Men's Shirts

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

Advantages Of A Custom Made Shirt

2010-11-09T03:42:00.000-08:00

The handmade shirt has a long history worldwide and its popularity in recent years demonstrates that there is still a wealth of individuals who like the tailored look.
Perhaps they're businessmen who need to make an impression, or they're just people who take pride in what they wear, but no matter what their motivation, the handmade bespoke shirt is here to stay.
However, at times the cost of a tailor made shirts has been well outside the realm of possibility of many men, but in recent years the rise in popularity of the handmade shirt has meant that prices aren't quite so steep, with shirts now available under 75.00 specially with the advent of online custom tailors.
They can go to Savile Row to have their suit measured then take a leisurely stroll around the corner to get the shirt to match. A testament to the importance of the handmade shirt to the modern man is the amount of people who travel from the USA and beyond to get their made-to-measure shirt, year on year.
Quality is a main factor, the many years of experience offered to the creation of a handmade shirt is second to none, the sewing is beautifully accurate - no loose ends and probably the most important factor is that the shirt is comfortable to wear because it's made-to-measure for the individual.

You can choose the fabric, collar and single or double cuff designs so that you can design your perfect mens shirts, which for those that like to look good is perhaps as much a perfect proposition as it is a perfect shirt.
But aside from the perfect fit, perhaps the biggest motivation for getting yourself kitted out in a tailor made shirts is the desire to stand out from the crowd. An off the rack shirt, all be a similar style, fit, and cut. They'll also probably all be from the same shop.
Wouldn't it be nice to be the one man who's wearing a completely original, hand-made shirt that fits like a glove and looks truly amazing? A shirt that skims your shoulders perfectly, with sleeves that fit your arms to the millimetre, and a collar that neither chokes you, or gapes open round the neck, no extra fabric hanging at the back or the torso.
The shirts can be a slim fit, comfortable or loose fit with Spread collar, Full Spread, English Cut Away collar, French Cuffs, Bond Cuffs, White collar and White Cuffs,Tab Collar, Button Down Collar.
So you can see why the bespoke, tailor made shirts still lives on today despite it being an historical trend. It just goes to show that there will always be a market for the man who wants to look his best, and wear clothing that is comfortable, stylish, and completely original.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

The Elements Of Black Tie Attire

2010-09-22T22:26:00.000-07:00

The Elements of Tailor made Black Tie Attire

Unlike white tie, which is very strictly regulated, black-tie ensembles can display more variation. In brief, the traditional components are:

* A jacket with ribbed silk facings (usually grosgrain) on a shawl collar or peaked lapel (while a notched lapel is a popular modern choice, it is not traditionally considered correct)
* Trousers with a single silk or satin braid covering the outer seams
* A low-cut waistcoat or Cummerbund
* A white dress shirt with a turn-down collar, shirt studs, and cufflinks (a marcella front is traditional, but other styles are also accepted - a wing collar shirt is acceptable in the US)
* A black ribbed silk bow tie matching the lapel facings (self-tie bow ties are preferred but not necessary)
* Black dress socks, usually silk or fine wool
* Black shoes, highly polished or patent leather Oxfords, or patent leather court shoes

Tuxedo Jacket

The typical black-tie jacket is single-breasted, ventless, and black or midnight-blue; usually of wool or a wool–mohair blend. Double breasted models are less common, but are equally acceptable. The lapels may be faced with silk in either a grosgrain or less traditional satin weave. Traditionally there are two lapel options, the shawl collar, derived from the smoking jacket, and the peak lapel, from the tailcoat. The former is older, while the latter is considered more formal. A third lapel style, the notched lapel, has only recently gained popularity, and has been accepted by some as "a legitimate ... less formal alternative," although, despite some precedent, it is disdained by purists for its lounge suit derivation. In France, Italy, Brazil, Germany and Spain, the jacket is called smoking. In France the shawl-collared version is le smoking Deauville, while the peaked-lapel version is le smoking Capri.

The double-breasted jacket is slightly more modern than the single-breasted, and less formal; while it was originally considered acceptable only for wear at home (similarly to Prince Albert slippers or a smoking jacket), it is now equally correct in all situations, though traditional rules regarding slightly different selections of accessories may be followed. While more common with a peaked lapel, a shawl lapel is appropriate. All buttons that can be done up, are, including any inner ones which might normally be left undone on a double-breasted lounge suit. While two-button variants are sometimes seen, the traditional single-breasted jacket has a one-button closure.

Trousers

Black tie trousers have no turn-ups (cuffs) or belt loops. The outer seams are usually decorated with a single silk braid or less traditionally a material that matches the lapel facing. Customarily, braces (suspenders) hold up the trousers; they are hidden by the waistcoat (if worn) or by the coat. The trousers traditionally feature a pleated front, flat-front trousers being a modern innovation in this context.

Waistcoat or cummerbund

The waist is dressed in either a waistcoat (aka Vest) or a cummerbund when wearing a single-breasted coat. The waistcoat should be low-cut; traditional models may be of either the 'V' or rarer 'U' shape and may be backless or fully backed, double or single breasted, and should have shawl lapels. Single breasted styles should have no more than three buttons, and double no more than three rows.

Tuxedo Shirt

The shirt is conventionally white or off-white (cotton or linen) with a turn down collar. Its front is usually traditional marcella but can be pleated, plain, or more rarely a stiff front (as with white tie).

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Men Fashion Rule

2010-07-16T04:29:00.001-07:00

Every man has asked themselves about matching their socks with their trousers and other assorted questions at some point in their lives. Here I have listed three important men's fashion rules to live by.

1. Always match your belt with your shoes. This is a good rule to follow and it keeps things simple. It's best to stay with traditional colors such a black, dark brown or a rich tan. Other colors will be difficult to match, and generally speaking, should be avoided. If you wear sneakers every day that probably means you are wearing jeans in which case I suggest trying a belt made of fabric or something equally as casual, but please avoid dress belts with jeans and sneakers. If you wear suspenders, I am compelled to ask you why, but I digress. Just don't wear a belt and suspenders together, it's one or the other.

2. Matching Ties and Shirts. For while the solid-colored shirt with a tie of the same (or slightly-off) color was seen everywhere. This is now a somewhat dated look. Try mixing things up a little and experiment with colors. Ties are great way to express yourself, but keeping it tasteful is your best bet. You can't go wrong with diagonal stripes, modern polka-dots, plaids and subtle patterns. Just make sure your tie compliments your shirt, suit, sweater or what ever you will be wearing it with. Novelty ties are best avoided since the novelty is short lived.

Note: Ties should be tied in whatever style most strikes your fancy. You should know that there are many different ways to knot your tie, and different knots say different things. I prefer the Windsor or the four-in-hand, but I do suggest that you explore a little just for kicks. As for clip on ties--just say no.

3 . Pleats vs. Flat-Front. Why so many men have avoided flat-front trousers has always been a mystery to me. Flat-front trousers look better than pleated pants, at least most of the time. Plus pleats make you look less slim. I have heard guys wear pleats because it’s more comfortable or because flat-fronts are more for athletic bodies. Truth is most men can wear a flat-front trouser. If you want more room then buy them a little big and have them brought in at the waist. This can be done at the store where you buy your clothes or by an independent tailor. And lastly, flat-font trousers are much more fashionable.
Flat-front trousers look better than pleated pants, at least most of the time. Plus pleats make you look less slim.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Mens Dress Shirts

2010-02-09T21:14:00.001-08:00

See How A Simple Men's Shirt Can Enhance Your Look, Personality And Appearance In An Instant

Ask a man this simple question. What can enhance your look, personality and appearance in a matter of moments?

Some may find it difficult to say? The answer is a quality shirt. Shirts can help to reorganize the way you look. A Shirt is comfortable and can be cool, fashionable, elegant and stylish. It symbolizes freedom, comfort and individuality of that concerned person. You can wear them for casual, wedding, dinner, business, travelling, all seasons, and anytime and for any purpose.

While selecting a shirt you need to take notes on fashion, coordination that matches your skin and hair color. Imagine a light haired man with fair colored skin tone, in a pure white shirt. The pure white shirt cannot do a thing to enhance his appearance. Shirts come in different fabrics and textures generally to fit you well as well as being versatile, and more economical too.

Shirts are the easiest way for you to reflect your personal style. They are not only for style, but also it is a cover to partly safeguard and protect your skin from the hot sun, dust and cold. Plenty of fabrics like cotton, poplin, linen and wool in different textures, and blended varieties are available.

Cotton garments are durable and very comfortable to wear. Some choices like 60%, 80% cotton blended with other fabrics is suitable for some, while 100% cotton is preferred by many. The different types of cotton shirts are Casual Wear cotton shirts, Mens dress shirt, Polo shirt; knitted cotton wears, cotton T shirts etc.

Linen is epitomized as luxury. The coolness, strength and brilliance is most often found in linen compared to cotton. Linen is woven into fabrics. It is durable, strong and resists rotting in wet climates.

There are endless impressive displays of shirt styles and designs to choose from. Versatile styles of men?s shirts remain as the formal shirt casual shirt tailored shirt slim fit shirt, evening , business, cuffed shirt, long sleeve, short sleeve and summer shirt. Thousands of stripes, patterns, colors, and

a wide variety of crisp white shirt fabrics are also available.

Choose double cuffs or button cuffs. Renowned designers never miss to add this type to their catalog. For grand occasions wear a double cuff shirt with Cuff links or cuff fabric knots etc. This button cuffed shirt should suit any perfect evening wear.

We all know very well the collar shape is controlled by the neckline. A broader face with a thick neck and tiny collar will look imbalanced. Likewise a shirt with long points may drown a small man with different features. You have to choose your collar, standard collar Cut Away Collar, Button down Collar and wing collars are available.

Some of the world's most renowned and followed brands are said to be The Russell Collection, Patagonia cotton, American Apparel Brand Lion Brand to name a few. These brands have established themselves strongly and you can pick your favorite, without thinking about quality and other particulars.

Benefits Of Online Purchase:

Is it possible to search all the brands and collections in a retail shop? Your shirt purchase is easy with just a click here. Sure, in this world all things are possible! The most inexpensive way to shop for shirts is online. What can you get online? You can avoid stepping into all those stores to find
the shirt of your taste, plus you can save time and escape from roaming tirelessly. Not only that, when compared to the traditional shopping system the price will be cheaper, because online shoppers do not include show room maintenance charges, extra advertisement charges etc.

Moreover large volumes of versatile fabrics, styles, designs, colors and sizes can be viewed by sitting in your own living room, and can get clarified immediately by email or over the phone to make your order. The online purchase is safer for money handling. You need not go to the bank to draw out your money. You can buy with your Master, Visa, Discover, American Express etc, Debit cards are also accepted. So why delay? Start browsing, to select the right shirt and enjoy the benefits.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Contrast & Seasons On Color Selection

2009-08-29T02:16:00.001-07:00

The first thing a person notices about a dress shirt is its color. In a crowded room of suits, your choice of shirt colors will either help you stand out or blend in; the key here is what are your intentions and do you know how to mix and match your clothing in order to fulfill them. The only way to do this is to gain mastery in understanding 1) what color shades compliment you and 2) how those same colors frame you in your environment. The goal of this article is to help you to begin to understand both.

The Role of your Complexion, Hair, and Eye Color

A man's complexion, hair color, and eye color are the key indicators he should use when selecting the color of a fabric which will cover his body. Unfortunately, most men make their color decision based on what they have worn in the past, what colors are readily available, and the ever-changing winds of fashion. The result is what you see today, a sea of solid white and blue shirts. The two most important factors in selecting shirt color are a man's skin tone and hair color. Eye color is a wild-card factor; in the cases where eye color strongly contrasts a man's complexion and hair color, it can be used to introduce colors that would otherwise have not compliment an individual. It is the relationship between these three factors that determines what contrast category a man falls into: either High, Low, or Medium Contrast

High Contrast Men

Put simply, these are men whose hair color is a stark contrast to their skin tone; black hair with white skin is a perfect example. For high contrast men, the key to looking good is to be able to mimic this color difference in their clothing with the contrast in their facial zone. A dark navy suit with a white shirt and a charcoal suit with an ice blue shirt are two combinations that compliment high contrast men. In general, light colored shirts with dark suits and dark/vibrant ties with light colored suits. Dark shirts with light suits can be accomplished, but pulling this off requires skill. High contrast men are always complimented by strong ties that stand out from the shirt.

Low Contrast Men

As the name suggests, these are men with a muted appearance. Light hair and light skin is the most common variant, but men with red hair, bald men, and men with little hair also fall into this category. The strengths of these men are the exact opposite of the high contrast men above. Low contrast men should seek a monochromatic look, as that a strong contrasting outfit will easily overpower their muted tones. Remember the purpose of a frame (your clothing) is to enhance the picture (your face). In general, low contrast men fair well with dark blues and earth tone dress shirts combined with dark suits. When wearing light gray or tan suits, the low contrast gentlemen needs to stay with lighter colored shirts and earth tones; white is permissible here if the suit is light enough to avoid a stark contrast. Be careful in your choice of tie, if the neck-wear stands out too much it can draw attention from your face to your chest and stomach.

Medium Contrast Men

If you don't fall into one of the two extremes, you most likely fit into this group. Brown skinned men with dark hair are common members, along with lighter skinned men and with gray and white hair. With such a wide selection of facial tones and hair colors, it's hard to give specific guidance in this category. What we will say is that most men do not fit exactly in the middle; instead they lean towards either low or high contrast. The afore mentioned dark haired men with brown skin; they lean towards the high contrast, and can not only utilize that man's color combinations but they can get away with a few subtle monochromatic combinations. The same with the light skinned gentlemen with gray hair. He is more similar to the low contrast individual, and would do well to follow the rules set forth for that man. However, he can very successfully pull off a contrasting outfit, especially if his eyes or another feature compliment the color combination chosen. To sum it up, medium contrast men can enjoy the best of both worlds, but should be careful when venturing too far in one direction.

The Role of Seasons

It should be mentioned that although your natural colors are the dominant factors in determining what color clothing you should wear, they are not the only things you should pay attention to. A dandy also gives attention to the seasons, paying heed to the effect the colors around him have on the ensemble he has put together. The dark suit and dark colored shirt you decide to wear may look magnificent on you, but at a summer wedding you'll find yourself not only hot under the collar but sticking out like a sore thumb. Let's take a quick look at the seasons and the shades of color they invoke.

Spring

The season of re-birth, it's here that we pinks, lavenders, and lighter shades of blue. Lighter weight fabrics are dusted off from their winter sleep, and a man would speak well of himself to wear multi-colored checks and stripes that compliment him.

Summer

A time when light and bold colors dominate the scene. Gold striped shirts, red checks, and of course a wide variety of blue solids and patterns should grace the wardrobe of the well dressed man. 100% cottons, linens, and silks are popular fabric choices because of their wicking qualities.

Fall
Earth Tones and heavier fabrics begin to make their appearance. Clothing tends to take on a somber appearance with the onset of cooler weather, and now with the weather getting cooler is a good time to wear blends. Their heat retention qualities are good on an cold evening you are caught without an overcoat.

Winter

Dark colors and heavy fabric such as flannels make their appearance. You can enliven your wardrobe a bit with a pink or maize oxford, but winter is the season you want to get your money's worth from the fabrics designed to keep you warm. Forest green and brown tones are a stable during this season.

It's important to remember that confidence in ones appearance is vital to looking great. When people look at you a tad longer than usual, you need to have the confidence in your outfit to know that it's because you look that good (as opposed to looking that bad!). Our advice is to have the courage to know yourself, and from that knowledge choose the colors that best compliments you as an individual.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Men Dress Shirts

2009-08-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

Shirt fabrics or "Shirtings", as they are called by those in the industry, come in a wide variety of weave types. They are made from a range of fibers, with cotton being the most common. Most fabric names refer to the particular method in which it underlying fibers were woven. We won't go into it here, but be aware that the thickness and characteristics of the cotton fiber (shape, cleanliness, length) come into play when determining the quality and function of the total product.

Oxford Fabric

Oxford cloth is the coarsest shirting; it is nonetheless quite soft and comfortable. A casual fabric, it is naturally found on the button-down collar shirt, but in the US is perfectly acceptable for most business occasions. In colored and patterned Oxford shirts only the threads running in one direction are dyed, with the other threads being left white. This gives it a basket-weave, meaning the fabric's warp and weft threads cross each other in pairs. It has a characteristic textured appearance (which lends to its casual feel). Pinpoint oxford is woven likewise but of finer yarn and is smoother and more formal. Royal Oxford is finer still and can blend seamlessly with a fine wool suit and expensive tie.

Poplin Fabric

Poplin bears a smoother texture than oxford, but similar weight. This is the result of a fine yarn running one way with a thicker one interweaving it. Poplin shirt fabric is soft and comfortable and often used in casual shirts. Colors find themselves easily at home here, and it takes sporty patterns especially well.

Twill Fabric

Cotton twill has a shimmery diagonal weave and makes for richly textured shirts that can still be considered professional wear. In herringbone twill, the direction of the diagonals switches back and forth every quarter inch, giving the fabric more depth. When the occasion calls for a out of the ordinary solid shirt, twill plays the role with panache by creating texture and an up close display of detail.

Broadcloth Fabric

Broadcloth shirt fabric is a weave is very similar to broadcloth except more densely packed, is one of the most formal shirting for day-to-day wear. End-on-end broadcloth is that made by interweaving threads of alternating colors for a visual texture so subtle it appears solid from an arm's length away. Thanks to its tight weave, this cloth displays patterns with exquisite precision.

End-on-End Fabrics

A plain one-on-one weave, this fabric traditionally uses white with another color to create a subtle check effect and texture. Occasionally, two colors are used to create a "double shot" of color. The liberal use of pattern and the eye catching weave peg this fabric as casual wear, but with the right collar and tie this fabric weave could find itself in even the most conservative banker's closet.

Formal Shirt Fabrics

Formal shirts are made of white piqué cotton, which boasts a rich, woven texture. This is the only shirt proper for black tie or white tie, and it is not appropriate for anything else. You will know this fabric by the fineness of its weave, lack of visible pattern, and smoothness of its feel.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

Men Dress Shirts

2009-08-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

Business Casual

2009-08-28T21:02:00.001-07:00

In the European tradition, casual is the dress code which emphasizes comfort and personal expression over presentation and uniformity. It includes a very wide variety of costume,
Casual wear is typically the dress code in which new forms of gender expression are attempted before being accepted into semi-casual or semi-formal situations.

The term casual describes a wide variety of clothing, ranging from smart casual to active attire.

Smart Casual

Typical events: Business purposes, church events, everyday wear

Smart casual usually consists of a blazer or a sports jacket a collared shirt, and dress trousers. A necktie is increasingly optional. Although suits technically fall into the informal category, so are casual enough to be considered smart casual instead. Smart casual footwear includes shoes and loafers, but not sneakers (trainers), or men's sandals.

Business Casual

Typical events: Business purposes, church events,

Business Casual is among the most fluid and varied of dress codes,
Generally speaking, ties are not worn with business casual. Most codes require that a collared shirt be worn,Dress pants or cotton twills such as chinos (khakis) are acceptable, but jeans often are not. Sports jackets are optional. Again, while loafers and other casual shoes are acceptable, sneakers and men's sandals are not. Business casual is now acceptable in some business situations and industries, but not all.

Business casual means dressing professionally, looking relaxed yet neat and pulled together.

For women: A reasonable length skirt (not mini-skirt) or full-length pants of a non-jeans material combined with a sleeved top (such as a dress shirt, polo, or sweater set) is considered acceptable. An informal dress with sleeves and appropriate skirt length is also acceptable.

For men: A combination of collared shirt (such as a dress shirt or polo shirt), cotton trousers (such as khakis), or tennis shirt with a belt, and shoes (such as loafers) with socks is generally acceptable

Unacceptable for either gender: sleeveless shirts, gym clothes, rumpled or ripped clothing, (micro) miniskirts, underwear as outerwear, bizarre hair color or styles, inappropriately revealing attire such as bare midriffs, and flip-flops.

E-tailor at www.mycustomtailor.com

How to Make Your Interview Wardrobe

2009-01-28T21:37:00.001-08:00

Interview Wardrobe

The clothes you choose to wear to your interview will create the first-and most important-impression upon those who matter, up until your first day on the job. At that point, you can start to relax into the club’s attire. But at this point, dressing to impress is mandatory, and the clothes you choose are critical. This section discusses the interview wardrobe’s key pieces, and the messages they send.
“At one time, the most qualified person got the job. Today, in a situation where three people with equal qualification are interviewed for a job, the one with the best communication skills gets it.”

WHAT DO YOUR CLOTHES SAY TO THE INTERVIEWER?

BLOUSE
Uptight or Elegant?
PEARLS Pretentious or Pulled together?

SUIT JACKET

Suit Jacket Long ago pilfered from menswear , the jacket acts a strong, no-nonsense centerpiece to any business look. It gives the body shape, suggests stature, and imparts the wearer with confidence. Because its overall intent is to convey power, a jacket’s workmanship, quality, and tailoring are critical.

FABRIC Should drape smoothly, not appear stiff, shiny, or flimsy.
COLOR Neural-black, gray, navy’ or beige.
SHAPE Slightly nipped in at waist.
POCKETS Optional pockets lie flat and are lined. Do not remove string to open.
LENGTH Hem extends to the bottom of the hips.
SLEEVES Sleeves land at the base of the thumb.
COLLAR Collar lies smooth and flat against the neck.
SHOULDERS Shoulders are structured but not overpadded.
LAPELS Medium to small lapels<3”1/4 from seam to point is ideal> lie flat without buckling.
FIT Armholes should fit well-not too baddy, no too tight; this part of the jacket can’t be tailored.
STYLE Single-breasted.
BUTTONS Buttons are the same color or darker than the suit and never too large, flashy, or covered in fabric.

Suit Skirt

WHAT IT SAYS
Formal, urban, conservative.
FABRIC Drapes smoothly.
NO BELT LOOPS
SHAPE Simple-a-lime or straight, not too tight and never frilly.
DETAILS For maximun versatility, the waist should not require a belt.
FIT Skirt should not be too tight or too short-do a sitting text in tit before purchasing. Check the rearview mirror. What look fabulous from the front can cling or slouch from other angles.
QUALITY Make sure seams are even and not pulled. Check that lining is firmly intact.
LENGTH To the knee. It’s the length that says, “I’m professional” and looks best on most legs. Shorter could be considered too fashiony; longer, more traditional.

Suit Pants
WHAT IT SAYS
Confident, contemporary, practical.
FIT Pants should drape smoothly over the body, with no tight areas that droop. Check that the pocket lining is smooth and not bulky.
OUALITY Check that fabric hangs evenly and seams are not mismatched or pulled.
THE BOTTOM LINE The seat of the pants should be neither overly baggy nor clingy. To ensure proper fit, check your rearview mirror and sit down while wearing the pants.
ZIP CODE Side, front, or rear closure are acceptable.
BANISH BELT LOOPS
For your first suit, a clean waistline is the most flexible. Belt loops always require a belt and that your top is tucked in.
FLAT FRONT VS. PLEATS
Both are professional; the flat front is more slimming and sophisticated.
LENGTH
The pant leg should break at the instep. When having your pants hemmed, bring the shoe you will most often wear with them.
CUFFED LEG VS. CLEAN
Both are acceptable; a clean leg is more versatile.

Tops are key wardrobe enhancers: Change your top and essentially you’ve changed your look. Choose shirts and that are compatible with your suits. Make sure each top fits comfortably under your suit jacket-and looks suitably professional should you take your jacket off.
BLOUSE
A soft, somewhat loose feminine top. Conservative, confident, ladylike. FIRST PURCHASE: Solid white, cream, black, or a color to match your suit.
SHIRT
Button-front, cuffed-and-collared top inspired by menswear. Efficient, classic; respects authority. Choose a classic, men’s style dress collar; a button-down can be limiting. FIRST PURCHASE; Solid, white cotton.
T-SHIRT
Trim, collarless, cotton or jersey top. Easygoing but organized. Ready to roll up your sleeves Choose substantial, opaque cotton or cotton blend with stretch-anything flimsy will lose its shape. Make sure neck is not saggy or baggy. Keep it plain . Try a shot of color.

FIRST PURCHASE: Solid white, black, or to match the color of your suit.
1 JACKET+4 TOPS = 3 DRESS CODES
Shoes

Never underestimate the power of shoes. A good pair can make a ho-hum dress look like a million bucks. The wrong ones can send a great suit straight into the gutter. Shoes also tend to make at-a-glance statements about your workplace identity, and your message better be clear-I’m capable, confident, and yes, great with derails.

Portfolio
A portfolio is a sleek and efficient alternative to the handbag. It can help keep resumes presentable, hold a notepad, and conceal any preinterview cheat sheets you want to study en route to your meeting.

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

Shirt And Ties Combos

2008-02-12T01:42:00.001-08:00

collection, variation is critical. Different fabrics, collars, and styles can make even the most basic shirts seem unique. Also, as you add patterns, be cognizant of what will with your jackets and ties.

SHIRT&TIE (BUTTON-DOWN COLLAR)
The name refers to the collar, which buttons to the shirt. And the statement is classic conservative. If you looked any more Ivy League you’d have ivy growing on you. Though the most casual of dress shirts. Therefore, it looks best with a sport jacket, not with a suit. It also is the best shirt for travel because wrinkles don’t show as much.

TIE: SMALL DOT , TONAL

SHIRT&TIE (Spread Collar)
Once thought of as a European-style shirt, the spread collar is now an American staple. Made of broadcloth, it gives a little more polish to a suit and tie. This shirt style looks best on men with thin faces as it will give the appearance of width.

SHIRT&TIE (Point Collar)
French blue, a deep blue shirt that also has European roots, can be worn with either a straight or spread collar. Learn the blue this shirt looks especially natty with a navy suit and a dark blue tie.

TIE: SMALL DOT , TEXTURED

SHIRT&TIE (Oxford Cloth Shirts)
A button-down oxford cloth shirt is classic preppy. It is the starter shit worm with the starter tie, usually a rep, for most boys. The oxford cloth is a rougher weave and less formal than most other cottons, so a button-down collar is fitting. It can be blue or white, even yellow or pink. It’s relaxed and friendly and priced, perfect for casual dress-down days, while being business appropriate. Dress up with a tie and blazer. Keep away from formal suits or occasions.

TIE: CLUB , PAISLEY

SHIRT&TIE (Stripe Shirts)
Shirt with thin, vertical stripes in one color are a business staple. The wider the stripe, however, the more eccentric the wearer. The same goes for multicolored striped shirts; anything more than two hues is a bit much. Pairing ties with striped shirts can be trick at times. Solids are always safe. Striped ties work well as long as the shirt. The same goes for patterns they should be bolder than the stripe.

TIE: LARGE DOT , REP

SHIRT&TIE (Colorful Shirts)
Color is an excellent way to break out of the monotony of white and blue. For now, light pastels pink, yellow, purple, even green are the safe way to go. They express individuality without being gaudy. Since the shirt is already adding a splash of color, try not to overpower it with an equally colorful tie. And be careful not to clash colors say, a bright red with a pink.

TIE: PATTERN , REP

SHIRT&TIE (Pattern Shirts)
Less formal than a stripe, a patterned shirt is ideal for days when you are feeling more casual but still want to look professional. It will likely, but not necessarily, have a button-down collar. Whether it’s a gingham check, a plaid, or a tatter sall a patterned shirt is best worn under a sport jacket, and paired with a tie. Solids often work best.

TIE: TEXTURED , SMALL PATTERN

SHIRT&TIE (French Cuff Shirts)
No dress shirt is as formal as white with French cuffs. Unlike those with barrel cuffs, shirts with French cuff links. They come with straight or spread collars. This shirt looks best with a suit, though it can be worn with a sport jacket. Either way, save it for lunch with the boss.

KNOTTY BUT NICE NECKTIES
The best pair of first cuff is a set of navy silk knots. Simple yet elegant (and very inexpensive), they come in almost every color and combination.

HOW TO CHOOSE: CUFF LINKS
When putting on silk knots start inside and work out.
When putting on cuff links, align holes, then start at the top and work down. Or call for help.

TIE: SMALL PATTERN - CUFF LINK: SILVER OVAL
TIE: SOLID - CUFF LINK: SILK KNOT

POLOS
For those who can dress down (somewhat) at the office, a polo shirt or sweater is a smart option. With the advent of casual Fridays, it became a new classic. In cold weather, a long-sleeve merino polo is ideal (you can also put a white, navy or black T-shirt underneath one), and in warmer climates, a smooth knit polo with a longer collar works best.

WORD TO THE WISE
Save those pique polo (those with nub by cotton fabric) for the weekends. They are too laid-back for the office.

Sweaters
A sweater at the office is really only needed in cold weather climates, but in some workplaces it may be acceptable office attire without a jacket. If you’re wearing it with a jacket, merino wool is the most lightweight and shouldn’t affect the fit of the coat. (Nor should a slightly heavier cashmere vest.) V-neck is better than crew neck, especially if you are wearing a tie. Charcoal and navy would be the colors to start with, and in general, sweaters go best with sport jackets not suits.

BLACK V-NECK MERINO SWEATER
WHITE SHIRT
PAISLEY TIE

Following the rule of two solids and one pattern, this combination works well with a pair of gray flannel or black trousers. The simple pairing of black and white is offset by the burst of color and pattern in the tie.

NAVY V-NECK LAMB’S WOOL VEST
GINGHAM SHIRT-SOLID BLUE TIE
A dressed-up alternative for a casual Friday, this combination adds a bit of polish to an otherwise relaxed shirt and sweater paring. Note how the solid blue tie doesn’t compete with the shirt. This could work well with a pair of gray or tan trousers and a blue blazer.

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

Shop Smart

2008-02-12T01:24:00.000-08:00

WHAT DO I BUY FIRST?

Primary:

* Suits
* Sport jackets
* Dress shirts
* Dress pants
* Ties

Secondary:

* Chinos
* Sweaters
* Polo shirts
* Shoes
* Socks
* Belts
* Overcoats
* Accessories

SHOP SMART : PANTS

Color:

Dark gray = All business.
Black = Sophisticated, urban.
Tan = Earthy but sophisticated.

Fabric:

For year-round, mid weight wool and wool blends will get you through most seasons. In summertime, a tropical wool or linen is often more comfortable, while winter, a heavier wool or wool flannel will keep you better insulated.

Style:

Again, the big decision here is whether to go with pleated or flat-front pants. Each is appropriate, but some larger men may find pleated trousers more roomy, although flat-front is more slimming. Pleated pants should be cuffed (1 ½”) whereas flat-front trousers often look more streamlined when unruffled. As for the width of the legs, styles vary slightly every season, but not enough so that it’s noticeable. Basically, stay away from the extremes: Too narrow or too baggy. Most important, wear your trousers on your gut, but it only highlights the fact that you have one. It just looks sloppy.

SHOP SMART: THE POLO SHIRT/SWEATER

What it says: Although more casual than a shirt and tie, a nice polo sweater says you know how to work hard and still be comfortable.
How to say it best: A polo shirt works best with a sport jacket, but it’s refined enough to be paired with a suit. Navy and charcoal gray will mix best with your suits, while a maroon or dark green would likely go well with the sport jackets.

SHOP SMART : BRIEFCASES

Soft briefcase: The soft briefcase has replaced the hard case in the last decade.
How to say it best: A soft leather briefcase should also be black, dark brown, or tan with either brass or silver fixtures.
The attaché case: This tradition hand case tells people you’re all business nothing is going to get in the way of your work, even if you have to lock it up.
How to say it best: Black, brown, or tan leather with brass or silver fixtures.

GOALS

Three or four suits, several sport jackets and pants, many shirts and ties, a few pairs of shoes, and handful of power accessories.

Why it matters: Building the proper business wardrobe is critical to success in the workplace as it prepares you for every occasion and signals to everyone that you being.

Guidelines: What do I need? How much do I need?

Quality control: At this point in your professional life, buy the best you can afford for your budget. It will certainly affect the quantity of what you purchase, but in the long run, the quality items will last longer and give you a greater return on the investment.

SHOP SMART: Buy a Business Suit

The suit you buy for your interview will not be the last one you ever buy, but since it may be the first one you own, it has to be versatile: Think of it as the Swiss Army knife in your closet.
To continue reading about mens business suits and how to buy them or order your business suits with us, check out this link.

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

Tailored Clothing For Smart Dresser

2007-10-23T22:47:00.000-07:00

Tailored Clothing For Smart Dresser
LAWS OF DRESSING
1. You don’t have to spend a lot on clothes to look like you’ve spent a lot.
2. Dark color will always look more authoritative.
3. Classics are classics for a reason.
4. Dressing appropriately is like having good manners.
5. A tie should always be tied and in place, not worn half mast.
6. Nobody sees the label.
7. Quality is more important than quantity.
8. When in doubt, wear navy or Grey.
9. Clothes don’t make the man. (Though they can fake the man.)

TIPS OF SMART SHOPPING
1. Dress appropriately for the stores you will be shopping in.
2. Wear a white dress shirt, dress socks, and the shoes you would wear for the outfit.
3. Always try things on.
4. Always look in the mirror , preferably a there-way mirror
5. If it doesn’t look good in the store, it won’t look good at home.
6. There’s nothing with the lights in the store.
7. When something is on sale, don’t buy it unless you would have bought it at full price if you could have afforded it.
8. Something that’s a little big can be tailored to fit. Something that’s tight will only get tighter.
9. Shoes don’t stretch.
10. The salesperson is supposed to tell you it looks great on you.

DEADLY SINS
1. Jackets that are too tight in the shoulders, snug in the waist, and won’t button make you look like a trussed turkey.
2. Wear socks to the office, unless you work at the beach.
3. Just because it looked good on you ten years ago, doesn’t mean it still does.
4. Until you see the animals lining up in toes, don’t have your pants tailored too short. They should have a break. Don’t let your jacket be too short, your bottom line should never be visible.
5. Belt are to hold up your pants not some sort of technology tool holder. Pagers, phones and other digital elements belong in jacket pockets.
6. Pants that are too baggy look silly and pants that are too tight just look uncomfortable.
7. Wearing suspenders and a belt is redundant and redundant.
8. You will look like a squeezed tube of toothpaste if your shirt is too tight in the collar.
9. Hoods on overcoats.
10. If you have to ask if it goes together, it probably doesn’t.

Strategic Dressing

WHO LOOKS PROFESSIONAL AND WHAT ARE THEY WEARING?
One of the basic rules of office attire is: Dress for the job you want to have, not the job you have. So look around. Who has that job now? And how does he dress for that job? Now, who does he work for and so on.
Every office or corporation has a dress code. Learning to read yours properly is a major step toward getting ahead.

ALL DRESSED UP AND SOMEWHERE TO GO
Once you have cracked the office dress code, you have to consider what to wear for different professional occasions and situations. What may be appropriate for a morning meeting might not work for a business lunch or for a presentation. Begin by asking yourself what message you want to send and then find the appropriate clothes in your closet. Here a few different scenarios:

Leading a meeting Obviously what you’re after here is authority, and nothing says authority like a suit. After all, there’s reason why when people refer to management they call them “suits” Since, in many offices, men remove their jackets while working, pay attention to the shirt you’re wearing: Make sure it’s crisp and clean.

Giving a presentation When giving a presentation, you clearly want to have authority and draw attention to yourself. The key here is not to draw so much attention that you take away from the presentation.
Once again, a suit is called for with a shirt and tie. And here is how you draw attention to yourself: With the tie. Without being too ostentations or visually distracting, the shirt-and-tie combination should reflect power. Perhaps a shirt with French cuffs and a woven tie?

Client lunch It is, of course, most important to come across as professional, but you must also be able to read the culture of the culture of the person you are meeting. Do they wear suits? Sport jacket? What about ties? The goal here is to be yourself but, at the client by dressing more formally than they do; rather, show them the proper respect by dressing up more than you normally do if their corporate culture is more formal than yours.

Job review This is just like a job interview so look your best. If you normally wear a suit to office, do so now. If you don’t usually wear one, doing so will only make you look stiff and feel uncomfortable. In that case, you should still dress up: Wear a sport jacket and tie. Show that you care, but don’t look at thought you’re trying too hard.

Boss wants to have drinks First of all, relax. It’s only good. If you wear in trouble, you would go to boss, the boss, the boss wouldn’t come to you. That said, look sharp. Yes, it’s a social to show your personally. In other words, wear a tie that the boss might admire. Or a unique pair of cuff inks that might spark a conversation. And don’t drink too much.

From – Dress Smart for Men

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

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

2006-08-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

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

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

2006-07-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

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

You Can Wash Silk At Home

2006-06-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

The following newspaper article has some suggestion concerning read-made silk clothing -

Labels reading “dry clean only” are a a put-off to many who view them as surcharges on their
Original investment. A silk blouse that is going to cost you $25 in cleaning fees over te nest year is on longer a $100 blouse, but a $125 blouse.

And sine silk, cotton and other natural fibers have been around a lot longer than the dry cleaner, why the label?

Self-protection. Care instructions are required by law, and it is much easier for stores and manufacturers to advise dry cleaning than it is to rely on the customer to take the time and patience required to clean and maintain fine fabrics.

Yet, the care and feeding of fine fabrics is on more difficult, or time consuming, than regular hair care, according to a spokesman for a silk company.

Silk is a protein fiber, like hair, he says, You should not do anything to silk you could not do to your hair. You should not use hot water, use lukewarm or cool water. You should use only the purest of soaps with no detergents. Fry it with sense. You would not take your hair and mangle it up, fry it gently and air dry it.

Two keys to determining if a garment will wash at home are color and construction. Brightly colored, brilliantly colored, dark colors and patterned silks are better left to the dry cleaner.
“It is almost impossible to have color-fast colors in silk”, he says “with a brilliant fuchsia blouse you will lose the color less quickly with fry cleaning.

Garments with complicates construction, lining and trim also candidates for the dry cleaners, Fortunately, with the natural look as popular as natural material, most silk blouses and dresses are simply constructed these days.

If you garment passes these two tests, what is the next step?

Try your cleaning the garment the first two times. The steaming part of the process may help set the dye and if there is any shrinkage left, it will shrink at the dry cleaner.

The procedure for hand washing at home is really simple:
Fill the sink with lukewarm water,(70-90 degrees is fine). Use a natural soap in a liquid from such as Woolite, lvory Liquid, or a Casstile soap.
Place the unfolded garment in the water and let it soak for a few minutes. Then gently agitate it by plunging the garment up and down.
Drain the water out and rinse the garment several times, again with lukewarm or cool water. If you are unsure about any soap residue, smell the garment. It should not smell soapy or scented.
After careful rinsing, remove the garment and hang to dry on a plastic hanger or a wooden hanger padded with wash cloth. Do not wring the water out. Over the bathtub is the ideal to hang the garment since it will drip.

Silks dry very quickly so it is recommended to check back in an hour or so and gently separate the sides of the garment so it will dry smoothly and need less pressing.
For pressing there are two routes. The first is to press the garment while still damp, on the wrong side with a dry iron set at about 250 degrees.

The second route is to use a steam iron. Here the temperature adjustment is crucial since if it is too high it will scorch the silk and if it is too low it may drip water and spot the silk. If you do get a water drop, it is not permanent. Just immerse in water, dry and press again.

A quick test for color-fastness is to take a part of the garment that will not show, such as the facing, and dampen it with wash cloth. Then place two white paper towels on either side of the fabric and bear down as hard as possible. If any color shows up on the towels, you that the silk is not color-fast.

The biggest enemy of silks is the stain caused by perspiration, especially combined with deodorant. To lessen the damage from perspiration you can use a natural form of deodorant such as baking soda, talcum powder or even cologne. If all else fails, you can make dress shields out of lightweight material. It’s not the perspiration that is so bad, you need to try to keep the sticky deodorant off the fabric.
(Above ideas taken from local newspaper)

The following are our suggestions:

SEWING WITH SILK – HELPFUL HINTS ON THE CARE OF SILK FABRIC
Characteristics – it is only natural for silks to have some irregularities, this the nature of 100%, the silk fabric – surface variations in silk are to be expected and are desirable. Silk, after all, is a natural fiber, and variations in the weave of silk fabrics are characteristic of the fabric and are in no way to be considered defective. We concur with the hand washing recommendations, but suggest the following for dry cleaning.

Dry Cleaning – We recommend bulk dry cleaning at a Laundromat, when this facility is available in your city. (We have heard from a few of our customers that they cannot find a bulk dry cleaner.) This method is one in which you can dry clean up to 5 pounds of garments for an inexpensive fee, like $4.50 in our area. Your garments will come out beautiful and require very little touch-up pressing (with a steam iron set on “low wool” and on the wrong side, using a press cloth as may be needed). There is no need to use the expensive single garment method if you have a dependable bulk facility. You may preshrink your silk fabric by the bulk dry cleaning method before cutting and sewing – include the linings, interfacing, etc.

SILKS TREATED PROPERLY WILL REPAY YOU TIME AND AGAIN WITH THEIR HARDWEARING AND LONGLASTING BEAUTY AND LUXURY

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

How To Ensure A Proper Fit

2005-06-30T23:05:00.000-07:00

Button-down shirts

Shirts divided into more basic areas...

Sleeves & Cuffs
Dress shirts tend to shrink after a few washings, so before buying and getting a shirt tailored, make sure the sleeve is slightly longer in order to counteract any eventual shrinkage. So what's the right length when it comes to shirt sleeves? They should cover your wrist and reach the beginning of your thumbs. As well, your cuffs should be tight enough to prevent them from slipping down your wrist. If you opt to leave your button-down shirt untucked, it should hang just above your pants zipper (at back pocket level). When wearing a jacket and extending your arms, the sleeves should land between a half-inch and one inch past the jacket. Anything longer is cause for tailoring or buying a smaller shirt.

Collars & Shoulders
If the shirt's seams meet at the shoulder, you know it fits quite well. Your forefinger should be able to fit in between your collar and your neck when the shirt is buttoned to the top. The collar's tips and outer edge should be covered by your blazer or suit jacket's lapels. To ensure that this happens, always fit your dress shirts and button-downs before fitting your jackets and blazers.

Blazers
The blazer or jacket's sleeve should rest at your thumb knuckle when your arm is extended, and the blazer or jacket should cover your backside. The blazer/jacket's collar should leave about a half-inch of your dress shirt's collar visible. If you plan on wearing your sports jacket frequently over sweaters, bring a thin or regular knit sweater with you when trying on or tailoring the blazer or suit jacket.

Pants & Trousers
Determining whether you have the right fit when it comes to slacks is fairly simple. Try them on without shoes; they should just touch the floor. With shoes on, the back part of your pants should barely touch the ground (one rule of thumb is that pants should break at about 1/3 of the way down the shoe). And if you need one more sign that your slacks might not fit well, remember that your socks should not show when you walk. When belting slacks, don't pull too tight, or you risk bunching up the fabric around your midsection. This will make your gut appear larger than it is. If you're hemming your pants at the waist, place them below your belly button. And of course, remember that slacks -- like shirts -- usually shrink when you wash them. Buy (or have a tailor create) pants just a shade longer than what you actually need.

Jeans
Jeans, like any casual clothes, shouldn't require any sort of tricky tailoring or complex tips to look right. You should, however, be familiar with the basic jean varieties out there, so that you can make a purchase with your body's best fit in mind. There are three basic jean styles: regular, relaxed and loose.Regular fit is as the name implies; traditional and somewhat slim-fitting. Relaxed fit features an extra half-inch in the butt. Loose fit includes anywhere between one and four inches of additional fabric in the butt and thigh. Jean leg styles include straight, flare and boot. Flare-cut jeans are wider around the calf, while boot-cut jeans are flared around the ankle.

Neckties
The simplest way to ensure a well-fitted necktie is to have a well-fitted shirt to wear it with.Here are some guidelines to remember:
Your tie should always hang barely above your belt buckle. The size of the tie knot should not lift the tips of your shirt collar. The inverted triangle of the tie knot should fit snugly into the triangle created by your buttoned-up shirt collar.

Topcoats & Overcoats
Some resources suggest buying a coat that's one size larger than your suit size, to ensure that it'll fit over your sweaters and suits.Topcoats come in two basic designs: knee-length and midcalf. The coat's sleeve should rest at your thumb knuckle when your arm is extended. The coat's back should be straight and flat, like a suit jacket. Horizontal wrinkles will indicate that the coat is too small. Vertical wrinkles will indicate that the coat is too large, and requires tailoring.

Belts
When it comes to belts, you should buy one size bigger than your pants. A 34" waist means a 36" belt. The buckle's notch should fit into the center hole of the belt (usually hole number three; most belts have five holes). The tail of the belt should end just past the first loop on your pants. The edge of the belt buckle, the row of buttons on your shirt and your fly should all line up vertically.

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

Yours Clothes

2005-06-20T22:53:00.000-07:00

Are you tired of seeing your clothes piled up on the bedroom chair? Do you wonder why your garments require ironing every time you put them on? Better yet, have you ever stretched out your favorite sweater by hanging it? If so, it's high time for you to learn how to fold and hang your clothes -- the right way.Properly storing your threads will keep them looking their best and extend their "shelf life," and allow you to maximize your closet space. The first step is determining which items in your wardrobe should be hung and which should be folded.

What you should fold
# Fold your sweaters (especially the heavier ones), T-shirts and underwear.
# Knitwear: If hung, knitted garments will likely stretch eventually.
# Garments made from stretchy fabrics such as spandex and nylon, to make sure they maintain their original shape.
# Relatively fine or delicate articles of clothing.

Folding tips
Everyone has their own secret technique when it comes to folding shirts, but in the end, it doesn't matter what a T-shirt or sweater looks like once it's sitting in a drawer. The technique you use to fold your garments isn't so important. Some prefer to fold their sweaters in half before folding the sleeves in; others prefer to start by folding the sleeves and then folding the sweater in half. Either way doesn't make much of a difference. What is important is that your garment must be flat and wrinkle-free before you start folding it, and the fabric must remain nicely spread out throughout the folding process. By doing so, you'll keep your garments free of creases and will therefore get to skip out on ironing before wearing them. Where shape is concerned, some prefer to fold their garments in a perfect square while others prefer a rectangular shape. Just keep in mind that a rectangular fold will help you maximize deeper storage spaces while a square fold is more practical for spaces with minimal depth.extra folding tips. Mix it up. Once in a while, try to alternate the way you fold your garments in order to prevent creases from setting in permanently. Make smaller piles. Avoid piling up too many sweaters or T-shirts in order to reduce the strain on those at the bottom of the pile. The extra weight might emphasize the creases in the garments and might even cause them to set in permanently. Use tissue. If you're a perfectionist, then you might want to place a thin layer of white tissue between folds to help prevent creasing. Because this technique is rather time-consuming and costly, it's usually limited to retail stores. Stay organized. Always try to keep your closet neatly organized. Separate your Ts from your long-sleeve knits, and your heavyweight sweaters from your lighter ones. It will make choosing what to wear for that hot date that much easier.

what you should hang
# Pants, with the exception of pajamas, track pants and sweat pants.
# Suits and items like button-down shirts, blazers and overcoats.

Hanging tips
When hanging your garments, make sure that they are evenly spaced out and easily accessible. They should drape naturally rather than be bunched up together; this will prevent them from creasing and allow the air to circulate for proper ventilation.

Shirts
When hanging a shirt, make sure it's completely buttoned up in order to keep the collar in place and prevent the neckline from creasing, and in some cases, getting distorted. (In the instance where a shirt doesn't button up all the way to the top, you can always use a safety pin to hold the collar in place.) For heavier shirts, consider crossing the sleeves around and over the hanger to prevent the sleeves from stretching.
Pants
Always remember to remove your belt from your slacks before hanging them; this will prevent the waistline from distorting. Next, fold your slacks along the pants' natural creases, so that both legs of the slacks lie flat against one another (parallel); make sure any pleats are folded down. You can use a hanger with clamps or slide the slacks onto a trouser rod or regular hanger. Note: Hangers with clamps or grip clips will make your life easier and help you maximize your closet space. If you use regular hangers instead, you might want to consider those with non-slip rubber to prevent the slacks from slipping off.

Choosing the best hangers
Plastic tubular hangers are known to offer minimal support and should be used for lighter items such as button-down shirts. Padded, shaped and traditional suit hangers are best for jackets, suits, thin shirts (i.e. linen), and tailored garments. The bigger the hanger, the more support your clothes receive, thereby helping to prevent unsightly creases. Wardrobe valets are also great for hanging suits, but they are rather expensive and will take up a lot of wardrobe space. Try to avoid wire hangers altogether -- you know, those you get from your local dry cleaner. When used to hang pants, they can create a crease right at your pants' thigh level. They can also rust and may eventually stain your clothing. You can also find various types of practical hangers made especially for hanging belts and ties.

More storing tips...
Empty your pockets. Remember to remove everything from your pockets, as some bulky items could distort a garment's shape. Air out your garments. Before hanging or folding your clothes, make sure they are completely dry to prevent mildew from building up. As well, if you were hanging out in a smoky club, it's a good idea to let your clothes air out before storing them away (no one wants a smoke-infested closet). Do it right away. You should also get into the habit of hanging and folding your clothes as soon as you get undressed, unless they need to be aired out (see above). Don't hesitate to ask. Finally, if you don't know how to store a new garment, simply ask the salesperson for advice.

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

Some Suggestions For Randomly Selected Faq's

2005-04-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

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

Top Quality Mens Suits And Shirts Custom Tailor Made To Measure

2004-07-31T03:03:00.000-07:00

With the transformation of the men’s suit business into a world of designer fashion and the almost complete mechanization of its manufacturing process, determining the contemporary suit’s quality and intrinsic value is the most elusive challenge facing today’s shopper. Like women’s ready-to-wear, the majority of men’s tailored clothing today is sold on its name recognition, fit, and aura of fashionability. The era when men’s suits were expected to carry a man from one decade to another and were purveyed based on the relative merits of their quality and hand tailoring is as dated as sized hosiery, exact-sleeved dress shirts, and the three-piece suit.

Except for a handful of factories left in the world that continue to tailor suit primarily by hand, most clothing manufacturers have either incorporated the latest technology into their production process or closed shop. The cost of skilled labor and the time required to create a garment in the old-world manner has limited this wearable’s market to those retailers and consumers who appreciate the quality and work behind the hand-stitched garment’s higher price. In his hallowed fitting rooms the specialty retailer must be able to explain the nuances of this handcrafted creation from its silk thread and hand made buttonholes to the superiority of its worsted fabric.

Beginning in the 1920s, before machine started replacing tailors, suits were grads from 1 to 6 in a system that specified the number of hand operations used to create the final product. For instance, a number 1, the lowest grade of suit, was almost entirely machine-made. A number 2 coat could use some handwork to finish the cuffs, collar, and buttons. A number 3 ha to have these three components finished by hand. A number 6, the highest grade on the scale, was made almost entirely by hand. Of course, some manufacturers would misrepresent these numbers in an attempt to sell their product at a higher quality rating it deserved, but at least the system gave the retailer and consumer some sort of uniform standard.

As technical improvement in machine-made clothes blurred the advantages of more costly hand crafting, tailored clothes have become creations of refined engineering and industrialized production. With the tailor’s shears and hand-sewn stitches being replaced by computers, laser knives, conveyor belts, fusing, and high-speed pressing machinery, the modern men’s suit has become a marvel of tailoring science and technological genius. And as with any automates creation, the measure of its quality is time, in this case minutes.

The modern suit that sells for $395 takes approximately 80 minutes of uninterrupted labor, while the higher-profile designer garment retailing for $1,495 requires approximately 150 minutes of continuous construction. In order words, little more than an hour of actual labor and quality control separate the least costly from the most expensive machine-made suit. While the higher-prices suit’s shell fabric, linings, facings, and fusibles are more costly and produce a softer, more flexible garment, they do not account for the entire difference in retail price. A good part of the disparity represents the expenses involved in operating a high-profile designer fashion business; publicity, advertising, fashion shows, and the overhead of a design studio.

Today, most men’s suits are constructed in the same manner as a dress shirt’s collars and cuffs, whose outside layers are top-fused for permanent smoothness. First developed during the 1950s, the process of bonding or gluing a layer to an outside shell fabric has evolved to a level where it can nearly simulate the softness and flexibility of the hand-sewn canvas used in tailored men’s clothes. Formerly, this layer of reinforcement places between the coat’s outer cloth and inner lining consisted of one or more ply of horsehair and regular canvas secured by numerous hand stitches. When suspended by the elasticity of its hand make silk stitches, its free-floating dynamic gave the jacket’s front a lasting shapeliness and drape while lending pliancy and spring to the roll of its lapel. The scientific advances seen in the development and performance of the more traditional artisan methods. With the consumer requesting lighter, softer tailored clothing, these fusibles allow a cost to mold to the wearer, though they sacrifice fit and longevity in the process.

So, how does a man cut through all this industry mumbo jumbo to determine his prospective suit’s level of quality? The answer is complex and difficult to translate into the written word, since these automated garments lack the visible handwork of top quality tailoring to act as benchmarks. The cost efficiency of the new technology encourages manufacturers to incorporate many of the details associated with more expensive tailored clothed into less costly products, rendering the ranking of quality even less clear. Crotch pieces and lines knees are no longer the exclusive province of the most expensively tailored suit trousers, while underarm sweat shields and machine stitching that appears hand-sewn grace jackets with less than lofty pedigree.

I will break down the subject into price brackets that represent various generic methods of manufacture so our investigation will have some boundaries and focus. Please remember that this is a discussion about the quality of the product’s construction, not the beauty of its design. As you will learn later, a wearable’s longevity is predicated more on its design than its quality. A well-designed $350 suit can provide more years of wear than an expensive hand-tailored worsted cashmere suit whose shoulders look as though the hanger is still holding them up.

The finest ready-made suits are constructed like those that are custom-made, except the workplace has been organized into a miniature factory. This means each garment is individually hand-cut, lining, pocket, and sleeves have all been sewn by hand; and everything is hand-pressed. At this level of quality, the construction or padding of the jacket’s lapels and collar is stitched totally by hand. There could be two thousand stitches or more in a single-breasted jacket’s lapel; these will hold the garment’s shape intact through all weathers, fair or foul. For this rarefied ready-made suit, one must expect to pay at least &2,000.

The next ministep below this level of quality can boast the same level of workmanship, but the time-consuming lapel hand-basting is done by a special machine. Those parts of the coat that need flexibility and movement continue to be sewn by hand – armholes, shoulders, collar. At a minimum, you should be able to look at the inside of the jacket and confirm that the felling of its linings in these areas in hand done. Next, you should take the coat’s bottom front, three inches from its bottom and two inches from its edge. Rub it between the coat’s outer shell and inner lining. This confirms the coat has a canvas front rather than a fused one. It is the work of a tailor and the garment’s shape will remain intact as long as it is well cared for. Selling for between $1,500 and $2,000, it will endure the ravages of extended wear.

Moving down to he next level of quality, you find the semitraditional or semi-canvas-front coat whose bottom front is fused but not its lapels, collar, and chest. Its canvas inner lining floats, held in place by hand stitches so it moves more naturally with the coat. The beauty of this hybrid is that its lapels roll and stay on the coat’s chest more naturally than fused lapels will. The canvas inner lining gives the lapels more spring so that their edges remain in contact with the jacket’s chest. One can always tell a fused lapel because its edges tend to curl away from the jacket. The semitraditional make has its shoulders, armholes, and collar hand-stitched so that the presentation around the man’s face and upper torso appears supple and rich. The cost for such a suit usually falls between $850 and $1,200.

The majority of today’s tailored clothing is sewn completely by machine and constructed through fusing. One version is made “open” or in what we call the American system. Parts such as the sleeve and collars are assembled separately first, then put together. In the “Two-shell” or German system, the entire inside lining shell is assembled separately from the outside fabric shell. Then the one is sewn inside the other, The two-shell calls for less labor and prides itself on its consistency. While requiring additional manufacturing steps, the American system utilizes more basting stitches, elements of make that in the end come out of the coat but help build in its enduring shape. The price of this type of garment can range wildly, from $395 up to $1,495 depending on whose label is inside

The only thing one needs to consider when making a choice between the least expensive methods of tailoring is alterability. Most men would never even consider this factor, but they must. Since the two-shell garment only has 3/8” Outlet in its seams, the man who gains ten pounds or more will find it impossible to have the coat let out. Imagine spending $750 on a suit only to find out it cannot be altered the garment made in the traditional open way because its shape comes from building in curves while the engineered coat’s shape, due to its flat, straight-lined approach to make, will lose its shapeliness faster.

In conclusion, I would like to remind you that the aforementioned has been written as a general guide. Within each of these categories, you will encounter garments that resist easy classification. I hope the information passed on here will enable you to ask the correct questions when trying to get a grip on this difficult subject

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