I have a passion for all things sartorial. I shop at all sorts of places, from LLBean to Ralph Lauren (only small stuff!!). With having to wear a suit every day, I was always a Jos Bank guy. Over the past few years, I have found that the quality of the clothes at Jos Bank has really deteriorated. They used to make their own clothes, but these days, it saddens me to say that the quality of their stuff is just really inferior. It's really hard to find a mid-grade well made suit, which I suppose is the result of Casual Friday. Over the years I think that Brooks Brothers may have occupied the space I am trying to find, but while I have purchased Made to Measure stuff from them as well, I think they have just not returned to the excellence of the glory years. J Press is another name, but they get pricey, and you have to go to NY or DC.
About five years ago I met a young guy named Chris Wolf. He reps for the Tom James Company, for lack of a better term, a "private label" manufacturer of men's (and now women's) clothing. Tom James has become quite an operation...they now own Oxxford (yes two x's) the finest American maker of truly bespoke clothing. I don't want to spend $4500 on an Oxxford suit, but Tom James makes custom men's and women's wear at very affordable prices for the quality of the product. While certainly not as inexpensive as Bank's "buy one, get three free..." ploy, I think when you look at how well this stuff is made and the fact that it is custom measured for you, it's a great deal. I now own several suits, sport coats, odd trousers and shirts by Tom James. I think the cut and finish is excellent... I get many comments when I wear one of the TJ suits.
It takes a lot for me to sit down and pen this sort of intro, so know that I really like this stuff...... read more