Mohan’s Custom Tailors Suit Review

Mohan’s Custom Tailors Suit Review

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mohans nyc custom tuxedo

I have long been curious about some of the NYC based custom suit shops. The ones that have been around for years; before this whole online made to measure revolution. Stores like LS, Mr. Neds (that review will be finished eventually…), Bhambi’s and Mohan’s. I had the good fortunate of receiving an email from some of Mohan’s Custom Tailors (also known as Mohan’s NYC and Mohan’s) associates a few months ago asking if I would be interested in meeting with the shop and possibly doing a review on them. I eagerly obliged. In a few weeks time I made my way up to NYC to meet with Mohan’s in their midtown store which is conveniently less than a 2 minute walk from Gran Central (60 E 42nd st, ste 1432).

I met with KJ Singh, who is one of Mohan’s salesmen (fortunately, he knows his stuff – we all know that I am not typically the biggest fan of in store salespeople). Before getting into the fitting and suit selection I asked KJ about the history and operations of Mohan’s, a subject he obliged to enlighten me on.

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Mohan’s was fonded in 1972 in New York City by Mohan Ramchandani.  It has been in its current location since 1980.  However, prior to that Mr. Ramchandani spent time in Hong Kong learning the trade and craft of suit making at his family’s factory. Mr. Ramchandani is originally from India, however. All of Mohan’s suits are made in its Hong Kong factory, and that factory only makes suits for Mohan’s.

Much like MyTailor, Mohan’s walks a line between made to measure and bespoke. They can honor pretty much any request related to specific measurements and details on a shirt, jacket or trousers (more on this later); which put them close to bespoke territory. But traditionalists would not term them a bespoke house because the goods are not made on property, not hand padded lapels and there are no standard basted fittings; among other things.

The fitting and measurement process is brief but thorough and efficient. One of Mohan’s tailors first took my measurements and then had me try on a few sample jackets and then I dictated all of my special requests and requirements, which as you can imagine were somewhat extensive (again, more on this later). KJ told me that Mohans’ keeps each customer’s measurements and pattern on file, so for subsequent suits one does not have to come back in for measurements unless there has been significant change with their body.

mohans nyc tux jack erwin shoes

After some discussion with KJ we decided to make me a tuxedo (thanks to Scott from Jack Erwin for taking the photos). I have long been in need of a simple black tux. However, I could not settle with just a simple black tux. My tux was to be made of Minnis Fresco (which is one of my favorite fabrics of all time) with the lapels and pant stripe of satin. My primary reason for going with the Fresco fabric was to allow me to wear the tux in warmer weather (ie summer weddings) with greater comfort, as it is a more breathable fabric than your normal wool suiting fabric. Yet Fresco wrinkles very little and maintains a formal appearance and texture, somewhat unlike linen, which has a similarily open weave and breathability.  Furthermore, Fresco has a nice matte appearance which contrasts nicely with the sheen of the satin.

Given that Fresco is a more expensive fabric my tuxedo would sell for around $2,000.  But keep in mind that Mohan’s suits start around the $700 mark.  The suits are half canvassed and can be fully canvassed.

mohans nyc tux jack erwin shoes

In about two months time I returned to Mohan’s to try the suit on. I was told that they can do basted fittings if needed, but it is usually unnecessary. In my case it was unnecessary, as the jacket fit exceptionally well out of the box. We only had to shorten the sleeves and pant legs slightly and take in the waist a little bit. All of the alterations were free of charge, but what really impressed me was that Mohan’s will make alterations to a suit for the first few years of ownership at no cost (and I am sure you could get them past that if needed). Anyway, I came back the next day to pick up the tuxedo to wear to a wedding that night.

The details for the jacket are as follows: 1 button front, peak lapel, 2 vents, 4 sleeve buttons (non working), satin lapels, fully lined (black lining), high gorge on the lapels, lower buttoning point, 3.75” wide lapels.

The details for the pants are as follows: no pleats, no belt loops, side tabs, no cuffs, extended slide tab closure, suspender buttons.

All of the details were met without exception. The only issue was that I did not request a lapel button hole for a boutonniere, so the jacket is without one for now (I could always have one added). But as a bonus the one button on the jacket has a jigger on the back side, which is a subtle detail I love.  But on to the details…

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The stitching around the buttonhole is clean and tight. You can see the texture and weave of the Fresco in this photo.
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The single button on the front of the jacket is satin covered, as it should be. But almost more importantly, it has a jigger on the backside; which allows the jacket to be closed with two buttons showing, which I think is a more elegant look. You can see how it looks in the photos of me wearing the jacket above and below.
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The sleeve buttons, like the front button, are covered in satin like material.
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The lapel is the requested width and also covered in satin, as a tuxedo lapel should be. I just wish it had a button hole on it.
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The jacket pockets are besom pockets, as they should be on a tuxedo jacket. These are outlined with satin, which to be honest I am indifferent on. Some days I wish they were not and on others I like the look.
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The fabric from the collar is folded to the underside of the collar, which is something I like to see as it helps hide the felt on the underside of the collar.
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The lining for the sleeve is handsewn to the body of the jacket and the sweat guard is made of the fresco fabric.
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A detail that I do not see often is the strap between the two side vents of the jacket. I have heard some men do not like it, but I do. I think it helps keep the sides of the jacket closer to the body and hips.
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On the inside of the waistband there is a small strip of gripping tape which helps keeps shirts tucked in.
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By this point we should all know that I love my extended slide tabs on pants. I think it is the cleanest and most elegant way to fasten the waistband. Fortunately, Mohan’s was able to do this.
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Also by this point we should all know that I love side tabs. These tabs have a particularly nice shape to them.

In summation, my tuxedo from Mohan’s is one of, if not the best, tailored pieces I have had made for myself.  KJ and his staff were able to nail the fit on the first go while still meeting all of my special requests.  Which is impressive.  Although my tuxedo would sell for around $2,000 (Fresco is expensive fabric), Mohan’s suits and tuxedos start around the $700 mark.  My only real negative of the tuxedo is the lack of button hole on the lapel, but that is an amendable thing and even without that I still love the tux.  For those in the NYC area looking for an NYC based custom suit house and your budget is above $700 I recommend you start your search at Mohan’s.  If you have any questions, thoughts or experience with Mohan’s I encourage you to hit the comments section.

mohans nyc tux jack erwin shoes
To be continued…

JLJ

 

PS – Big thanks to Scott at Jack Erwin for taking the photos of me wearing the tuxedo.  Photos were shot outside The Plaza.  The shoe featured in this post are Jack Erwin’s Joe (review here).

Note: FYGblog did receive this tuxedo for the purpose of review.  As always, the utmost effort was taken to maintain and unbiased stance on the product and brand at hand.

23 COMMENTS

  1. Very nice review. You mentioned that the sleeve buttons were non working and I wondered how you felt about that on a custom tuxedo? Regardless, the tuxedo looks great!

    • Bryce,
      I prefer working cuff buttons. However, I have learned from experience that it is best to not get them on a first jacket from a brand because all too often the sleeves need altered. When the sleeves need shortened or lengthened and the position of the buttons is fixed there is minimal room for adjustment – which means the sleeve needs to be taken in from the shoulders which is more expensive or the jacket remade. So I get non working buttons on the first jacket and then on subsequent I get working ones.
      -Justin

  2. Hi–I hope this doesn’t sound sophomoric, but how do you request your trouser length? I see so many men with excessive pant material bunched up over their shoe tops, and I think it looks crazy. From the photos of your tux pants, though, they look perfect! (Even on the lady in front of The Plaza, too). Do you tell the tailor “little or no break,” or what? I think it’s the most important part of the entire “look.” Any help? Thanks!

    • Paul,
      Not sophomoric at all. 2 ways come to mind – dictate the exact length of the trousers inseam, if you know how long it needs to be for your legs. Or, once you have the pair of trousers, have them hemmed accordingly. Thank you for the kind words, any other questions just ask.
      -Justin

  3. Justin, this looks great. And the fact that you got it in Fresco will definitely help with year round wear. I am curious though why you went with black. Does Minnis Fresco fabric not come in midnight blue? It is a beautiful fabric nonetheless, the drape is exquisite for something so breathable.

    See if you can have a skilled tailor add a Milanese lapel hole. I think if there’s any tailored garment that needs it, it’s a dinner suit. (Also, I have you to thank for turning me on to them.)

    • Jovan,
      they had a shade or two of blue. The main reason I went with black was that I wanted something super simple and as classic as it gets. I have 2 tuxes already that are not uber classic, and while midnight blue is still conservative and classic I wanted to keep it as plain as possible and leave the intricacy in the fabric texture.
      -JLJ

  4. Curious as to why you didn’t get the lapel notch? Did you assume they’d put one in and they didn’t or was it a choice that you now regret?

    Sounds like something they should have mentioned – I would have assumed that it would have one and if it wasn’t standard they should have said something and asked if you did.

  5. With the Fresco fabric would you buy this and use it as a your go-to tux, year-round? Or is this a warm weather tux with a fun fabric you enjoy? In other words, can this be the only tux one would own?

  6. i asked once Roger would come and that they roundly aforesaid that he wasn’t coming these days. I wasn’t happy concerning this in the slightest degree. Finally, they took the suit away and that i created a briefing to come in another 2 days to see the work on the totally created suit.

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