Reddit reviews Classic Tailoring Techniques: A Construction Guide for Men's Wear (F.I.T. Collection)

Excellent, let me nerd out for a second about suits. Also, that documentary is a GREAT starting point. Personally, it makes me want to become a tailor, and it makes me sad that tailoring is becoming a dying breed of old people who have no younger people to take up their mantle.

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So, before you get into the process of suit making and all of that, and the art that is tailoring. I encourage you to read up on what makes a suit, a suit. But, I'll cut it down real simply for you and leave some links so that you can read up on in depth if it suits you (hodor).

Let's start with the most basic question. What is the foundation of the suit? Strangely, the foundation of the suit, is the shoulder. The drape of your suit and the cut of your suit starts from the shoulder and moves downward. So like we always say, if it doesn't fit on the shoulder, put it back on the rack. There are tons of different types of cuts for shoulders, and how it's padding, and how the sleeve is attached to the shoulder that is all unique to each cut, although it is becoming more homogenized (Personally, I'm an italian cut kinda guy, Neapolitan in specific). How do you like your shoulders? Straight across? Narrower? No padding at all? Extreme sloping? These are the questions you should consider when bespoking your suit, or purchasing your suit in general. How do you like your shoulder to sing?

Next, lets move onto the beauty that is the lapel roll, the flower of the suit, the thing that blooms, the detail that gives your suit depth. A detail that simply resonates with the rest of your suit, don't be flat (jos. a bank), the lapel roll is a piece of art of itself, and a good dry cleaner will not press the life out of the lapel. Of course, you could just do it yourself.

So now that we have touched the outside of the suit. Let's dig a little deeper, how about the inside of the suit? Perhaps as important as the shoulder, is your canvassing. Why is it important? Because canvas is what gives your suit a shape, it's the thing that slowly molds to your body, a quality suit will slowly mold to your body and drape better and better with each wear. A suit with the proper insides need's no hanger to give it shape (put it on a hanger). It almost wears itself (ignore the fact that they are trying to sell something).

Here is some more reading on canvassing

In closing, how about some master tailors talking about their art?

Rudolph Popradi

Martin Greenfield

Multiple tailors from naples discuss their life of tailoring

And now, some books.

A menswear book, a little more for the older gents and those more intersted in history. But very much a classic book that is highly praised for being all encompassing.

How about a book that teaches you to make your own garments?


And a machiavallian approach to the suit. Maybe not as highly praised, but more reading can't hurt that much.

Let's ask some people about their thoughts on the suit and it's changes through the years.

1, 2, 3, 4.

And let's touch on the tuxedo for a bit, probably a little pretentious (especially that esquire guy), but for some reason I like watching people dress up while giving their thoughts..

And finally, a series of videos on a class about suit construction (mainly for women).

Probably doesn't entirely answer your questions, but hey, suits are awesome. If I had enough money to wear a suit everyday for every situation (james bond) I would. If you have the opportunity to apprentice under a tailor, I highly suggest it, maybe you won't become a master tailor, and you most likely will not get paid, but it would be an awesome experience to be under a master craftsman.

Recommended books:

Classic Tailoring Techniques: A Construction Guide for Men's Wear

Tailoring: The Classic Guide to Sewing the Perfect Jacket

Vintage Couture Tailoring

My teacher, who was the head of a Menswear program, did not teach directly from these books (he had his own approach, as many teachers do), but he recommended this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Mens-Fashion-Design-Clothes/dp/0870055143/ref=cm_cr_othr_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Here are some books on tailoring and a link to a tailoring forum:
https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Tailoring-Techniques-Construction-Collection/dp/0870054317

https://www.amazon.com/Classic-Tailoring-Techniques-Menswear-Construction/dp/1628921706/ref=pd_sim_14_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1628921706&pd_rd_r=QJRZP6W10YZA3RAQVJCT&pd_rd_w=K0lmR&pd_rd_wg=MYIWi&psc=1&refRID=QJRZP6W10YZA3RAQVJCT


(Great price at $39.66)

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=roberto+cabrera



http://www.cutterandtailor.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=2130

I personally don't think you are too old.

I used to sew for fun when I was 16, stopped after leaving school and began again at the age of 23/24. I have been steadily re-learning all of the techniques I was taught at school, and have been attending college courses on sewing and dressmaking too. I am now at the stage where I am working on my own project portfolio, but will happily admit that I am still learning lots of new things.

I will agree with /u/heliotropedit though. you do have to be completely 100% dedicated to learning everything you can.

You will end up spending hours and hours practicing the same techniques over and over again. You will want to quit at times and need to motivate yourself to carry on and push through to the end. You'll want to cry on occasions at how tired you are and how you feel that your work simply isn't good enough and how it never will be. You will see other people wearing beautifully crafted garments and feel angry at your own lack of skills. but when you finally break through and create a perfectly drafted and constructed garment, you will realise all of that time, pain, upset and sheer panic will have been 100% worth it.

But before you ever reach this point, you need to be completely certain that it is what you want to do, the tailoring profession is very difficult to break into and it takes true dedication and sacrifice and time (years) to make it.

NB a few good books to help:- (the first three books are good for beginners, the last 4 books are aimed at the more intermediate level sewers)

Easy Does It Dressmaking

The Sewing Book

The Dressmakers Handbook

Couture Sewing Techniques as recommended to me by /u/heliotropedit.

Couture Sewing: Tailoring Techniques

Classic Tailoring Techniques: Menswear

Classic Tailoring Techniques: Womenswear

>the crotch. If you turn a pair of pants inside out and look at the crotch, you'll notice it sort of curves. You'll have to follow that curve, whereas the outside seam would just be straight.

OP if you do attempt to alter in this fashion I highly suggest that you seek out a book or two on tailoring techniques.

Classic Tailoring Techniques: A Construction Guide for Men's Wear (F.I.T. Collection) By Roberto Cabrera Buyitonamazon

Classic Tailoring Techniques: A Construction Guide for Women's Wear (F.I.T. Collection) By Roberto Cabrera Buyitonamazon

Also the Cutter & Tailor forums is another excellent resource for menswear

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Tailoring-Techniques-Construction-Collection/dp/0870054317

http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Book-Mens-Tailoring-Producing/dp/0914046306

Your best bet, if you want to break in on your own, rather than going in under someone or under a tailoring house is to produce one garment, perfect it, keep yourself ahead of the curve, and use the internet to retail it. Take a look at tie makers Pierrepont Hicks. They managed to get ahead of the curve on the whole tweed, herringbone, and slub wool tie trend, and are currently just about sold out. Its just a matter of doing your research and having the right contacts. The internet has allowed smaller companies to break out like that, where previously an enormously classical company like say Drakes or press would dominate.

New Complete Guide to Sewing for general sewing techniques.

For tailoring men's clothes, Classic Tailoring Techniques (and women's.)

For pattern drafting, Winnifred Aldrich has a great line of books.
There's also Fundamentals of Men's Fashion Design, casual and tailored. As well as Patternmaking for Fashion Design.

For corsets, Waisted Efforts and The Basics of Corset Building are good.

For making shirts, Shirtmaking.

For learning to sew stretch/knit fabrics, Sew U: Home Stretch is pretty good.

And for just having a bunch of fun with patterns, the Pattern Magic series is plain awesome. I think there's three of them out now.

Edit: thought of more!

The Art of Manipulating Fabric is great. And www.threadsmagazine.com as well as the corresponding print publication.