Know How Of Custom Suits And Tailoring

Welcome to the Mycustomtailor Book of Records and Favourite Quotes!

During the years that Mycustomtailor.com have been in business, we are proud of having created True Custom Tailoring records that have proven our expertise in our chosen field. Over time, people of all shapes and sizes have asked us to customize clothing to suit (pun intended!) their very unique physiques. Big and Tall, Small and Long, petites and Fulls have all been attended to by us. We now present to you, some of our most memorable accomplishments on these very special physical parameters.

• How to tie a tie is the most-asked Web question in 2010
  News trumped celebrities in 2010 as the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and World Cup soccer in South Africa topped the list of most-searched items of 2010, and the most-searched for question was "How to tie a tie," according to Yahoo.
• The Longest Pair of Jeans in the World
  A pair of Jeans, the size of six tennis courts, stitched together from thousands of jeans donated for charity, has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest every made, anywhere! The denims were put on display in Croatia´s capital of Zagreb and were assembled from 8023 unwanted pairs and auctioned off for charity. The legs were 45 meters long!

• The Worlds Heaviest Jeans
  CRANE-BREAKING JEANS TOO BIG TO LIFT
  In Lima, Peruvian seamstresses hoping to snag a Guinness World Record for sewing the largest pair of blue jeans celebrated. On Friday, one day after cranes buckled while trying to lift a giant 7.5-ton trousers, workers laid the pair on the ground and put big balloons inside the legs to show off the size of the jeans, which are 43m tall and 30m wide. On Thursday, crane operators gave up trying to lift the jeans with three machines and went looking for a fork. They wanted to lift the trousers to display them. But, on Friday, workers had to scrap the idea of hoisting the jeans altogether. The Colombian city of Medellin currently holds the record for the world’s largest pair of jeans. Which measured 35m tall by 25m wide. Representatives from Guinness were not present to see the Peruvian-made jeans, but a notary who can send documentation to the group was.

• There are two major versions of English. The Queens English spoken in UK and American English of USA.
  Needless to say, this can cause confusion and often, amusement when the terms used to describe something is different.
  Clothes too are sometimes described differently in the two languages and here are some examples …
  What´s Pants in USA becomes Trousers in the UK .
  Pants in England are known as Underpants in the USA.
  Vests of America are actually Waistcoats in Britain.
  Vests in Britain are actually Undervests in USA.
  What is known as Garters in USA are Suspenders in the UK (used to hold up women´s stockings.)
  Known as Garters in USA are Suspenders in the UK (used to hold up womens stockings).
  Should our readers have other examples, please feel free to email them to us.

• What do you mean???
  
• Balance : Adjustment of back and front lengths of a jacket to harmonise with the posture of a particular figure. Balance is very difficult to achieve in ready to wear clothing. Poor balance is often reflected in the jacket collar standing off the customers neck.
• Baste : Garment loosely assembled for first fitting.
• Bespoke : Made to a customers specific requirements. Nowadays also taken to mean made by hand.
• Canvases : The inner materials used in the garment to give it shape. Much of the coat makers work goes into shaping the canvases so that the coat becomes three dimensional reflecting the customers figure. Canvases include linen, horse hair, hemps, jutes, meltons and many more. The weight of cloth from which the jacket is being made determines the particular canvases to be used.
• Floating : A misnomer used by the ready to wear industry to imply a certain Canvas quality of make in their jacket construction. The chest canvas in a Savile Row suit is an integral part of the coats construction attached at certain strategic points to ensure the front of the garment is unmarked. In a ready to wear garment a floating canvas is likely to be affixed firmly to the collar and glued in other places (see "fusing").
• Fusing : Use of chemicals and heat to weld the interlinings (including canvas) to the outer fabric, as distinct from stitching. Fusing cloth helps the appearance of the garment to look clean (i.e. flat) and is particularly popular with light weight fabrics which are difficult to sew. It is however difficult to impart shape using fusing and many fusible materials tend to perish during cleaning and with constant usage. Fusing is regarded as something of a cheats charter by traditional tailors since superficially a garment can be made to appear well made with little actual craft used in its manufacture. A useful analogy would be a building without foundation. Nevertheless, these days fusing material quality has improved exponentially such that even top ready to wear garment manufacturers use this method in the coats and suits.
• Gorge : The point where the collar is attached to the lapel forming the Notch (either Double Breasted or single Breasted). Savile Row suits tend to have a high gorge, Italian designer suits low.
• Made To Measure : Garment adjusted to a customers measurement from a standard Measure block, usually by machine. A very limited number of adjustments can be incorporated into made to measure suits. (i.e. to sleeve length, chest, and trouser length). Savile Row suits are not made to measure. A Savile Row tailor will take up to 30 different measurement, plus notes of figuration and posture, and starts from a blank sheet of paper.
• Piece Work : Most of the tailors in Savile Row are self employed and are paid a fixed rate per garment according to their skill, the quality of the work, and the difficulty and time involved in making the garment. The monetary rate for a particular tailor is known as the Piece-rate.
• Puckering : The tendency of cloth to gather in runs, often apparent on the lapel or trouser seams. In hand made garments this can result from too much tension applied in the thread when sewing. It is more common in fused apparel and results from different levels of shrinking in the fused material and the cloth or distress in the fused material.
• Scye : The armhole: from arm’s eye. A tailor will take several measurements to divine the scye. A correct fit of the scye will hold the collar and shoulder of a jacket in place when a customer is seated ensuring that the back of the jacket does not rise. Many people trying a Bespoke suit for the first time feel the jacket is tight around he arm hole for this reason.
• Sleeve Pitch : The angle at which the sleeve is pitched to the sleeve head. In a Bespoke suit the sleeve should be pitched to match the angle at which the arm hangs naturally from the shoulder.
• Trimmings : Canvases, interlinings, silk threads, linings, buttons, hooks, felts and meltons. The raw materials that in addition to cloth make up the suit.

• Who are These Guys?
  
• Finisher : The person (normally female) who sews the button holes, fells the lining and stitches the edges of the garment once it is complete. These are the last processes in finishing a jacket and do not usually take place until the customer and cutter are satisfied with the suit.
  
• Alterations Tailor: Most tailoring firms operate piece-work (q.v.) payment systems with their tailors . Consequently a coatmaker’s work is finished sometime before the garment is actually ready for delivery to the customer. Apart from the finishing stage, it is usually the case that minor adjustments to the fit of the garment will be needed to achieve perfection. For these final touches the cutter will use an alteration tailor. Alteration tailors are highly skilled since they alter the work of other tailors. Because of this they are normally housed separately from their colleagues.
  
• The Cutter : The person (usually male) who measures and fits the customer. The cutter makes a pattern from the measurements he takes and observations of the customers figuration and posture. The cloth is cut using the pattern. The pattern is altered after each fitting dependent on changes made to the garment. Once the suit is delivered the pattern should, in theory, be perfect.
  
• Coatmaker : The tailor responsible for making the jacket. Each garment is made by different craftsmen. Thus trouser makers only tailor trousers. Specialist garments such as smoking jackets, overcoats and morning suits are also made by specialist craftsmen.

• Here are some Jargons of the Tailoring World
  
• Cork - The Boss.
  
• Doctor - Alteration tailor.
  
• Kill - A spoiled job that has to be thrown away.
  
• Kipper - A tailoress. So called because they sought work in pairs to avoid unwelcome advances.
  
• Pig - An unclaimed garment.
  
• Pigman - Person who buys pigs and pork usually at a minimal cost.
  
• Pork - A misfit rejected by a customer, but which might be sold elsewhere.
  
• Skiffle - A job needed in a hurry.
  
• Tab - Fussy, difficult customer.
  
• Trotter - Fetcher and carrier - messenger.
  
• Tweed Merchant - Tailor who does the easy work- a poor workman.
  

• Did you know what Barbie Dolls Measurements would be if she were life size? - 39-23-33
• THE THINGS YOU CAN NOT AFFORD
  
• To spend one day in an uncomfortable suit or shirt !
• To buy a garment simply for its label !
• To be passed from one department sales person to another !
• To confuse style with fashion !
• To own a closet full of forgettable clothes !
• To confuse value with price !
• To be "helped" by a salesperson on commission !
• To sacrifice style, fit, or fabric tailoring !
• To be less than well dressed !

• The Facts About Wool....
  Wool fiber actually has tiny pores. When it�s dyed, the pores open and the dye is absorbed into it. That�s why wool garments look and stay so rich in color. Wool can be stretched up to 70% of its natural length and still retain its shape when released. In other words, it won�t sag and wrinkles relax easily. Wool�s natural climate control system keeps you comfortable because it insulates you from heat and cold by trapping little pockets of air. Wool is so strong, it�s used to cover tennis balls and billiard tables. So fine, it�s the choice of tailors and designers around the world.
  
  
• Did you know that The Most Expensive Suit in the world is a Space Suit worn by Astronauts? It costs more than 3.5 Million Dollars!

• Necktie Coordination - It is a fact that a properly chosen tie can make an impressive showing. The tie is the focal point of the wardrobe. A quality tie is the finishing touch on a man�s suit.
  
  
• The Tallest individual we custom Tailored for is 7 feet 2 inches tall!
• The Shortest adult we custom Tailored for is 4 feet tall!
• The Heaviest individual we customized clothing for is 320 kgs (704 pounds)!
• The Widest chest we made clothes to measure to is 100 inches (250 cms)!
• The Largest stomach measurement in our experience is 79 inches (237 cms)!
• The Largest waist measurement we have made trousers for is 82 inches (205 cms)!
• The Longest pair of pants we tailored was 54 inches (135 cms) Long!
• The Longest Jacket (not a coat) we have customized is 44 inches (110 cms) in Length!
• The Maximum number of suits ordered by a single individual has been 35 suits!
• The Fastest Two peice suit completed by us was in 8 Hours!
• The Oldest Client we have has been with us for 35 years!

Your E-Tailor's Favourite Quotes

• I buy expensive suits. They just look cheap on me! -- Warren Buffet
• The brute covers himself, the rich man and the fop adorn themselves, the elegant man dresses! -- Honore de Balzac
• Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express’d in fancy; rich not gaudy for the apparel oft proclaims the man. -- Polonius to Laertes. HAMLET.
• Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months. -- Oscar Wilde
• I´m interested in longevity, timelessness, style- not fashion. -- Ralph Lauren, fashion designer
• Fashion passes, style remains. -- Coco Chanel (1883-1971)
• The only moral one can draw from history is that it is much better to invent a new fashion than a new social theory. The fist may improve the appearance of men; the latter will only bring about a revolution. -- Carlo Maria Franzero
• It is possible through the skillful manipulation of dress in any particular situation to evoke a favorable response to your positioning and your needs. -- JOHN T. MOLLOY - New Dress fo
• “The more you know, the less you need.” -- AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL SAYING
• “Let us be thankful for the fools; but for them the rest of us could not succeed.” -- MARK TWAIN
• “We’d all like to be taken for what we’d like to be.” -- MALCOLM FORBES
• The ideal look, as you claw your way to the lower middle rung, is that of a hip funeral director… To the delight of your boss, your sartorial restraint will signify a comforting subservience -- SIMON DOONAN, Author, writer f
• Style is one thing, fashion usually quite another. -- MALCOLM S. FORBES
• Style is something peculiar to one person; it expresses one personality and one only; it cannot be shared. -- FREYA STARK
• Fashions fade, style is eternal. -- YVES SAINT LAURENT
• Good clothes open all doors. -- THOMAS FULLER
• Clothes never shut up. -- SUSAN BROWNMILLER
• The more buttons done up on someone’s shirt, the higher their IQ. -- CURTIS CLOANINGER
• Style is the garb of thought. -- SENECA THE YOUNGER
• In matters of grave importance, style not sincerity, is the vital thing. -- OSCAR WILDE
• Style is a fraud. I always felt the Greeks were hiding behind their columns. -- WILLEM DE KOONING
• Style is just the outside of content, and content the inside of style, like the outside and the inside of the human body - both go together, they can’t be separated. -- - JEAN-LUC GODARD
• Style is not something applied. It is something that permeates. It is of the nature of that in which it is found, whether the poem, the manner of a god, the bearing of a man. It is not a dress. -- - WALLACE STEVENS
• Style in not neutral. It gives moral directions. -- - MARTIN AMIS
• All the fun’s in how you say a thing. -- - ROBERT FROST
• Style reflects one’s idiosyncrasies. Your personality is apt to show more to the degree that you did not solve the problem than to the degree that you did. -- - CHARLES EAMES
• A man’s style is intrinsic and private with him like his voice or his gesture, party a matter of inheritance, partly of cultivation. It is the pattern of the soul. -- - MAURICE VALENCY
• Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn. -- - GORE VIDAL
• If you are not in fashion, you are nobody ! -- Lord Chesterfield of England
• Besides being useful against colds, stiff necks and tooth ache, a Necktie enables one to know more about the person who is wearing it.. -- Emil De L´Empese in 1818
• Sooner or later, whatever’s out is back in. Style in everything is a sometime thing. Ever changing, forever changing back again. Whether it’s width of neckties or lapels, the height of skirts or the depth of necklines. Whether it’s Elizabethan architecture, Colonial, Bauhaus, whatever ’s prevailing cycles out until it’s rediscovered, redefined and back again. Realism in art, Impressionism, abstract and multiple versions thereof wave in and drown out. Diets, cure-alls, fitness fads and kicks jog in and walk out. Life’s only certainty is change and that what’s changed will eventually be changed back. -- MALCOLM S. FORBES
• Style is just the outside of content, and content the inside of style, like the outside and the inside of the human body - both go together, they can’t be separated. -- JEAN-LUC GODARD
• Style is not something applied. It is something that permeates. It is of the nature of that in which it is found, whether the poem, the manner of a god, the bearing of a man. It is not a dress. -- WALLACE STEVENS
• Style is a fraud. I always felt the Greeks were hiding behind their columns. -- WILLEM DE KOONING
• Style is not neutral. It gives moral directions. -- MARTIN AMIS
• The most durable thing is style, and style is most valuable investment one can make with his time. -- RAYMOND CHANDLER
• All the fun’s in how you say a thing. -- ROBERT FROST
• Style reflects one’s idiosyncrasies. Your personality is apt to show more to the degree that you did not solve the problem than to the degree that you did. -- CHARLES EAMES
• A man’s style is intrinsic and private with him like his voice or his gesture, party a matter of inheritance, partly of cultivation. It is the pattern of the soul. -- MAURICE VALENCY
• A good style shows no sign of effort. What is worn should seem a happy accident. -- SOMERSET MAUGHAM
• Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn. -- GORE VIDAL
• God is really only another artist. He invented the elephant and the cat. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things. -- PABLO PICASSO
• You never get a second chance to make a first impression. -- Will Rogers
• Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. -- Mark Twain
• Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see . -- Mark Twain
• Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. -- William J Bryan
• Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations. -- Faith Baldwin
• Anybody can become angry, that is easy. But to be angry with the right person and to right degree and at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way, that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy. -- Confucius
• Silence is the best answer for insult. -- Gandhi
• Work like you don’t need the money, Love like you’ve never been hurt, And dance like no one is watching. -- Unknown
• Never be afraid to try something new. Amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic. -- Unknown
• An optimist thinks that this is the best possible world. A pessimist fears that this is true. -- Unknown
• "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" -- Abraham Lincoln
• "My father always used to say that when you die, if you’ve got five real friends, then you’ve had a great life." -- Lee Iacocca
• You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. -- Dale Carnegie