After doing some searching, research, asking questions, and generally looking around the internet and NYC I decided to go with a made-to-measure suit from Men's Wearhouse. I literally just picked up the suit today from the Men's Wearhouse tailors. I'll describe the process a bit (for me at least), review the suit, and provide some pictures. Big thanks to TheBarbaron for answering some of my questions. Basically, I picked MW for three reasons 1. proximity 2. price 3. made in America (at least that's the claim).
The process for me was easy. I saw this really nice looking light grey sharkskin suit by JA at MW. I tried the 38S and it was too tight. The 40S was too large. I know I can tailor it but I decide to give the MtM stuff a shot. They had me put back on the 38S jacket and I told them how I wanted it to fit. Two sales guys helped me one was doing his first suit and the dude assisting him is/was the #2 seller of MtM suits for all the MW stores. Same deal with the pants. I put them on they measured me and I told them how I wanted it to fit and they adjusted it accordingly.
After all that they said which fit do you want: Modern (this is hard to describe it's not really modern but it's not really JAB monster box cut either), Slim (what I wanted), or Extreme Slim (way too tight). The issue that I had was the jacket/pants model the MW sales guys wrote down was for the Modern even though I wanted the Slim. This happened because, partly my fault and partly theirs, when they measured me we used the Modern fit suit for my measurements instead of the Slim (more on this in a bit).
After taking my measurements I picked out the fabric. There are 3 tiers I picked tier 1 for $595. You then pick from a lot of options including lining (for body and sleeves), functional sleeve buttons, 2 or 3 button, single or double breasted, notch or peak lapel, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Some of the things were free (slanted pockets) but some were extra (between $10 and $50).
Here's how my price broke down: tier 1 fabric $595, 2 button, notch lapel, center vent, slanted pockets, functional sleeve buttons (+$50), ticket pocket (+$10), pick stitching (+$10), and blue gingham lining for body and sleeves. The total for me came to $665 versus $495. This also included alterations once it got to the store. Also included were a very nice suit bag and a terrible plastic hanger. They have you pay half when you order and half when the suit shows up.
I was quoted that it would take about 21 days to get to the store. There were a few holidays in-between but I did get a call that it had come in about 21 days later. I tried the suit on and the pants needed to be hemmed. Also, because of the fact that the MW sales guys used the Modern fit codes the pants needed to be taper, waist brought in, and thighs slimmed. It only took them one day to do all that and there was no extra charge.
The fabric is really nice. I was shocked at just how, well, different it felt! I guess because it wasn't stuffed onto a rack, pawed at by many hands, or generally abused by being an OTR suit. It honestly felt like going from my old '92 station wagon to a car that was built this century. I would say the quality of the fabric is up there with a Brooks Brothers suit. The stitching on the on lining looks good and secure. The buttons are securely fasten and are of a decent quality. The lining is smooth and well attached to the jacket.
Honestly, for the price I think it's a pretty good suit. My only issue was the pants not being the right cut and the fact that I really couldn't change the jacket buttoning position (about an inch down would be perfect). Since I spent over $500 and am a member of their rewards program I'll get $50 off my next purchase so that's like getting working buttons for free. Some pictures below.
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The process for me was easy. I saw this really nice looking light grey sharkskin suit by JA at MW. I tried the 38S and it was too tight. The 40S was too large. I know I can tailor it but I decide to give the MtM stuff a shot. They had me put back on the 38S jacket and I told them how I wanted it to fit. Two sales guys helped me one was doing his first suit and the dude assisting him is/was the #2 seller of MtM suits for all the MW stores. Same deal with the pants. I put them on they measured me and I told them how I wanted it to fit and they adjusted it accordingly.
After all that they said which fit do you want: Modern (this is hard to describe it's not really modern but it's not really JAB monster box cut either), Slim (what I wanted), or Extreme Slim (way too tight). The issue that I had was the jacket/pants model the MW sales guys wrote down was for the Modern even though I wanted the Slim. This happened because, partly my fault and partly theirs, when they measured me we used the Modern fit suit for my measurements instead of the Slim (more on this in a bit).
After taking my measurements I picked out the fabric. There are 3 tiers I picked tier 1 for $595. You then pick from a lot of options including lining (for body and sleeves), functional sleeve buttons, 2 or 3 button, single or double breasted, notch or peak lapel, and a whole bunch of other stuff. Some of the things were free (slanted pockets) but some were extra (between $10 and $50).
Here's how my price broke down: tier 1 fabric $595, 2 button, notch lapel, center vent, slanted pockets, functional sleeve buttons (+$50), ticket pocket (+$10), pick stitching (+$10), and blue gingham lining for body and sleeves. The total for me came to $665 versus $495. This also included alterations once it got to the store. Also included were a very nice suit bag and a terrible plastic hanger. They have you pay half when you order and half when the suit shows up.
I was quoted that it would take about 21 days to get to the store. There were a few holidays in-between but I did get a call that it had come in about 21 days later. I tried the suit on and the pants needed to be hemmed. Also, because of the fact that the MW sales guys used the Modern fit codes the pants needed to be taper, waist brought in, and thighs slimmed. It only took them one day to do all that and there was no extra charge.
The fabric is really nice. I was shocked at just how, well, different it felt! I guess because it wasn't stuffed onto a rack, pawed at by many hands, or generally abused by being an OTR suit. It honestly felt like going from my old '92 station wagon to a car that was built this century. I would say the quality of the fabric is up there with a Brooks Brothers suit. The stitching on the on lining looks good and secure. The buttons are securely fasten and are of a decent quality. The lining is smooth and well attached to the jacket.
Honestly, for the price I think it's a pretty good suit. My only issue was the pants not being the right cut and the fact that I really couldn't change the jacket buttoning position (about an inch down would be perfect). Since I spent over $500 and am a member of their rewards program I'll get $50 off my next purchase so that's like getting working buttons for free. Some pictures below.
