Workman/Craftsman/Tailor--What is a suit worth?

[ides1056]

Had an engineer tell me that making a suit by hand was one of the hardest tasks, period. To get fabric to hand on the human form just so, move with it and the like, made designing a bridge seem easy by comparison.
I fit all my grandfather's and great grandfather's clothes. Wish I had had a bit more respect for them when I was off in boarding school.

[EDS]

Had an engineer tell me that making a suit by hand was one of the hardest tasks, period. To get fabric to hand on the human form just so, move with it and the like, made designing a bridge seem easy by comparison.
I fit all my grandfather's and great grandfather's clothes. Wish I had had a bit more respect for them when I was off in boarding school.

Be worthy of your heritage.

[Applesauce]

what's a $4,000 suit worth?

DORMEUIL.

...just kidding. I have no idea what a $4000 suit is worth. There was a time, though, when I was on course to learn... Thanks for the linkage. I know how to sew - fairly well, even - and it's very, very hard, very frustrating, and definitely a learned skill. But then, actual tailoring and drawing patterns is something else entirely.

[jbartmc]

NPR morning edition had a spot on this tailor yesterday. He is an artist. A hand-made suit is a true luxury.

[pdmtong]

All I know is that when I [have to] wear my Armani black label (the real deal) I feel like superman and it fits PERFECT. Absolutley perfect.

[King Of Dirk]

And, while we're at it, that they don't grow up to be cowboys either.

Do they like smoky old pool rooms and clear mountain mornins?

[Flying Pigeon]

Speaking of too good for what they charge, I think you can add Denver Bespoke.

The custom silk suit (I'm that d-bag in blue) cost less than a basic Sora bike. AJ and Liana are top notch.

[jbd3]

Speaking of too good for what they charge, I think you can add Denver Bespoke.

The custom silk suit (I'm that d-bag in blue) cost less than a basic Sora bike. AJ and Liana are top notch.

How much more blue could that suit be?

The answer is none. None more blue.

[henry g.]

Problem for the craftsman profiled is that he does not have the name to charge enough. Off the rack high zoot suits sell for the same or more then what he is charging for a ground up full custom. Sound familiar?

[nahtnoj]

Speaking of too good for what they charge, I think you can add Denver Bespoke.

The custom silk suit (I'm that d-bag in blue) cost less than a basic Sora bike. AJ and Liana are top notch.

You look like a villian from an Austin Powers movie. And I mean that as a compliment.

[e-RICHIE]

Problem for the craftsman profiled is that he does not have the name to charge enough. Off the rack high zoot suits sell for the same or more then what he is charging for a ground up full custom. Sound familiar?

Very familiar atmo - http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum...tml#post429438

[jerk]

Very familiar atmo - http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum...tml#post429438

with expensive off the rack suits you're paying for the design. depending on the designer that is worth it. I'd much rather have a dries van noten suit than the thing in that article.

[jerk]

my friend tim whom i have known my whole life graduated from the bennet school for furniture making a few years ago. he also has a phd in philosophy another in history and was a really successful contracter/carpenter before he went to the bennet school. now he lives in his parent's basement and a chair he can sell for $5000 takes him months to build.....and years to sell.

[e-RICHIE]

my friend tim whom i have known my whole life graduated from the bennet school for furniture making a few years ago. he also has a phd in philosophy another in history and was a really successful contracter/carpenter before he went to the bennet school. now he lives in his parent's basement and a chair he can sell for $5000 takes him months to build.....and years to sell.

Problem for the craftsman profiled in your post is that he does not have the name to charge enough. Off the rack high zoot chairs sell for the same or more then what he is charging for a ground up full custom. Sound familiar atmo?

[jerk]

Problem for the craftsman profiled in your post is that he does not have the name to charge enough. Off the rack high zoot chairs sell for the same or more then what he is charging for a ground up full custom. Sound familiar atmo?

right. the other problem for him is that he is beat to shit from years of hard hand work- and while his clients would never know the difference, he will not use power tools.

his shit is nice- really nice and he's really a student of design and history and all that jazz- he'll drive 20 hours to go look at a chair that's in some warehouse of some shitty museum etc....

he can also frame a house faster and better than anyone i've ever worked with but he won't do that type of work anymore. anyway-

[Bkat]

I think that one of the greater problems behind this is the lack of appreciation for craft. This applies to suits, bicycles, and just about any produced or manufactured item you can name. Present company excluded (since many of us are huge fans of custom hand-built bikes) most people want the "look" without necessarily caring about the quality.

[RickM]

right. the other problem for him is that he is beat to shit from years of hard hand work- and while his clients would never know the difference, he will not use power tools.

his shit is nice- really nice and he's really a student of design and history and all that jazz- he'll drive 20 hours to go look at a chair that's in some warehouse of some shitty museum etc....

he can also frame a house faster and better than anyone i've ever worked with but he won't do that type of work anymore. anyway-

Brevity; Is he happy?

[jerk]

Brevity; Is he happy?

not as happy as he'd be with a steady income and out of his parent's basement!

[burgess1108]

not as happy as he'd be with a steady income and out of his parent's basement!

And yet he seems more than capable of correcting that situation anytime if he truly wanted to.

[jerk]

And yet he seems more than capable of correcting that situation anytime if he truly wanted to.

this is a major thread drift- but he's having a difficult time doing it and he is trying. his body is pretty destroyed from years of hand work and carpentry- academia is a tough job market, construction is even tougher and he wants to build furniture which is even worse.....so there you go.