Bespoke tailor barely scraping by in New York

[dhermann1]

This is from today's New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/magazine/whats-a-4000-suit-worth.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

 

[m0nk]

It's a shame that most here probably can't afford one of these suits (myself included) but I would still love to help support the business in some way. If there were several others in the FL community interested in helping Frew out locally, I'd be happy to lend my own skills to set him up with online ordering or something. It would be nice to see this sort of business survive and thrive.

 

[dhermann1]

His problem is that it's just a strictly labor intensive activity. Three fittings per suit means that on-line doesn't do him much good. He does every step, from measuring the customer, to cutting the cloth, to sewing it together, to second and third fittings and alterations. Nothing to automate, no economies of space or time possible. We all need to work on our own personal business plans and just get rich ourselves to help this guy out.

 

[skyvue]

I'm not sure I understand the problem. He's making 50K a year working roughly 40 hours a week. One can do better, certainly, but one can do much worse, and it's work, one presumes, that he loves.

 

[herringbonekid]

is $50,000 a year really scraping by... for a one man business ?

in the UK that's about £31,000 a year which is a decent wage. cutters on Savile Row might make that but the people sewing the suits together in the basement won't.

 

[m0nk]

I'm not sure I understand the problem. He's making 50K a year working roughly 40 hours a week. One can do better, certainly, but one can do much worse, and it's work, one presumes, that he loves.

$50k a year in NYC is actually fairly low wages. The average apartment costs around $1800-$2000 per month...

And we don't know if he's working 40 hrs per week. The article notes that one suit takes about 75 hours, and he averages two per month. This would equate to 34 hrs per week just on the suit manufacturing. There's also the work that goes into keeping the business functional (accounting and such), plus ordering supplies, etc. And it doesn't specify whether this includes fittings. He could be working a lot more than just 40 hrs.

Personally, I make more than he does and have a lower cost of living (and I have a wife who makes decent money for our area), and it's still tough to stretch it these days.

 

[skyvue]

I've lived in NYC for thirty years; I know how expensive it is to live here. But he works out of his apartment in Brooklyn, which means he definitely can take advantage of some tax breaks, and his rent may not be as high as you project (it may be, but "near Flatbush Avenue" doesn't really tell us much and we don't know how big an apartment it is).

I doubt that ordering supplies for two suits a month really takes up much time, and for that matter, neither would accounting. It's a very simple set-up.

He may need to reconsider his business model. Does he travel to the clients for initial consultation and measurements and ensuing fittings? If not, he's losing customers, as not every wealthy New Yorker is going to be willing to travel to Flatbush Avenue, for all of Brooklyn's recently ascendant cachet.

And if he can only complete two suits a month without help and a net of 50K isn't sufficient, then he's underpriced himself. The point of the story seems to be that he's not getting enough business, but could he actually handle any more? If not, then he needs to raise his prices. The kind of person who'll pay $4,000 for a suit will likely not blink at $4,500 or $5,000, if the quality is there.

 

[Tomasso]

He needs to up his production capacity by farming out his trousers to subs as do most all the other bespoke tailors in NYC. It's all about the jacket in that biz. Then he should be able to make five or six suits a month. If he wants to make more money then he would have to farm out all the work and concentrate on marketing, cutting and fitting.

 

[Undertow]

Although no one wants to hear about a bespoke tailor struggling, I have to agree with AC and others - it would seem there is more that can be done to improve the situation. It's not like the guy is living on welfare, but yeah, things could improve. It's up to him to make that decision. Hard work ain't easy.

 

[cookie]

He needs to up his production capacity by farming out his trousers to subs as do most all the other bespoke tailors in NYC. It's all about the jacket in that biz. Then he should be able to make five or six suits a month. If he wants to make more money then he would have to farm out all the work and concentrate on marketing, cutting and fitting.

This. Sage advice.

 

[overlord4215]

I like the idea of cottage industry in my home town and i wish him the best of luck . Brooklyn N.Y. is NOWHERE as expensive as Manhattan and no one from Manhattan is going to go to Brooklyn to get fitted for a $4,000 suit so he might have to live with the referral system he is using now . 40 hours a week is the same amount that I as a civil service worker put in (risking my life for 40 hours is plenty thank you )From all the stories i was told immigrants doing the same type of work years ago would put in far more hours for far less . Perhaps he is setting the bar to low for himself but 50K is a decent wage especially if your working out of your apartment.

 

[Mark B.]

+1

I like the idea of cottage industry in my home town and i wish him the best of luck . Brooklyn N.Y. is NOWHERE as expensive as Manhattan and no one from Manhattan is going to go to Brooklyn to get fitted for a $4,000 suit so he might have to live with the referral system he is using now . 40 hours a week is the same amount that I as a civil service worker put in (risking my life for 40 hours is plenty thank you )From all the stories i was told immigrants doing the same type of work years ago would put in far more hours for far less . Perhaps he is setting the bar to low for himself but 50K is a decent wage especially if your working out of your apartment.

 

[Fletch]

There has to be a solution somehow.

It's going to have to come from the NY area - because where else in this country does bespoke tailoring mean anything at all?

But it will have to come from outside the craft - because it is literally too demanding to let you even think about a business model.

 

[Paul Roerich]

If his suits make his customers very happy, then his waiting list will grow and his prices probably will too.

 

[Undertow]

If his suits make his customers very happy, then his waiting list will grow and his prices probably will too.

Aye, but as soon as his prices get TOO high, in an economy like this, he might just find he's chased some folks away. Such is the sour economic times we now know.

 

[filfoster]

I'm not sure I understand the problem. He's making 50K a year working roughly 40 hours a week. One can do better, certainly, but one can do much worse, and it's work, one presumes, that he loves.

$50K with NYC cost of living? Some of us in The Flyover would imagine that's subsistence, with no dependents, living at the Y, in Gotham.

This is a dying trade, or 'art' or what have you. It's a great pity but only a pampered few will ever pay what that quality is worth and unless you can place yourself in the path of sufficient numbers, it probably is doomed. How have the Saville Row tailoring houses fared? At least they are positioned to get the most out of whatever trade is available by thier location and reputation.

 

[skyvue]

$50K with NYC cost of living? Some of us in The Flyover would imagine that's subsistence, with no dependents, living at the Y, in Gotham.

It's not living large, but plenty of people here get by on much less. He doesn't live in a Park Avenue penthouse; he lives (and works) in Brooklyn.

 

[Guttersnipe]

As a comparison, Savile row suits start in the £2,100 - 2,300 and £2,300 - 2,500 for two-pieces and three piece respectively. It's got to be tough for an individual newcomer to compete with established decade and century old business at a comparable price point.

I know if I was in the market for a $4,000 dollar suit I would go with either Anderson & Sheppard or Henry Poole.

 

[Tomasso]

Brooklyn N.Y. is NOWHERE as expensive as Manhattan and no one from Manhattan is going to go to Brooklyn to get fitted for a $4,000 suit

True, but they do go to Brooklyn for a $2500 suit.

 

[Guttersnipe]

True, but they do go to Brooklyn for a $2500 suit.

Isn't Martin Greenfield Clothiers in Brooklyn too. I'm not exactly sure what price point their suits are, but I'd guess they are north of $2k as well.