. I'll give my fingerprints, hair samples, saliva, anything."

As most passengers have gotten used to the new security administration procedures, security delays have decreased significantly across the nation in the past year, the agency says. At many airports the majority of wait times recorded by the security administration now approximate its targeted goal of under 10 minutes, meaning all that travelers like Mr. McNamee have to do is wait.

We remain with Best Regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

What Is British Cut And What Is American Cut

2006-02-19T21:22:00.000-08:00

To know the difference, we must examine the cut of a mens suit. In the British American tradition, there are only two silhouettes that have historically been cut into suit patterns.

The American cut is a 3 button, natural shoulder jacket, with a notched lapel, and a welt upper pocket and flap pockets below. The jacket is vented in the center back. The top button is not buttoned, but is actually on a part of the lapel which is rolled, so that the jacket fastens at the middle button only, as the bottom button is left open. The top buttonhole is finished on both sides, and is intended to be seen. The shoulders of this silhouette are soft and gently sloping. The stance of the fastened button is higher than the waist, and the jacket itself is not darted inward to the waist, so that the entire look is one of comfort, but rather square in shape. Though this pattern does not follow the body's shape, it is easy fitting, with wider armholes. In its most traditional form, this silhouette has a "sack" shape, almost boxlike. It is usually paired with straight front trousers with cuffs, and the trousers do not break (fall forward with a crease) on the shoe.

The British cut is a 2 button, natural shoulder jacket, with a notched lapel, and a welt upper pocket, with flap pockets below. The top button is buttoned, and the lower button is left unbuttoned. The stance of the fastened button is to the waist, for a longer, more graceful look than the American sack jacket. Several other aspects of the silhouette accentuate this longer look: first, the jacket is slightly tapered at the waist by darting. Secondly, the shoulders, while soft, are a bit more shaped than the American model. The armholes are higher to the arm, and there are two side vents in the back. All of these elements conspire to give the appearance that the jacket conforms to the lines of the body, though not rigidly. In fact, typical of English jackets is the "blade" which is the fold beside the shoulder attachment on the back of the jacket, which provides the extra fabric for ease of movement. The British jacket is typically paired with pleated trousers, slightly tapered, whose cuffs break to cover about 2/3 of the shoe.

There is also another British style widely admired in America - the double-breasted suit, gently tapered, with a firm but natural shoulder, and side rear vents. This style buttons one, second from the bottom button, out of six front buttons. Keep in mind that a double-breasted jacket is always buttoned! Some double-breasted jackets are cut to fasten at the lowest button only. This is a result of a style made popular by the Duke of Kent, the brother of David, the Duke of Windsor. It allows for a longer look, as the lapel appears longer. The lapels are peaked, the upper pocket is welted, and the lower pockets are either flap or inset besom. The trousers are pleated.

We remain with best regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Making Of A Bespoke Mens Suit - By A Custom Tailor.

2005-12-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

After 22 years of tailoring, I’ve been asked to write how to make a bespoke suit.

Firstly, we must assume we have taken an order by way of a customer coming into our premises. What happens, personally John & I have a very relaxed & business attitude towards serving customers. We feel it’s better to be relaxed when spending money, rather than going into some stuffy nosed over priced tailors who spend a fortune of your money marketing themselves.

One of the first things that we would establish is what the customer would use the garment for, it may be a simple business suit for travelling, therefore as a tailor we should be looking at certain cloths that would not crease & would be more practical for this. Or, it may be a luxury suit possibly a wedding suit, it is for the tailor to gather the information & make the customer feel relaxed. My personal advice is that you should feel that the sales person is listening to you. On many occasions I’ve seen new customers come in with screwed up wrinkly coats made from beautiful cloth that they have been sold by over enthusiastic sales people suggesting it would be an appropriate garment for travelling.

Once you have determined the cloth & your still not sure if it is exactly what you want, do not hesitate to hold the order (hold the order is simply asking them not to order to cloth in, but to reserve the cloth from the cloth merchants, thus giving you time to make your mind up …… pleased don’t take long).

You have now chosen the cloth, we will talk about the cloth as in the different types and the practicalities of several different manufactures & qualities.

There are some wonderful companies that produce superb light weight cloths like Scabals who I’ve recently made a suit with extra trousers. The cloth was a super 150 with cashmere at 7-8oz costing well over one thousand UK pounds. Personaly, I thought the cloth was beautiful, but unfortunately I think we could have used a better cloth to get the end result (Hey what do I know…. I’m just a Tailor, been doing this for 22 years, but who ever listens to me).

Below is a list of some of the different fabrics which may help you:

Fabrics:

Cashmere -
Classification: Specialty hair fiber.
Source: The Cashmere (Kashmir) or down goat. From the fine, soft undercoat or underlayer of hair. The straighter and coarser outer coat is called guard hair.
Geographic Origin: From the high plateaus of Asia. Significant supplier countries are: China, Mongolia and Tibet. Today, little is supplied by the Kashmir Province India, from which its name is derived. The cashmere products of this area first attracted the attention of Europeans in the early 1800s.
Gathering Process: The specialty animal hair fibers are collected during molting seasons when the animals naturally shed their hairs.Goats molt during a several-week period in spring. In China and Mongolia, the down is removed by hand with a coarse comb. The animals are sheared in Iran, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Australia.
Annual Yield: Up to one pound of fiber per goat, with the average 4 to 6 ounces of underdown.
Natural Colors: Gray, brown and white.

Woolen -
Cloth made of carded short-staple wool fibers. After weaving, the cloth was fulled or shrunk to make it denser and heavier. Broadcloth was England's traditional fine woolen manufacture. (p.375 Montgomery)

Worstead -
Lightweight cloth made of long staple combed wool yarn. The name was derived from the village of Worstead near Norwich, a center for worsted weaving. (P.375 Montgomery)
Made by the process of combing, as opposed to carding - serge, bunting, rep. Weave is the most prominent feature of the fabric. Worsted yarns are generally made from long and lusterous varieties of wool - prepared by combing.
"A variety of yarn or thread, spun form long staple wool which has been combed, and in the spinning is twisted harder than usual. (P.616 Cole's)
It is a product made from long-stapled wool combed straight and smooth before spinning. (Silverstien)

Flannel -
Made from woolen yarn "slightly twisted in the spinning, and of open texture, the object in view being to have the cloth soft and spongy, without regard to strength... All the sort are occasionally dyed, though more usually sold white. Flannels are bleached by the steam of burning sulfur, in order to improve their whiteness." (Beck) (P. 238 Montgomery)
Derived from the Welsh word for wool. Flannel was one of Wales' main industries, but the flannel sold in the fur trade was produced in Yorkshire (Anon 1811:14, NBL). It is a light or medium weight woollen fabric of plain or twill weave with a slightly napped surface. The flannel used in the fur trade was generally of a coarse quality and came in a variety of colors including white, red, blue, yellow and green. The United States began producing cotton "flannels" during the nineteenth century. These were napped cotton textiles which today are used predominantly for pajamas and shirts. In North America today, we tend to use the term "flannel" to refer to these latter type of fabrics. Properly speaking, however, these textiles should be called "flannellettes," as they were called in Canada (and probably Britain) up until very recently. (Silverstien)

Mohair -
Angora goats produce a beautiful luxurious incredibly durable fibre called mohair which rates amongst the warmest natural fibres known to man. It is a fibre that is justifiably recognised worldwide as the one fibre that ultimately enhances luxury products.
South Africa, from where all our products are directly sourced from fair trade producers, currently produce more than 60% of total world production of mohair.
Leading fashion houses worldwide have long recognised the intrinsic value of mohair as a luxury fibre. Today, ongoing research clearly reflects mohair's outstanding value in non-fashion products and household textiles. Mohair's properties and characteristics allow end-product production houses to differentiate their products, all capitalising on the fibre's natural, unrivalled beauty, durability, silky texture and numerous other qualities.
Mohair is a strong, lustrous fibre that makes an ideal yarn and fabric. It drapes well and resists wrinkling or shrinking. It is stronger and warmer than wool, keeping heat in during cold weather and is a barrier against hot summer temperatures. Mohair isn't "itchy" because it doesn't have scales like wool. It accepts dye with an exuberance that is unparalleled. Natural coloured mohair has variations of shades that are exceptionally beautiful.
Mohair is one of the most versatile textile fibres. Its characteristics are similar to wool, except that it does not have the scales that can irritate the skin.

Measurements:

Let’s talk about measurements and figurations. When a new customer comes into the premises, the cutter should be looking at the figuration of the person, looking for the most natural position in which he or she holds themselves, because typically, as soon as you are put in front of a mirror you stand up straight & unnatural & wonder why the suit doesn’t fit when you go home. Which goes back to an original point about being a ‘comfortable & relaxed atmosphere’. The more natural you stand, the easier to look at your figuration & balance.

Taking measurements:
Most tailors will use a preset form ….. this is not to say that writing on an old piece of brown paper is wrong. It is simply what is done with these measurements that is important. Allow the tailor to take your measurements in most natural stance, thus giving him the very best chance to see your figuration when drafting the pattern.

You could have 2 customers both 40inch chests 36 waist & 42 hips but the patterns could be completely different due to figuration & balance. An older customer would generally lean forward slightly giving a slightly longer back balance, you may have served in the armed forces & stand very erect giving a long front balance, you may have slopping or square shoulders one of your shoulders may be lower than the other which would mean picking up the shoulder and crookening up on the neck, stopping the collar falling away off your neck.

I could go on and on and on but I feel that you may have the point. I believe what John & I have is a wonderful rapport with customers which sometimes is described more of a theatre than a tailors, believe me it is to get the customers relaxed so that we can observe & do what we do best.

Ok, we’ve now cut the pattern & noted all your deformities & decided you need surgeon rather than a tailor, but apparently we are cheaper than surgeons.

The pattern has been cut & the cloth has been chosen & I’ve done that all in 2871 words. The suit will only take approximately an hour to cut unless it is a cheque which has to be cut piece by piece to match each & every cheque.

And now we prepare the cut suit, say…. a jacket & trousers by trimming them (trimming is a term used for preparation for the tailor, trimming consists of putting all the linings canvass together). When a garment is trimmed, this is commonly called a ‘bundle’ this would consist of:

For the Jacket:

The Cut Cloth

Body Canvass
There are basically 2 types of canvass used, each type has a like medium & hard grade. Depending on the original consultation & the cloth, this would depend on what canvass would be used & what grade. The basic 2 grades used are woolen canvass & linning canvass
Hair Cloth
There are several different types of hair cloth used of numerous grades. I personaly use about 10 different grades depending on the construction of the coat & the weight of the cloth, shall we say for simplicity number 1 grade is very lightweight number 2 is slightly heavier & number 10 is obviously the heaviest. Again, taking the cloth & the customers original consultation into account I would chose the most appropriate hair cloth.

Domette
This is a fine cloth used to cover the hair cloth over the canvass stopping the hair cloth coming through the canvass & cloth. Some of the older tailors still do not use Domette but prefer using felt (please advise these tailors that it is now 2004 & cloth has changed in the last decade. Customer don’t just want to look good but also feel good in what they are wearing).

Body Lining
There are dozens of types of body lining to chose from, again depending on the original consultation you may chose to have a pure silk lining or
Acetate Poult - Black, White, Ivory and Greige
Acetate Microfibre Lining
Acetate/Bemberg Lining
Acetate/Viscose Satin Lining
Bemberg 100% Ponginette Lining
Bemberg Taffeta Shot Lining
Bemberg Twill Lining
Silk/Viscose Linings
Viscose/Acetate Shot Twill Lining
Viscose Rayon Heavy Twill - Military Cols.
Viscose S/L Regency Stripes
Viscose Satin Lining - Tailoring shades
Viscose Twill Lining
Ermazine Lining – Viscose
Coloured Linnings
Personally, I think blue cloth blue lining grey cloth grey lining, but this is not to say you cant have it, remember its just a lining, don’t be sold it as a sales gimmick.

Sleeve Lining
Generally, my company prefers to use whatever lining we’ve used in the body to be the same as the sleeve lining except for special requests for example stripe lining or on dress wear white or cream lining.

Linen
There are several types of linen, again this would depend on the cloth. The linen is commonly used on the backing of the pockets for strength & in the cuffs where the button holes & the buttons are sewn. It can also be used at the bottom of the jacket, on the back neck & on the back syes.

Pocketing
Yes…. You’ve guessed it, there are several different types & grades & also colours. We prefer to generally use a medium weight pocketing with matching colour to the garment.

Collar Melton
This can be found under your collar, it is the felt like cloth which is one of 2 pieces to complete the under collar (Collar Canvass being the second part). This should always be cut on the bias & generally be of similar colour to the cloth. This is not to say you could not use a red colour melton on a blue or black jacket & create a feature of it.

Collar Canvass
There are basically 3 types of collar canvass, type 1 is a linen canvass cut on the bias generally used by Anderson & Sheppard (Savile Row). This creates a very soft collar, unfortunately it can also look a little messy in my opinion if done wrong. Type 2 is a medium grade canvass which is much stiffer & type 3 is a slightly harder canvass from type 2.
When trying a garment on for the first time, generally it will look brownish in colour on your fitting, this is the collar canvass.

Stay Tape (Linen)
Stay tape is used on the front edges of the coat, generally it would be made from linen. It is to help the front edges not to stretch or twist & should always be sewn on by hand. You will probably never see this as the facings would be sewn on for your next fitting.

Sleeve Head Wadding
This is a pre-made wadding specifically used to go around the sleeve head when finished. It is sleeve head wadding that gives the roundness to a sleeve around your shoulders. In 22 years of tailoring, only 1 company does not use this method – Anderson & Sheppard who uses a small piece of domette cut on the bias with a small strip of wadding inside & folded thus giving the soft round shoulders & sleeve head which have made Anderson & Sheppard famous.

Shoulder Pads
As a company I have a choice of over 5000 shoulder pads, we have chosen to use 3 pads that are made exclusively for us & re modeled by each of our tailor to our individual requirements. Again, Anderson & Sheppard do not use (well they didn’t use, not saying they don’t now use….. but not saying they don’t use shoulder pads) to simply say they use wadding covered by a piece of lining which they call a ‘shoulder pad’ giving that soft shoulder look.

Button Twist
Button twist is used to make button holes, there a thousands of colours, but generally most tailors will only use 1 or 2 makes for the simple reason of quality of twist.

Button Gimp
This is used when making button holes. The gimp is placed along the button hole & the button twist is sewn around the gimp giving the button hole a slightly stiffer finish. There are several different grades of gimp.

Buttons
Generally, Anderson & Sheppard use plastic buttons, at John N Kent we use real… I said ‘real’ as in not plastic but real horn buttons but by special request we could get ‘plastic’ buttons if you so require……. enough said.

Sewing Cotton
There are generally 2 manufacturers we use to supply us cotton. Depending on the cloth would depend on what cotton we would use, this would also effect the size needle & tension we use on the sewing machine.

Sewing Silk
Sewing silk is used on hand sewing, your linings will be sewn with sewing silk, the under collar where the melton attaches itself to the cloth is also sewn with sewing silk, but can also be used to sew shoulders & sleeves by hand.

The Process:

Ok, we are now ready to start making the garment. The first thing a tailor will do is to read the garment ticket giving him all the instructions he would require to make the garments eg, pocket sizes lapel width & shoulder width. After reading this he would open the bundle & he would take the body canvass & hair cloth to the tailors kitchen where he would soak the hair cloth & canvass & then place them on a line to drip dry (this is to shrink the canvass & hair cloth).

After checking that all the linings & silks etc are in the bundle, he would prepare it for the pocket man (the pocket man is a highly skilled tailor who will spend his life putting pockets in). He would also sew in the front tarts that the cutter has marked & sew on the side body creating a front of a garment.

Once the garment has come back from the pocket man, the tailor would treadmark the garment (these are the small stitches between 1 & 2 cm on the edges of the garment, this tells the tailor where the cutter requires him to finish. Any cloth beyond the treadmark would be called inlay & can be used to let out the garment). Once the garment has been fully treadmarked the tailor would prepare the canvasses & the hair cloth. Once they are cut & placed over the chest piece of the body canvass, the domette would also be cut.
This is where the argument starts, to machine pad or hand pad ? I have a very simple view on this matter, what ever is right for the garment should be done, for example, there are 2 types of machine padding, type 1 would create a very hard typically Savile Row chest, type 2 would create a very soft Italian canvass. Hand padding generally has only 1 type, what ever is correct should be used. I personally prefer hand padding, but would happily have machine padding if it improved the overall feel & look of the garment.
Once the canvasses are padded, there is special cuts that are machined into the canvass which help create the curvatures of a chest, this is also done with the use of a iron & a skilled tailor.
The canvasses are made & the pockets are in, the next stage is to canvass the front of the garment, this is commonly referred to as a ‘forepart’. Canvassing in my opinion is one if not the most important part of coat making. Simply, a badly canvassed jacket should be placed in the bin.

The tailor will then either machine or hand pad the lapels. Once this is done he will then based the front edges to the treadmarks (these are all the long white stitches you see on your fitting) he will also then do the length of the garment. Once the foreparts are prepared, the tailor will then press them to the appropriate chest & hip shapes. Once this process is done, the tailor will make the back up then based the back to the left & right forepart, leaving inlay cut by the cutter & left for the tailor (inlay is left incase the garment needs altering).

At this point, the tailor will hand mark the shoulders & back neck. The back shoulder is slightly wider than the front shoulder. Shall we say a 6inch front shoulder will have a 6.5inch back shoulder & it is for the tailor to work that extra 0.5inch of cloth into the appropriate place on the front shoulder (this extra cloth is called fullness. The use of fullness is generally put in the back shoulder to go over the back of the shoulder, minimizing tightness.

Once the shoulders are sewn together (closed) the under collar is prepared. This would be down by measuring the back neck & the front gorge & lapel. The tailor would use the measurements to cut an individual collar for each garment, he would then based the collar melton & collar canvass together & hand pad it. Then, skillfully press the under collar to the appropriate shape required & then based the under collar to the treadmark stitches on the back neck gorge & lapel (which has been marked by the cutter).

Once the tailor has read (assuming he can read) the garment ticket, he will make the appropriate shoulder pad for each shoulder (left & right, as each may be different).

At this point, the tailor would prepare the sleeves which the tailor will measure the arm hole, shall we say for arguments sake 23inches, he will then prepare the sleeve approximately 25inches. At this point. He will based the sleeves in to an exact measurement for which the cutter has marked, again putting fullness in the sleeve where appropriate. Some garments subject to use, require more or less fullness than others. You may also consider that a cashmere cloth would need more fullness than a mohair cloth. Generally, the cutter would cut the required amount into the sleeve.
The garment would then be pressed & sent back to the cutter for a fitting.

The cutter would then fit the garment on a customer, marking all appropriate alterations (please note, I will also be writing extensively in a future post, but Penny has threatened to finish this one & not do anymore if I go on & on) (note from Penny, he don’t arf go on).

Once the garment has been fitted, the cutter would remark all alterations to the garment. The garment is then sent back to the tailor, the tailor will then prepare the garment for a second fitting, this would mirror the first fitting subject to all alterations.

After the second fitting, the garment should be ready to be finished. The forepart would have the stay tape sewn on by hand. The facings would also be sewn on. The lining pockets would be attached to the canvasses. The back would be sewn to the left & front foreparts, each shoulder would be individually marked & prepared to be closed. The under collar would be attached to the garment & the top collar would be cut & prepared & then placed on the under collar (the top collar is the piece of cloth that you see on the outside). The sleeves would be re-cut & made to the exact length & width required by the cutter. Once the sleeves are sewn in, the sleeve head wadding would be attached to the sleeve.
The cutter at this stage may require a third fitting prior to the button holes going in & any small alteration would be done at this point. Once the cutter is happy with the garment, it would be sent to a finisher (better known as a kipper). The finisher is usually a lady, quite offen the tailors wife or girlfriend (if he has 2 finishers, he may have a wife & a girlfriend). Back to the point, the finisher is a highly skilled person who I have much respect for which will sew all the linings & button holes by hand. A well made button hole is a piece of art & should be appreciated as that. I recently employed a finisher whose button holes are some of the best I have ever seen.

Once the garment has come back from the finisher, it would be sent to the presser, who would take between 1 & 1.5 hours to press a garment. Once pressed, the garment would then return back to the original tailor to be buttoned & sent back to the cutter as a finished garment. It is not unusual, once the garment is finished to have small alterations, which would be done by and alteration tailor (a specialist in altering finished garments).

The customer would then take the garment home & may bring the garment back for slight adjustments as the garment settles onto the customers body.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing this. As most of you know I am a working tailor & cutter who gets immense pleasure in not just sewing but also talking about my work. I treat tailoring as much as a hobby as I do a job & would ask you not to hesitate to ask me any other questions on bespoke tailoring.
regards

We remain with best regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

King of All Tweeds

2005-12-12T02:57:00.000-08:00

A Brief History of Harris Tweed

The story of Harris Tweed is the story of a remote island community that lies between the Highlands of Scotland on the north west tip of Europe and the North Atlantic Ocean.

For centuries the islanders of Lewis, Harris, Uist and Barra have woven the magical cloth the world knows as Harris Tweed, Clo Mhor
in the original Gaelic- 'The big cloth'.

From time immemorial, the inhabitants of the West of Scotland, including the Outer Hebrides had made cloth entirely by hand. As the Industrial Revolution reached Scotland, the mainland turned to mechanisation but the Outer Islands retained their traditional processes. Lewis and Harris had long been known for the excellence of the weaving done there, but up to the middle of the nineteenth century, the cloth was produced mainly for home use or for a purely local market.

In 1846, Lady Dunmore, widow of the late Earl of Dunmore, had the Murray tartan copied by Harris weavers in tweed. This proved so successful that Lady Dunmore devoted much time and thought to marketing the tweed to her friends and then to improving the process of production. This was the beginning of the Harris Tweed industry. At that time the method of making this handmade was as follows:
The raw material, wool, was produced locally and part of it would have been used in its natural uncoloured state, the rest was dyed. In the 19th century vegetable dyes were used. Following dyeing, the wool was mixed, the shade being regulated by the amount of coloured wool added; then it was oiled and teased; the latter process involves pulling the wool apart to open out the fibres. The next part of the preparation, carding, results in the fibres of the wool being drawn out preparatory to spinning. This was a very lengthy process followed by spinning carried out on familiar spinning-wheel by women. Until the turn of the century a very early type of handloom was used for weaving with a manually operated shuttle. The final process is finishing where the tweed is washed and given a raised compact finish. The involved in this process was often accompanied by songs in Gaelic.

As a result of the marketing efforts of Lady Dunmore, increased sales of the tweed were achieved and trade was established with cloth merchants in large towns in the UK.

At about the turn of the century the primitive small loom was replaced by the improved "fly-shuttle" loom. This was made of wood and heavier than the earlier loom tending to make weaving an occupation for men rather than women. Although originally imported from the Galashiels a local joiner started making the new type of loom in 1903.

Between 1903 and 1906 the tweed making industry in Lewis increased rapidly. Mr Aeneas Mackenzie's carding mill in Stornoway added spinning machinery and a second mill was started by Mr Kenneth Mackenzie from whom one of the largest Harris Tweed producing companies in existence takes its name today.

At a meeting in Stornoway in 1906 efforts were considered for placing the industry on a more satisfactory footing. This was a most harmonious meeting and as the Trade Marks Act had been passed in 1905 making provision for a registration of Standardisation Marks, it seemed to be novel opportunity to end the increasing practice of offering mill-spun tweed as genuine Harris Tweed.

This meant the introduction of a system of whereby the tweed was inspected and, if passed, given a certifying stamp which would give confidence to the trade and public. A company limited by guarantee was formed under the title The Harris Tweed Association Limited. This was mainly to ensure the grant of a mark and an application was filed to register the well-known Harris Tweed Trade mark consisting of the orb and the Maltese Cross with the words Harris Tweed underneath. One of the objectives of obtaining a Mark was to protect the industry from the competition of the spinning mills.

The original definition read,"Harris Tweed means a tweed, hand-spun, hand-woven and dyed by the crofters and cottars in the Outer Hebrides".

The Certification Mark was granted in 1909, registered in 1910 and stamping began in 1911. Amended Regulations were confirmed in June 1934 and the following was promulgated, "Harris Tweed means a tweed made from pure virgin wool produced in Scotland, spun, dyed and finished in Outer Hebrides and hand-woven by the islanders at their own homes in the Islands of Lewis , Harris, Uist, Barra and their several purtenances and all known as the Outer Hebrides".

There could be added in legible characters to the Trade Mark, the words "Woven in Lewis", "Woven in Harris", "Woven in Uist" or "Woven in Barra" for the purpose of distinguishing where the tweed was made".

The alteration in the Trademark Definition in 1934, allowing the use of millspun yarn, enabled the industry to make a huge leap in production. The stamped yardage increased tenfold and continued to increase till the peak figure of 7.6 million yards was reached in 1966.

The Hattersley single width loom The introduction of the Hattersley domestic loom in the 1920s enabled the weavers to produce more and to weave complicated patterns that could not be woven on the large wooden looms that were used for the previous 50 years.
This loom was brought to the islands by Lord Leverhulme who owned Lewis and Harris for some years and introduced many changes with mixed results.

The Hattersley loom is still used in the industry but is being replaced by the new Bonas-Griffith double width loom which was introduced in 1996 to satisfy market demands for wider, softer, lighter Harris Tweed. The Harris Tweed Association was the proprietor of the famous "Orb" Trademark. Throughout this century the HTA protected and promoted the Orb all over the world. The success of the industry meant that competitors tried to imitate Harris Tweed or pass off other fabrics as genuine. Much of the competition was from mainland Scotland and this led to a case at the Court of Session in 1964 that was, for a long time, the longest civil case in Scottish legal history. The judgement by Lord Hunter re-inforced the 1934 definition that tied all production processes to the Outer Hebrides and removed the threat of mainland competition. The years following the 1964 case were the most successful ever for Harris Tweed but, by the late 1980s the industry had begun to contract as fashions changed and the Harris Tweed jacket became less popular. The industry set out to transform itself by producing a new double width loom re-training weavers, introducing new, tougher Standards, marketing the new wider, softer, lighter tweed.
The Harris Tweed Authority took over from the Harris Tweed Association in 1993 by Act of Parliament. Thus the definition of Harris Tweed became statutory and forever tied the cloth to the Islands:

Harris Tweed means a tweed which has been hand woven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the islands of Harris, Lewis, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra and their several purtenances (The Outer Hebrides) and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides.
The recent times have been difficult times for the British textile industry and Harris Tweed is no exception. However there is confidence that the hard decisions taken to reform the industry will eventually bear fruit and secure the future of this unique product.

We remain with best regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Why Do Men Button Left Over Right And Women Right Over Left?

2005-11-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

The theory most often uttered is that men used to dress themselves, while women had the help of a maid. Since most people are right-handed, the buttoning was inverted for the sake of the maid.

Another theory says that women were forced to button themselves using the inferior hand, in order to show them that they themselves were inferior (to men, of course). This theory is based on the assumption that women buttoned their own dress, thus inherently contradicting the first theory.

Both theory are somewhat shaky. The former implies that a significant part of the female population had a maid available. N.B.: "Significant" does not necessarily mean "numerous", but "influential". Depending on the era we're looking at, the rich were the significant ones - the ones who made fashion - and they had maids. But does their influence also extend to such insignificant details as buttoning? The second theory is somewhat medieval. Misconceptions about female inferiority did exist until the early 20th century, but in the main the 18th century did away with most of them.

Both theories assume that the preference for one hand plays a role. Being left-handed, I readily complain about anything that makes life unnecessarily difficult for lefties, but I have never felt that buttoning, whichever way around, was a problem. You nomally use both hands, anyway - the rest is a matter of habit rather than of motoricity.

"Depending on the era": Which era are we looking at, anyway? Since when does the gender-related right-left distinction exist? If we know when the distinction was first made, we may discover the reason. So let's look at historical depictions.

Until the late 18th century, buttons are rare on women's dress. In the few earlier pictures, the direction often can't be determined. At least I've found one 14th century example where the buttons seem to sit in the right-hand edge (i.e. the "male" side), and two ditto examples from the 17th century. In the late 18th century, we find buttons on female dress relatively often, e.g. on comperes, jackets and redingote dresses. In every case, the buttons sit on the right side. In the 1830s, buttons are rare on women's clothes and evenly distributed between ruight and left, then nothing until the 1850s. During the 1850s, left sligthtly outweighs right. From the late 1860s on, buttons are quite common on women's dress - all left.

So the changeover from "mostly right" to "mostly left" must have taken place between 18010 and 1860, with nothing definitely decided yet until 1860. Since the middle of the 18th century, the production of women's clothes was largely in the hand of female artisans - would they have taken part in a scam that degrade women as in the second theory? And if they did, why did they stick with the "male" right-side buttoning for over 50 years? Maids did exist in the 18th century as muich as they did later, so why did it take 100 years until the buttoning was switched (according to the first theory) for their sake? Why should anyone do anything for the sake of the servants, anyway? Moreover, in the 17th and 18th century, there should have been as many men who had a manservant as there were ladies who had a maid. With the many buttons on the waistcoats and coats of the time - the closing of the lower ones required the wearer to bend -, one should assume that men, too, had help for dres!

sing. If the buttoning was switched for the sake of the servants, why was it done for the maids, who may have had to close a few buttons every now and then, but not for the manservants, who had to close dozens of buttons every day for sure?

There's a good hint by Janet Arnold referring to the fashion of the late 19th and early 20th century: As if to make up for the fact that clothing could be more easily made with the help of the sewing machine, the construction was made more complicated by adding trims (Patterns of Fashion 2, p. 4). A few yeare later Thorstein Veblen published his "Theory of the Leisure Class" (1899) according to which it was the main role of late 19th century women to demonstrate wealthiness by being demonstratively, obviously unproductive. Requiring an hour or more for dressing and not being able to dress without the help of a maid would definitely count as being unproductive, so a "wrong way around" buttoning could have been a code telling those in the know that "I have a maid to help me dress!" That would fit nicely with the beginning of left-hand buttoning, but wouldn't have buttons in back, which were used as early as the 1810s, put the point across much more obviously?

Moreover, the late 19th century happened to be the very time when women started to think about such things as emancipation and equality. One of the means they used was the adoption of features of male dress. If left-hand buttons had symbolised female inferiority, it would probably have been given up quite early, using a relatively unspectacular place to signal the new female awareness. But quite contrary: The era when emancipation first is expressed in clothing (the 1849 Bloomer costume) is roughly synchronous to the era when mainly-right buttoning makes way for mainly-left.

This leads me to a completely new theory: Since female clothing took on more and more features of male clothing in order to express emancipation (a process that, I'd like to point out, contemporaries were not aware of) it became necessary to establish a feature that signalled that an item of clothing was, despite its male appearance, nevertheless female. Otherwise someone could be led to believe that the lady wore a man's coat, a man's shirt etc., and use that as a a moral handhold against her since wearing the clothing of the opposite sex was immoral. The closer female clothing got to male clothing, the more important the "little difference" of buttoning became. At the end of the 20th century, the buttoning was the only thing that differentiated a female blouse from a male shirt.

My personal theory, therefore, is that the right-left-differentiation is a result of the gradual approximation of female and male dress and the resulting necessity of distinction. - A. Bender

We remain with best regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Nip And Tuck

2005-09-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

This Season, Men's Suits Get Readjusted; Slim and Trim With Shorter Hems, Narrow Lapels.
BARRY G... a conservative dresser with more than 10 suits in his closet, was relieved.Recently to hear his office was returning to a business dress code and figured he wouldn't have to shop for a while.

But now the 35-year-old financial planner thinks he may have to buy something new after all, given all the new fitted suits he's been seeing for fall. "It's a struggle between what's coming into style and what is traditional," says Mr. G.... of Virginia.

With sales flat this year to date, mens wear industry is playing it safe looks that have an evergreen appeal with men. Some designers are slimming lapels and emphasizing flat front pants. Others are focused on the overcoat, updating it by shortening the hem 30 centimeters. The latest turn for the tweed blazer involves featherweight fabrics, "washed" looks to appear old and shorter hemlines.

But the biggest push : The readjusted suit. In a shift from last fall's pleated looks, the U.S. retailer Barneys New York, for example, is increasing its stock of suits with flat-front pants by 15%.

At Men's Wear house, the main focus will be side-vent suits with flat-front pants in the $200 to $400 range.

Meanwhile, makers like Hickey Freeman and Ralph Lauren are emphasizing suits that are not only slimmed down in the chest area, but also have narrower lapels and shorter hems.

The shift might seem odd in an era of ever-expanding waistlines, but market analysts say manufacturers are simply responding to what consumers want :- looking trim in tailored clothing.

While mens wear sales overall last year rose 5% in the U.S., tailored items jumped by a quarter, according to market researcher NPC Group.Of course, not every consumer wants, or can, squeeze into a re-dimensionalized suit.

The standard amount of ease-the space between a garment and the body-in a suit jacket is about 18 to 23 centimeters. But now, more makers are start narrow from there, says Mark-Even B..., head of Technology in New York. "For most people, that would essentially be the next size lower,” he says.

Scott R..... , for example, plans to buy a couple of fitted suits, but he still prefers the looser variety. "To be honest, the new models aren't as comfortable to me as the other traditional ones," says Mr. R..., who runs a New York real-estate investment trust. "I prefer the baggier style."

Business redux: Suits are back !

Even casual days call for a blazer Blazin' Blazers.This is the area where there is the most change for fashion types.That's mostly because men are buying more jeans and pairing them with sport coats. In a nod to that shift, Men's Warehouse is introducing a line of $159 "denim friendly" blazers.

Meanwhile the midpriced chain Jos. A Bank is increasing its inventory of $450 corduroy and wool-silk blend sport coats to appeal to consumers who want to dress up, but not necessarily wear a suit. There also are washed tweeds at Bergdorf Goodman for $995 and velvet styles at Nordstrom.

The new blazer at Brooks Brothers is the $498 "featherweight" tweed that is made with super light yarn - it weighs 260 grams a square meter, compared with 400 grams in Brooks Brothers’ current tweed.

Bracing for Cold

Armchair Harley drivers, rev your engines. The leather jacket is getting a fashion tune-up with more brown than black, in leaner cuts and often with notched collars. The idea is to echo motorcycle, aviator and motocross jackets, and designers from Andrew Marc to Nice Collective are weighing in. Saks has bought "tons" of motorcycle for fall, and is showing them in store window, with Brooks Brothers says its vintage leather model, dubbed "the Lindbergh", was inspired by year's movie "The Aviator".

While shearing coats or shearing-lined versions, such as a $4,000 aviator trench from Ralph Lauren, are expected to be big in the luxury market, more-conservative spender will have the option of the three-quarter-length car coat in wool or nylon.

Ross M... is sold. The director of research at a commercial real-estate services company in Massachusetts, Mr. M... says he has budgeted $400 for a car coat because "if I have to wear it with a suit it doesn't look totally ridiculous."

Not Your Father's Briefcase

"Guys have a lot of stuff to carry." Says Michael M..., men's fashion director at Saks, explaining the boom in carrying bags for men. A bag, he adds, has become" a necessity today."

For fall, retailers are betting that high-earning men want a place to stash their personal-digital assistants-plus their Blackberries, cell phones, MP3 players, laptops and gym clothes.

To that end, stores are stocking and pushing some of the priciest bags seen in years. Vicorinox's Swiss Army Brands has a new $249 model in nylon that transforms from a backpack to hand-held case and includes a removable computer sleeve and legal-size fan-file system.

Barneys is exotic-skin bags ranging from $6,500 to $8,000.

For its part, Saks is planning to start carrying the Italian luxury brand, VAL EXTRA, with models that cost as much as $27,000.!

Excerpt from the Asian Wall Street Journal

Created by www.mycustomtailor.com

The Blazer

2005-09-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

Men's Blazers - Fall 2005 is About the Blazer

Recently the press had the opportunity to speak with Lauren Deatherage, the men’s trend forecaster for Cotton, Incorporated. Lauren provided some valuable men’s fashion tips for Fall 2005. She has much to say about a key element in a man’s wardrobe –The Blazer

Lauren says “the key to this fall’s wardrobe is mixing it up. In the past few seasons men have been reintroduced to a more dressed up look. Now feeling more comfortable with the idea, they are ready to update the look by mixing and matching some key pieces. The blazer has become a must have to every man’s wardrobe. Versatility of this piece is vital when choosing your new blazer for fall.”

Here are seven of Lauren’s tips to guide you in the right direction in choosing a blazer:-

The blazer can be worn day to evening and should be able to work with various looks.

A denim blazer will work for day time when paired with a fine knit sweater or can be brought to an evening look when put over a bold woven shirt (think dobby stripe, novelty clip spots, or a small scale plaid updated in bright colors).

Tweed and herringbone can also be versatile options for a blazer. Look for updates to these classic fabrics in color and scale. Classic browns and blacks for tweeds and herringbones are accented with a royal blue, orange or other vivid colored yarn dyes.

The fun part about this season is taking this blazer and pairing it with a complementing trouser. You don’t have to worry about having an exact match.

Use the tweed blazer with your favorite pair of dark washed denim or brushed pinstripe pant.

Pair your corduroy or moleskin trousers with your denim blazer. The pieces that are being used here are classic and formal, a trouser and a blazer.

The way of putting them together is not. The look is not fussy or contrived. It’s about feeling comfortable with these pieces and using different fabrics constructions and weaves to create some surface interest/visual appeal.
By Daniel Billet

Created by www.mycustomtailor.com

Uniform By Tailor

2005-08-26T02:36:00.000-07:00

AN EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT FROM ALAN FLUSSER´S “DRESSSING THE GENTLEMAN"

IF A MAN runs for president, interviews for a high-level job or needs a good table at a smart restaurant, chances are he´ll be wearing a suit.
The tailored jacket with matching trousers remains the uniform of official power, suggesting civility, diplomacy and physical self control. Suits have a way of looking superior.

While the context and connotations of men´s suits have changed, their basic form hasn´t. For more than one hundred years, through periods of extreme social up heaval the dress suit´s insistent longevity testifies to the dynamism of its unique composition. No one has yet been able to devise any surrogate garment or ensemble that affords such a complete envelope for the male body.

The Peacock Revolution accelerated the movement away from tailor dictated taste to designer inspired fashion ability as the basis of men´s style. The popularity of the Pierre Cardin hourglass suit in the ´70s, followed by Hugo Boss´s airplane shouldered power suits and Giorgio Armani´s low-gorge swathing in the ´80s, transformed the business suit form the standard bearer of conformity and membership into a vessel of currency and fashionable energy.

By the mid´80s, having established itself as the contemporary clothier´s high profile calling card, the designer suit saw sales begin to eclipse both national brands and the top retailers tended to pay allegiance to one suit shape and dressing style. By the end of the go-go´ 80s, fashion´s newest exponents began to experiment with clothing silhouettes the way women did with makeup, thinking nothing different bewteen designers in three different suit cuts.

For the most of the past century, the corporate uniform virtually guaranteed the suit an ever widening audience. However, the latest work place freedoms have encouraged more comfortable and collegial styling by removing strict codes. Casual dress now shares the office with the tailored uniforms.

The Single Breasted Suit - Despite the suit´s current bad press and steady suits were usually three buttons, mostly with notch lapels and always vested. Following the lines of its two progenitors, the riding jacket and later on, the morning coat, the single breasted lounge suit made the transition from country to city when its curved front were cut away below the waist button. As the curve prevented the bottom button from fastening, the top button was worn undone to balance the trio, giving the lounge suit a distinctly degage air.

An alternative mode of wearing the three-button coat was to fasten its top two although the lapels had to be designed to roll high enough to permit the top button to be closed. Compared with the openness of Gary Cooper´s single button fastening, this arrangement closes up the coat, somewhat formalizing the presentation. Its two upper buttons also form a vertical line in front, promoting a more up and down dynamic, thought to add length to a man´s torso.

Warm weather found men removing their vests, and over time the matching vest´s high “V” front began dropping lower and lower. Not surprisingly, the three button jacket´s high button stance was likewise lowered, ushering in the two button suit model. Ultimately eclipsing the three button in popularity, the two button with its open front not only exposed the wearer´s furnishings to better advantage, but its darts and defined waistline gave occupants a trimmer look. Who says that the conservative two button business suit necessarily stifles self-expression?

The Double-Breasted Suit - Prior to World War II, single and double breasted suits sold in almost equal numbers. As the driving force behind tailored mens wear in the´ 20s and 30s,the double breasted suit´s most popular rendering was the six-on-two button front, with broad lapels marking a high waist and straight vent less tails hugging cylindrical hips. Long wide trousers supported this column like shape, serving as the base of an athletic silhouette that came to define masculine elegance throughout the period.

When America´s elite adopted London´s famous drape cut as their own, new double breasted versions emerged. One model in particular spirited itself to the top of the charts, the six or four button front with lapels designed to roll down below the waist and fasten on the bottom button. Known as the “Kent,” it was named after the Prince of Wales´s younger brother, Prince George, the Duke of Kent, who was generally credited with its introduction in the late´20s.Because it´s longer lapel line extended through the waistline, less emphasis the wearer an illusion of height. Not only did the Kent seduce the superbly proportioned; its stylish swagger curried particular favor with the short and stout.

Men are creatures of habit. When servicemen returned from World War II, they opted for the single breasted suit, having become accustomed to its comfort and ease during their military service. As a result, the ´50s witnessed the popular decline of the double breasted suit. With the exception of a few random periods of limited renaissance, the double breasted´s principal proponents have been the custom tailors and their style conscious clientele. Although its appeal comes and goes, as long as men regard the dress suit as a symbol of male elegance and authority, the double breasted suit will always justify its inclusion in the echelon wardrobe.

Created By www.mycustomtailor.com

Men's Suit

2005-06-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

It’s the one thing every man should own: a suit. The Editors salute the suit’s ability to withstand expiration, bask in its enduring appeal, and offer advice on what to look for when you’re off to buy your own. If only we could be there to say, ‘Suits you, sir!’

‘A mask tells us more than a face.’
– Oscar Wilde

On Suits

‘Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant.’
– Cary Grant

Without suits, men would have nothing. In the hierarchy of style, a good suit remains a man’s only trump card. Even in this sad age of casual-wear, the suit still carries an air of success, taste, and sophistication. It is designed to make you look better, to break boundaries between social classes, to make a small man tall with pinstripes or a fat man rich with soft wools. The suit looks good in restaurants, trains, dinner parties or Paris; in short, everywhere you want to be. It is, in its best forms, a complete outfit that will never fail you. And that is exactly what it will do, if you treat it right. Unfortunately the majority of suits you see look awful. This isn’t necessary. Even if you work ten hours with your jacket on, being mindful of your clothing will keep you ready for cocktails after work. Too many men either don’t care or don’t know how to wear a suit, and, suitably, look like shit. This is worth avoiding.
To start us off, a few general rules should be observed when approaching a suit, and most apply to good dressing in general:
The suit, no matter the style, needs to fit your body, closely. This means all pieces should be cut and tailored appropriate to your form. Surprisingly, this doesn’t require a lot of money ($500 can, in fact, get you a good suit) but it does take an eye, and the strength to ignore any saccharine compliments from salesmen. Trends have six-to-eighteen-month shelf lives. If you plan to retire your suit in this window, feel free to splurge. Otherwise, shop considerately. Suits are made of wool or cotton, and their variations. Additional fabrics need not apply. You are an interesting, confident, multi-hued man. Let others learn that from how you behave, not from the label on your jacket. A suit jacket goes with suit pants, not with jeans or chinos. If you want a casual jacket, buy a sport-coat or a blazer. Stand-up comedians are regularly shot over this rule. If you’re not comfortable – if you don’t feel the suit’s appropriate for you – the salesman’s looking out for his commission, not your style. A modestly, well-dressed man has never failed to impress. Yes, never. Assuming you’re not an investment banker, you don’t need ten suits; you only need four. This means you can be a discerning shopper and spend time accumulating, then keeping your suits in good condition (dry clean once a year, then more for spills; don’t you dare iron it yourself). Think of the process in terms of collecting, spending years searching for that one original-packaged Chewbacca.

The Fab Four
1. The Standard Blue: Great for business, lunches, New York Mayors, summer dinners, or casual parties. Can be worn with black or brown shoes, even white if you’re daring. Reflects well by a pool. Standard blue means navy, with no room for paler shades, even if you went to UNC.
2. The Classic Gray: Appropriate for everything and even makes a red-head look dandy. Grays also are the best with patterns, especially anything in the chevron family. Start with plain, move to window-pane. Even such, the gray is never controversial. It’s the Switzerland of suits.
3. The Basic Black: Our favorite and the perennial classic, it’s a fit at the Oscars or your sister’s wedding, the perfect compliment to a good white shirt, beloved by gangsters, designers, and undertakers (those jobs with the highest doses of fashion-conscious aptitudes; respectively, aggression, vanity, and wisdom). If you only own one suit, this is it. You can even be buried in it.
4. Any of the above, with pinstripes.

The Jacket
So. You’ve picked your color and you’re ready for the fit. First comes the jacket. Never was a suit bought for the pants and repeatedly worn afterwards. Pants are easily adjusted by a tailor, jackets can only have minor improvements. Think of true love: it must be close to just-right at first, with a slight thrill when you put it on, the coup de foudre as the French say. First off: are you a single-breasted man or a double? While both styles can fit most body types, single-breasted jackets tend to flatter the slim while double-breasted jackets make the broad look mighty. This doesn’t imply being ‘skinny’ or ‘fat,’ it’s simply about your tits; hence the term ‘breasted.’ Choose the jacket style that you can best fill out – from there you’ll always look best. David Letterman, who can rarely be found not wearing a double-breasted jacket, skirts this rule by sitting behind a desk. Notice how uncomfortable he is during the monologue, fussing with his buttons while standing full-view before the camera.

To those opting for the single-breasted jacket, you’ll have to choose how many buttons you want. One? Hmm. Two? Excellent. And returning in popularity. Three? Certainly good, and was much sought-after in the recent past though it’s now reached near total market saturation. But, still classic, and hopefully always available. Of course, jackets also come in four-, five-, and six-button styles, each with their own fifteen minutes of fame. Four-button jackets have been sported by everyone from The Beatles to Steve Harvey. Can you sport one? Of course! But no, not this season…Last, the fit. Like we said before, close to the body, but no wrinkles when you button. Vents, double or single, are preferred to the vent-less jacket that, nine times out of ten, looks like a giant condom from behind. Shoulder pads should be avoided – you’re no linebacker – but a tailor will gouge you if you show up post-purchase and ask him to reduce the heft. Finally, before we move onto trousers, there is one ticklish in-between: the vest. We can put this simply. If you’re ready to buy a vest, you’re either old enough to sport one or dangerously disillusioned. A good rule of thumb: Alfred Hitchcock looked great in vests. Young Jimmy Stewart looked out of his league. Pick your man.

The Trousers
You must now choose a trouser style. There have been, in the history of men’s trousers, a few trends that screwed with a good thing: bell-bottoms, bibs, clam-diggers, ‘cargo.’ Unfortunately, all of these styles eventually found their way into suits. Men, generally, will take any pants that come with a jacket. Being men, we want some control over how they look – ‘How they work,’ thinks the man – but not too much. Hence, the cuffs-or-no-cuffs debate. Ask a man what he thinks of his pants and he’ll say, ‘Yeah, I had to go no-cuffs.’ We won’t help you here except to say: cuffs are older, no-cuffs are not. Choose according to your image of yourself. Next comes the pleats question: The only times pleats are wanted is in the single-pleat case, on a pair of wool pants. The case should be that the pants look crisp and well-folded, rather than puckered. How to tell the difference? Think of a pair of pants recently back from the dry cleaner. Remember the line down the middle of the leg. Does your new pleat-to-be look like that? If not, drop the hanger and run. After cuffs and pleats, you need to worry about waist, swish, drape, belt-loops and whether or not you need a watch pocket. This is beyond our advice. Pants shouldn’t blow like a scarf in the breeze. The best way to judge a pair of pants is to ask yourself, ‘Would I wear these pants on a date without the jacket?’ If so, they’re fine. If not, move on. Finally, a salesman will often ask if you’d like to buy two pairs of pants for the suit. The idea is you can alternate pants with the jacket so they wear evenly over time, but since pants can be so easily ruined, you always have a back-up pair. This is similar to electronics store people trying to sell you insurance on an air conditioner; if you have the money, it’s not a bad idea, but it also isn’t necessary. So now that you’ve picked out your suit, you have to know how to wear it.
We’ll assume you know the basics of putting the thing on. (Yes, the jacket part goes on top.) And this brings us to buttoning. It is a historic dilemma, faced by every man. Here, for you, is our easy-to-remember rulebook:
Two-button jacket: Button the top button, only, ever. Button the bottom button and you’ll look like a stooge. That’s really all there is to it.
Three-button jacket: Button either the middle button alone or the top two. Important: the bottom button does not meet its hole. It will plead before a date, just when your stomach’s boiling, ‘Hey! Friend! Button me once, please. I’m sure we’ll look fine. Come on! Just once!’ But you will not give in, you will be strong.

Now the suit’s on, and you’re ready to go. Comb your hair, have a cocktail, head out for the evening. Travel lightly when you go, meaning don’t bulge your pockets with a Bible-sized wallet. Your outside jacket pockets, in fact, should never be used unless your companion asks; at that moment chuck your pretensions and stuff them full. When you get home, brush down the suit, hang it evenly, and keep it in a bag. Wear it often, with pride, and don’t mind looking good. After all, no one can be Cary Grant, but everyone can try. Oh yeah, another thing: Don’t roll up the jacket sleeves Miami-Vice style. We say this now, but then again, considering the fickle nature of fashion, don’t hold us to it.

We remain with regards,
E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Dressing for Job

2005-05-30T23:08:00.000-07:00

The interview is, without a doubt, the time to make the very best possible impression you can make. This is a situation that calls for a serious business outfit. You, of course, want to be perceived as “serious” about the job, the company and the work you will be doing. You may be applying for a “casual dress” job, but the interview is always dress up! You will be trying to convince the person interviewing you that with your serious, conservative clothing - you are the type of person who will fit in at the company, will not “rock the boat”, or call unnecessary attention to yourself (team player). That’s the reason for conservative clothes and a reason to avoid fashion statements. Clothing is an expression of your respect and consideration for the situation. Candidates who ignore the importance of “Dressing to Impress” cannot be serious about the job in the minds of most interviewers. Interviewers expect interviewees to look a certain way so disappointing them at first sight is the “kiss of death”. You will need to look “right” to a stranger who is making an important evaluation of you within 30 seconds of meeting you. And since 90% of you is covered by clothing (hide those tattoos!) the clothing choices you make can have a significant impact, but can be used to your advantage. Most recruiters or personnel executives realize if you’re just starting your career you are on a limited clothing budget, but they will expect clean, appropriate clothing that fits with the style of the company where you are interviewing. In this competitive age, average doesn’t get you anywhere. To be successful you have to look the part. Don’t kid yourself that having a good degree, innovative ideas, enthusiasm, motivation and a great personality doesn’t mean that an appropriate appearance is of secondary importance. If you did not have the first qualities you would not have been invited to interview with the rest of the candidates.
Tip for the Future: After you get the job, dress for the position several levels higher (dress like your boss’s boss). If you want a promotion you must look like you deserve it and can fit into the post.

Some Specifics on What To Wear:

1.Wear a suit (it’s more serious than a sport coat).
2.Best colors are Navy or Charcoal Gray Single Breasted suit
3.Button your suit when you enter the interview office. You may unbutton it when you sit down. Button it back up when you stand to leave. Always leave the bottom button unbuttoned.

4.White shirt with a straight point collar. Only long sleeve please. Never wear a short sleeve shirt with a tie.

Note: Black vs. Navy For men black is not usually considered appropriate for business (social, funerals - yes). Navy is the dominate power color. Recently this has been challenged by female executives wearing black since black is such a powerful color.

There is a “rule” that in serious business dress you wear a minimum of one pattern and two solids. (the elements are your suit, shirt and tie). Men look great in tuxedos which are all solids! So the recommendation for interviewing is a solid color suit and shirt and a patterned tie. Loud shirts or ties will detract from one’s character and bearing.

Ties: Best choices are solid, stripes, or small patterns and an excellent color is burgundy or another serious color (avoid pink or yellow). Even pattern ties should be limited to a maximum of three colors. Small patterns in a tie are associated with the upper middle class and that is usually the group to which your interviewer belongs. Repp ties (stripes) are acceptable to pretty much everyone. Save the expensive “hip” ties for your try at glamorous creative jobs.
Suits: You can wear the same suit for subsequent interviews if you change the tie.
Tie length:The tie should be long enough to reach your belt buckle, and don’t forget the all important dimple! (the indentation under the knot).
Socks: should match your suit and not allow any skin to show when you cross your legs.
Trousers: should be long enough to cover your socks, and cuffs are a mark of a sophisticated businessman.
Belts:Leather belts with quiet, small belt buckles.
Shoes: One of the most important fashion factors, they are a strong statement of personality and executives (men and women!) notice shoes.

Grooming - Tips
1.No cologne (especially on your right hand, it rubs off when you shake hands)
2.Do check your breath.
3.Always have clean nails.
4.Never chew a gum (also a great tip for after you get the job)
5·Make sure you have a nice pen and carry it in the inside jacket pocket (not the shirt pocket).
6·Name tags go on the right (easier to read when you shake hands) although most people stick them on the left.
7.Hair longer than shoulder length for women and over the ears for men diminishes perception of authority, but increases a feeling of accessibility. So short hair for power, long hair for friendliness.

We remain with regard,
E-tailors at www.mycustomtailor.com

Luxurious Wool For Suits

2005-04-19T02:40:00.000-07:00

One of the best, most luxurious wool for suits is the vicuna wool taken from the vicuna of the Andes mountains in South America.

The vicuña is a member of the camel family. It is the smallest of the six species of camel, and is thought to be the wild ancestor of the alpaca. It lives on the high, grassland plateaus of the Andes mountains which range from southern Peru to northern Chile and into parts of Bolivia and Argentina. Only tough bunch grasses and festuca grows here. The sun's ultraviolet rays burn through the thin atmosphere during the day. At night the heat of the day escapes into the atmosphere and the temperatures go down to freezing.

Although they look fragile, the vicuña is specially adapted to its high-altitude habitat. It has an incredibly thick, soft coat that traps layers of warm air close to its body and protects it from freezing temperatures. The lower teeth of the vicuña grow constantly, like a rodent's, so they can eat the tough grasses. The vicuña also walks on the soles of its feet so it can flex its toes and grab on to the rocks and gravel-covered slopes. Vicuña milk is very rich so the babies grow quickly.

Vicuñas weigh between 75-140 pounds. They are about 4-6 feet long and stand 2-3 1/2 feet at the shoulders. They have very long necks, round heads, and large, forward facing eyes. Their ears are long and pointed and stand up on their heads. Their fur is a rust color, with white around the muzzle,the chest, belly, and the insides of the legs. The white hair on their chests is longer than their other hair.

Vicuñas graze mostly on grasses. Their teeth are large and grow constantly like those of a rodent. They chew their cud when resting getting more nutrients out of the nutrient poor grass.

Vicuñas are very shy animals and run away very quickly. They have two territories that they defend from other herds; a feeding territory or about 45 acres, and a smaller sleeping area on higher ground where they are more protected. The vicuña live in herds of 5-10 members, which includes one dominant male and several females and their young. They mate in March and April and their young are born 11 months later. The young stay with their mother and the herd for another 10 months, when they are driven off by the herd. Young males will form bachelor groups and the young females try to find another group to join. This ensures that the herd stays the same size, which is important with their limited food supply.

The vicuña was almost hunted to extinction for its beautiful soft wool. The Incas used to round up the wild vicuñas and pen them in stone corrals, where they were sheared for their wool. In modern times they were almost wiped out for their meat and wool. By 1960 there were only 6,000 vicuñas left in the wild. Chile and Peru established protected national parks and put a halt to trade in vicuña wool. Now there are about 125,000 vicuñas, but they are still listed as threatened. The vicuña is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, and as endangered by the USDI.

Created by www.mycustomtailor.com

Some Suggestions For Randomly Selected Faq's

2005-04-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

Q: How do I get the creases out of my tie?A: Put the two ends of the tie together and roll the tie around your finger like a belt. Slip it off your finger and leave it rolled up over night. The following morning, hang it up and the creases should be gone.

Q: What traditional top coats style are to be worn over a suit? A: The most popular are the 3 button full length top coat or the 6 button double-breasted top coat. (See top coat style section at www.clothesforsuccess.com for pictures)

Q: What are the different types of tie knots and how do they look? A: There are three basic tie knots. The Four In Hand, which makes a small knot.
The Half Windsor, which makes a medium knot.
The Full Windsor, which is the fullest knot.

Q: How do you button a single-breasted 4-button suit coat? A: You button the first three buttons and leave the bottom one un-buttoned.

Q: How should a shorter man dress to look taller?
A: A single-breasted suit two-button suit will elongate your torso because the tie stacks up on the buttons thus creating a vertical line. Vertical patterns such as subtle stripes create length as well. Avoid cuffs and wide leg trousers because it will make your leg look shorter. Wear a bright tie, which forces the viewer to look up, giving the illusion of length. Put this all together and optical grow an inch or two.

Q: How wide should the lapel on a sports coat be? Should it differ from that on a suit coat?A: It’s about the same, anywhere form 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 "

Q: Should you wear pattern or solid colored socks with a suite?A: Either is correct. If the sock has a pattern with a color, try to match the accent color in the sock to the tie or the accent color in the suit.

Q: How can I get promoted faster?A: Dress three levels above the position you are seeking and your employer will start seeing you that way.

Q: How do I dress if I am interviewing for an upper management position?A: An upper management position requires sophisticated clothing of high quality.

Q: How do I know what to wear for a job interview?A: Research the dress code of the company you will be interviewing with and dress to the highest level.

Q: What are the best fabrics for a formal top coat?A: Cashmere, Camelhair, Cashmere wool blend or a high quality wool.

Q: What is the proper length for a formal Top coat?A: 5’ 6" height 42", 5’8" height 44", 5’10" height 46" 6’ height 47 1/2" 6’2 height 49"

Q: How long should the sleeves be on a formal top coat?A: They should be about 1/2 past your wrist to cover the shirt and the sleeve

Q: What are my best color choices for a formal top coat?A: To be worn over a formal suit, wear Black, Navy, Charcoal or Camel

Q: Should I wear an undershirt under my dress shirts?A: Always! It’s a better look and also holds the perspiration from soiling the shirt.

Q: What do I do if I find moth holes in my clothes?A: You have to take out all your clothes and have them treated or cleaned to kill the eggs. Then treat the closet with cedar blocks, cedar chips or moth balls

Q: How can I convert a suit into a more casual outfit?A: Try wearing a solid navy, or charcoal suit. Wear it with a medium gray or medium blue shirt, black belt and black shoes. When you shed the suit coat and tie, it will look like a finished business casual outfit.

Q: If I am dressed business casual with a open collar dress shirt. Should I wear a undershirt?A: You will look like your displaying your underwear if you wear your Haines white undershirt. Instead buy different colored solid "T" shirts, and wear a tone on tone combination. Like a navy "T" shirt worn under a blue open collared dress shirt.

Q: If I am in sales and I am seeing a client who dresses very casual, such as jeans, how should I dress?A: Wear a sport coat and slacks. It will be casual but still put you in the advisory position.

Q: How should the sleeves of my suit coat fit?A: The sleeves should taper, gradually ending just over the wrist so the shirt cuff extends about 1/2 inch beyond the jacket sleeve.

Q: How long should the length of my pants be?A: The length of the pants in the front should touch the front of the shoe and angle towards the back of the shoe to fall just above the heel.

Q: Should I wear cuffs or no cuffs?A: Cuff or no cuff is a personal choice, however no cuffs will make you legs look longer.

Q: How often should I wear a suit?A: If you wear a suit everyday, daily rotation is essential. Never wear the same suit two days in a row.

Q: How much money should I spend on a suit?A: Always purchase the best suit your budget can afford

Q: What steps I need to take to look impeccable for my job interview?A: Decide what you will wear in advance and check that it is clean,pressed, no missing buttons etc.

Q: How much of the shirt collar should show out of the back of your suit coat?A: There should be 1/2 shirt collar showing.

Q: At what point of my waist should I wear my trousers?A: You should wear your trousers just slightly about the navel.

Q: What is a pick stitch?A: A pick stitch is a small running hand stitch at the edge of the lapel and collar of a suit, which is a hallmark of a fine, high end custom handmade suit.

Q: How am I judged by my appearance?A: Within the first 30 seconds of meeting someone, there are ten value judgments being made about you including: Your education level, socio economic level, success level, position, organizational skills, trustworthiness, likeability, competence, integrity, and even moral character.

Q: If you are short, which will make you look taller, a double breasted or
single-breasted suit?A: A single-breasted suit will make you look taller because of the vertical lines of the buttons.

Q: What subliminal message does the color brown give?A: Down to earth, friendly and forthcoming.

Q: When two candidates are being interviewed for the same position and everything about them is equal. Which one gets the job?A: It’s been documented when all is equal the candidate that gets the job, is the one with more polish and presence and who looks the part.

Q: In a recent survey, how do most people want to appear in their clothing?A: Most people want to appear, taller, slimmer and younger.

Q: What is the correct measurement for the sleeve length on a suit coat or sport coat?A: The measurement is 4 1/4 from your thumb to the edge of your sleeve.

Q: If I am wearing a standard point collar dress shirt, what tie knot should I tie?A: You should tie a basic four in hand tie knot.

Q: Should I have my shirts starched?A: Generally speaking, the cheaper the shirt, the more starch it needs to look crisp. Expensive ready to wear and custom shirts , if they are truly quality, should have more body.

Q: How can I look slimmer wearing casual clothes?A: Create a clean uninterrupted line, by wearing the same color theme through out.

Q: What’s the most common reason for a person looking a few pounds over weight?A: The most common reason, is because people tend to still try to squeeze into too small clothing.

Q: If I wear a shirt with a spread collar, what tie knot should I tie?A: You should tie a Windsor knot.

Q: What percentage of companies has reversed their dress codes, from casual to formal dress within the past year?A: 1 out of 5 (20%) have returned to business formal and the trend is picking up momentum.

Q: According to a recent article in the New York Times, What is the anticipated rise in productivity associated with the return of business formal dress in the work place? A: An estimated 3.6% rise in productivity. To put that in perspective, productivity rose only 1.8 percent across all sectors of the economy in 2001.

Q: What type of socks do I wear with a tuxedo?A: Very thin solid black in silky fabric

Q: Are side vents in suit coats and sport coats in style?A: Yes, it gives the impression of refinement, good taste and elegance.

Q: What is a gorge line?A: The gorge line is the distance from the shoulder at the neck point to the first button of your suit coat. For instance a new Italian model suit coat, might have a higher or lower gorge line for expression.

Q: How many buttons should there be on the sleeve of a suit or sport jacket?A: 3 or 4 buttons are acceptable. It’s a matter of personal taste

Q: Should I button all three buttons on a three button suit?A: No, You should only button the top two

Q: Regarding suits, what is meant by a "drop"?A: A "drop " is the difference between your chest and waist. For instance, typically a size 42 suit coat comes with a 36 waist trouser, so it would fit a gentleman with a 6 " drop.

Q: Are suits coming back?A: Yes in a big way! In 2002 1 out of 5 companies have reversed their dressing policies back to business formal and the trend is picking up momentum.

Q: What collar length is in style?A: The most current collar length is between 2 3/4 and 3 inches

Q: What width tie is in fashion?A: 4 to 4 1/4 inches at the widest point

Q: If I have a very serious business meeting what should I wear?A: A dark navy or charcoal suit, either solid or pinstripe.

Q: What is the current trend, pleated or non pleated pants?A: The "fashion" look today is non pleated pants. However most men prefer pleated

Q: How do I get wrinkles out of my suits, sport coats and dress slacks?A: Try steaming the bathroom and let your clothes hang for about an hour. You will be amazed how the wrinkles will disappear.

Q: How do I keep my clothes from wrinkling when I travel?A: Try putting a piece of plastic from the dry cleaner over each one. It will form air pockets between your clothing and prevent them from wrinkling.

Q: How can I make sure my suits and sport coats keep their shape?A: Do not use wire hangers. Hang them on thick wood hangers designed for suits and sport coats

Q: What are braces?A: Braces are another word for suspenders

Q: What is meant by "illusionary dressing techniques"?A: Illusionary dressing techniques are ways of dressing that make you appear taller, thinner, and more proportionate than you actually are.

Q: Should I keep my clothes in garment bags?A: No! Clothes need to breath. If you keep them in a garment bag, they will oxidize and become discolored

Q: How do I protect my cloths from moths? A: Buy cedar blocks for your closet.

Q: What should I wear with a tuxedo, a vest or a cummerbund?A: A cummerbund is traditional and conservative and a vest is more contemporary and stylish.

Q: How often should I dry clean my suits?A: Dry clean only when they are very soiled or have an odor from perspiration. Over dry cleaning will make your suits shiny and dry out the fabric. Try spot cleaning and steaming out your suits to get rid of wrinkles.

Q: What is meant by "illusionary dressing techniques"?A: Illusionary dressing techniques are ways of dressing that make you appear taller, thinner, and more proportionate than you actually are.

Q: How do I protect my cloths from moths?A: Buy cedar blocks for your closet.

Q: In a recent survey, how do most people want to appear in their clothing?A: Most people want to appear, taller, slimmer and younger.

Q: If you have a serious interview, which color suit would be your safest choice?A: A solid navy suit is the safest color to wear for an interview

Q: What is the correct tie length?A: About one half inch past the waist of your trouser

Q: Can I wear suspenders on a trouser which has belt loops?A: If you always wear suspenders, it is a cleaner look with out the belt loops. If you wear suspenders occasionally, then you can get away with the trouser having belt loops.

Q: What is the correct sleeve length for the suit coat?A: Your dress shirtsleeve should extend a half-inch beyond the suit sleeve. . Your dress shirtsleeve should extend a half-inch beyond the suit sleeve.

Q: How should a shirt collar fit?A: You should be able to gently insert two fingers through the front neck without creating a crater or gagging yourself, than the collar fits properly.

Q: What color shoes should one wear with a navy suit or navy dress slacks?A: A navy suit or slacks works best when paired with either black or cordovan

Q: Is it advisable to wear a button down shirt with a business suit?A: Actually no! The button down shirt originated with the sport of polo, to keep shirt collars from slapping into players’ faces as they rode. A button down shirt is sporty and should be worn with a sports coat or with dress slacks.

Q: Which "suit of armor " will be perceived as the most powerful for a serious business meeting?A: A dark charcoal pin stripe suit communicates the strongest power message..

Q: Can patterns be worn together for suit, shirt and ties?A: Yes! The rule is, two patterns to one solid. For instance, if the suit is a solid than you can wear a patterned shirt and tie. If the suit has a pattern than wear a pattern shirt and a solid tie or a solid shirt and a pattern tie.

Q: Can I look taller by getting dressed?A: Yes, to look taller wear vertical strips in you suits. You will optically gain one inch.

Q: When I wear a three-button suit do I button all three buttons?A: No, Only button the first two.

We remain with best regards,
your E-tailors at www.mycustomtailor.com

Assessing A Garment's Fit And Structure - Mens Two Peice, Three Peices Suits, Vests, Trousers

2004-07-29T00:38:00.000-07:00

VESTS

Most men’s suits come two-piece, since adding a third element increases their price. However, the vest has always been favored by those style-conscious men who appreciate the quiet resplendence of a third layer of wool. The businessman in his three-piece suit who removes his jacket in the office can rely on the dressiness of his waistcoat to retain some decorum while enjoying the freedom of shirt sleeved attire. A vest also augments a suit’s versatility, as its exclusion from a three-piece ensemble creates a different look.

The properly fitted vest should be long enough for its fifth button from the top to cover the trouser waistband, yet not so long that its points extend below the hip. A well-made vest has its own definite waistline, which is where the trouser waistband should hit. Men who prefer low-rise trousers that rest on the hips should avoid vests. Belts and vests should also choose other dance partners, since belts not only add further bulk to the already layered waistline, but tend to poke out from under the vest. When the suit’s trousers are supported by braces, with their pleats spilling out from under the waistcoat, the single-breasted ensemble achieves a tailored swank afforded only by the addition of this third layer.

A waistcoat should not have a skintight fit. It should be cut full enough to allow its wearer to sit comfortably with its back belt done up to keep it from riding up the trouser waistline. The top of the vest should be high enough to peek out above the waist-buttoned coat. A classic suit vest has four welt pockets, with a six-buttoned designed to leave the bottom button undone. Better-designed vests have their fronts slightly curved to conform to the single-breasted jacket’s rounded fronts. A waistcoat’s back should be longer than its front. This length is needed to cover the waistband should a man choose to bend forward. The vest’s back lining usually matches the jacket’s sleeve lining. Vests without adjustable rear belts or whose fronts and backs are of equal length are usually poorly designed and cheaply made.

Right down to its unbuttoned, cutaway bottom, the man’s tailored vest is a legacy of upper-class fashion. Even the way it is worn is a tribute to royal style. Having unbuttoned his waistcoat to relieve the pressure on his royal ampleness, Edward VII neglected to do up the eccentric fashion ensured which survives to this day.

TROUSERS

The cut of today’s tailored suit trouser is much more classic in shape than its predecessor from the fitted era. Pants have recovered from the hip-hugging jeans mentality of the sixties and the tight, plain-front Continental pant of the seventies. In the nineties, most men’s trousers have a longer rise, deeper pleats, and full-cut thighs that taper down to the ankles – exactly the way the great tailors originally designed them – to give comfort and follow the lines of the body.

During the Second World War, when the U.S. government required manufacturers to conserve fabric, plain-front trousers became standard issue, retaining their popularity throughout the gray-flannel, Ivy League era. However, all suit trousers should have pleats, just as most custom trousers did prior to the war. Pleated pants look dressier and their fuller fronts provide greater comfort than plain-front trouser: hips widen when the wearer is seated, and with less wear to the trouser. Objects placed in a front pants pocket are better concealed within a pleated trouser than a pleatless one.

The classically designed pleated trouser has two pleats on either side of its fly – a deep one near the fly and a shallower one near the pocket to help keep the main pleat closed. This arrangement maintains the working relationship between the two pleats. The current trend for multiple pleat or some other gimmick of fancified fullness reminds ma of the recent gilding of the necktie with overwrought prints, a fad that was as fleeting as it was excessive.

While having your trousers fitted, make sure the pleats are not opening . Look down to see if each leg’s front crease intersects the middle of each kneecap and finishes in the middle of each shoe. If it is off at all, the crease should err toward the inside of the trouser. A crease that falls outside the knee creates the illusion of breadth, something most men prefer to avoid.

The trouser bottom should rest with a slight break on the top of the shoe. It should be long enough to cover the hose when a man is in stride. Its width should cover about two-thirds of the shoe’s length. Cuff give the trouser bottom weight, helping to define the pleat’s crease while maintaining the trouser’s contact with the shoe. Like any detail of classic tailoring, cuff width should be neither so narrow nor so wide that it call attention to itself. To provide the proper balance, the cuffs should be 1 5/8” for a person under five feet ten, 1 3/4 if he is taller. Cuffs of 1 1/7” or 2” reflect the erratic ness of their master: fashion.

By www.mycustomtailor.com

Assessing A Suit’s Longevity - Customtailor And Mens Clothiers

2004-07-29T00:23:00.000-07:00

No other garment in the history of fashion better connotes an image of formal continuity and authority than the man’s tailored suit jacket. The permanence of its form relies on a set of design relationships whose formal composition accommodates a surprising variety. During the past thirty years, fashion has remolded the jacket’s envelope into temporal configuration ranging from boxy and short to fitted and long, each with different dispositions of button and trim. At the same time, its components have varied in shape, texture, and behavior. In spite of all these provisional arrangement, as the century draws to a close, the suit jacket continues to set the universal standard for civility in masculine attire.

While fabrics and patterns usually attract the eye first, the most important thing to consider in a suit is its silhouette. Most suits are made to last as least several years; however, more often than not, a suit’s proportions determine its useful lifetime. A suit that is extreme in silhouette is more likely to go out of style before it falls apart. The right choice can give you years of pleasure; the wrong one will haunt your closet. However, once chosen, the suit’s fit, not its design should be the focus one’s attention.

In assessing a jacket’s potential life span, four element of its design should be considered. There are the garment’s “bones”. When in accordance with the wearer’s architecture, they should flatter and enhance his stature. If the coat’s geometry conflicts with the wearer’s or deviates too far from the archetype’s acknowledged grace notes of style, the coat’s staying power will be significantly weakened.

THE SHOULDERS

As the widest part of the jacket, the shoulders’ expression sets the mood for the entire garment. The assertive eighties saw jacket shoulders attain aircraft carrier returned the shoulders to a less obtrusive, more classic positioning. Most of history’s best-dressed men had their shoulders tailored to look natural yet smart. Unless a man is extremely slope-shouldered or self-consciously short and needs the illusion of height, padded shoulders should be avoided.

The square, high shoulder became internationally fashionable with the emergence of Rome’s “Continental look” in the late fifties. Then, in the late sixties, Pierre Cardin’s hourglass suit reinforced the notion that strong shoulders were a criterion for high style. Today, gives the priority placed on understand comfort, even in the sculpted shoulder’s birthplace, the sophisticated Italian wears his hand-tailored shoulders soft, sloped, and less studied

Close attention need also be paid to the shoulder’s width. Since they frame the head, if the shoulders are cut too narrow, the head will appear larger than it actually is; if they are cut too wide, the head will appear disproportionately small.

Their width should be generous enough to permit the jacket’s fabric to fall from the shoulder in a smooth, unbroken line all the way down the sleeve. If the width hugs too narrowly, the man’s shoulder muscle will bulge out from under the top of the sleeve head, that point at which the jacket sleeve is attached to the should.

The jacket also needs enough fullness across the front and back to lie flat on a man’s chest without pulling open. A man with a strong chest requires a larger sized jacket just to accommodate this prominence. Fullness over the shoulder blades with breaks extending upward on the back from below the armholes allows ample room for free action. This extra fabric also causes the jacket to drape properly. A tight fit over the shoulder blades can make you fell as if you are in a straitjacket.

Sharp angles formed on either side of the head create an artificial formality. Stylish dressing is distinguished by its naturalness and unconscious ease. The more aggressive shoulder line is the mark of someone who is trying to look more important than he actually feels.

JACKET LENGTH

The correct length of an average man’s jacket can vary up to ฝ” without diminishing its longevity. Altering its length can play havoc with the hip pockets, moving them out of balance with the whole. Your appropriate jacket length can be established using several methods. Regardless of which is chosen, one principle must be kept in mind: the coat has to be long enough to cover the curvature of a man’s buttocks.

The first approach utilizes the arm as a guide, the other the torso. With the first method, a man uses the knuckle of his thumb to line up the bottom of his jacket. Though generally reliable, this formula has one draw back. A man with a short or average torso but long arms can end up with too long a coat. While its hip pockets may be more accessible, its excess length will swallow up his legs.

Employing the second method, the tailor measures from under the jacket’s back collar, where the collar is joined to the coat’s body, down to the floor and divides by two.

In the absence of a jacket, a buttoned shirt collar may be substituted as a starting point. This is the procedure taught in all formal tailoring schools. Both guidelines originated with America’s introduction of ready-made tailored clothing for men, which needed to establish generalities upon which to base its standards of fit. However, since either of these can be influenced by dimensions unique to the wearer’s physique, a top custom tailor will trust his learned eye to take in the whole picture before deciding on the jacket’s ideal length.

THE WAIST BUTTON

The waist button is to a suit jacket what the fulcrum is to a seesaw. If it’s off center, a delicate balance is lost. When the waist button is fastened, the entire body should be in proportion, with both legs and torso appearing at their maximum length. Since the button functions as an axis, raise it and you abbreviate the torso, lower it and the torso becomes elongated but the leg line is shortened. The correct placement of this critical element occurs ฝ” below the natural waist. To find your natural waist, put your hands around the smallest part of your torso. With the suit jacket’s final fitting, most custom tailors will pull on the fastened waist button to confirm that there is enough fullness in the jacket’s waist while observing how the coat moves on the body. An incorrectly positioned waist button calls the garment’s pedigree into immediate question.

THE GORGE

The gorge is that point where the collar and lapel meet. The coat’s design determines its positioning. While there is some flexibility in its placement on the upper chest, move it outside of this area to where it becomes a focal point and you court instant obsolescence. One American designer used to cut his lapels so high, his coats looked as if they 1980s Giorgio Armani dropped his so low, they are now decorating the backs of their owners’ closets. The lapel needs to have enough sweep to produce a graceful upswing without finishing so high on the collarbone as to make the coat appear as if it were moving backward.

Twenty years ago, this design element was never an issue. Today if the jacket’s gorge is out of sync it is usually because its placement is too low. Done initially to loosen up the coat’s starchiness, dropping the gorge too low also loosen up the coat’s longevity. Like all element of classic design, the placement of the gorge should follow geometric logic, not the arbitrariness of fashion.

INTO THE FITTING ROOM

Proper fitting can do much for a less costly suit, while a poor fit can scuttle the most expensively hand-tailored creation. If a$3,000 suit’s collar is bouncing off your neck as you walk, the suit’s value will be severely compromised. The jacket collar that creeps up or stands away from your neck is the fault of the tailor, unless he fit it while you assumed a posture other than your normal one. When standing in front of tailor’s mirror, relax, Do not stand at attention unless that is your natural stance. Standing overly erect can affect the way the tailor fits the jacket collar to your neck. Collar alterations will be even more accurate if you wear a dress shirt’s collar showing above the jacket; พ” should be exposed when wearing awing collar.

Since there should be the same amount of linen rising above the jacket’s color as that which peeks out from under its sleeve, let’s move on to sleeve length. Ninety percent of all men wear their coat sleeve too long and therefore are unable to slow that ฝ” of shirt cuff that dresses the hand of any well-attires gentleman. Since most dress shirt sleeves either shrink or are bought too short, they cannot be seen even if the jacket’s sleeve have been correctly fitted. Most tailors, in an effort to cover the wrist, finish the coat sleeve where the shirt sleeve is supposed to end. The jacket sleeve should extend to where the wrist breaks with the hand. This length should reveal ฝ” of the shirt cuff. The band of linen between sleeve and hand, like that above the jacket collar, is one of the details that defines the sophisticated dresser.

VENTS

In less than a dozen years, vent less jackets have gone from avant-garde to mainstream. This design gives the hip a cleaner, more slimming line while lending the suit a dressier stature. Though aesthetically pleasing, vent less backs lack function, as they prevent easy access to the trouser pockets in addition to wrinkling more easily from sitting. However, as this back gives a man’s torso a leaner, sexier shape, most men ignore its inconvenience.

The center vent, an American predilection, is the least aesthetic venting option, though it offers more utility than having no vent at all. While perfectly designed for spreading the two sides of a rider’s jacket across the saddle of a horse, its original intention, the single vent looks awful when a man, having put his hand in his trouser or jacket pocket, pulls it open to reveal his derriere and, if the vent is cut high enough, a fringe of disordered shirt. Savile Row custom tailors avoid the center vent like the plaque unless it is imposed upon them by a visitor from the Colonies. The single vent’s only saving grace is that it can be altered to better conceal a prominent hip than either the ready-made vent less or double-vented jacket.

The double vent or side slit offers the best combination of function and form. When you put your hands in your trouser pockets, the side vent’s flap stays down, covering the buttocks. If you are seated, the flap moves away, thereby minimizing distortions thus created, because the side vent moves the observer’s eye up from the bottom of the jacket. Since double-vented coats are costlier to manufacture and more difficult to fit than other models, you see them less frequently. However, the well-designed side-vented jacket gives its wearer a dash of style that bespeaks its English pedigree and custom-tailored tradition.

By www.mycustomtailor.com