Tailor & Cutter - Kazunari Arita

[djrajio]

So recently I've been in the market for a few new suits. I decided I wanted an English cut but with modern proportions in a light English wool plus a strong lapel design and a slim cut. I'm not a fan of off-the-rack suits anymore but can't justify spending money on bespoke since my tastes change so fast, so I decided to get a made-to-measure from Tailor & Cutter designer/bepoke cutter Kazunari Arita in Minami-Aoyama.

I had read about him in a few magazines here in Japan and liked his approach of taking the standard English cut and doing unique twists with the design. His most famous designs imploy a wide-cutaway bottom on the jacket plus cut-away sleeves that give the jacket a nice slick silhouette.

Arita took the time to measure various parts of my body and then sit down with me and select the various appropriations I wanted in my suit; I decided on a dark blue English 100% wool base with light-grayblue stripes about 1.5 cms apart, two buttons in mahogany plus double-vents in the back. No peaked-lapels on this suit since I wanted a more business-man finish. The inner lining is a bright poka-dot light purple in silk. Pants are straight legged with a 1cm slight taper at the bottom. Obviously there was more to the sizing than this but I don't remember all the details and its not pure bespoke because the over-all design is based on a template, but for me its good enough. The entire experience took a couple hours and I'll go back again in a month for a fitting and final adjustments. Will post photos soon!

I highly recommend him if you're in Tokyo looking for a classic English suit with a bit of a modern touch similar to Richard James, Timothy Everest, etc.

http://www.tailorandcutter.jp/

[Analyst]

Very interesting. Would be interested to see pics and hear more about the experience. Thanks!

[peteyross]

Where do you get your shirts made (if at all)? I do MTM shirts in NYC (tried a few places) but I haven't jumped to MTM suits yet. Besides a marginally better fit and a really fun process, I've realized that what I really value is collar choice and fabric choice.

BTW, I remember reading that you wanted some Berluti shoes...if you haven't gotten them yet, make sure you check out what Corthay has to offer (you probably already have though). I got a pair this winter and they are, as you like to say, B.A.L.L.A. status.

[Fookums]

Huh, what's the price range like for them? I'm assuming $3k+?

[djrajio]

Where do you get your shirts made (if at all)? I do MTM shirts in NYC (tried a few places) but I haven't jumped to MTM suits yet. Besides a marginally better fit and a really fun process, I've realized that what I really value is collar choice and fabric choice.

BTW, I remember reading that you wanted some Berluti shoes...if you haven't gotten them yet, make sure you check out what Corthay has to offer (you probably already have though). I got a pair this winter and they are, as you like to say, B.A.L.L.A. status.

Petey,

I bought a pair of whole-cuts in brown/red last summer. They are sex.

As for MTM shirts, I haven't tried doing that just yet. I'm currently rotating a few OTR Franco Marzullo Napoli shirts and Fray shirts with slight adjustments by my tailor. Any recommendations for MTM shirts?

[djrajio]

Huh, what's the price range like for them? I'm assuming $3k+?

The suit cost me $1,300 plus tax.

[djrajio]

if you haven't gotten them yet, make sure you check out what Corthay has to offer (you probably already have though).

[alterion]

The suit cost me $1,300 plus tax.

:eek: that is much cheaper than i would have expected, equivalent to a handmade otr in england- good value

[Fuuma]

Petey,

I bought a pair of whole-cuts in brown/red last summer. They are sex.

As for MTM shirts, I haven't tried doing that just yet. I'm currently rotating a few OTR Franco Marzullo Napoli shirts and Fray shirts with slight adjustments by my tailor. Any recommendations for MTM shirts?

That's a very good price for MTM, if you're satisfied with the final result and think the next tweaking might be even better I'd stick with that guy.

If you're looking for shirtmakers in NYC I'd go for Paris, comes highly recommended and is relatively cheap compared to some. Just make sure to avoid any department stores mtm/bespoke programs as you pay premium for 1)the dep store 2)the brand that offers the program (say Zegna or Brioni).

Some of the styleforum guys swear by Geneva and he has access to pretty good swats of cloth so you might also look into that.

[peteyross]

As far as MTM shirts in NYC goes, I can basically echo what Fuuma has said above.

Paris and Geneva are probably the best places to go. The differences between them are discussed at length on Styleforum but both of them are good.

Other options include going straight to retail stores like Domenico Vacca, Borrelli, Eredi Pisano, etc. but I don't think you'll find them as tweakable as Paris and Geneva. Also, you run the risk that the shop employees really don't know what they're doing when they measure you. Better to just go to someone who specializes in shirts and knows their product extremely well.

On the cheaper end, there is always CEGO on 22nd St. I had several shirts made there when I was younger but I've since moved on. The fit was great but I wanted to move up market. They do know what they're doing and the results were great for the price.

Then, you've got the Nolita shops which are fun to poke around but I don't think they've got the know how to compete with the better places in midtown. Seize Sur Vingt has some great cloth that I haven't seen anywhere else though.

[djrajio]

Thanks for the recommendations guys, but I'm in Tokyo! They just opened a Borrelli store in Roppongi Hills, I might have a look on a lunch break....there is also a Kiton right across the street.

[peteyross]

Thanks for the recommendations guys, but I'm in Tokyo! They just opened a Borrelli store in Roppongi Hills, I might have a look on a lunch break....there is also a Kiton right across the street.

Haha, yeah I know sorry for the NYC crap.

I'll attempt to redeem myself with this:

Ginza Tailor www.gintei.com

I think I've seen something about them in one of the main Japanese sartorial magazines. I think they can do shirts as well as suits.

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=27313

Or probably your best bet is asking Kazunari himself. He could probably make you shirts or at least point you in the right direction.

Although Kiton is a damn good brand, apparently their MTM isn't worth it (this is according to what I've read on the internet). I think it's in the range of 600-800 per shirt. A little ridiculous for MTM.

[Fuuma]

Can you spend a few days in HK from time to time? I know that Chan has many satisfied customers that obtained excellent results, but that goes for the ones that can be there for the initial fittings and a few tweaks afterwards. Otherwise I assume that due to the tailoring revival in Japan you’ll have a few home-grown talents that offer the full customization and personal attention that you can expect from a talented non-department store tailor. If you follow the big company trail I’d also visit Charvet (is there one in Tokyo?), their demi-mesure (MTM) program might fit your needs and you’ll be impressed by the fabric choice.

[DaBestSpoona]

The suit cost me $1,300 plus tax.

that sounds too reasonable and very un B.A.L.L.A. of you