What Kind of Grey Suit Should You Get?

This post is a comparison of how two different shades of grey affects how a person looks. One question I get really often is: What sort of grey suit should I get that I can wear year-round to everything?

Meet Andy. He's a professional who moved here from Toronto for his new job. On the way here, he lost his suitcase full of good work clothes and was left with just the suitcase of not-so-great looking work clothes.

I joke.

I actually forget the reason why Andy came in but he desperately needed a new work wardrobe. Of course, we were totally excited to help! 

He had a pretty good idea of what he wanted so it didn't take too long for him to make his selection. 

He also had a lot of decision-making to do when it came to choosing his shirts. We offer a lot of design options: French cuffs, convertible cuffs, contrasting collar & cuffs, contrasting plackets, concealed plackets, pockets with flaps or no flaps and so forth.  

Check out the following two grey suits that Andy is sporting for us:

Medium Grey Mixed Wool Suit & Contrast Collar/Cuff  Window-Pane Pattern Brushed Cotton Shirt

Medium Grey Mixed Wool Suit & Contrast Collar/Cuff  Window-Pane Pattern Brushed Cotton Shirt

Versus:

Charcoal Grey Mixed Wool Suit & Window-Pane Brushed Cotton Shirt

Charcoal Grey Mixed Wool Suit & Wiudow-Pane Brushed Cotton Shirt

A medium grey suit is very versatile in that it's not too light for the cooler seasons and not too dark for the warmer seasons. It feels more casual than a black, charcoal or navy suit.

Contrastly, Andy's charcoal suit feels a little more "serious" and formal since visually, it's closer to black. When you put on a charcoal suit, you look like you mean business!

Notice that even just the very act of doing up your jacket and leaving your jacket undone affects how formal or casual a suit looks?

My personal opinion is that these are the two best greys to choose from if you want to be able to wear your suits all year round and not have to worry about looking too done up or too casual. Andy obviously had that all figured out before he even stepped foot into our store since he didn't really need any guidance in picking out the colours! :)

Thanks for modelling, Andy! You have a great smile and very lush healthy-looking hair! ;D

Ladies' Jackets - Handstitched By Our Shanghai High-Fashion Tailor

At Balsam Custom Tailors, we employ only the most professional and skilled tailors and seamstresses. Most of our very talented team members have had many decades of experience in making custom garments and working for designer labels. 

The following are a collection of pictures that document some of the jackets in their in-progress stage and the finished stage. All of them are made by our Shanghai Master Tailor :)   Pay attention to the fine details in the shoulders, lapels, jetted flap pockets, contour seams in the back... all are things that help determine the quality of a jacket i.e. Springy shoulders require more work because of extra internal parts that are built-in to produce that effect.

Jacket No.1 - Leopard Print Cotton

Jacket No.2 - Padded Lace Material 

Jacket No.3 - Padded Lace Material

Creative Repair On A Down Puffer Jacket

If you have a puffer jacket (especially one made with down), you will know how annoying it is to get a rip in it. The outer nylon or polyester layer can't ever be mended in a way that it will become perfect again. You could try sewing up the rip but there will definitely be a seam.

I see cigarette burns and accidental tears in these jackets all the time. Down puffer jackets aren't cheap. A decent one will run you a minimum of $200. A really high quality one can cost as much as $1000 and up. Most people are reluctant to throw away a down jacket just because they put a rip in it They know that, beyond the aesthetic imperfection, it is still a very warm jacket that will do its work.

If you don't mind the visible seam that goes over the rip, especially if it's located in an inconspicuous place on the jacket, then simply sewing it up will work well.

But sometimes, a seam in somewhere obvious, say on the backside of your jacket, isn't very pretty. Look at the following picture of a very new puffer jacket. There's a big cut down the backside:

If we were to sew it up, there would be an obvious vertical seam down the backside of the jacket.

Our seamstress thought of a better idea. Instead of creating a seam that looks out of place, she decided to "blend" the repair into the background.

Putting a piece of triangular fabric to cover the lower half of the rip.

Pinning the triangle in place.

The extra fabric comes from the belt that came with the jacket.

What the seamstress has done is cut a couple pieces of triangular shapes from the original jacket belt and strategically sewed them right over on top of the damaged area.

The result: 

This $500 jacket is saved! Looks almost flawless, right? :)

Don't Throw Out That Top Yet!

I have to say, I'm always impressed with what my team of seamstresses and tailors can do here at Balsam. They come up with the most amazing ideas! 

A customer had brought in a faux leather bustier that she really loved but didn't fit her anymore because it was a bit too small and asked if there was anything we could do to help her fit into again. 

It's very rare that ready-made items have inseam left on the inside for letting out. Letting out whatever is available on the inside of your garment is most ideal but not always possible. In the case of this faux leather bustier, we had no choice but to add material to the backside to increase its size.

We took out the zipper (which we thought wasn't sturdy at all) entirely: It actually undid itself once the customer sat down! We decided to replace the zipper with a secure button and loop system on top of the black panel we were going to put in at the back.

Pictures of what the bustier looked like BEFORE alterations:

Pictures of the bustier AFTER the alterations:

Pretty neat right? :)

We Can Always Rely On Our Customers To Lift Our Spirits On Such Cold Rainy Days!

Mr.Le came in one day to inquire about a suit and shirt for his son's graduation. A very happy, funny and friendly man he is! After our brief little chat, Mr. Le smiled, nodded and said he'd bring his son in for a suit. 

Mr. Le indeed brought his son, Daniel, in and together they picked out a nice black cloth with a subtle sheen for the suit and a crisp stark white cloth for the shirt. I knew he'd be a perfect candidate for a slim fit suit with a nicely cinched jacket waist just by looking at his slim physique.

Take a look at Daniel's first custom-made suit and shirt:

We are very pleased with how it fits and drapes. I think Daniel agrees too judging by the smile in the picture below, or maybe he's just ecstatic that his dad is such a cool guy with a great sense of humour (A decade worth of jokes were told during our three short meetings--I had such a good laugh)! ;)

Mr. Le and Junior Le! Don't they look alike? Such great smiles!

Thanks Mr.Le and Daniel for being awesome people! It was certainly our pleasure to work with you. :)

Men Can Have Wedding Stress Too (But Not Colin. He Seems Pretty Chill.)

Colin and his fiance came in for their fitting session last week. He had ordered an off-white shirt to go with a warm grey suit. It was for their upcoming wedding. Such a sweet couple, always joking around with each other.  I really enjoy meeting happy couples and learning about their stories--it always gives me the warm fuzzies. 

Getting a suit made for your special day involves choosing the right tailor and putting your trust into him/her. It can be a stressful process for the couple getting married because there's the anticipation that your custom clothes will and should come out the way you want them to come out. 

Working with Anda and I, you will get the close attention that you deserve. We supervise the construction of your garments from inception to the end. That should help take some weight off your shoulders when you've got a million other wedding-related tasks to tend to. 

Needless to say, we are extremely happy that Colin and his fiance picked us to help make their wedding story.

Check out Colin's suit paired with his high-top Converse. He had brought dress shoes but he mentioned that he'll be wearing new custom Converses at his wedding, so I figured why not get a little preview to see what the suit will look like with canvas shoes:

Thanks for modelling, Colin!

Feel The Difference.

This is Danny. And we're super grateful that he happily agreed to let us feature him on our blog wearing our custom shirts and pants. When he shops for ready-made clothes, his main issue is trying to find a shirt that fits in the waist.

Most guys with broad shoulders usually have this problem: Shirts that fit in the shoulders never fit properly at the waist. We know this to be true for Danny because he's brought in several store-bought shirts already to have the waist slimmed down.

Of course, we were delighted when he walked in one day to place an order for some shirts and pants. I've never dealt with any of Danny's pants and I haven't been told what sort of trouble he has when buying store-bought pants. 

But, here are some common reasons as to why guys (and some girls) would need custom pants:

REASON: They have a thick seat area naturally or due to weight-lifting or sprint-heavy sports that increases mass in the gluteal muscles. 

EFFECT: Ready-made pants aren't cut with a deep enough and wide enough U-crotch. Hence, these types of pants usually feel really tight and uncomfortable in the seat and crotch area for people who have big behinds. They give the feeling of what some people call, a "wedgie". 

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REASON: They have thick upper legs. 

EFFECT: Ready-made pants are usually cut by manufacturers to fit people with average-size legs. Basically, the general populace. Manufacturers don't make pants with thick-legged individuals in mind. Especially, in this day and age, when slim fit pants are the trend. The problem people with big legs encounter are usually a tight pulling across the front of the pants. One of the biggest visual indications of too-tight pant thighs are: Wide gaping pant pockets when standing still.

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REASON: They fill out the seat area but not the waist of the pants. This problem arises when individuals have a thick behind and a narrow waist. This is the most common problem with athletic people.

EFFECT: When people with small waists and thick behinds put on pants, they will notice a gap in the back of their pant waist.

If you have any of the above issues with your pants, you might want to consider custom-made pants. This option will eliminate any discomfort and unsightly problems that store-bought pants may give you.

I love this picture (above). Very candid. Also happened at the spur of the moment. I almost missed this shot. Danny decided to switch his stance and I caught him at the right time!

Thanks for modelling, Danny! :)