Designer names don't mean a thing when it comes to a quality suit. Some brands you are paying for well made garments (Canali, Kiton) while with others you are just paying for a name (Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent). Whether the suit is a designer name or not, it still must be brought to a tailor to be fitted properly.

 

Are you asking what is more important: the brand name of the RTW suit or the tailor who makes alterations of the suit to make it fit?

Or are you asking if the tailor who measures you for a MTM suit more important vs. the cut/design of the suit label/brand such as Hickey Freeman, Oxxford, Samuelsohn, etc?

 

What matters most?
Tailor or suit brand

What is best?
Getting any suit and bringing it to a tailor, or getting a nice designer suit?

Too many variables to answer.

 

A custom/bespoke tailor is more than a designer. Designers- some of them don't even know how to make a pattern, they draw pretty pictures and somebody else has to try and make a pattern and then somebody else has to see if the pattern works and at the end the whole thing might be scraped because nothing works.

MTM is not custom tailoring, either. And many alteration "tailors" only know how to alter something that is already made. Custom/bespoke tailors are the masters of the pattern making, fitting and clothing making world. When you understand that- designing can be easy, or easier, because you are changing certain characteritics of the pattern or adding to it. This expertise cost more money. Anyway, some custom/bespoke tailor have more skill at designing than others. Depending on what you want another route is to go to some fabric stores and ask for a list of women who sew for a living. Some of these women are really good at what they do and if you have something in mind that is what they do or close to it the price can be very low because they have no idea how much they are worth.

 

What matters most?
Tailor or suit brand

Both are the same

What is best?
Getting any suit and bringing it to a tailor, or getting a nice designer suit?

Depends which suit gives you a better fit. I would rather wear a RTW designer suit that fits me well then wear a MTM/bespoke suit that does not me well.

How about getting a RTW designer suit and taking it to you tailor or get the stores own tailors to alter the suit for you.

 

Are you asking what is more important: the brand name of the RTW suit or the tailor who makes alterations of the suit to make it fit?

Or are you asking if the tailor who measures you for a MTM suit more important vs. the cut/design of the suit label/brand such as Hickey Freeman, Oxxford, Samuelsohn, etc?

This is obviously a novice question.

What I am getting at is this...If I have, say, a sign gold from jos bank, and bring it to a tailor, can he make it look/fit like a ermenegildo zegna(or other), or, do you really need to buy an ermenegildo zegna (or other)?

 

dont try to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. get the original.

 

This is obviously a novice question.

What I am getting at is this...If I have, say, a sign gold from jos bank, and bring it to a tailor, can he make it look/fit like a ermenegildo zegna(or other), or, do you really need to buy an ermenegildo zegna (or other)?

Basically, you need to buy the Zegna; the alterations a tailor can make are limited and focus more around getting it to fit. He is not going to change the entire style of the suit and any attempt to do so would likely end up in a Frankenstein production imo.

 

A great tailor is a great designer also. The thing is bad designers are filtered out or go out of business a whole lot quicker than bad tailors. In my experience there a few good tailors out there. Even few who are also good designers who have flair. In conclusion I think the best tailor would undoubtedly beat the best off the rack label.

 

An JAB that has been well tailored to you by a good tailor will look far better than an Zegna OTR that hasn't been tailored to you (unless you happen to be one of the lucky few whose bode is a perfect match for Zegna's pattern, which is possible but unlikely).

However, if you want a tailor to turn a JAB into a Zegna, he will be unable to do so. He may be able to get the waist suppression to be similar, but details such as the shoulder and lapel will be impossible to modify to be Zegna-like. Not to mention the fabric and stitching quality and half or full canvassing.

So, to sum it up, if you want a Zegna, you'll need to get Zegna (or a good Roman/Neapolitan bespoke maker with a similar style and access to Zegna cloth). If you want a good fit, buy JAB (or BB, or HSM, or whatever) and spend some money at a good tailor.

 

The tailor and the brand are both important. A good tailor will guard against the ruin of a perfectly fine suit which needs to be altered. Would you trust a Brioni to anyone with needle and iron in hand? I would not.

 

Brand is immaterial. Quality of construction/materials and fit are two necessary ingredients for a suit that will really flatter you, but neither is sufficient by itself.

Alterations cannot make a suit better than it is. If the suit, hanging on the rack, is an "A" suit, it can become a "B" or "C" or "F" if it does not fit properly; alterations can make it an "A" for you. A "B" suit cannot be made into a an "A" with alterations, but it can live up to its full "B" potential.

 

My tailor makes suits that suit ME not simply to make money which is the way of designers: They have little or no concern for the customer save for emptying his wallet.

 

A good tailor is hard to come by this day and age. However a good tailor can certainly make alterations to an existing RTW suit to make it fit you well. Many will also do MTM or bespoke suits for you.

 

Porportion and fit matter, designer suit or no. These make a suit classic whatever the source.

 

Forget about the brand name.

It's not Joseph Banks vs Zegna. You're really talking about fabrics, cut, etc. You need to learn about things like this to get the look you want. A Zegna that doesn't fit you properly won't look good regardless of the material and cut.

I'd recommend finding a good tailor first and foremost, and asking him to measure you (you'll be surprised it what your REAL measurements are). Then, purchase the suit you want, and bring it to your tailor for alterations. A good tailor can usually take a RTM suit and for $100-$150 really make it fit well unless you're just a body shape that's REALLY out of the norm, in which case you should talk to your tailor about MTM options.

 

Tailor, Tailor, Tailor.

A majority of the name brand designer suits are all made in the same textile factories anyway.

 

Tailor.

I have a few ebay acquisitions that were dirt-cheap but well made--one's a wool/cashmere blend, one a wool/silk. I forget what brand they are, and I couldn't care less. Brought them to my tailor, had them restructured (I have about a 12" drop) and they fit like a glove. Then there are those who spend $2000 on an off-the-rack suit that fits like a burlap sack and never bother having it altered, and it looks terrible.

Obviously, the goal is to buy a high-quality suit that fits perfectly. But a cheap (meaning inexpensive, non-designer) suit that fits perfectly is going to look far better than ANY suit that fits horribly. Fit is the most important thing.