COAT AND TIE

[incognito]

if you want to buy really nice suits at reasonable price, try nyo Azur Lapis Lazuli. It's a local brand  pero magsisimula na din silang mag open ng store sa Singapore.  Meron sila sa Landmark Trinoma, The Ramp Glorietta 3, at sa Marquee Mall Angeles. price range ng coat/jacket is  5000-6000. dress pants is 1500. long sleeved shirts 1500 din. so buong set nasa 9-10k range.  Pwede ding made to order para eksakto yung fit sayo.  Just schedule a meeting with their designer. Mas mahal nga lang (15-20k).  Very versatile mga gawa nila. pwedeng pang casual events din.  check out their facebook page or google the designer Melchor Guinto para makita yung mga gawa nila.
di ba, parang advertisement lang. haha.

[hiei]

sadly still the same achilles heel ng local designers sa atin... the suit. even my friend's brother whose now a famous and go to designer sa atin sa pinas.... di pa rin makuha ang tamang fit and materials to create an awesome suit that can at least rival vietnamese tailors... di ko pwedeng sabihin ang hong kong tailor coz most of these old timers are trained by seasoned saville row tailors, totally different league from us. so far, pinaka-ok na nakwento sa akin na tailor is from cornells. mura pa singil without the designer price tag

things i find wrong sa azur collection is inconsistency and identity crisis...
inconsistency ng design i mean the short length suit jacket shows na modern ang take nya with the suit but some pictures show longer sleeves and even baggier and long pants matched with short jacket. saka lahat kulang ng waist suppression na integral part ng modern suit.
identity crisis, similar flaws with the inconsistency di mo alam kung modern with the short jacket o classic with the baggier pants.

not really picking on these designers but c'mon we pay our hard earned money kaya we should expect at least a nice fitting suit

sample ng suit made by GW from HK worn by a common tao muscular legs and punggok.. typical asian physique


laki ng calves


but with proper suit, di sya mukhang muscular and looks taller too

[incognito]

^obviously, i haven't been around much. sa tingin mo hiei, bakit kaya achilles heel ng local designers/tailors ang paggawa ng suit? i mean, di ba it's supposed to be a skill. and talent perhaps. di naman siguro tayo kulang sa skills and talent. at magaling tayo kumopya. so ano kaya ang problema?  is it because the Philippines is not really a suit wearing country?  yung availability ng magandang materials kaya nakakaapekto din dito?

[hiei]

honestly, i can only offer speculation kasi di ko alam their reason behind their design. but what i understand about suits is - it's an art. yup magaling tayo kumopya kaya people who go to cornells bring their properly  fitted MTM or OTR or bespoke suits para kopyahin. biggest difference kasi ng HK tailors sa atin from scratch gagawin kapag bespoke. walang pattern na susundan kungdi gagawin based on your body. then kung natapos may ilang series pa ng fitting kasi di ibig sabihin ng natapos perfect na agad, kasi iba ang actual na pagsuot ng suot and how it affects the fit on your daily life. ang ultimate guide nga about perfect fit apart from being streamlined sa katawan dapat comfortable rin at di obstructive sa pag-galaw.... hirap nyan imagine if you want slim fit suit na di nakakagalaw ka pa rin ng maayos. best example is suit ni james bond... nakipagsuntukan, tumalon at barilan na ganda pa rin lapat ng suit hehehe product ng saville row tailors kaya perfect to a T.

with materials di naman problem kasi readily available naman ang mga tela like loro piana, vitale barberis canonico... same with italian labels yan lang rin kinukuha kaya ang raw materials cost can be considered constant ang nag-vary talga is the fee you pay for the service ng design, cut, sew ng suit.

lastly, ako recent ko lang natagpuan ang OTR or off the rack suit na bagay sa akin. it's not italian and certainly not expensive but the fit is perfect. my suits vary from european, american labels to MTM or made to measure... pero sa off the rack or suits na nabibili  mo lang without prior fitting ko nahanap na fit sa akin alteration? yup may kontin alteration sa waist suppression, but the critical point na high armhole is surprisingly inherent na sa suit na nakuha ko. kadalasan the high armhole suits can be availed kung MTM, bespoke and high end suit.

[incognito]

^How much would suits normally go for in the states, MTM and OTR?
And uy, you should make a thread about bespoke clothing. Seems like an interesting topic.
How I wish I can have all my clothes tailored. Kaso problem ata jan is mejo mahal  or kung di naman mahal, di pulido ang gawa ng tailor.  Gusto ko try  dito: http://iamdeerhunter.blogspot.com. I haven't read anything about his rates. Sana di mahal. haha

[hiei]

price very much varies depending sa label & cloth:
MTM = $400 to $2,000++
OTR = $200 t0 $3,000
as for bespoke nasa average ng $6,000. the reason why lumalabas mahal pa ang OTR is due to label for example brioni OTR can easily shoot to $3,000 agad. while gumagawa ng MTM are just brick and mortar tailor na nagsisimula pa lang kaya di maka-charge ng malaki because they still need to prove the quality of their craft. but it doesn't mean mura easily equates to crap. parehas rin sa mga regular clothes na very tacky mayroon rin euro thrash sa suits na dahil may pangalan they charge an arm and leg pero fused lang ang construction compared to some affordable MTM na tinahi and fully canvassed pa.

re: bespoke, i don't have first hand experience yet with bespoke. siguro pagtumama na ko sa lotto hehe i'm fine right now with my OTR label that fit perfectly kung budget meal here are my suggestion.

thick as thieves LA http://www.thickasthievesla.com
- best bang for the buck MTM especially if you prefer panahon ng mod since dito galing inspiration ni jason for his handcrafted suits. may limit si jason, hanggang 42in chest size ang maximum ng designs nya. anyone bigger than should looke elsewhere. marami syang collection ng cloth to choose from, kung mapapansin mo nauuso sa atin ang may sheen or makintab. usually sharkskin cloth yun from the mod era and he has one that will make my friend's brother fully designed suit look cheap. na-compare ko gawa nya sa isa sa mga parties i attended last year where suot ko TAT suit ko definitely mines cost so much less.




suitsupply
- the label afaik is from netherlands pero ang mga suits nila gawa sa china. very wide selection, ang nagustuhan ko yung washington line for being slim without being too modern kasi classic pa rin ang cut in terms of jacket lenght, buttoning, lapel size, high armhole and higher waistline pants. they both have MTM and OTR service. swerte kung meron sa lugar nyo which currently sa NY and washington DC lang sila meron  sa US

here are some notable suitsupply fits: 1. washington 2. paris 3. napoli... probably my next one will be napoli for its notch lapel.


here's my suitsupply washington, waist suppression lang pinagawa but everythings perfect - high armhole and surgeon's cuff


btw you can check cornells @ 8485 Kalayaan Avenue  Makati City, Philippines

[incognito]

^thanks a lot. dami na naman natutunan from you.