Cloak Menswear Fall 05 NYC

[kLm]

how'd the suit turn out?

Let's just say it has been a complete fiasco.

 

[amblus]

^ yikes!

 

[baklanyc]

Let's just say it has been a complete fiasco.

Oh jeez---!

 

[kLm]

I've got two weeks til the wedding. Anyone have suggestions for suits, based on what's in the stores so far? Dior Homme? Costume National? I'm desperate, PM me if you want so we don't hijack the thread.

 

[jadovski75]

I've got two weeks til the wedding. Anyone have suggestions for suits, based on what's in the stores so far? Dior Homme? Costume National? I'm desperate, PM me if you want so we don't hijack the thread.

Sorry for posting this, but I am not sure how to PM.

kLm, personally I would go for a Saville Row suit, Ozwald Boateng or Richard James. I think Saks may carry Richard James. But I suggest that you take a look at what they have at Bilzerian's, you are still in Boston are you not? Last time I was there, a few weeks ago, they had some real nice suits on sale. I would check out the McQueen, and definitely Alan's own line. Some are real nice. I am not too big a fan of Yohji and Comme suits, but they had some. Schonberger for 'cheap' as well. I don't know what size you wear but I also seem to recall I saw a real nice Boateng suit, and a Tapia one, but these must have been 'carried over' from a while back. I would have said Ann Dem, but I picked the last one up!

And if you do make it, check out the Chalayan pants they have ... great!

 

[faust]

Sorry for posting this, but I am not sure how to PM.

kLm, personally I would go for a Saville Row suit, Ozwald Boateng or Richard James. I think Saks may carry Richard James. But I suggest that you take a look at what they have at Bilzerian's, you are still in Boston are you not? Last time I was there, a few weeks ago, they had some real nice suits on sale. I would check out the McQueen, and definitely Alan's own line. Some are real nice. I am not too big a fan of Yohji and Comme suits, but they had some. Schonberger for 'cheap' as well. I don't know what size you wear but I also seem to recall I saw a real nice Boateng suit, and a Tapia one, but these must have been 'carried over' from a while back. I would have said Ann Dem, but I picked the last one up!

And if you do make it, check out the Chalayan pants they have ... great!

Man, you are really making me want to go visit my relatives in Boston .

kLm, sorry to hear about the suit. Both McQueen and Dior are impeccable, but they are usually cut really skinny. How does the Dries van Noten selection look at Louis? I like Dries's suits - they are usually perfectly cut, tapered but not slim. Costume National cuts the leg too tapered for my taste, but their suits are very nice, I think. Both Dries and CN suits will be significantly cheaper than McQueen and Dior.

Boateng suits of course should be top notch, but I'm not sure where those are sold (not big on suits in general).

Is the wedding outdoors? The problem is we are in the midst of changing the seasons, so the light suit fabric might be a little harder to get a hold of, no?

 

[jadovski75]

Faust, it's all happening in Boston! . Seriously though, I think you should make the trip if you have the time. But let any 'shopping' come secondary, because, from my experience, there is a very small, albeit a nice one selection here. Bilzerian's has, and for me at least, always will be the best place to shop since they carry some real nice stuff. During the sales, which I think go on for some time, prices are great, and I would dare say a 'bargain' if you are lucky. I'm sure you've been. If memory serves, and probably it doesn't, the McQueen suits were in the $1,000 range. Schonberger were down to the $400. I got the impression that they were letting go what was left of Schonberger and Ann Dem, because they might not carry them anymore, a shame! I picked up a few pieces at real good prices, like T-shirts and shirts for $30-$50. Some nice Harnden shoes as well. I thought they were making was for Number Nine, etc.
Louis is alright depending on the year, they do bring in some good stuff sometimes, but now I am not sure what they will carry since they will no longer carry Haute nor Cloak.
Fully agree with you on Dries and Costume suits.

kLm do you mind if I ask what went wrong with the Cloak Suit??

 

[baklanyc]

I have a preference for YSL suits: they look slim without Dior Homme hyper-slimness, fit great on a range of body types, but are also more elegant than they are a 'designer look', meaning they don't necessarily look like they're a particular designer's cut. They cost in the $1500 range, and have great details. The cuts fit the shoulders in a more fashionably current narrowness (neither overly strong nor overly understructured) without sacrificing a good line, and they drape really well. I have never had to do anything but change the length on a sleeve or hem for YSL as it currently is, but of course, that may depend on your body type. I find that Cloak's jackets have proven to be inconsistent lately, as several seasons in, I can never be sure what size I should wear in their suit jackets.

If you'd care to vent, please DO tell us what went wrong - this IS a Cloak thread, and perhaps if we knew what went wrong we could suggest something/a brand to rectify it.

 

[kLm]

I have a preference for YSL suits: they look slim without Dior Homme hyper-slimness, fit great on a range of body types, but are also more elegant than they are a 'designer look', meaning they don't necessarily look like they're a particular designer's cut. They cost in the $1500 range, and have great details. The cuts fit the shoulders in a more fashionably current narrowness (neither overly strong nor overly understructured) without sacrificing a good line, and they drape really well. I have never had to do anything but change the length on a sleeve or hem for YSL as it currently is, but of course, that may depend on your body type. I find that Cloak's jackets have proven to be inconsistent lately, as several seasons in, I can never be sure what size I should wear in their suit jackets.

If you'd care to vent, please DO tell us what went wrong - this IS a Cloak thread, and perhaps if we knew what went wrong we could suggest something/a brand to rectify it.

Thanks for all the helpful responses. I might vent at some point, but for now I am going to restrain myself and go see Cloak this week to see what can be done. Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion, I don't know, but with less than three weeks to my wedding my stress level is--to say the least--very, very high. Essentially, since it is a custom suit, I can't expect anything less than perfection, and there are clearly some obvious imperfections.

Also, I looked at Bilzerian's, most of what they have--save for a few McQueen suits in the $2k+ range--don't fit my body; very tall and with a long torso. Yohji for the most part crops the jacket too low, although there were definitely some pieces that I like. I like Dries' suits, but I want something a bit more subdued for my wedding. Too bad Louis doesn't have their Neil Barrett stuff in yet, I like his suits.

 

[baklanyc]

Thanks for all the helpful responses. I might vent at some point, but for now I am going to restrain myself and go see Cloak this week to see what can be done. Maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion, I don't know, but with less than three weeks to my wedding my stress level is--to say the least--very, very high. Essentially, since it is a custom suit, I can't expect anything less than perfection, and there are clearly some obvious imperfections.

Well, if it helps any, it appears you're going through what every bride goes through on her wedding day - custom clothing is always tricky, and Murphy's Law always abounds, yet for some reason, more often than not, things work out in the end. Here's hoping that that's the case with you.

My query is, does that sour you on Cloak in general?

 

[jadovski75]

Hello kLm,
I am sorry, again, to hear about the problem with the Cloak suit, and I too hope it works out for you in the end. I want to also apologize if I ended up misguiding (for lack of better word) you on Bilzerian's, and the prices of the suits, I really thought the McQueen on sale were in the $1,000 or so range, and they had other 'saville row' type suits.
I don't know what else to suggest to be honest, maybe check out Saks and Neiman for a more traditional Richard James, or Paul Smith suit. Of course if you had the $$, probably my first choice, which I forgot to mention at first would be an Hermes suit from their store.
Worst case, you can always drop by and pick one of mine, your choice of Hermes, YSL, Boateng, or more 'modern' Raf, CCP, Dem!
Seriously though, and as Bakla said, it always seems to work out in the end, I just hope sooner rather than later and the way you want it to.

I wish I heard this before, I might have warned you on Cloak. Not only is the finishing notorious on jeans, jackets, etc, but also on the more formal stuff, like waistcoats, blazers. Got the one with the elbow band in the super 120's or higher, costing over the $1.5k, and the buttons fell out on me before even wearing it out!

 

[baklanyc]

Hello kLm,
I am sorry, again, to hear about the problem with the Cloak suit, and I too hope it works out for you in the end. I want to also apologize if I ended up misguiding (for lack of better word) you on Bilzerian's, and the prices of the suits, I really thought the McQueen on sale were in the $1,000 or so range, and they had other 'saville row' type suits.
I don't know what else to suggest to be honest, maybe check out Saks and Neiman for a more traditional Richard James, or Paul Smith suit. Of course if you had the $$, probably my first choice, which I forgot to mention at first would be an Hermes suit from their store.
Worst case, you can always drop by and pick one of mine, your choice of Hermes, YSL, Boateng, or more 'modern' Raf, CCP, Dem!
Seriously though, and as Bakla said, it always seems to work out in the end, I just hope sooner rather than later and the way you want it to.

I wish I heard this before, I might have warned you on Cloak. Not only is the finishing notorious on jeans, jackets, etc, but also on the more formal stuff, like waistcoats, blazers. Got the one with the elbow band in the super 120's or higher, costing over the $1.5k, and the buttons fell out on me before even wearing it out!

Cloak's buttons are notorious for falling out even before you wear them! I was eyeing a Cloak Spring 05 vest at Opening Ceremony but realized that, even at $200 (on 50% off SALE, no less!) the buttons were starting to come off! To be fair though, Alexandre's production problems may not necessarily be the same as his made-to-measure ones, because he told me he had found a resource that was purportedly the oldest quality suitmaker in Brooklyn for his 'bespoke' stuff.

 

[faust]

To be fair though, Alexandre's production problems may not necessarily be the same as his made-to-measure ones, because he told me he had found a resource that was purportedly the oldest quality suitmaker in Brooklyn for his 'bespoke' stuff.

Oh yea, we've got a ton of those on Brighton Beach

 

[amblus]

Cloak's buttons are notorious for falling out even before you wear them! I was eyeing a Cloak Spring 05 vest at Opening Ceremony but realized that, even at $200 (on 50% off SALE, no less!) the buttons were starting to come off! To be fair though, Alexandre's production problems may not necessarily be the same as his made-to-measure ones, because he told me he had found a resource that was purportedly the oldest quality suitmaker in Brooklyn for his 'bespoke' stuff.

does Alexandre do true bespoke, or is it all MTM?

 

[baklanyc]

does Alexandre do true bespoke, or is it all MTM?

MTM, more likely, hence my use of quotation marks on the word bespoke. But since I haven't actually had any MTM experience with him (we ordered a MTM leather coat that never happened last Spring)

 

[amblus]

the opening of the cloak store has been delayed a week and a half. boo hoo

 

[faust]

the opening of the cloak store has been delayed a week and a half. boo hoo

no surprise. thanks for the heads up.

 

[unmetro]

the opening of the cloak store has been delayed a week and a half. boo hoo

Yeah I stopped by at lunch, they were still tiling the floors...one of the guys said they plan on having it finished by tomorrow - but I highly doubt it.

 

[PinkVolcomShirt]

klm i hope this is the hoodie youre talking about, because i really wanted to pick it up, it looks great.

DAAAAHHH! I WANT THAT HOODIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[kLm]

From HintMag (http://hintmag.com/shoptart/shoptart.php

"Like the final scene of a make-over reality show, Cloak completes its big "reveal" with the launch of a store to call its very own, envisioned here by designer Alexandre Plokhov. Upon entering the tiny SoHo shop, it's clear the once-shadowy Meatpacking-based men's line we first put to pixels five years ago has left the dark-knight, Dior Homme-compared ethos of its early years for a more romantic new image. The space evokes an English gentlemen's club with a massive antique wooden table as a centerpiece, but that's not the only throwback to old London. In addition to ready-to-wear, accessories and shoes, the store features an exclusive bespoke suiting service offering Savile Row fabrics and techniques. It seems the Cloak show has moved to primetime. Cloak, 10 Greene Street, 212-625-2828."

There is an artist's rendering of the shop on HintMag. Does anyone know if the store is open yet?

Also, I'd wait a while before ordering a bespoke suit... I'll still buy the clothes though!