Will Ya Cut Me Some Slacks?

[MK]

I am hard on pants. I can wear out a pair in nothing flat. If that isn't bad enough, it is tough to find trousers that have a cut that looks decent on me. The bottom line is it's very hard for me to find suitable pants. That has been the case all my life.

Earlier this year I received the best pair I have ever owned. I have held off on posting about them because I wanted to see if they would hold up or like the others become frayed in a short time.

They were made for me by Joe Hemrajani of My Tailor.com. I had him cut them from 13 oz. Holland & Sherry English wool. Most tailors will raise an eyebrow if you ask for 13 oz. wool. They feel this is too heavy or too hot. You certainly won't find it off the rack in this age of thinner, flimsy cloth is better mindset. Some of you might recall that the suit that Jack Taylor made for me was from H&S...though I believe it was closer to 11 oz. I have had great luck with that suit holding up and it hardly ever wrinkles.
Also the trousers Jack made had single pleats which is perfect for me. Flat front pants show my bay window too much...and usually are peg-legged...which doesn't help me either. Also the side pockets on flat front pants never lay right for me. Double pleats usually are too billowy. The single pleats create a flat plane in the center of my torso. This breaks up the roundness. I find it ideal for my build. Unfortunately they are much harder to find. I asked Joe to incorporate these elements.

When the pants arrived a few weeks later, they looked beautiful right out of the box. They have an amazing drape to them. These trousers have a robust feel unlike the garden variety fragile, paper thin dress trousers. I don't need to baby these pants. The 13 oz. wool really resists wrinkling too. When I take them off at the end of the day they look the same as when I first put them on in the morning. The best part is they haven't shown any sign of wear yet. That is amazing!

They really got put through the paces on Christmas Eve. The whole family got together at my in-laws house. I fell asleep on the couch fully dressed. I woke in the middle of the night and decided I wasn't up to going out to the car for my suitcase. I just loosened my tie and undid the top botton of my shirt and went back to sleep. In the morning I was a felt a little sore and was in need of a cup of java, but my trousers still looked fresh.

I have lost a bit of weight, but here they are:

Notice the watch pocket.

In this shot you can see the rubber strips to keep your shirt from coming untucked.

I am sold on this material and there is nothing like bespoke. The hard part is the price. These pants cost $300. This is a lot of dough but in the long run I believe it could actually save me money. I would rather spend $300 for a great looking pair that last me several years then spend $70-100 for a pair that will last only 8-12 months and just look ok. If I were a rich man I would call Joe up right now and order four or five more pair.....but I am just a poor magazine publisher. Therefore I will have to build up slowly. That is my goal though. I am sold that this is the winning ticket. Until then I have to hunt for a few less expensive alternatives (more on that in an upcoming thread).

Enjoy!

 

[Dagwood]

Hi MK:

I also ordered a pair of slacks from Joe. Here is a shot:

Like you, I think they are probably the best pair of pants I own. Also, like you, I lost weight since I was measured. Luckily, he's coming around in March. I have already made an appointment with him. I plan on getting another pair of slacks and, based on your other thread, maybe a 3-piece suit.

Enjoy your slacks.

 

[Jovan]

Thanks for the thread, Mr. Key. I'll keep my eye out on this company.

 

[MK]

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It is too bad the photos don't do justice. I will post a better one shot out doors so you guys can see them better.

Dagwood, which cloth and cut did you choose? I can't see much in your photo. They look like they are black.

Joe's office is only an hour drive from you. I am surprised you don't just go down.

 

[scotrace]

Those are quite nice.

Did Joe measure you directly? Was most of the cost in the cloth or in the making?

 

[Rooster]

If I had a spare $300 I'd go far a pair of pants like those, they look like pants used to in the golden era. The price is probably fair, anything quality and hand made to your specs is going to cost more.
I'm wondering if you notice the weight of the material much. Are the too hot in warmer weather? I'm guessing the weight of the material probably isn't an issue.

 

[Dagwood]

Dagwood, which cloth and cut did you choose? I can't see much in your photo. They look like they are black.

Joe's office is only an hour drive from you. I am surprised you don't just go down.

They are the "100's Wool Worsted" from the "Hemrajani Collection" (starting at $179.00). The slacks are black and double pleated.

You're right about him being close to my house. I usually see him when he comes to the Sherman Oaks/Woodland Hills area. As he comes around 2-3 times per year, I don't feel the need to go down to see him since that is the maximum amount of visits my budget could handle anyways. Also, it also gives me time to lose weight in between visits.

 

[MK]

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Those are quite nice.

Did Joe measure you directly? Was most of the cost in the cloth or in the making?

Joe did the measurements when I was in LA in June. As Dagwood said, you can get them at a lower price if you use cloth from Joe's collection. I went with H&S because I really wanted stout cloth.

Regarding heat....that hasn't been an issue for me. I do notice the weight...and I like it!

 

[Nashoba]

MK do you find that the 13oz is better for the colder weather or are you just as comfortable in them in the warmer weather? My husband is also terribly hard on pants. He only has a couple of pairs of dress pants he wears (he wears either a uniform or jeans to work depending on which job he's going to) and he wouldn't know the difference between dockers and a fine tailored pair so it falls on me. I recently bought him a pair of wool pants but they were very very light. I bought them at Macy's of all places and he's only worn them a handful of times so they're holding up fine, but I'm trying to slowly build him a wardrobe of finer clothing and he's rather hard on clothing. I found it interesting that you chose 13oz. It makes sense but you're right, it's rare these days. I'd be willing to get him something that heavy but I'm really wondering if maybe a heavyweight wool like that would be better for his winter wardrobe and then packed away for summer in favor of the lighter ones?

 

[MK]

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I wore them in the summer with no problem...but some guys just run hot. I don't. Nevertheless I doubt jeans would be much cooler. If he can wear jeans and not be too hot...

 

[Nashoba]

hmmm, thanks MK!