I embarked on my journey to get a few suits that weren't from Zara right after I turned 30. After deciding I wanted to try this 'bespoke suit' thing everyone claims is a whole different ballgame, I looked around Yelp at half a dozen spots that had a very luxury rep, but clearly were reasonable in terms of price. My frontrunner was Astor and Black, but it turned out they were now out of business. A few people recommended some places down in Soho, but like most suiting places, the reviews were totally polarized, either 'worst anything ever' or 'my $800k suits don't hold a candle to this place (or whatever).'
So totally baffled, I asked my best dressed 'suits all the time even at brunch' friend I know from Soho House where he got all of his daper suits. He told me he was friends with the people who ran a place called Knot Standard, that he got all his fancy stuff there, and got me in touch with Marisa. Being a man very interested in the path of least resistance, Marisa sent me a Google calendar invite and my big day was set.
One thing I read on the Art of Manliness was that a quality suit is 'fully canvassed', so I was happy to find out that theirs are too. It seemed like MySuit and some of the other mid range bespoke houses I checked out only partially canvass.
Now I'm not an overly fussy person, I know when things go together and generally what is stylish, but I'm definitely glad I brought my lady for assistance. Between my girl and Marisa, we landed on two suits, in a Zenga fabric, one a deep blue and one a medium grey. I enjoyed being able to pick out all the details (liner fabric/monogram thread/lapel button stitching from hundreds of samples).In about 45 minutes, I had been measured, picked out all the stuff, was told the process and was given a very fair price that included the two suits and a few shirts. I was excited, but somewhat concerned that I wouldn't be blown away when they came in. I simply refused to believe this would be better than any other suit I've worn.
I had a wedding to attend a few months after the fitting so I wanted to make sure I would have my suits by then. I was assured it wouldn't be a problem. The way it works is that while the suits are being made, they make you a very nice white shirt (that you get to keep) so they can make sure it is what you want before ordering your other shirts for you. Two weeks later I was told the shirt was in, so I came back down to check it out.
Here's the thing about tailored clothing that they gloss over when they are busy gushing about how amazing it is. Similar to skydiving, or other totally unique experiences, when I put this shirt on in the dressing room, not thinking much of it, all of a sudden I realized it fit PERFECTLY. Its a weird sensation, one I hope you have enjoyed or will shortly. Its so utterly bizarre since typically in a store fitting room there are always things that aren't exactly right or its close enough that you don't even care. Not this time. In addition, my name was monogrammed on the inside of the collar. I suddenly realized I have always wanted my name monogrammed in all my clothing.
A few weeks later (I think it was about a month in total from initial fitting to suits arriving), Marisa hit me up and I came back down to their location after work. They are very accommodating about making sure you can come in after 9-5 hours. It truly feels like they are on your schedule, making you tailored clothes somewhere just for you. In addition, Marisa was a excellent salesperson and gave me the sort of attention I really didn't expect when buying something like a suit.
Both of my suits also fit PERFECTLY. All my decisions came together in such a cool way that was an expression of me, and had all kinds of details I wasn't even told about like a thin rubber strip inside the waist that keeps your shirt tucked in! I was hoping this would happen, but I was skeptical throughout the whole process that this would truly be as life changing as everyone claims. Well I'm a convert now. I decided I wanted the pants taken in slightly so I could wear them without a belt, and they altered them for me for free and I had them back in a week. I liked the shirt so much that I decided to order two more (they have my size already right?) while hanging out there. They are the same price as a Steven Alan shirt and since most dress shirts look terrible on me, having a few extras that make me look great are near priceless.
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I couldn't have picked a better first bespoke suit experience and I can't recommend them highly enough. If you get in touch, try and get Marisa as your salesperson, I'm sure they are all great, but I know Marisa is.
TL;DR - I got suits so good I am actually compelled to wear them, instead of annoyed to. That's pretty much the highest compliment I can give about something, until now, I moderately loathed having to deal with. read more