Z and I met and went to TOM FORD, where we were greeted by Aman who offered us refreshments.
– Article by Daniel Gaster. (Field report 058).
Rocking up to MI6
Bond comes out of retirement dressed in a classic Bond outfit. He pulls up outside the office in an Aston Martin V8 Vantage wearing a TOM FORD black and grey Prince of Wales check suit, which he wears with a TOM FORD white shirt with a tab collar and cocktail cuffs, a TOM FORD plain navy ottoman tie, TOM FORD White Silk pocket square, a Benson & Clegg rhodium plated tie slide, Crockett & Jones Highbury shoes in black and Barron Perreira Joe sunglasses.
An unexpected email
About a year previously I had purchased the Massimo Alba Sloop suit, which I thought would be the only James Bond suit I would ever be able to own. TOM FORD suits are very expensive, even just off the peg. So, when I received an email from ShopStyle.co.uk of a TOM FORD Grey Prince of Wales suit I had to have a look and see if my eyes were deceiving me.
At this point I didn’t know that I’d also down the line purchase the other TOM FORD Suit, a Navy Prince of Wales check.
The email took me to the italist.com, where I’d previously purchased the Tab Collared shirt (that Bond wears with this suit) in a sale, and now this suit was also on sale. I’d been saving for the Omega Seamaster Diver from this film and had exactly this amount in my watch saving account. I decided that this was too good an opportunity to miss, so I took the plunge.
Box of delight
I didn’t have to wait long before I received a brown box with italist.com on the side. Inside the box was the suit on a grey plastic TOM FORD hanger. There was no suit carrier with it. The jacket had the cuffs already completed, but the trousers were unhemmed. I tried on the suit and felt happy with the fit, so I removed the tag that you had to kept on to be able to return.
At this point in the pandemic, I wasn’t confident going to the TOM FORD store in London to get the trousers hemmed. I assumed at the time it would be very expensive. Instead, I contacted the local tailor to see if he could hem the trousers with turn-ups. I had used him to hem the trousers of the sloop suit, so was happy for him to take these.
A week later I got my suit back and was extremely happy with the result.I was still working from home, and not long coming out of another government lockdown didn’t have many occasions to wear a suit. When I did it was this suit, I was wearing.
A few tweaks were needed
A few months had gone by, and I’d come to the realisation that the arm length on the jacket was a little too long, not by much, but once I realised, it was all I could see. I do this every so often, I’m so existed by the purchase I don’t see the finer details till I’ve come down off the high.
I’d recently had my Made to Measure SPECTRE and Blue No Time To Die shirts adjusted by TOM FORD in London, and so asked the question regarding the suit jacket.
As the cuffs had already been completed (as mentioned, that was how it arrived) I wanted the arms taken up from the crown so the buttons didn’t look too close to the end of the cuff. I was told that shortening the arms from the cuff would be £40, and from the crown £55. Naturally, I took some photos and sent them on showing I needed around 1.5 cm off.
Message received over
I received a video message back from Aman at TOM FORD in London explaining why I shouldn’t have the adjustment done from the crown. Because this is a check suit, great attention is taken to match the pattern of the check at all joins of the suit. Taking the arms up would disturb the pattern.This wouldn’t be a problem with plain or even stripped suits, but with check it would stand out.
I hadn’t even thought of it! But agreed it wouldn’t be the right call. It would stand out worse than the arms being too long, in my opinion.
I agreed that the best option would be to take up from the cuff. I also thought it would be best to go in myself, but was now going on Holiday, and with other commitments it would be around 6 weeks before I could get into London for the adjustments.
Man in a field goes to the big city
It wasn’t until September that I was able to get to go to London. I coincided it with meeting up with Z (@TieAnotherDay) and renowned author Peter Brooker. Z and I met and went to TOM FORD, where we were greeted by Aman who offered us refreshments while we looked around menswear waiting for the tailor to become available.
When the Tailor arrived, I changed into the suit and was measured. I was wearing one of the recently altered shirts which had the correct arm length. With the jacket on, the Tailor carefully pinned up the arms to the correct length. Once happy I removed the jacket and went to get changed. I then spent the rest of the day with Pete and Z.
We went from TOM FORD to other Bond brand locations. We visited N. Peal and saw the newly released combat trousers, wondered down the Burlington Arcade, and visited Turnbull & Asser to pick up some Bespoke shirts for Z.
Some unexpected extras
I received the suit back a little over 2 weeks after I’d left it in London. Within a large box that arrived at my home was my suit within a light grey TOM FORD suit carrier, which I didn’t previously have. Also, the hanger had been replaced from the grey plastic hanger with a dark wooden TOM FORD hanger. These were nice additions that I wasn’t expecting.
The jacket now felt and looked much improved, in my opinion, and I was extremely satisfied with the outcome and the service that TOM FORD in London provided.
If I’d had known at the time, I would have also had them hem the trousers. This would have put the buttons on the turns up to allow them to be let down for cleaning. Something I wasn’t aware of until I had the TOM FORD Navy Price of Wales suit adjusted.
Would I do this again?
If I did get a new TOM FORD suit again in a similar way, I would get all the adjustments made by TOM FORD. However, things to consider when purchasing would be the cuffs on the jacket. The buttonholes may well already be cut. If you want the arms taking up from the crown, you can do this, but it would not look right with a check suit. It will have to be with a plain or striped suit to be able to consider it.
I won’t be making any future purchases of TOM FORD suits for the foreseeable. However, the experience that I’ve had wouldn’t make me say I wouldn’t ever do it again.
TOM FORD Adjustments prices:
- Trousers hem – £20
- Jacket sleeve length from the cuff – £40
- Adjusting the sleeve length from the crown – £55
- Shames (Buttons) – £30
Credits and Shopping
Article by Daniel Gaster. Be sure to follow Daniel on Instagram. Read also Matt Spaiser’s review on Bond Suits about this TOM FORD Check Suit. Photos of James Bond taken from BondSuits(dot)com and 007 Facebook
Buy the book, From Tailors With Love ; An Evolution of Menswear Through The Bond Films on Amazon now. E-Book has photos in colour.
Jacket: Available through Mr Porter.
Trousers: Available through Mr Porter.