Vendors and Custom Sizing

[mackillian]

I'm back to the drawing board. Five weeks ago I bit the bullet and finally ordered a custom jacket because I couldn't find anything that fit me properly. I could deal with somewhat ill-fitting clothing when I fenced foil, but having switched to epee, it doesn't work well at all.

I just got an email from the vendor telling me that their tailors are overwhelmed and that my order has been cancelled. Five. Weeks. Later. I was expecting to get the package with the new kit any day now and instead...back to the beginning.

So my first choice, LP, is now out.

Now, in terms of custom stuff, I'm not sure who has both good customer service and good gear. Nor am I sure where to look next in terms of material and fit. For comparison, I'd ordered the Sydney jacket (and knickers while I was at it). What would be a good second and third choice?

[DangerMouse]

Are you ordering custom to get a larger uniform or a taller uniform?
For taller, PBT has tall sizes and the Superlight FIE uniform is great.
For larger sizes, Cartel will custom cut a uniform free. Or at least they did for me, and they are cut a little loose.

[mackillian]

I'm a chick and I've got overly-broad shoulders (apparently, I should've been a swimmer). I've gone through a few different jackets trying to find the right fit. The jacket I currently use is much, much too big and fits basically only in the shoulders. It isn't stretch and so it can't be taken in any more than it already has (duellist).

I also have the torso length of someone who is four inches taller than me. I'm five-five and I have to buy shirts in the tall section. I'm telling you, it's not right. *sigh* So after having the tailor who altered my current jacket inform me that it would be really hard to find a good fit off-the-shelf, I decided to invest in a custom kit so I wouldn't have have to worry about my jacket anymore.

[twisterfencing]

I'm back to the drawing board. Five weeks ago I bit the bullet and finally ordered a custom jacket because I couldn't find anything that fit me properly. I could deal with somewhat ill-fitting clothing when I fenced foil, but having switched to epee, it doesn't work well at all.

I just got an email from the vendor telling me that their tailors are overwhelmed and that my order has been cancelled. Five. Weeks. Later. I was expecting to get the package with the new kit any day now and instead...back to the beginning.

So my first choice, LP, is now out.

Now, in terms of custom stuff, I'm not sure who has both good customer service and good gear. Nor am I sure where to look next in terms of material and fit. For comparison, I'd ordered the Sydney jacket (and knickers while I was at it). What would be a good second and third choice?

Contact Saul at the Fencing Post: http://www.thefencingpost.com/
He has a someone that can special make a jacket for you.

Also:

Contact James at TCA: http://www.triplette.com/catalog/index.php
They have folks there in Elkin that special make custom orders.

Hope this helps,

Gary Spruill

[brtech]

Order direct from Uhlmann (www.uhlmann-fechtsport.de).

Any Uhlmann Vendor can get a custom size made if they ask the factory.

I believe FWF will do that also, but have no experience with customs from them.

[rcmatthews]

Fechtsport-langenkamp has good customer service, and will respond to emails in english. they are also fairly quick. i believe it is 15% extra. It is well worth it to have a perfectly fitting jacket.

[Quiandfey]

I'm having the same problem. I much prefer LP jackets to any other, and the knickers I got from them are amazing. But when I tried they're size 34, it was 6 inches too short, same goes for their 36, any larger I'd be wearing a bag.
So now I'm looking for the next best quality jackets there are out there. How's FWF? The vendors I'm looking at right now are Uhlmann, PBT, and FWF...but nothing beats LP. Maybe I should wait it out another few weeks and see if the custom ordering is back up?

[KD5MDK]

Negrini is supposed to be pretty good, and you can rarely fault Italian tailoring.