You can also get custom-made jeans and T-shirts. They fit better, you can pick the fabric, you can choose details, plus tailors tend to be fun to chat with. I could spend a whole day browsing the local fabric market chosing fabric for my next shirt.
I find it baffling, but custom-made shirts are cheaper than off-the-shelf.
Any city that has proper suburban shops, strip malls, or Chinatowns. Avoid anything on Main Street. Look for small hole in the wall proprietor operations. This is one of the few times where economies of scale doesn't make things cheaper so avoid any big brands.
Also, watch a YouTube video or two to get a crash course on fabrics. In the states it's labor that's expensive but the fabrics are usually genuine. Alternatively you can go to South East Asia or places like Hong Kong and Japan too but there's a higher likelihood of fraud when it comes to the fabrics. Labor is about a magnitude cheaper though.
Bring your own fabrics if you want authenticity. Fabrics are cheap (relative to the cost of a nice suit on a tech worker's salary)
Another suggestion (not advice, I am hardly a professional when it comes to tailoring) is to commission more cotton clothing first to start so you can get a feel for the process. Suits are nice and all but are an investment of time and money and need constant dry cleaning. Try some custom tailor daily wear instead of H&M for a change (better quality and contributes to your local economy).
Go to your local Chinatown. You can get custom tailored clothing for a lot less than typical upper middle class branded office/semi-formal wear.
Tailoring is an old old art. Look beyond the flashy Saville Row brands or pseudo "quiet luxury" ones like Brunello that seem to be favored in the Valley.
You can also learn to make your own tshirts. Sewing is a useful skill in general, and tshirts are pretty easy. The neck band is a bit of a challenge, but other than that it's just cutting fabric to a template and sewing pieces together using a sewing machine.
I mean the result might look better with an overlocker, but you can just fold and stich the ends instead. I guess it depends on what you're after. There are maker spaces and other creative hubs where you can easily use sewing machines or overlockers.
Or you can buy one for like ~€350. It's not cheap, but also not insurmountable if you want to go down the route of making your own clothes.
sasaf5 · · focus · HN ↗
I find it baffling, but custom-made shirts are cheaper than off-the-shelf.
SomaticPirate · · focus · HN ↗
Onavo · · focus · HN ↗
Also, watch a YouTube video or two to get a crash course on fabrics. In the states it's labor that's expensive but the fabrics are usually genuine. Alternatively you can go to South East Asia or places like Hong Kong and Japan too but there's a higher likelihood of fraud when it comes to the fabrics. Labor is about a magnitude cheaper though.
Bring your own fabrics if you want authenticity. Fabrics are cheap (relative to the cost of a nice suit on a tech worker's salary)
Another suggestion (not advice, I am hardly a professional when it comes to tailoring) is to commission more cotton clothing first to start so you can get a feel for the process. Suits are nice and all but are an investment of time and money and need constant dry cleaning. Try some custom tailor daily wear instead of H&M for a change (better quality and contributes to your local economy).
[deleted] · · focus · HN ↗
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vvvxxxcvv · · focus · HN ↗
Otherwise no, custom-made shirts are not universally cheaper than off the shelf
Onavo · · focus · HN ↗
Tailoring is an old old art. Look beyond the flashy Saville Row brands or pseudo "quiet luxury" ones like Brunello that seem to be favored in the Valley.
t-3 · · focus · HN ↗
Obscurity4340 · · focus · HN ↗
elric · · focus · HN ↗
makeset · · focus · HN ↗
elric · · focus · HN ↗
Or you can buy one for like ~€350. It's not cheap, but also not insurmountable if you want to go down the route of making your own clothes.