Suits n' Incubators

[dingosatemybaby]

Hi,
Long-time lurker, frequent asinine poster. Any of you folks have any recommendations for good order-made suits in the Tokyo area. Off-the-rack doesn't work for me, and I don't want to have to fly to Seoul to go to one of those Itawon tailors where they have the fake pictures of Clinton and Harrison Ford visiting their shops.

Second question: Anyone heard of small-business "incubator" services. I'd like to set up a biz, and could use all the start-up help I can get. I heard the Devlins made generous use of Japanese gov't small business loans in getting their little empire off the ground.
Domo in advance!

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Do you need western size or are you freaky in some way

I've picked up shirts and suits at Isoten's clearance shop in Shinjuku. Unfortunately it's a choice of timing as what they are clearing out at the time. Could be school stuff one week, men's the next. Alterations are free and picked up the following week.

The shop is near the Stussy store at the back of the main Isoten store on Shinjuku Dori. Around Kanda there is a lot of suit makers but haven't really checked them out.

[GomiGirl]

What is your budget?

I know a tailor from HK who flies in and takes orders then has them made in HK and then delivers them back to Japan.

Definitely NOT cheap but very well made and gorgeous Italian fabrics.

[Charles]

I've picked up shirts and suits at Isoten's clearance shop in Shinjuku.

You mean Isetan maybe? Isetan owns Barney's, which also has a shop in Shinjuku. I highly recommend Barney's, they carry Western brands like Hugo Boss, Armani, etc. as well as their house brand of accessories like shirts. I like Barney's house brand shirts a lot, they're fairly cheap and good quality.

Anyway, IMHO you're better off buying a premium quality name-brand suit and spending money on tailoring it to fit, rather than having some no-name tailor in HK make one from scratch. You cannot buy a decent suit for less than ~$750US, and that's the absolute low end.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

You mean Isetan maybe?

Er sorry, typo. YUP.
If what you say is true then probably Barney's stock out of season runs through the same shop. Picked up a CK winter suit for 15000 yen last year all snipped to size (6'2" aint that tall but long arms are hard to find). Donna Karan shirts go through ther also. Have seen Boss in the same store.
Depends on your cut overall. Boss is not great for tall slim guys, tend to suit a more solid build. Donna Karan and Paul Smith fit a treat.

[Caustic Saint]

Anyway, IMHO you're better off buying a premium quality name-brand suit and spending money on tailoring it to fit, rather than having some no-name tailor in HK make one from scratch. You cannot buy a decent suit for less than ~$750US, and that's the absolute low end.

I don't know that I'd trust somebody to tailor-make a suit and get it done in time while I'm on vacation, but I did have a great suit made here in Korea. Ontario Custom Tailor in Itaewon. The guy does it right. Had me come in for a fitting before everything was all stitched up to make sure it wouldn't have to be pulled apart and altered. I went back for the next fitting after it was all together and it fit perfectly. I got the suit, with a spare pair of trousers, for about $200. (I forget exactly how much and the receipt's at home.)

If you have the time - and a place you can trust - to get it done right, you can get a hell of a deal on custom stuff.

[Charles]

I got the suit, with a spare pair of trousers, for about $200.

I have shirts that cost more than that.

The problem with a $200 suit is that it looks like a $200 suit. If you normally wear jeans and TShirts, a $200 suit may seem like an extravagant luxury, but to people who wear suits every day, a $200 suit makes you look like you shopped at JCPenneys.

[Caustic Saint]

I got the suit, with a spare pair of trousers, for about $200.

I have shirts that cost more than that.

The problem with a $200 suit is that it looks like a $200 suit. If you normally wear jeans and TShirts, a $200 suit may seem like an extravagant luxury, but to people who wear suits every day, a $200 suit makes you look like you shopped at JCPenneys.

I assure you, it doesn't. I know what the crap suits look like, and this doesn't look like them.

People who get crap suits in Korea are the ones who insist on super cheap prices and expect the tailor to do good work for next to no money. I did my homework and scouted around before getting mine made, and the results are quite nice.

The problem with basing opinions on price, is that people assume higher price = higher quality. Do you really believe your shirt that cost 10 times as one I have is really 10 times better? If so, please explain.

[AssKissinger]

I got the suit, with a spare pair of trousers, for about $200.

I have shirts that cost more than that.

The problem with a $200 suit is that it looks like a $200 suit. If you normally wear jeans and TShirts, a $200 suit may seem like an extravagant luxury, but to people who wear suits every day, a $200 suit makes you look like you shopped at JCPenneys.

Over $200 for one shirt? You're an insult to that Ramones avatar. Corporate cocksucking phony. You're about as punk as Bill Gates. And you don't know fuck-all about shopping in Korea.

[Thanatos' embalmed botfly]

Over $200 for one shirt? You're an insult to that Ramones avatar. Corporate cocksucking phony. You're about as punk as Bill Gates.

These points are valid. $200? Thats more than all the clothes I own combined.

[dingosatemybaby]

I appreciate ODG's info about Isetan. Basically, I need a custom-made suit because I'm 6'2", and even the long-size off-the-rack jackets and suits I get in the states tend to "gap" around the back of the collar. I got my first custom suit in Korea a couple years ago for about $500, and I've been a believer ever since. Does anyone know any good tailors or shops in the Tokyo area? I'm willing to pay up to, say, 100,000 yen. If it fits well, damn, it'd be worth it. Thanks.

[Taro Toporific]

off-the-rack jackets and suits I get in the states tend to "gap" around the back of the collar.... Does anyone know any good tailors or shops in the Tokyo area? I'm willing to pay up to, say, 100,000 yen. If it fits well, damn, it'd be worth it. .

In the inverse of that damn "'gap' around the back of the collar" is the bane of my existence too. I've got a literally ramrod straight posture.

Ok, I'm 6 foot and change, 190lb, have yard long arms like a gibbon and an ass wider than kaba.... And I can get fitted ok in Japan if I demand more chest in the jacket, deeper arm holes, and longer rise in the slacks. Most fittings can give you different (weird) sizing: If they don't offer it, ask for it. They can do it. Being fussy is ok in Japan. In my first 3 months in Japan without any Japanese, I bought a Brooks Bros. tux and had them modify to my needs ok---in tailoring, point and grunt is very effective.

Nowadays, I just go to MEN'S PLAZA AOKIand get their "order made" Italian band suits which actually measure you here in Japan, use Italian fabrics assembled in less than one week in China, followed by two fittings in store here in Japan--- 50,000-90,000 yen.
ULTRA rush jobs for Biz Suits are OK (2 years ago they tailor-made for me a funeral "Black Suit" is 4 days for me with looooooong sleeves a.)
<--Ulra rush suit

[Charles]

Basically, I need a custom-made suit because I'm 6'2", and even the long-size off-the-rack jackets and suits I get in the states tend to "gap" around the back of the collar.

That's the easiest thing for a tailor to fix, in fact, most people don't even think to have the tailor fix the area behind the collar, it can be taken in or let out, depending on what you need. If you don't fix it, it just won't sit right, it is almost guaranteed to not fit off the rack. Sometimes you need two fittings for off the rack tailoring, depending on how good your tailors are.

And to those whiners who think a punk can't dress well, well, screw you, you're just jealous. I can still be a punk even if I'm wearing a 3 piece suit. Clothing is camoflauge. Punks set trends, or we rise above them, we don't follow them.

I have expensive ~$200 Lorenzini dress shirts that last longer and look better than the $30 crap most people think are proper dress shirts. On the other end of the spectrum, I have a handmade vintage 1950s paisley bandana shirt I bought at a thrift store for $5, it turned out to have real handcarved ivory buttons and someone offered me $200 for it. I won't tell you about my $400 Versace jeans, it will just make you nuts. I don't dress like that every day, but that sort of dressing is just as much a work of art as the ripped and safety-pinned shirts I made back when I was young.

[AssKissinger]

Bragging about being rich is totally 100% anti everything punkrock was ever about. DeeDee's laughing at you from heaven.

[Caustic Saint]

I won't tell you about my $400 Versace jeans...

But you just did. Lame.

[AssKissinger]

Very lame.

[Taro Toporific]

...I can still be a punk even if I'm wearing a 3 piece suit...

Oh, that would be the protoptype punk.


But Charles, aren't you actually a Dharma bum? I'm a borderline beat.

[dingosatemybaby]

off-the-rack jackets and suits I get in the states tend to "gap" around the back of the collar.... Does anyone know any good tailors or shops in the Tokyo area? I'm willing to pay up to, say, 100,000 yen. If it fits well, damn, it'd be worth it. .

In the inverse of that damn "'gap' around the back of the collar" is the bane of my existence too. I've got a literally ramrod straight posture.

Ok, I'm 6 foot and change, 190lb, have yard long arms like a gibbon and an ass wider than kaba.... And I can get fitted ok in Japan if I demand more chest in the jacket, deeper arm holes, and longer rise in the slacks. Most fittings can give you different (weird) sizing: If they don't offer it, ask for it. They can do it. Being fussy is ok in Japan. In my first 3 months in Japan without any Japanese, I bought a Brooks Bros. tux and had them modify to my needs ok---in tailoring, point and grunt is very effective.

Nowadays, I just go to MEN'S PLAZA AOKIand get their "order made" Italian band suits which actually measure you here in Japan, use Italian fabrics assembled in less than one week in China, followed by two fittings in store here in Japan--- 50,000-90,000 yen.
ULTRA rush jobs for Biz Suits are OK (2 years ago they tailor-made for me a funeral "Black Suit" is 4 days for me with looooooong sleeves a.)
<--Ulra rush suit

I've heard that gap referred to as the "prole gap," I guess because proles like me don't usually wear suits, and when we do, we usually buy some cheap shit at JCPenney. Anyway, great info about Aoki's order-made suits. Maybe this nigga can get hisself a table dance!

[AssKissinger]

Maybe this nigga can get hisself a table dance!

Are you black?

[Taro Toporific]

Versace jeans...

Very lame.

Maybe this nigga can get hisself a table dance!

Are you black?

Huh? Who's talking 'bout a table dance?
But gee, come to think of it, a table dance in gold lameVersace jeans sounds hot to me.
[/u]

[kamome]

I got a few Barney's dress shirts for about $250-$300 a piece. They look great and are the best shirts in my wardrobe. But I stopped shopping at Barney's because there just has to be a place that sells equally nice shirts but won't burn such a hole in my pocket. Barney's Japan is a ripoff.

[Thanatos' embalmed botfly]

And to those whiners who think a punk can't dress well, well, screw you, you're just jealous.

- Mods, tech support, someone, anyone, is there any way I can make this roundy face larger? As in fist-size? The feeble joust above would have to be the most specious, childish attempt at a parry I have ever read. Jealous? What kind of punk would EVER be jealous of a prat in $400 jeans? Good grief.

I can still be a punk even if I'm wearing a 3 piece suit. Clothing is camoflauge. Punks set trends, or we rise above them, we don't follow them..... I have expensive ~$200 Lorenzini dress shirts that last longer and look better than the $30 crap most people think are proper dress shirts.

You've contradicted yourself here. See? Right there. The "don't follow them" bit opposes the fashion victim/label whore thing, no?

[dingosatemybaby]

Maybe this nigga can get hisself a table dance!

Are you black?

I'll gladly tell you Tuesday...for a table dance today.

[altar]

uh....who are these "Devlins"?

[Charles]

But Charles, aren't you actually a Dharma bum? I'm a borderline beat.

Not really, I can't stand the Beats. I used to work a tech job in San Francisco at a location that was said to be Jack Kerouac's former residence. The whole area reeked of has-been Beats. Overexposure will sour you on anything. But I suppose you might call me a dharma bum, depending on your perspective.

Bragging about being rich is totally 100% anti everything punkrock was ever about. DeeDee's laughing at you from heaven.

Did I say I was rich? I assure you, I'm as broke as any punk. The difference is I occasionally saved up enough money for some nice clothes, I didn't blow it all on heroin like DeeDee. I'm laughing at DeeDee from Earth, because I'm still alive and HE'S DEAD.

[Caustic Saint]

Did I say I was rich? I assure you, I'm as broke as any punk.

$400 jeans'll do that to you.

[kurohinge1]

PUNK Charles

PUNK Charles

PUNK Charles

Sorry, I'm just not buying it.

... rather than having some no-name tailor in HK make one from scratch. You cannot buy a decent suit for less than ~$750US, and that's the absolute low end ...

... I have shirts that cost more than that ...

... but to people who wear suits every day, a $200 suit makes you look like you shopped at JCPenneys...

I have expensive ~$200 Lorenzini dress shirts that last longer and look better than the $30 crap most people think are proper dress shirts ... I won't tell you about my $400 Versace jeans...

... The whole area reeked of has-been Beats ...

I don't care what people do with their money, as long as they don't think that it gives them a right to pass judgment on others.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

The Clash were punk and always looked sharp.

But you can bet your ass that wouldn't brag about prices, or be stupid enough to buy $400 JEANS.

[Taro Toporific]

off-the-rack jackets and suits I get in the states tend to "gap" around the back of the collar....

....I've heard that gap referred to as the "prole gap,"

Ok, I present to you al the dread FG Prole Gap....

GettyImages.com / Aug 12
TOKYO, JAPAN: Universal Studios Japan new President Glenn Gumpel (L) and Doc Brown look alike give thumb-ups in front of the Derorean car for the promotion of an attraction "Buck To The Future The Ride" of the Universal Studios Japan (USJ) 11 August 2004 at a Tokyo department store

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Maybe to pull this back in line...

Try The Suit Comapny. Picked up shirts that fit in the arm and neck. Nothing flash, but then shirts only last a year for me here. Full suits are there, not too shabby looking. A bit better looking than Aoki, Aoyama et al.