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!

Herringbone

With winter just around the corner, some clients have been asking me about coats and jackets, as well as the colours they should consider. While it's not necessarily for everyone, I usually suggest something with texture; specifically, Herringbone.

Herringbone (or fish bone) is a V-shaped weave pattern that runs repeatedly in broken zigzags. It closely resembles the skeleton of a herring fish (hence the name). It looks like this: 

Reminds me of Magic Eye...

It's traditionally one of the most popular fabrics among suits and outdoor coats, and the pattern size ranges greatly. Many people might not even know that they own a suit with a Herringbone pattern unless they look closely at the fabric.

But what are they advantages? Well...

Herringbone adds texture.

Solid-coloured fabrics are generally one colour and offer less visual variation, whereas textured fabrics such as Herringbone will offer more. The variation will obviously depend on the size of the pattern, but even small patterns cause more variation than a solid-coloured fabric. The extra texture adds a little 'something' to a suit no matter the colour.

Grey Herringbone, from You Only Live Twice

Herringbone hides imperfections.

Clothes get worn, and (unfortunately) clothes get worn out. It can happen slowly over time, or all of the sudden if you're unlucky. I think everyone's been in a situation where they accidentally got nicked or hooked by something (an all-too-common occurrence when travelling, especially for public transit users). The great thing about Herringbone is that it hides imperfections extremely well.

It`s harder to find imperfections on textured fabrics.

The Herringbone weaves on fabrics aren't always uniform, so the slight variations in the pattern makes the fabric look 'consistently imperfect'; therefore, it has the ability to hide wear and tear over the course of its life. It can't hide everything, but it will do a much better job at hiding than solid-coloured fabrics.

Herringbone hides dirt.

Ever brush your jacket against a dirty car door? Or get salt kicked up on your trousers? Canadian winters, no matter how beautiful, can get pretty dirty at times, and keeping your clothes clean can be a hassle.

That's another great advantage with Herringbone, especially those that are charcoal. When you accidentally brush up against a dirty surface (such as a car door covered in salt from the winter) it usually leaves an opaque mark. A charcoal Herringbone fabric may be able to hide that mark much better than a solid colour. It can even camouflage the dirt mark long enough until you have time to wash it out. That can be a godsend, especially if you're running late and on your way to an important meeting.

Speaking of winter, I've just checked the weather and it looks like Ottawa is due for a big snowfall tomorrow. Good news for some, bad news for others! So, dear readers, dress warm and watch out for those dirty surfaces. And, if you have one in your closet, why not try out that Herringbone jacket?

Or give YourSuit a shout. Always happy to help!

Ready for this?

Suits in Action

Clients usually send me pictures from their big day, but today I received two links to their wedding videos! My wife and I didn't even think about hiring a videographer for our wedding, so I forget that many couples capture their wedding day on camera and film.

The two clips are below. The first is from the Rossiter Wedding, where Josh sported a three piece navy. The second is from the Nguygen Wedding, where Steven and Co. wore royal blue. Enjoy!

(Videographer - BOXTOP FILM)