10 Worst Custom Suit Mistakes (From An Expert Who's Seen It All)

So if one thing is true, it's that we all make mistakes. But when it comes to bespoke or custom clothing, that is a time you do not want to make a mistake. You're laying out all that cash, so you want to get it right. So today I'm here in New York City at the Michael Andrews Bespoke Studio with my friend Corey Sylvester, who is Chief Operating Officer and Partner here at Michael Andrews. And he's got over 10 years working in bespoke clothing, so he's gonna share his 10 biggest mistakes that he's seen guys make. Corey, thanks so much for being here. It's my pleasure. So before we get started, as we are wont to do whenever I come here, we're gonna have a little bit of a drink, right? So I brought a very special tequila. This is by Jose Cuervo. It's their Reserva de la Familia. And actually we're very thankful for Jose Cuervo for sponsoring this video. Now I thought this would be a great tequila to share because I think it matches up really well with the topic of bespoke clothing, really focused on craftsmanship and heritage here. So one thing that's interesting, Reserva de la Familia, completely family owned. Oh wow. It's the oldest distillery in Latin America, La Rojana. It's actually in Tequila, Mexico. And every year the Cuervo family will hand select the liquid for this particular tequila using a process that's been passed down for 10 generations. What do you say we open the bottle? Great, sounds really special. That's a pretty great looking bottle. Yeah, I'd say so. Extra Añejo. One thing about this bottle, so all of the bottles for this tequila are hand blown. Again, I think it ties in really well to the idea of bespoke tailoring, custom clothing. Each bottle is hand numbered and signed. We've got the wax seal here with the Cuervo family crest. And every single one of these bottles is hand labeled. That's the bottle. How about we open it up? Shall we? Yes. Don't threaten me with a good time. Sounds good. All right, glass. Please. Smells great. It's a very rich bouquet. I want to say we give it a taste. Sounds good. Cheers. Cheers my friend. Salud. Tastes even better. Very smooth, very complex taste. It's actually aged in new American oak and French oak barrels. So with different levels of char. So that's what gives it the complexity. You know, it's interesting when you think of tequila, you don't always think of something as being smooth. You think shots and, you know. This is not that. This is really, really, really delicious. It's delicious. Well, we could finish this glass or we could start talking about the 10 mistakes that people make. Let's do both. Onto our top 10 mistakes that you've seen people make in an over 10 year career working in custom tailored clothing. And the first one is one that I talk about all the time on the channel and that is not having a plan. Yeah. Oftentimes guys come in, we have over 50,000 fabrics, right? So that can be overwhelming. So it's really beneficial to have some direction, some kind of idea. And if you don't have any clue, that's okay too. But it's more than likely that you're going to want to come consult with us. I often send guys home with homework. I say, hey, go home, mood board. Pinterest is really great. Invariably, inevitably they come back with a bunch of images of you. Oftentimes, as would be the case. And yeah, it really helps to have some direction. See, I can totally relate to that. Like having too many options, being a Libra is a terrible thing for me. So yeah, making a plan before you come in, definitely a good thing. So what are some things other than Pinterest you might recommend for someone to come in, to have that plan and ready to go, to know what they want? It can be really helpful to find, I don't know if avatar is the right word, but like a style icon. Like, you know, for me, I really admire the style of like Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren, Serge Gainsbourg. So I'll often see images of them. I might save that and say, hey, you know, that's a cool look. At the same time, it's really important to make sure that you're choosing clothes that flatter you and not somebody else. And that leads us into mistake number two, which is not playing to your strengths. Correct. Yeah, so all too often guys will come in and say, hey, you know, I saw Ryan Gosling or Ryan Reynolds in this suit, they looked really cool. And you're like, well, you do not have the same features or characteristics or six pack as those guys. So there are some other things that may be more flattering for you, given your hair color, eye color, the color of your skin or your physical features. Like, so I pick up the latest issue of Esquire and I see The Rock and I come to you and I say, hey, Corey, I love how The Rock looks in this suit. Can I get that suit too? You look like that. And you know, full disclosure, we may not be able to make you look exactly like The Rock. You probably need about 20 more years in the gym and a lot more protein than we have behind the bar. No offense, you look great. But that's, you know, there are things that would be more flattering for you, just like there would be more flattering things like for me. Like today, I'm wearing a high contrast outfit of black and white because I have kind of high contrast features, you more medium contrast. So the two shades of blue look, you know, smashing on you. So, you know, your outfit looks distinctly better on you than it would on me and vice versa because we're both dressed to our strengths. So how do you get the guy who comes in and say, I want this, but you know it's not right for him to get to the point where they're, you know, okay with what you suggest? Well, I think the good news is that for us, most people come to us for our expertise and most guys are looking for guidance and that's how we think of ourselves. We're not fashion designers. It's not our job to tell you what to wear or dictate any one look. We're trying to help guide you through the process to understand what you want from the experience and help you to understand maybe what you want from it as well. So mistake number three now has to do with time management and procrastinating is a big mistake you've seen people make. Procrastination is a huge mistake. You know, guys, some guys, let's not say all of us, are shopping is not their favorite thing to do and a lot of guys will put off getting things done that they may need. But what happens is the longer you take, the more limited your options may become. Also, the more expensive it may become to produce the thing that you want, there may be expedited service charges that are involved. So it's really good to be ahead of, especially with custom tailoring, ahead of any event dates or things that you have. I would say the biggest reason that guys wait is they're planning on losing weight, which is totally fair. If you're gonna lose 20 or 30 pounds ahead of your big day, you should wait a little while. But there's also plenty of guys who put that off too long. So my advice would be, if you're planning to lose some weight, set yourself a goal and a goal date in between, say a month from today. If you're planning to lose X amount of pounds, check in a month from then. If you're on target, that's great. Plan your next appointment accordingly. If you get to that date and you've not lost any weight, you should probably go ahead and make an appointment because you don't wanna wait until it's too late. So for mistake number four, it's one that I think, honestly, I think a lot of us make early on and that is going too far with the custom details. And I can totally understand why, right? You know, you're getting something custom, you're spending the money, you want it to be special, but you can go too far with those types of details. Totally, with custom tailoring and bespoke tailoring especially, everything is within your control. So you can change every aspect of the suit, but just because you can do it doesn't necessarily mean you should do it, which is where we can be really helpful in guiding you to what details you might want to personalize, like the inside of your lining or maybe a special insignia under the collar felt or details that you haven't even thought of before. But for the most part, if there's not something you know you want to change in the style or design of a suit, it's generally good guidance not to start now. I can assure you, we've already obsessed over all the details of our suits. So if it's not something you thought about before, you probably don't want to start to change it during a consultation. So can you give me an example of, you don't have to name names here. Can you give me an example of one of the worst, like overly customized things? I think the first thing that comes to mind is I made this beautiful sand linen suit for a guy who's going to a friend's wedding. And he had started this furniture design company and he really liked the colors, red and yellow. They're kind of part of his logo and insignia. So we wanted to incorporate them into the suit. There's many ways that we can do that. He thought it would be fun to have rotating red and yellow stitches throughout the entire garment, which I thought might have been a choice that he would eventually regret. So I shared with him, all the different ways that we can incorporate the colors. And he asked for my personal opinion, if I thought that it would be sick to have the red and yellow stitching. And I explained to him that I thought it would be a really nice choice for Ronald McDonald, but perhaps not for him. And he agreed. He ended up doing all red and then a little bit of yellow in the lining, which is still a really bold statement, but one that he did not regret. And so I think that's a good example of us kind of getting to where we wanted to go. Everything in moderation. All things in moderation, dressing and drinking. Okay, so mistake number five is kind of an art versus science thing. And that's that do not expect perfection. There's no perfection in bespoke tailoring, but in tailoring, bespoke is the closest thing you can get to perfection. I think I've had the good fortune of meeting a lot of really admirable tailors in our trade who've been doing this a lot longer than I have. And the best of them will be the first to tell you that they're still students of their craft, learning every day and always striving for perfection that they themselves know they'll never attain. I think there's a part of the person who's getting into custom or bespoke that they're also like, I'm paying this much, so it better be perfect. And oftentimes you can get there, but that's not what happens immediately. Yeah, I think also the more choices that you can make and the more control you have over something, the higher the expectation becomes. So it's very important to stay grounded in those decisions and to have a realistic expectation. Like, look, in the end, we're making really beautiful clothing, but we're not saving lives. So this suit is gonna make you look and feel your best, but chances are, it's not gonna change your life. It's not the reason your wife's marrying you, hopefully. It's not the reason you got the promotion, but it plays a role and it's a part of it. But it should be kept in proportion. In perspective. Now, you're talking a little bit about weddings. And I think that leads nicely into mistake number six, which you identified, which is people listening to the peanut gallery. And could you explain what that means? Sure. So it's totally understandable. You're coming in for your big day and your fiance should probably have a say in that, most fiances do. And sometimes your mother-in-law may also want to have a say and your mother and the cousin. And so the peanut gallery, so to speak, can grow. And that's great. It's really nice to come in and have that experience with your friends or family or groomsmen. But it's important to remember that when you're sitting with us, we're dedicated professionals who this is our career. Our job is to guide you into looking and feeling your best. There are things that you're, it's a delicate way of putting this. Well, okay. So like they have ideas. Maybe you don't have an idea or maybe you do. So how do you, what's the psychology behind like swaying, staying in that middle lane there? Sure. Well, my advice to grooms is if your fiance really feels strongly something about it and you're indifferent, definitely go with her idea. But sometimes there can be too many chefs. And I think in the end, deferring to the professional expertise of your bestowed clothier can really be helpful. Remember, if your friends and family were dedicated professional clothiers, you'd probably be shopping with them anyways. So maybe a good rule to keep in mind. So mistake number seven, I think really applies to the person who is getting into custom clothing for the first time. And that is what you call over-ordering. You don't wanna do that. What is it and why? Why not? So somebody may have lost a bunch of weight or started a new job, made a career change or decided that now is really the time that they need to elevate their game. And they're gonna come to us and they're gonna do a complete wardrobe overhaul. And that's great. We're here for that. You just wanna make sure that you give yourself and your tailor enough time to really get things right for you and right the way that you want. If you've had extensive bespoke tailoring or custom tailoring experience, that's great. Cause you probably have a really good idea of where you wanna start or what you want to achieve. But if you don't, then so much of this is experiential. I've been doing this for 10 years and I feel like I've only just settled into knowing exactly my preferences for different things. I will also say, if you have extensive experience already and you're coming to us, there's likely a reason you're not using your previous tailor. So we wanna make sure that we have the time to really understand what it is you want for the experience and help you to achieve that. It's also a time thing too, right? So say I come, I'm gonna get 10 new suits but it's the first time I've ever come to you. I don't know how it's gonna fit. Like it's gonna take time to dial in my pattern, right? So you don't wanna do 10 suits and have the pattern off. Like let's do one, get it right, really dial it in and then we can order more. Yeah, once you've gone through the process initially and your pattern is on file, it really becomes enjoyable as you know because you just call your tailor or you come in, pour a nice glass of tequila and you don't have to be remeasured, you don't have to be refit. We have your pattern on file and you understand what you want and we're hopefully not just meeting but exceeding your expectations each time thereafter. Okay, from over ordering, we're going to mistake number eight which is overspending. Yeah, just as somebody could overspend, you could also kind of under invest. You know, we offer a custom tailoring in three distinct tiers. We have made to measure, semi-bespoke and full bespoke. And for what each of those are, I believe they're an incomparable value relative to what else is available, but they are different and there are different benefits and reasons that the prices might be different. So just like somebody who comes in who's never done custom before and you know, they're really comfortable with a $1,000 made to measure suit. If they were to come in and buy a $3,000 bespoke suit, I really wouldn't want that because chances are they're overextending themselves. It's going to set an expectation that we really can't exceed just at, you know, conversely, if somebody has been buying bespoke suits on Savile Row and they come in here and they decide to go for a made to measure suit, it's highly likely that we're not going to be able to meet their expectation because they're going to demand higher than we're able to give in that role. So it's really good, just like we said originally, to have some kind of sense of direction. I think it's great to have a budget and I think it's great to stick to that budget. And if you need to have a different budget for your expectations, we can help you to understand that as well. Mistake number nine, I think is a little tongue in cheek here, but you say don't dress on an empty stomach. No. Or come to a custom tailor appointment on an empty stomach. Well, as you know, we have a bar and- But we never overindulge. No, no, but we do like to enjoy ourselves through our fittings. And so the average appointment for a new client is anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours. Sometimes they take a little bit longer. And so, you know, if you're going to partake, it could be good to kind of plan accordingly, make sure you don't skip lunch that day. Yeah. Got it. I've had to put a client, more than one, in a cab on occasion. Don't be that guy. Okay. Which brings us to our final mistake. And it's the biggest one that Corey says he has seen in over 10 year career in custom clothing. And that is people asking for advice and then not listening to you. Yeah. All too often, I would say that is the most common mistake. And it kind of underlies many of the previous mistakes that we talked about it. You know, we like to think about the service we offer as a professional service. Like, you know, you go to your lawyer for legal advice, you go to your accountant for financial advice or your financial planner. I wouldn't go to my doctor and ask for a diagnosis and then tell him what it is. So I would say it's kind of the same thing with us. We always have your best interest in mind. We want you to look and feel your best and so you can trust that when we're suggesting something to you, that a lot of thought and care has gone in to why we're telling you that. That's great. And it's, I mean, that's sort of where I'm at. You know, again, I'm a Libra. It's tough for me to make decisions, but having worked with you guys for pretty much like close to a decade now, like, you know what I like. We have this relationship. I trust you. It's all about trust. So like, I don't want to make decisions about certain things, you know? Like, I know that you'll make a better decision than I could ever make about something. So like, you know, when I put some things together, I say, you pick the buttons, you pick the lining and it's always perfect. That's actually, thank you for saying that. That's actually a great example. When someone entrusts you like that, that's where we're really, you know, you're like, wow, now it's on. I have to really make sure I nail this because, you know, you feel that level of trust and to hear you say that means a lot. So thank you. Yeah, well, it means a lot that, you know, the service that I've received from you guys over the years and as a small token of my appreciation, I do have something for you. Where did it go? Oh, here it is. I found it. So I know we just cracked open this bottle, but I do have another bottle here for you. You can keep this at the studio here, serve it to all the best clients. Absolutely. Or just keep it for me when I come by. No, sharing is caring. That's right, that's right. It's always better to share. And we appreciate very much Jose Cuervo for sponsoring this video. Corey, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and expertise. And thanks for watching everyone.