SUITS

no, not the TV series but suits for men.

Back when my son was about to go to the prom, I thought of having his suit made in Bergamo and did. That time it cost ***  I know,  quite expensive but in my condition, going to Kamuning was hardly enticing. So why Bergamo? Because it had a shop in Rustan’s then. And later, still in Shangrila on the second floor. When we had it altered after my son grew thinner, they didn’t charge us. Whew.

Years later, son had to attend a party. This time he bought a coat in ZARA. Cheaper certainly than an entire set from Bergamo.

Then son began to work and these past months the need for a suit reared its head. Son has a cousin who’s a Kamuning guru so he told son where to have it made for a song – vis-a-vis B’s latest price – P20k plus!  Son went to Gally and was happy with his suit. But he also decided to try the recommendation of the telahan and was recommend to Pons (?) who used to be with RM Manlapat. I think the latter made a better-fitting suit. Cheaper too.

So there… Kamuning is the place to go – moms with sons (SUI) who’ll be going to their JS prom this coming school year –  think about it.

Now for getting married – go to Ascot Chang in Rustan’s Shang – 4th floor I think. So spiffy.  From the material to the sewing – undoubtedly really special and a standout. I think a set costs P90k at least? Or is it more like P100k plus? They do have a few sets you can buy off the rack at a much lower price. Note that the suits are made in HK.

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Some tips from my nephew. I hope he doesn’t unearth this post:

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The tailor will be a guy named Gali. The fabric shop will call him and he will come over to measure you and get your requirements.

 

My unsolicited tips re fabric:

1. Better to get cloth which are directly from the bolts. Sometimes they may offer you cloth from booklets but you’ll never know where they’re eventually from.
2. Try to get wool or wool with cashmere. 90-120 count should be good. The higher numbers are more exquisite but do not wear so well.
3. Please don’t get a black suit. I know it’s tempting as a first (?) suit but really this is for funerals.
4. I would suggest black with a light grey pinstripe or a dark dark blue or dark gray.
5. The lining will just be rayon or polyester. You can choose a contrasting color if you wanna be fancy.

 

And re the cutting – you really have to spell these out so you get what you want.

1. Ask for a working cuff with working buttons. 4 buttons is the norm. They usually try to do this cheaply by not having a working cuff and no buttonholes but hey, you wanna convey CLASS J
2. Get a slanted pocket on both sides with flaps and I usually ask for a small ticket pocket on top of the right pocket.
3. For the lapel you have two choices: notched (standard) and peak (ala Harvey Specter of the TV series Suits). The fashion now is a higher lapel, ie close to your collarbone. The 80s style lapel has this very low and isn’t very flattering – you look like you have a low chest. Most of my suits have notched lapels but recently I’ve tried peak lapels for flair. Oo na, form follows function.
4. More important than the style is that you INSIST on having a stitched suit – no glue, which is the cheaper way of doing it. This will eventually bubble and have ripples – really ugly. A hand stitched suit conveys class.
5. Re the suit length, the fashion now among they young is to have it really short. As in almost to the belt. Sorry but when you’re meeting senior execs you look exactly like that – young and immature. Try to have it at least to your wrist. The old school thinking is that it will reach the joint between your fingers and palm but yes this may look a bit long.
6. You can also ask for a working buttoniere hole on the lapel but honestly I don’t think this is really necessary.
7. When Gali made my suits before he was a bit heavy on the shoulder padding – popular in the 90s pero a  more natural curve is better now. Totally agree.
8. For the pants I still prefer to just have one pleat. Yes flat fronts are again popular but when you’re sitting this is really uncomfortable (or you then have to ask for more space down there).
9. Re cuff or no cuff it’s a personal preference. I prefer no cuff though as sometimes nasisipa ko yung cuff and you end up tearing it! Also stuff gets caught inside it like crumbs, lint, etc. Oo na in spite of my clothing wisdom baboy pa rin ako.
10. You can also ask that the back of the uncuffed end be slightly longer at the back than in front. This way the back of your shoe is covered but wala masyadong crease in front. Gets?