Beware of the Outsourced Suit

Beware of the Outsourced Suit

I am feeling particularly patriotic this month, what with the 10^th anniversary of 9/11, and our two planned events: Best of America on October 1st and our trade-in event to benefit Operation Homefront that runs the entire month of October . When a client of mine recently relayed this story, I thought it was a wonderful way to illustrate the enormous benefit of buying American made menswear.

Mark Schurr in his Davelle suit

Mark Schurr is senior vice president at Bravo Facilities Services. Before becoming a Davelle customer, Mark’s brother referred him to a “custom” tailor who was to make him a suit that would, in his brother’s words “fit like a glove”. Mark was very excited when he went for his fitting, thinking that he was purchasing a one-of-a-kind item. Several weeks later, he received a box at his front door. Inside was a suit that fell far short of his “fit like a glove” expectations. The suit had traveled from China (!), where it was made.

Since the tailor had a store on Rodeo Drive (where he claimed to have once fit Shaq for a custom suit) and Mark happened to be traveling to LA, he offered to re-measure Mark and alter the garments. Some weeks later the altered suit again arrived on Mark’s doorstep, and the fit was even worse than the first time. Ready to give up, Mark took his “custom” suit to a local tailor and paid $200 to re-alter the suit yet again.

Mark says he can lay claim to owning the first suit that was sold in the USA, made in China, not once but twice, and ultimately re-altered by an elderly Italian gentleman. As Mark told me when he shared this tale of woe, the entire experience served to teach him a valuable lesson: You get what you pay for.

I would like to add another lesson to Mark’s cautionary tale: don’t assume that just because your suit was measured in the USA, that it will be made in the USA.

Davelle Clothiers delivers on the promise of custom menswear that fits perfectly, like a proverbial glove. That’s because all our custom suits are hand-crafted by experienced tailors, right in the States. In this Age of Outsourcing, there’s something to be said for fine American craftsmanship. (Just ask Mark!)

To use Mark’s exact words, “You pay a little more for what you want, but at Davelle you get a lot more for the experience.”