The Vanity of an Ancient King

A tip-o-the-hat to hennys64 for finding this in the New York Observer:



The Boys of Bespoke | The New York Observer

From the article:

Mr. Ned is something different. Vahram is perhaps best known for outfitting the director Wes Anderson, but the bulk of his clientele is still bankers and, to a lesser extent, lawyers, as was the case in 1964, when his father, Nuran—who went by Ned—began selling suits door-to-door in the evenings, after putting in a day’s work as a fabric cutter. Nuran eventually built his name as Wall Street’s best-kept secret. Quality custom tailoring, at affordable prices—shhhh! Affordable for Ned means $850—about what it costs for a decent suit at Brooks Brothers—for a two-piece cut of the cloth he keeps in stock. It is true that Mr. Mateosian’s handiwork is now reaching far beyond the world of finance, but he’s hoping the unprecedented shift in the way his clients talk is reflective of an enthusiasm that will result in a more significant return. Still, it’s nice to see new faces: architects, bar mitzvah, the children’s musician Dan Zanes!

It's good to see him getting more press, although I hope it doesn't mean that he raises his prices ;-)

The suit is bespoke, and fits perfectly. I'll have pics of me in it later on (better lighting). The suit itself is a full-canvas 2-button charcoal grey wool with a chalk stripe, ticket pocket (right side), working sleeve buttons, and dual vent. The lining is purple silk. The trousers (not shown) are straight-leg, no pleat with belt loops, and no bracer buttons.

Shown here are some semi-recent shirt purchases as well. The plain white oxford is a poor-fitting-but-purchased-in-an-emergency number from Banana Republic. The white-with-purple-and-grey-stripes is Kenneth Cole and fits better (17-35), even if not optimally. I really love that shirt, and wear it often. The blue-grey shirt is Calvin Klein Collection, and feels so wonderful against my skin. The fit is somewhere in between the BR and the KC shirts. I wear that one often as well. Most of these, I wear under something that will hide the ill-fit. Soon I'll have 3 bespoke shirts to go along with the second suit.





The complete set can be seen in my Flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmh/sets/72157623292804342/

Of course, you can see all my images (well, the public ones anyway) here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmh/

I just received word that my suit is available for the first fitting. This is a full-canvas construction, which means it will have more structure than most suits which are half- or no-canvas. More structure will give a more precise fit, and isn't that the entire point?

Of course, I am not sure it's wise to go to my first fitting after being ill, and only a few days after the biggest pig-fests of the year. I'm probably in less-than-normal physical configuration. What the hell, that's what the second fitting is for ;-)

Met with Mr. Ned today on my lunch hour. The place is REALLY cool. There are *SO* many bolts of various fabrics from which to choose. It was a bit overwhelming. I told him how I was going to be wearing it, and some of the troubles I've had with past suits. I asked a lot of questions, and he was very patient with me, answering all to my satisfaction. I had an idea of what I was looking for, but I also knew there were a lot of "unknown unknowns", and Mr. Ned filled in the gaps, based on what I was looking for.

I asked about stripe matching, and I got a very good answer that satisfied my engineering side. Basically, you can't have a matching stripe (if you have narrower stripes), as the fabric panels would have to be stretched to accomodate that, which would warp the stripes as they went down the garment. That is clearly not where you want to be. It's somewhat more possible to do it with a very wide stripe, but the best way to do that is to line it up in the middle, so there is minimal drift on the ends, assuming the stripe is kept straight as it drapes down the panel.

Fabric selection was first. Originally, I thought I could make the jacket do "double duty" in a "dressed-down" fashion (paired with jeans, or somesuch). We decided that wasn't really the way to go with that, and a separate jacket will work better for such things. This allowed me to consider a larger range of fabrics. I finally settled on a 100% wool 120 fabric in charcoal grey, with a chalk stripe, about 1cm apart. Wider stripes are for heavier men, and would wind up looking a bit silly on my frame (he actually showed me this by draping the fabrics over me). For the lining, I chose a beautiful purple satin. I wanted something with a "bang", as the outside is rather conservative.

I went with a chalk stripe over a classic pinstripe, as the pinstripe is a stronger contrast, and at a distance, the pinstripe gave me a bit of a headache (a little visual feedback), whereas the chalk stripe gave a bit of contrast, but blended harmoniously with the primary colour.

After the fabric was chosen, I got measured. Looooots of measurements. As I knew, although now confirmed, I am a difficult fit. Wide up top, thin in the waist, then wider in the hips. My back is wider than my chest, which means the normal proportions for the fabric panels are going to be 'off' from standard. He mentioned I'll require more than the usual 3 fittings. This isn't a problem, as I am only a few blocks away, and there are no extra charges for the additional time.

I asked for a form-fit, rather than loose or otherwise. I told him I really only fluctuate about ±5lbs depending on my gym cycle, but he said that probably won't matter too much. I did mention that the arms may get a bit bigger ;). I also wanted 2 buttons, a high, notched lapel, double vents, working (cuff) buttons, and a ticket pocket (which I actually use!). The trousers will be 2-pocket rear, 2-pocket front–slightly in front of the seam, flat front, no cuffs, and belt loops, not bracer buttons (I never wear bracers with a suit).

The one thing they don't make are shirts. I asked, thinking he'd know someone, and he gave me the name of a fellow who happens to be across the street. I'm going to look him up after the suit.

So in a couple of weeks, I go back for my full-canvas fitting. Pics then =)

So, serendipity knocked on the door of suite 401 40W27th today. At the door were my main client contacts for IMG, creators of (amongst other things) Fashion Week, and their publication Fashion Week Daily. It was a surprise, unscheduled meeting about some of the finer points of the new layout we're designing. The meeting went quickly, and at the end, I asked Chris Tennent, Executive Editor, where he'd go for a MTM suit.

http://mrnednyc.com/

So tomorrow I make the appointment.