Suit Supply MTM Suit: Reflections
This is a part of a series on an MTM 3 piece suit made for me by Suit Supply.
Click here to learn more about part II of the series, which I addressed my first-fitting experience at the store and the alterations I went for after putting on the garment.
First of all, apologies to those of you who have been looking forward to this article for a while. The reason why this writing has been taking a while has to attributed to the fact that my thoughts on this suit have changed quite drastically from the day of the first-fitting.
This includes not just my choice of the cloth, but also how I think about the fit and the construction of the garment.
For this reason, this would be more like a reflection rather than a review; unlike what I would usually do for my other crafts-related articles.
To start off, I have to admit that this is a very bold suit that I have created.
Surely, the little details like the red highlight for the lapel and sleeves buttonholes have certainly added a level of playfulness to the jacket.
But these could be removed simply by sending it to someone who is willing to restitch the buttonholes.
And this is typically common with those who take orders of adding a Milanese buttonhole to an existing jacket. So no big deal.
What is permanent, however, is the cloth I have chosen for the suit.
As much as I have enjoyed the crispness of the Holland & Sherry cloth (Product Code: 318068) initially, I soon came realized how transparent the fabric appears under bright light. (You would see later in this article, this really made it not the perfect cloth for a pair of trousers...)
Really, this shouldn't be surprising considering it is a cream material with a weight of 9oz. In fact, it would actually make a quite ideal option if one is looking to use it for a white dinner jacket, like Sean Connery as Bond in Goldfinger.
Then there are also issues of the cloth not clinching very well, as best demonstrated by the area between the left chest and the front seam.
So if I could have a second chance, especially now that I have looked into more fabrics, what I would have chosen alternatively would perhaps be Fox Brothers' 290g Cricket White Worsted Flannel (Product Code: FS625 A1290/77).
It would still make a great year-round suit that I could wear during the warmer days in Hong Kong and during the chilly yet sunny days in London.
That being said, this also depends on whether the shop could get access to the cloth. Unfortunately for this case, this wasn't an option anyway.
This brings us to the second point, regarding the construction of the suit.
In the piece about the first-fitting, I mentioned how the proportion of the jacket is slightly off, especially with the width of the sleeves and the drop between the chest and the waist.
Now that I have both taken in, however, I realize the pivotal issue here is instead the buttoning point of the jacket; and this is a point which Suit Supply should take note on.
A rather problematic aspect about their MTM suits is that although you could change the buttoning point of a jacket to be slightly higher or lower than the waistline depending on your taste, you cannot change the distance between the buttons.
Considering I am a rather shorter man and thus the length of the jacket should be shortened for this purpose, the distance of the buttons should then be minimized in order to make the jacket proportional.
In that case, I would recommend all of you shorter gents out there to go for a one-button configuration if you're interested in getting an MTM jacket from Suit Supply.
Speaking of the proportions of the jacket, I should also point out that the flap pockets are rather oversized for a jacket of this size.
In order to create the illusions that you have a longer upper body, the size of the flaps should be minimized accordingly as well.
In this case, however, because the jacket features not only the regular pockets, but also the ticket pocket, it appears to be even more disproportionate. If only each of the flaps is 1/4" inches shorter, it would surely look more appealing.
Alternatively, I could always put the flaps inside the pockets to make them look like jetted pockets (as demonstrated in the previous picture). In fact, it would actually work as it resonates the formality of the cloth.
Needless to say, if there is an option on adjusting the dimensions of the pockets, the service would surely have been a greater one.
With that said, that doesn't mean there is nothing positive about the suit.
In comparison, the result for both the waistcoat and the trousers are quite satisfying.
Firstly, as a follow-up to the previous piece, the sides of the waistcoat have now been adjusted to be more closely fitted. Interestingly, it is also as I predicted to be a garment that I would be wearing the most lately because of its versatility.
As a matter of fact, my favorite combination so far is to pair it with a navy suit, a light blue shirt, and a burgundy tie. Just imagine it.
The fit of the trousers is also rather reasonable.
In the review on my Whitcomb & Shaftesbury trousers, I mentioned that pair of trousers is towards the comfort-oriented end of the spectrum with a width of 29cm at the thighs.
In any case, this would be on the opposite end with a diameter of just 27.5cm.
That doesn't mean they are restrictive, they are just slim all the way through; exactly like what you would expect from Suit Supply's aesthetic.
Finally, I should also highlight that the single-pleats look surprisingly well, especially now that I get to look at them a few more times.
So this brings us to the question which I asked at the beginning of this series -- 'Is Suit Supply's MTM service the ideal middle ground between RTW and bespoke?'
I am rather mixed about this.
Surely, from a price point point-of-view, Suit Supply's MTM is certainly towards the lower end among all MTM out there. Even having an extra waistcoat and using a Super 140s fabric from Holland and Sherry, the suit is priced at just £1148.
You also get a great variety of options on how you could customize your suit, especially considering the fact that they have a sizable amount of fabric bunches to choose from.
However, keep in mind that this is not bespoke after all. They are still factory-made garments that are made through adjusting existing blocks.
So, say, issues like amending the left/right balance of the jacket to fit the wearer's body shape would be certainly quite challenging for them to tackle.
Really, you get what you pay for. For a service that has a starting price at £599, I wouldn't expect anything like a hand-sewn Milanese buttonhole for sure.
With that said, Suit Supply would always make a good starting point for everyone who just begun their sartorial journey, and this MTM service is no exception.
Elsewhere I'm also wearing a Brown Floral Print Tie and Brown Tennis Player Print Pocket Square from Drake's, Triangle Gear Cufflinks from Tateossian, and Oak Brown Suede Sagans from Baudoin and Lange.
Call it a modern adaption of the Gatsby I guess.
#Crafts #Suit #SuitSupply #MadetoMeasure #MTM #tailoring #review #reflection #Drakes #Tateossian #BaudoinandLange