Piping

A few months ago I met up with Huong to discuss his wedding suit. He had his eyes set on something gray, but wanted additional accents so that the suit would 'pop' a little bit. After some brainstorming, he showed me a picture that reflected what he envisioned:

As you can see, the gray fabric is nothing too out of the ordinary, but the accents on the suit (contrast lapel and jacket/pocket piping) makes the suit a bit more unique. To add some additional contrast, Huong opted to go with black felt buttons (tuxedo buttons).

I don't always get clients who wish to have lots of contrasting parts to a suit, so this was an interesting project for sure. After hammering out the details (which also included black accent stitching on all buttonholes), here was the end result:

At his fitting, Huong was a good sport and let me snap this picture of him. He was very pleased with the result and - more importantly - so was his fiancé. Together, they got married in May and are now beginning their 'happily ever after'.

Thanks Huong for reaching out to me; it was an honour to suit (and pipe) you up on your wedding day.

the Kearns Wedding

In late 2016, Jeff Kearns and his groomsmen came by to get measured up for some bold cobalt blue suits. It was one of the largest (both figuratively and literally) wedding parties I've ever worked with; I think the average height of each man exceeded 6'3" and I needed a step-stool to measure everyone. Jeff and his group had difficulty in finding a place that could accommodate their tall figures so they decided to go custom. 

Their wedding was held in Toronto. After posting the above picture, it became the most liked post on YourSuit's Instagram. Subsequent to the posting, I've had a lot of people inquire about this colour. It definitely turned some heads.

It's tough to see in the picture, but Jeff also sported a grey vest, complementing the bridesmaids wedding dresses. The grey added a little bit of depth to Jeff's look, and he will be able to wear it in future, whether it be with another suit or with something more casual.

From the pictures, it sure looked like one hell of a party. Congrats to Jeff and Meaghan; it was a pleasure working with you both.

Year-End Shout Outs

A Happy 2017 to one and all; may this year be your best year yet.

I sincerely wish that all of you had a great time over the holiday break. Though December was pretty busy here at YourSuit, the last week leading up to New Year's was fairly quiet and I was able to escape to the cottage for a few days for some much needed rest and recuperation. Hopefully you got yours as well.

YourSuit is made possible in large part due to the exceptional clients that come through here. It sounds cliché, but I am truly humbled to be able to work with great clients, and that they were willing to support the business. Many of these clients run, or are a part of, great businesses themselves, so please check them out if you have a chance:

Blomeley Communications Inc. - I was honoured to have made suits for Sam Blomeley's wedding earlier in October 2016, and coincidentally found out that his father (who also got suited up) runs Blomeley Communications Inc. An Ottawa-based business, they specialize in media production and do great work.

EncoreFX - A great resource for foreign currency exchange. As YourSuit has expanded, EncoreFX has been there to assist and provide solutions for us. Their Ottawa office has also been great clients to us. No matter how big or small your business may be, give them a shout; they'll be happy to hear from you.

HonoursTutoring.com - The brainchild of Dan Quinn, a client of mine who got hitched last June. Dan runs HonoursTutoring, a tutoring business for the greater Ottawa area. For exceptional tutoring rates and services, or if you just want to talk to an all-around good guy, call Dan.

Nevill Carney - Nevill's an old high-school friend of mine who I hadn't seen in a long time until our mutual friend Lucas Haneman got married in September 2015. Nevill's now got a startup media production company and during 2016 he assisted YourSuit with a few projects. For fantastic media service at competitive rates, give Nevill a call.

David Casey - Local Ottawa Realtor, who is also a surprisingly talented painter. David's always got showings, either in real estate or canvas, so you'll never be disappointed. 

BoxTop Film - New local Ottawa area videographers who incorporate some of the best visual effects in today's wedding video market. If you're getting married and are in need of some guys to capture the big day, give these fellas a ring.

Salang Kabob House - Afghani food at its finest, and possibly the best naan bread I've ever had. Located on Carling, this restaurant is one of the top food places in my mind when I think of Ottawa eats. The owner's son is a good friend of mine (and also happens to be a loyal YourSuit client).

Apologies if I've missed anyone in this post. I'll be sure to get you in another time! Until then, Happy 2017 - dress warmly!

the Rollin Wedding

Remember Gab?

He came through YourSuit earlier in the spring to have something made for his July wedding in Ottawa. As it was a summer wedding, Gab and his fiancé Katie decided to go with a 100% wool jacket so it would be more breathable and combat the heat. It ended up being a great choice because it turned out to be a beautiful day, albeit quite humid.

When I first met Gab and Katie, they told me that they preferred more classic looks as opposed to modern, so they opted to go with a versatile brown windowpane jacket and chocolate trousers. Gab ended up wearing a bow tie and suspenders on the day of the wedding which added to the classic feel. They sent me this 'action shot' (below) which shows the suit ensemble; it's one of the best photos I've ever received.

Here's a more 'conservative' shot of Gab and Katie:

Another factor in selecting the brown windowpane jacket was versatility. Gab wanted to be able to use the jacket in future for other events, so by selecting an Earth-tone colour, he will be able to pair it with other trouser colours (i.e. navies/blues, greys, browns, blacks). The windowpane pattern can make the jacket suitable for more casual events as well (a night out to dinner, for example); Gab would have no issue wearing the jacket with a solid pair of denim jeans.

A closer look at the windowpane jacket.

Funny story: Katie told me that when she first met Gab, it was at his home and he was wearing sweats and Crocs, and while there's nothing wrong with lounging around the house in comfortable clothes, she wanted to ensure he'd look sharp on the big day.

I think he did alright, don't you? 

Style by Simba

You know those guys who can pull off anything? Everyone has a friend like that, including me. His name is Simba.

I met him a few years ago when he started dating a good friend of mine. They got married in August of 2016 and I was one of the lucky guests to attend. You may have seen some of his wedding pictures on YourSuit's Instagram.

I never know what to expect when Simba comes to get some clothes made; we definitely have similar tastes, but he's always willing to be more aggressive, whereas I always default to being conservative (because I just can't pull stuff off like he can). Anyways, it's never dull when this guy comes through YourSuit so I thought I'd share some of his creations.

About a year ago, Simba placed a relatively conservative suit order; he was attending a corporate Christmas party and requested a black suit with satin lapels. I consider satin lapels a bit more aggressive, but it is a frequent request so I didn't think it was anything too out of the ordinary. The only slightly more 'aggressive' choice Simba made was to line the inside with a floral pattern. It looked like this:

What I didn't realize was that he ended up pulling a Fresh Prince and making a turncoat out of it. He messaged me the night of the Christmas party with this:

Suffice to say, I had a pretty good laugh. I showed it to many people and everyone had the same comment: That looks awesome. I could never pull that off, but it looks awesome.

As I mentioned earlier, this past summer Simba got married. He gifted all his groomsmen grey suits, a more conservative selection but versatile and reusable in future. However, he did choose to go with a white patterned shirt with black buttons and black contrast shirt lining; these made the shirts more unique than a typical white shirt. A few pictures from their wedding are below (though it's hard to see the shirt detail):

Simba is second from the left.

A shot of the complete wedding party.

This wedding photo does a bit more justice. Like the groomsmen's wedding suits, Simba's suit was also grey, albeit a slightly different shade and with a minor pinstripe. He also went with a breasted vest with shawl lapels, a rare request. In this photo his shirt still looks white, but I promise it's actually patterned. You can see the subtle black buttoned down collar - in reality, all the buttons on the shirt were black to add contrast. It was a great call.

Simba on the big day.

And here's one last shot of the happy couple:

Then, just this past month, Simba came to me again for another Christmas party suit request. He's big on patterns, so I asked if he'd consider a polka-dot suit. Immediately, his eyes lit up and he said he was already thinking of something like that. After hammering out some details, here was the end product for this year's Christmas suit:

It was a deep navy with white polka dots. I have to hand it to Simba; he never sees limitations, and because of that, he's always pulling stuff off. It's always a love-hate relationship with friends like this; you love them because they are so much fun, but you hate them because they remind you of how boring you are.

Aside, a mutual friend of ours said I should open up a Simba Collection. Sounds like a good plan, don't you think?

Introducing YourSuit Select

YourSuit is pleased to introduce YourSuit Select, a second line of suits available as of December 1st, 2016. This new line has been in the works for a while now and I'm very happy to finally have it up and running.

The Select suit line offers additional customization as well as canvas options. All suits under the Select line are half canvassed, though a full canvas option is also available for clients wishing to have additional construction. Prices for Select suits start at $550 (CDN).

A few clients have already stopped by to customize their Select suits, so I'll post some pictures as they become available.

For more information, feel free to visit the YourSuit Select page or give me a shout for details.

Happy December, everyone.

the Burns Wedding

I just got these pictures of the Burns Wedding and thought I'd share them. Mr. Jared Burns (@clubjburns) and I met a little over a year ago through mutual friends, and he's been a very loyal client. It was an honour to have suited him and his groomsmen for his October wedding.

Champagne with a champagne suit.

Many of Jared's men don't wear suits all that often and find ties uncomfortable, so for the suits they decided to ditch the ties and go with an open collar. Though they ditched the ties, they made up for it with small minor detailing; the suits were a tope/champagne colour that closely matched the bridesmaids and included very subtle pick-stitching and satin piping on the pockets.

A few celebratory drinks.

Show time.

A contributing factor to going custom was the fact that Jared's entourage ranges greatly in size. In fact, one of his groomsmen (Skyler, pictured below on the far left) is a tower; he's essentially a Canadian version of the Mountain from Game of Thrones and has trouble finding clothes that fit. The picture is deceiving, but Skyler's actually standing downhill on a slope; in reality, this guy clears 6'5" easy.

The wedding party.

Speaking of Game of Thrones, this last picture may be my favourite. It is of Jared and his prized Khaleesi (aka. Rachel) taking a stroll through a rolling field. The picture looks so natural and kind of reminds me of the show. I think it's a combination of the wilderness, Rachel's flowing hair and Jared's manly beard. Regardless, I love this photo.

"Babe, hate to tell you this, but WINTER IS COMING!"

Congratulations to Jared and Rachel; I wish you all the best!