# Suitopia Experience?



## Kgchaves (May 13, 2009)

Does anyone have any experience with www.suitopia.com ? I would love to hear reviews.

Cheers.


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## Kgchaves (May 13, 2009)

No one has bought from them? I'm really liking their website, but I was just wondering if anyone has had a good or bad experience? Are they new?


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## StephenRG (Apr 7, 2005)

Let me generalise.

Someone is able to source production of suits in some third world country. The labour is adequately skilled for machine operation. They have standard tailoring patterns - widely available. Those parts of suit construction which are perceived as "added value" but which can be done cheaply by modern machines - working cuffs, pick stitching, etc. - are available as inexpensive extras. Those parts of suit construction which are much less familiar to the average suit buyer and which make a good quality suit expensive, e.g., full canvassing, are not available.

Finally, fabrics with suitably high super numbers but inexpensive are easy to come by

The result is a machine made suit of a relatively fast-wearing fabric which will fit you better or worse depending on how your shape coincides with standard patterns and how well you measure yourself. And it won't be that expensive, but it will be no more than you pay for, at best.

This is a pretty standard online tailoring business model, independent of a specific company. Suitopia appears unremarkable for such companies.

I think that if you're going for a cheap online option then unless your shape is freakish, the majority of posters here would advise you to buy an OTR suit from places like the Wizard of AAhs or eHaberdasher and then have it tailored. You may not have the degree of personalisation you want, but you'll have a better quality suit.


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## Kgchaves (May 13, 2009)

Thanks, that is helpful general knowledge. I am, however, really just looking at all of my options right now and am legitimately wondering if anyone has had any luck with this particular site. Their selection is actually quite a bit broader than the other similar companies that have frequently been recommended on this site, and the materials and customer photos look quite a bit nicer than some of the comparable sites I have run across. I do understand what I'm getting into with these businesses; just looking for some reviews.


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## defygravity (May 4, 2011)

I just received a suit made by them the other day.

My reaction to it is a mixed one. I ordered a dark grey morning coat and light grey striped trousers (closest they had to cashmere stripes), paying significantly extra for better fabrics (the total came to about $600 (before VAT reduction) for the suit). Their bottom line fabrics contain a LOT of polyester, and this was the level at which I could get 100% wool.* This is important if you decide to order from them, and you don't live in the EU. Make sure you e-mail them and ask them for a refund on their VAT. Sweden's VAT rate is 25%, and they will end up refunding you 20% of the cost of the coat to make up for this*

I had my fiance take my measurements 5 separate times to ensure accuracy in the measurements, and took an average of each to minimize risk of un-tailorable error. I paid particular attention to the shoulders, as I hear this is a very expensive alteration. BTW, they give you a $60 credit to have the garment refined after you get it, just send them the receipt (I haven't used this, yet). I also took and entered my measurements in cm to be more accurate.

It comes in a relatively flat box which looks like it contains a picture frame. It took 3 weeks longer then their stated delivery guarantee, and I had to e-mail them numerous times to get status updates. The shipping was quick for coming from Vietnam, where I assume their tailor or factory is.

*Quality*
Before I opened the package, I noted the fact that it felt almost too light to contain a suit. Pulling the suit out of the box only confirmed this. I have a few suits tailored by Tom James which feel a good bit more substantial than this suit. It just didn't feel like a suit to me. On closer examination, they included a lot of extra fabric in both the pants and jacket for alterations, which is good on their part.

I tried on the pants with the exact shoes that I was measured in, and the pants were an extra inch or so too long. The waist also seemed a bit big, and I'm the exact same weight I was when I sent them the measurements. I haven't taken a tape measure to them yet to compare. The rest of the pants fit fine, they're lined to the knee. The hardware on them feels sub-par to me (cheap plastic buttons etc) and the general construction seems rather unfinished (I could see under the waistband)

I'm not sure how a morning coat is supposed to fit, but I always thought it was the same as a suit jacket. The shoulders on this coat seem to have a lot of extra room in them, and I specifically paid VERY close attention to ensure this didn't happen. I would say the jacket hangs off of each shoulder about a half inch or so, but from what I can tell only off of the back of my shoulder (WTF?). The chest seems a bit roomy for my tastes, but the coat tapers well to my waist, so I don't think any suppression is necessary. One caveat, I did NOT have a waistcoat on, which could/should take up some more room in there. The lining seemed cheaper than what I'm used to (think Tom James quality, nothing incredibly special), and the words that I had inscribed in the lining of the coat to commemorate my wedding seemed a bit crooked.

The rest of the coat is finished with relatively little attention to detail. The pick stitching seems off for some reason (I don't have the coat in front of me to be more specific), and the peak lapels almost seem to be not cut in a straight line as it gets up towards the point.

Long story short, I don't think you really get what you pay for, even after they refund you the VAT that they owe you, which they don't tell you about. 20%, or $120 or so for my suit, is a LOT to save on a coat and pants, and that's about where I would price the quality and workmanship of what I received from them.

I'm sorry if this seems like a brutal review, I just want to be honest so that people know what they could be getting. Maybe they were having a bad day? Let's hope so...

I have a pretty good tailor, and I'm going to see what he can do, but odds are I'll just try to get my refund and end up sending it back.

*With that said, is anyone selling their morning wear?!?!

I'm a 39-40R, PM me if you're my size and can part with them, as I'm wanting to buy!*

In any case, I hope everyone found this review helpful.


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