Reg Ferguson [00:00:01]: Yo. This is reg Ferguson. Fashion Geek number 1. How are you? Welcome to the ride. Thank you so much for listening. I'm a men's fashion consultant here in New York City, and I help fashion challenged men go from confused to confident. If you ever found yourself staring at the closet, not knowing what to wear, If the idea of shopping for clothes makes you feel physically ill, then this is the show for you. My goal of every episode is to help make looking good feel easy. If you ever want my help, email me at reg@nyfashinggeek.com, for a consultation. If you have a friend who's looking to level up his fashion style wardrobe game, please share an episode with them. While you're at it, if you dig the show and haven't already left us a rating review, please consider doing so now. Your shares, ratings, and reviews help us grow the show and help us get the best possible guest and help more men dress their best. Today, we're gonna talk with Timothy Hanchett of FC, who's in Toronto, Canada. And we're gonna talk about something that the everyday man should have an interest in. Why should we use a made to measure specialist for men's suiting? Timothy in the building, How are you, man? Timothy Hanchett [00:01:32]: I'm good. I'm good. to finally I felt bad because I kept left you hanging, but, finally made time to work. So I Reg Ferguson [00:01:41]: always get my man, bro. It only took us over a year. Timothy Hanchett [00:01:45]: Yeah. It's it's it's been some time for sure. But it's been it's been a weird. It's been a weird year. So here we are. Reg Ferguson [00:01:54]: Here we are. So I'm sure you'll you will talk about all that. So before we get into our topic, please tell us Timothy. So what do you do? Timothy Hanchett [00:02:08]: I do I do a handful of things. Right now, I'm a bespoke apprentice, with a tailor here in Toronto 3rd generation. parisian train. just recently just still moving into this little studio space here, but doing things, legitimately my own way and no more hurdles working for other people. So it's gonna be an exciting, like, an exciting ride for sure. But I also do made to measure, made to measure as a majority of probably my background in Taylor. Right? But I've been doing a spoke now for just under 2 years. Reg Ferguson [00:02:44]: So, really, we obviously could talk about both, but certainly, I got introduced to you because back in the day, just a few years ago, you had been anointed as the made to Metro specialist? Timothy Hanchett [00:03:03]: I'm flatter. I don't know. I don't know who would say such a thing, but, you know, I, I don't know. I, I strive to do my best every time. Every, every new customer is a chance to do better than my last, but, whoever said that, you know, I'm flattered. But, you know, Reg Ferguson [00:03:22]: it's all good. Take it. It doesn't mean that you rest on your laurels. And to me, the way I follow you on the gram, you're constantly striving to learn and to be better. That's the appearance. Timothy Hanchett [00:03:35]: When the pandemic first happened, made to measure was my opportunity to do something. rather than just sitting around at home. so I kind of took this whole virtual fitting thing and tried to figure out a way to make it work. People asked me for a lot of jackets and a lot of pants, and people from Germany, people in Saint Louis, people in Texas, and California. So I had to figure out a way to make it happen, and I was lucky because I think I did something that sounds bizarre and impossible, I just want to make it work. And I think I did a pretty good job. I haven't really had too many. I mean, it's it's always, a lot of trial and error when you first begin these things, but, I didn't have many come out terribly wrong. So, I have myself on the back for that one. But it was, it was definitely a challenge, and I think that, definitely got me better at doing it. And it's also helped a lot with my career going forward, especially getting into bespoke and being able to not always be present and to learn how to read how things fit, visually rather than just, having a measuring tape and some pins and, and doing it physically. so it's definitely been a challenge, but it's definitely been something that, it's been a stepping school for sure. Reg Ferguson [00:05:12]: So we both have a virtual component to our businesses. So why don't you explain to the audience the challenges, like you said, when COVID first happened on you launching that type of initiative, and how the interaction worked with the customer. Timothy Hanchett [00:05:38]: through my last employer, which is a little bit more popular in the men's work community. I did gain a bit of a following because I was doing their made to measure as well, and that got me a pretty big, clientele. And so when I left that place, part of me wanted to move on to something better, but part of me also wanted to take what frustrated me and do the opposite. So I decided things kind of, like, took kind of settled along their path naturally, and I kind of ran with it, but I was in contact with the factory. I was a contact of many factories. LinkedIn, I mean, I get I got messages constantly, but I ended up finding one factory that seemed like they could, work with the same standards that I was sort of looking into. And I kind of learned what not to do from that employer, and I wanted to see if I could figure out the way that I thought things would be done. And I've always been that way, I don't do very well with authority and having people above me. So I always find that there are so many flaws in the way people run businesses, and Finding flaws in businesses is usually my best, influence for success in a way because I'll I'll just want it to the opposite. I'll I'll see, I'll see where all the loopholes are. I'll see where a lot of the illegitimacies are. And that's one thing that I did with us made to measure. I just asked my factor exactly what it was that I wanted, and they said they could accommodate, and yeah. It was, it was crazy, but because I had a lot of people after I left my that last employer. A lot of people still wanted me to make them clothing, and I didn't really have a means to do it. So, because I was in contact with the factory, it was kind of Well, people are asking me, I don't want to disappoint. I had zero confidence because I had never really worked with the Factor before. I think I had to make me a couple of stuff before I decided to take on new customers, but, someone extremely broke as myself. luckily made to measure, you can get started with just a $300 sample and charge customers essentially what the entire production is. So I don't have to buy into any ready to wear garments. So it was a good, it was a good learning point for sure, because it gave me a lot of insight as to if I'm going to pursue running a business in the future, This is all these are all the stepping stones I'm gonna have to take. I think my first five were all trial and error. which is good because I got it out of the way. I learned a lot throughout those several 5 kind of I was lucky because I had customers that I knew I was just getting started. So a lot of these guys weren't really expecting perfections, but they kind of wanted me to to work with them in, I guess, vice versa, mutually, just to see A lot of people wanted me to succeed. I wanted myself to succeed, but I also, am paranoid of people's disappointment in me. So, it was definitely overwhelming to find so many people that were willing to have that patience with me. But, yeah, I mean, trial and error have occurred. I learned a lot from a lot of the mishaps, and everything started getting a lot better. So, all you're gonna really hope for is to get all that trial and error out at the very beginning. Reg Ferguson [00:09:21]: Sure. What were the things that you specified to this factory that made it a good fit? You made a reference that There were things that you needed. You shopped around factories. What was it about this particular factory that led you to pull the trigger with them? Timothy Hanchett [00:09:39]: There were a couple things. The I think the main priority was I wanted them to work off of my standards, off of my requests. rather than working off their own blocks, and they could do it. for example, I wanted to have my own my own cray my own collar shape. I wanted to be able to tell them exactly how I wanted the cordless to be shaped. And that, for me, was very import because, as well as I can make a garment fit, I also wanna to visually look appealing to anybody that is not wearing the garment, looking at the people wearing the garment that I made. I there's always specific sciences in every industry that, You might not know how to describe it because you're, you're not a lay person in that industry, but there's something about it specifically that looks appealing, even though you can't really pointed out. I can't sing. I don't know much about singing, but when I watch shows like, America's got talent or, you know, shows like that, and dance shows. I know who's a good dancer because there's something about it that kind of sends a little vibration on my spine, and I wanted this kind of effect. So visually, I wanted it to be important that, there were specific things about the design of the pattern that made a lot of sense. Number 2 was I wanted it to be a good quality garment. I wanted them to be able to make not just full canvas garments, but I wanted to have specific handmade elements as well. And the factor that ended up finding gave me, kind of a 3 tier selection, which was a 30% handmade garment, fully fully canvassed Reg Ferguson [00:11:31]: 50% Timothy Hanchett [00:11:32]: and then 90%, and they were able to break it down as to what is included in each of those tiers. and that I really enjoyed, because although, I mean, it's it's industry standard that a lot of the stuff inside of Garmin might be made by machines, but to at least have, hand details, like button holes, and sleeve, hems, and jacket hems, you know, just to have some sort of hand stitching things that I find are are things that stick out to me, at least when I, when I look at garments, usually when I go into any luxury store or any events or store in general, my eye gets drawn towards specific details about Jack. It's just to see kind of the idea or the creative direction behind each and every one of those things, how the collar gets attached from the back of the jacket. That's just where my eye goes. what do the buttons look like? Are the machine or the hand? If they're hand, are they what done well? But, even if it's a cracker looking button or, you know, if it's still done by hand, there's still, there's still an element of, of intrigue that I'm drawn into when it comes to those things. So being able to have those 3 options with the quality of how a garment gets made was, extremely pleasing for me. and then the last thing that looking at was that they were able to make just muslin mock garment trial fittings for me. And that was huge for me too, because if I'm doing things virtually, I know how to direct people into taking their own measurements. And if I can have a virtual call with them, and I can explain to them exactly where in their chest to take their measurement or exactly where to take their waste measurement, hit measurement, all all that sort of thing. is if I am able to watch them do those measurements, I can see exactly how they're taking measurements, so I know how accurate those measurements may or may not be. So once I get those measurements and I ship them up to my factory and I tell them, make me just, a muslin crap kind of fabric, garment based solely on measurements. We'll ship it to the customer, and have another call with them. I'll have them throw it on. I'll see how it looks. And then by that point, I can get into, posture fixes. or measurement kind of slight tweaks. I had my own formula for how much ease to, to make each jacket or each trouser. So playing around with that was always a bit of that trial and error, but those trial garments were a huge a huge tool for me to get to, see the garments exactly how long did it turn out. So if I had to slope one guy's shoulder, a centimeter, the and the other shoulder, like, Reg Ferguson [00:14:30]: 1 Timothy Hanchett [00:14:31]: a half. Then by the time I make those changes in the back of the factory, Gabe, they get the fab the fabric, get it all assembled, send it back to the customer. They should take care of that sloping, So that was the, the idea behind it. So with those 3 kind of options for me to make, make to measure, garments. That was probably I mean, that's I don't know. I I'm very detail oriented, so as many options as I can get to a lot of people. It might be a huge headache, but for me, that's it's it's easier on my nerve. It's easier on my anxiety to just give them as many options as I can. as much as they hid my orders because of how much details I would give them. It's still, it's still worked out in the favor of not just my satisfaction, but my customer's satisfaction as well because they had certain expectations of me. And like I said before, I have this paranoia of disappointing people. So if they're happy, I'm happy. but it has to be a mutual level. I don't want to be more happy than them because it's their they have to wear it, but I don't want them to be more happy than me because I'm always going to see things that I know I can change in the future. but finding that, like, perfect balance of satisfaction, I think that's, the key, especially the word-of-mouth, and it's it calms all my nerves. there were many sleepless nights So, yep, it's it's been it's definitely been a journey, but those were the 3 things specific that asked for for a factory. which, I mean, I can't think of too many other made to measure factories that do it that way, but That that was my way to try to not achieve perfection because I know that's impossible, but try to get it to a point where I can, feel more comfortable with the garments I was making. Reg Ferguson [00:16:33]: You mentioned earlier that there were inefficiencies that you detected from your previous employer when you were made to measure specialists there. What would those inefficiencies that stood out for you as, you know, as you made the move on your own and, you know, dealing with this factory. Timothy Hanchett [00:16:55]: There were several things. some things that might not even make that much. They might not seem that important, but, of the important things, one of them was the control. over placing orders. I would constantly ask the owner to allow me to place the orders because he was a very, very, very busy guy. And there were times where it, you know, I, I would promise a customer 5 to 8 week turnaround, and 4 weeks later, the owner will send me a text and say, Hey, by the way, this fabric is out. 4 weeks later tells me that he waited 4 to place the order. Not that he waited, but he would have that chance to not be so busy to place the orders, but a couple issues with that is one, I always check fabric availability beforehand, and part of that a lot of my social anxiety, I think, comes from my, my paranoia of disappointment. So me having to call my customer and tell them, Hey, you have to come back in and pick out another fabric. was always a little hard on me emotionally, but not only that, I already promised them 5 to 8 weeks. So 4 weeks in, and the Reg Ferguson [00:18:09]: 5 Timothy Hanchett [00:18:10]: to 8 weeks has any started yet. It got it got tricky. a couple other issues with that was they started hiring people based on the wage that they were offering to pay rather than finding people that had a background in the industry. which is totally fine. You have to run your business your way. The only issue that I found was that I would say that somebody wanted, you know, 3 button kissing surge and coughs, but that person that has to place these orders doesn't know anything at all about what that means. So I kept being offered, not offered, but I kept being told to simplify as much as I can. I would have to say, you know, three buttons touching each other, on top of each other. And, the sleeve cuff has to be functional or real buttons. It, it, it got a little, like, it got, it got a little crazy. So if I was able to place the orders myself, I can, I can because I'm a very organized person, I can place the entire order probably even for the money gets into the register. it's I took a lot of pictures. I made sure I knew exactly what people postures look like. If I was able to just communicate that with the factory all the time, the QC issues that would come back once the garment is made is just stuff that got overlooked. the guy wanted new shoulder pads in the jacket, and then he received a jacket. A shoulder pads. It was just you know, it's just a simple step, but the longer you wait 4 weeks, 5 weeks, I'm getting text messages after I placed these orders asking me, hey, what did this guy want again? It it gets tricky to remember all those customers 5 weeks later. and having to come up for having to come up with excuses to not put blame on either myself or the owner. as to why I have to make changes 4 weeks, 5 weeks out into the order. that was it wasn't mentally stranding on me. It was it was tough. I had to do it. but that that that is exactly why I ended up leaving was because I realized I got to a point where I was apologizing probably more to people than it was actually just getting orders in, getting orders taken care of, and making people happier. The garments usually came back really nice. but, becoming the person that would get yelled at for something that wasn't my fault was the tricky part. That was something I'm not I'm not much of a people person. I do really well one on one with customers. And, I mean, when I was working at that last employer, I had people flying in to see me from is California and all all over the place. Oh, so that was, for me, it was more nerve wrecking because one, I had to make sure that I provided a proper welcoming to them. I had to be an amazing host to them. I had to discuss tailoring, which I don't always enjoy discussing with people. a lot of my local customers. I'd rather talk about other things than whether or not the tie is gonna go extinct. but It's, I'm, like I said, I'm, I'm a people person. I care a lot about how people feel, how people think, but when it comes to people yelling at me, for things that I cannot control, that was always that was always the the part that kinda hit me a little bit the hardest. And that was eventually why I ended up taking off and deciding, okay. Well, if I can place orders myself, and if I can order fabrics myself, and I can make sure I do all the due due diligence to make sure that everything's available, and everything's gonna get done on time and all that sort of thing. might as well try to figure out for myself, so I found a factory, and I was selling stuff extremely extremely cheap. I made zero margin for the, probably the first, like, 10 commissions because I'm still trying to play around with that. I also do it out of passion. I'm an artist. I'm not much a businessman, so that was part of that stepping stone as well. I'm trying to figure out how to price my garment. without feeling like I was ripping anybody off or, making sure that I could accommodate for the fact that not everybody has a lot of money to because I used to be in a position where I could only at thrift stores when I first started out in menswear. So I was I couldn't just go to a store and buy $200 pants. I had a budget of 20 bucks to go buy, you know, a nice pair of, trousers. And, I mean, to be completely honest, I think a lot of the stuff I find at thrift stores would be a lot better quality than a lot of the, like, polyester wool pants that I'd find at places like TJ Maxx or winters that we have here, Marshall, stuff like that. So, Yeah. Just constantly absorbing everything that I learn and try to get better every time. Reg Ferguson [00:23:15]: So how do you talk a client through virtually measuring themselves? Timothy Hanchett [00:23:26]: Some things take if they have a partner present, it helps. Reg Ferguson [00:23:30]: Oh, yeah. Like, come on, bro. I could have done that but it just sounded like -- Timothy Hanchett [00:23:34]: Yeah. So Reg Ferguson [00:23:35]: -- -- 1 on 1. How how are you pulling that off? 1 Timothy Hanchett [00:23:38]: on 1, it's tricky, but there's there's some interesting ways to get around it. there are things that our body measurement are things that are garment finish measurement. So a lot of the times I'll have somebody tell me or show me a jacket that they currently have in their collection that they think fits them the best. And, of course, they all didn't always look that great to me. So I had to figure it out for myself, but, for example, things that are important are jagged length, sleeve length, shoulder width are extremely important for me. So it doesn't really matter if the Jack is from H And M, or it's bought on Michael Jondral from Luciano, you know, threw on the jacket. Let me see how it looks. And once I get a chance to I'll take screenshots of them trying on these jackets and Once they try it on, I get a chance to look at it. I know exactly what it is I want to change to it. So I'll ask them to take it off, sit it on a hanger, sit on the back of the chair, okay, measure the shoulder for me. It's exactly from this seam across to the middle center seam, and then you go all the way back over to the shoulder, right where it meets the sleeve. I know in my head that I think the jacket needs to be 2 centimeters wider. One centimeter on each on each shoulder, maybe. So if they tell me the the the shoulder is, 18 inches in width, I'll know I need seat to write down 21 and 5 eights or 21a half. and I base it off of what they've given me. And then the exact same thing with the jack of length. If I think it's a little too long or if I think it's a little bit too short, I know how I how much I want to reduce it most importantly, a shoulder, because obviously if I'm doing a trial garment, I can, I can make all a lot of it changes. But, same with sleeve and same with back length how it, it's hard to hold the measurement tape, you know, from the shoulder and then try to get what the number is at the bottom if it's hanging on that hanger behind them. I can see exactly how they measure it, and that tells me exactly everything I need to know. So there were, there were some tricks in there that I kind of came up with as I was going along, but, the issue that I'd find a lot of times with my factories, I'd say make me a jacket and a 30 30 inch long, back center seam, and it would come back at, like, a 28 or, 31, or it it was it was never accurate. So I had to measure everything that came in just to make sure that everything was as specified as I wanted it to be. And that was that was the trickiest part with a factory that didn't work based off of their blocks was making sure that they worked specifically to the measurements provided. and that was, that was eventually why I stopped placing orders with them because it got to a point where my apprenticeship got me to a point where I would have my factories send me back a semi assembled garment, and I would just finish it myself. I wouldn't tell them exactly where the button stands should be. Instead, I would throw it on the customer as a second fitting, I would mark where the buttonhole should be, and I just do the buttonhole myself. And that once I got to the point where I could do that, it, it was a complete game changer. But, yeah, I mean, like I said, it's been it's been a long journey. It's been yeah. It's it's been a process for sure. Reg Ferguson [00:27:16]: why should a customer do made to measure? Let's say, particularly, they've been doing ready to wear for a minute. And now all of a sudden, they get provided this opportunity, but they're reticent. They're on the fence. why should they do this Timothy? Oh, man. Obviously, each step ready to Timothy Hanchett [00:27:42]: wear made the measure and bespoke. They all have their own specific differences. Me, everybody's imperfect. Everybody, everybody has a shape that cannot be accompanied for with ready to wear. There are some people that can make it look as close as they can with ready to wear, but it's never there there's always something. Everybody has one arm that's longer than the other. Everybody has one shoulder that's lower the other things that ready to wear doesn't always pick up on. So made to measure for people that really are into kind of how they look and how they're perceived in the world because we're all human. We all judge everybody based on what shoes they wear, or what jacket, what fabrics they pick in their jackets, or what buttons they pick to go with those fabrics. So it's something that I never understood before because before I got into tailoring, I'd go to job interviews, and I'd hear the stories about having, you know, retained on a, on a shirt or something. It's things that people's eyes just get drawn to. And I understand that a whole lot more now. and I'm way more critical, obviously, as somebody that works in the industry, but made to measure gives it gives the customer the opportunity, want to be creative. I think the the business owner or the salesperson that is doing the made to measure should be very intelligent in how this person is going to be perceived, especially in the workplace, if they're a lawyer and they want to pick out the oldest windowpane of pink and green. It might not be the best option for them, and being somebody that's I think somebody else, you should know the you should you should understand this etiquette. but at the same time, it gives the customer that opportunity to create something that maybe nobody else at his firm, has. But as a cool beer. It's also my chance to provide them with unhidden details that they might not even notice. They'll throw on a jacket, they'll know there's something different about it. they might not know all the technicalities, but if they're somebody that doesn't really understand the craft, I think it was a big compliment. they throw something on, they cannot pick out what it is that makes it feel different, what it is that makes it look different, but the fact that they know that there's something different about it, that's positive and greater than what they would have expected. I'd take that as a huge compliment. If I do a buttonhole by hand and the customer doesn't notice, that's a huge compliment to me because if I do a crappy button, they'll probably notice and point it out, right? So, Made to measure is definitely a step up from ready to wear in the sense that you get to do whatever whatever you wanna do. but it's also going to be, I mean, not always, but it should potentially be a better option for, getting something that's made exactly to what it's supposed to be functional for. It's just like a haircut. Everybody has a different shaped skull. So, you want to find a barber that understands your head shape so that They know how to cut your hair perfectly. the issue that I find in Toronto is that everybody's in it for money. They're not really passionate about it, and that's something else that I have to fight against is trying to express to people that what I do is a little from those people. I'm not trying to sell them, you know, 3 different colors of buttonhole stitching under cuffs. it's it's unnecessary, and it's Got it. You have customers that know exactly what they want, and if they know exactly what they want it, it works out in their favor, but, there, there has to be, there has to be some level of education, both on their end, and then your end as the clue there. But it's a, it's a relationship. You're building a rapport with someone. You're trying to get to know them, and you have to let them understand who you are too. So it's, I think that level of interaction makes building a wardrobe just so much more important or fundamentals. One of those things that you don't really understand how important it is until you start doing it. because you can buy all the ready to wear suits, whatever it is that fits you closest, and you think they fit amazing. But once you go the route of getting something made custom and it fits you so much better than they're ready to wear, you suddenly realize what am I gonna do with all this ready to wear now that I think doesn't fit me as good as I thought it did. I'm just gonna stick with ready to wear. sorry, I'm gonna stick with getting anything made specifically to my, to my body shape. So it also, from my perspective, it helps people that are artisans so that the craft doesn't die out because as people just look for money opportunities, as they look for cheaper manufacturing, they look for higher margins, and it jeopardizes a lot of everybody else that does that mostly that are passionate. It's, you know, it's if it's a dying art and it gets to a point where a lot of people just suddenly go extinct. it it would be very unfortunate to to be replaced. Reg Ferguson [00:33:34]: What should a client look for when they're trying to determine a made to measure specialist? Timothy Hanchett [00:33:45]: Oh, man. I I could go on for for a long time. it got to a point actually that I was started to look for ways to teach people how to pick up on red flags. it's easier to know who not to go to than it is of people to go to, Reg Ferguson [00:34:05]: So let's start with the red flags. then maybe I'll move you over. Timothy Hanchett [00:34:10]: Well, I think the red flags in general come down to that person's level of creativity, but I think the red flags are also easier to look for when it comes to when you're hunting for bespoke specifically because anybody can see their bespoke as a custom clothier, they kind of throw around the, the, the description of the word quite a bit. So, Ah, man, it's Reg Ferguson [00:34:41]: -- Come on. One at a time, Timothy. Timothy Hanchett [00:34:46]: Alright. Reg Ferguson [00:34:46]: What's a red flag? Hey. Hey. Timothy, I just got recommended to you. I've never done this made to measurement thing. Like, well, what is what what should I look for me? Like, what's who's good? Who's not good? Timothy Hanchett [00:34:59]: I mean, if somebody came to me, I would know specifically that they came to the right place. So it's not, like, I'm not, Alright. Reg Ferguson [00:35:05]: So they don't know about you, or they can't afford you. They've got someone. They've got someone in New York. I'm in New York. You're in Toronto. I don't wanna ship and do all that stuff with you. What should I look for, Timothy? Get to it. Timothy Hanchett [00:35:18]: Oh, man. Reg Ferguson [00:35:20]: 1, give me one thing. Stop having it on. Timothy Hanchett [00:35:24]: I mean, I would I personally, I would I'm not as much of a social person, so I would do a lot of research online first. That's first thing. Reg Ferguson [00:35:32]: What should they be researching for, Timothy? Timothy Hanchett [00:35:34]: Especially on Instagram. It's a lot easier because you get to see how things get made. I think made to measure so hard because there's so many different ways of doing me to measure, but, we have a big, We have a big menswear kind of, luxury store here, and they offer every brand has their own made to measure. So I think it's this simply depends on whether or not that person is a specialist. That's pretty big because at a lot of these places with people that work on commission, anybody can just walk in and do measurements. they're looking for a sale, right? So it's that that's a big red flag because if they're not if one day they don't really know what they're doing, if they haven't had a training in it, if they're just working in a suit department, they're trying to make a sale. you know, we all have to put food in the table, so it's it goes two different ways, but if I'm looking to spend 2 $1000, and I make only a $1000 a month. I want to make sure that I can go to the right place. so I think as asking the right questions sort of are you the specialist, or how long you've been doing this, or, what Sort of. I mean, a lot of the questions get a little personal, so a lot of people I'm sure wouldn't want to answer them, but asking questions like, did you get, thorough training and this sort of thing, but, The I think the easiest way to pick up on red flags is by reading people's style, trying to figure out who dresses in what way is their jacket too short is, or for my liking, because everybody has their own, their own stylistic taste. It is their jacket too short? Is their sleeve too short? Are their pants too tight? If it doesn't align with the look that you want, don't I wouldn't necessarily go to that person for what it is that I'm looking for. probably that's probably the most fundamental way on picking up a red flag is by weeding out the people stylistically that you wouldn't want to work with. I think that finding the right kind of person, the people that are more passionate about it, are usually the people that are less willing to They're not less willing to sell it, but they're less willing to, BS don't know if this is a family podcast. It's a BS their way, into a sale. So, I've, I've worked with a lot of those types of people that, they could sell a family to a homeless man, you know. So being able to figure out what types of personalities to work with and what not to work with, even myself, I would probably walk into a store and find somebody that is not trying to really shove anything down my throat. ask that person who the specialist is that if if it's not them, how can I get a made to measure suit if they're not the person that can do it for me. Who do they recommend as best to do it? And I think that's one one clever way of being able to find the right person to do it. I don't know. A lot of times it depends on reputation. So word-of-mouth is always the easiest way. If you're, like, if you're on Instagram and I get a lot too, because I most of my cuss I don't do any marketing. So all my customers are pretty much word-of-mouth. they will ask somebody else Who do they recommend? I like your style. Who do you recommend for me to get a pair of pants made? And a lot of times it's, I know that I followed this guy Timothy, Houston Toronto if you're looking for that specific type of silhouette, or you're looking for that classic type of trouser, I would definitely recommend him. and then the same works for me because I've gotten people that will want pants that are not aligned with how I do things, or if somebody wants something that's really structured, I'll tell them, I'm sorry. I I'm not the type of person for you, but here are some people that I'm friends with that, would be able to accommodate for what it is that you're looking for because I know. I, I don't wanna, disappoint you. Reg Ferguson [00:40:06]: What do you mean when you say to structure? Timothy Hanchett [00:40:11]: I'm I like my clothing feeling like it's, like, a jacket, it's a shirt wearing worn on top of another shirt. I had some friends that are very specific in how structured garments should be. I think a lot of my friends that are bespoke tailors here in Toronto, they do things very more, very much more aligned with the Saddle the Saddle Rowway of doing garments where it should have the shoulder structure. It should have the roping in the sleeve. It should have a nice shell that looks like armor, where me, it's just as long as it traps off the shoulder, and it's well balanced, and it hugs your, hugs your waste the way that gives you a silhouette that appeals to both of us, I'm happy. I want you to feel like, you know, you're not that you're not really getting dressed up in a costume for a world that is not going to be around for too much longer. I always kinda try to look for a balance between dressy and casual. that's always kind of been my forte. And I find that the, the softer garments can accomplish that a lot better than having, having a, my Michael Brown shoulder, you know. that way I can kind of explain that. Reg Ferguson [00:41:43]: That's all good. So big shout out to the UK, but the point the point is this. So if I came to you, Timothy, and I say, I want a full padded shoulder and I want a full lining. Are you gonna kick me out the door? Timothy Hanchett [00:42:03]: I wouldn't necessarily kick out the door first. I would explain to you exactly what my thesis and what I do really good at and how I visualize things, why I believe that what I do is more functional for how I, how I see my customers wearing the, the garments. And if it's something that they think, oh, you know, I think you're onto something, and that actually kind of appeals to me. I'll I'm down to try it. that's usually the way I go about it. If if I'm not confident that I can 100% or Reg Ferguson [00:42:38]: 90%, Timothy Hanchett [00:42:40]: get satisfaction out of somebody, then it's something that, oh, well, I mean, this guy here is a good friend of mine, and he can accomplish exactly what is it you're looking for. like I said, I'm not a businessman. I'm not looking at making a ton of money. I'm looking more as to making, making stuff because I, I like making stuff. I'm more passionate about what I do, and I'm passionate about making people look good, and I'm passionate about people having confidence in the fact that I can make them look good. So if I have any kind of suspicion that I might not be able to make them as look as good as they might want to look. That's when I kind of give them a better Not a better option, but I think a better option for what it is that they're envisioning and what what it is that they want. And it's not always, you know, go to this guy. it, I, I recommend you go have a discussion with this guy, see exactly what is that he does. What you're describing to me sounds like something more aligned with what his, his expertise is. Talk to him, ask him some questions. If you want to mull it over, feel free. If you have any questions, I'm, I'm always available. I've I answer I answer a few questions for people all over the world constantly, and it's never my own product, but it's the puzzle of trying to, trying to work with, trying to work in tailoring that that I enjoy being able to solve puzzles. So people looking for specific things can also be a puzzle for me. So if I can solve the puzzle myself, I can solve the puzzle myself, but if I can't solve the puzzle, I know somebody who can, but either way, if the puzzle isn't solved, it's gonna give me an anxiety attack. So if this guy can solve your, your puzzle better than I can, please reach out to him. And then the same thing, I get, I've had people recommended to me from other people in my trade because I do things differently than the way that they do. that's the way that I would love to see the industry work. it's tough in such a competitive city, but there are a few several people here and there that I think, are willing to actually work in an environment where we help each other out rather than compete against each other all the time. Reg Ferguson [00:45:04]: I know they're all your babies so far. What's the best commission you've done? for whatever reason. Timothy Hanchett [00:45:15]: Man. Reg Ferguson [00:45:16]: I know. Just give me 1. Timothy Hanchett [00:45:21]: I think about it. You can Reg Ferguson [00:45:22]: choose any lane you want, but just tell me. Timothy Hanchett [00:45:25]: I think my, my favorite commission I've ever done is probably my very first bespoke commission because that was, that was a huge milestone for me. in terms of appearance or how something turned out, and for reputation wise, I did a jacket for a friend of mine, Pedro Mendes, hopped on rake, And I think for the level of satisfaction that he had, and then my own personal satisfaction, and for what it meant to him, what it meant for me, and then how it kind of spiraled into what my company ended up becoming. I think for sure that was probably one of my, my favorite. I, I made several more jackets formed later on. That probably fit better, but that specific, that was a Fox Brothers gun club that I had made for him, and that was, probably my favorite commission. He launched a new book, the 10 garments, every man should own And when he took a picture of him wearing of him launching his book, he was wearing my jacket in the background. And when I saw that same picture of his of the launching of his book on I saw it on J Press's Instagram, and I saw it on other people's Instagram. And for me, that was That was pretty massive. I was I didn't get tagged in it, but me, personally, I knew that that was a jack that I made. And every time, not every time, but many times that I went back to visit him, he was he's been wearing a jacket, and I just wanna make stuff that people, people wear, not just that people want, but stuff that people wear, people put in their daily use. So I think that was probably my, my favorites. my favorite commission, excuse me, by far. Reg Ferguson [00:47:15]: Very cool. Why is fashion important? Timothy Hanchett [00:47:20]: It's not. I, I have this discussion a lot. It's I, I grew up hating fashion. I always perceived it as a way for people to manipulate other people's first impression of who they are. And I never liked that. that's that's how I viewed fashion when I was in high school. and who would have thought that, you know, decades later, I'd actually be in the industry. and I have a completely different approach I I like I like what I do because I can see people's confidence tangibly, change. And that's why I think that tailoring is so important. and I separate tailoring with fashion because, tailoring is just fundamental to fashion. And I find that the more a lot of these fashion brands are making t shirts and sweatpants and oversized things and stuff that doesn't fit and boyfriend cut jeans and all the stuff that it plays on proportions, and it plays on silhouette. A lot of it I kind of enjoy because it, it, makes me think, but at the same time, I find that people spending $1000 on an oversized t shirt. It kind of hurts what fashion used to be because you look at the grapes like Alexander McQueen, and even earlier, people, like Givenchy and, Balenciaga who were impeccable tailors of their day, and that's how they've built their fashion house to now making knock off IKEA bags. it's, it's, I mean, it's definitely a way for people to express themselves and who they are. And I do still believe the same as what I believe in high school that people use it as a way to manipulate their first impressions. But, I always argue that fashion does not save lives. It can muster up confidence within yourself. I I see it. I'm wearing a t shirt and jeans, and my posture changes then completely differently from tomorrow if I decide to wear suit and tie, or if I'm wearing a tuxedo. My my demeanor changes constantly, but, There's an entire world of people out there and fashion, in my opinion, really only is progressive for the individual person, not necessarily for society. so I find that fashion is important on an individual level for that reason, but I think that it stirs up a lot of things socially. And, I mean, As somebody that struggled with self esteem issues, I enjoy fashion for that same reason. And because I'm somebody that works in fashion. I can help other people achieve that, that confidence. But like I said before, I never like talking about men's wear because there were always a lot of other things that were more important to me. I volunteered at refugee how for 3 years when I first moved to Toronto. So I know that there are different ways on discussing things that I think are much more important than the way that we dress and the way that we want other people to see does because fashion can also easily turn into a way to show off to other people. you know, this is, this is how I dress. I'm I'm fishing for compliments or I'm fishing for In in my in my case, I make a lot of stuff that I kind of experiment with in regards to what kind of emotions can I get out of people for those things that I make. And I've made things specifically, because I know they'd upset people. I've known I've I've made stuff that I've known specifically would bring out specific emotions from people, and It's interesting how people will react to something that they do not personally own. so the whole philosophy mind creative direction is something that I'm absolutely fascinated with. And I, it becomes a bit of a game for me, but you know, also kind of sets me, sets me aside of being has been something somewhat a little different from everybody else. Reg Ferguson [00:52:18]: What difference is fashion made in your life? Timothy Hanchett [00:52:25]: Man. it's always Ben, it's always provided me with a how do I put it? I guess, a sense of purpose or a a click or a group of, of categories on because I've I've always been into so many things. I've always been into how I dress ever since I was four years old, I'd always put so much thought into how I dress. And a lot of that was how are people gonna look at me if I were these specific things. A lot of times, it wasn't necessarily for me. It was always for other people. but in a way, wearing clothes generally will accomplish I guess my own kind of, like, personal feelings for specific things. Like, when I was playing soccer, if I wore I used to dress up the night before in uniform because it made me feel like I was a part of that team. And when you where a Jersey of your local team to a soccer game, you feel like you're actually a part of the team because you're wearing they're you're wearing their colors. You're wearing their jersey. You're wearing the names on on your back. You feel like you're actually a part of that team. Even though, like, you being in the stadium has zero effect on how the team plays, you still feel like you're a part of something. and in a way fashion's always been bad for me. being able to dress in a functional way for specific things. I didn't wear a suit the other day when I had to paint the wall. You know? So, Reg Ferguson [00:54:28]: good for you. Timothy Hanchett [00:54:29]: Yeah. So functionality and never really was able to break it down until I had this discussion with my friend Pedro. That functionality is extremely important when you get trust because otherwise, you stand out as a clown and doing something that no one else is doing. You're always going to be singled And for me, that's always awkward. I, I don't like I don't like to be in the center of attention. I like sitting in in corners quiet. but clothing still is you're still getting in my perspective, you're always getting dressed. for something specific that's going to be going on. Spain's playing today. I'm wearing a Spang jersey. You know? So it's Yeah. Reg Ferguson [00:55:13]: So So You Timothy Hanchett [00:55:14]: know, it that's what fashion is for me. It's, I think in a way fashion is absorbing the world around you. which is probably the more simplified philosophical response. Reg Ferguson [00:55:34]: All good. What's the top fashion tip you could give the everyday man so he could look his best? Timothy Hanchett [00:55:45]: impress only yourself, not anyone else. Probably the best hit, because you don't wanna lose sight of your your individuality because your style is your style. when I got into menswear, I was really into menswear. I didn't wanna wear menswear everywhere. I'd wanna dress up and wear a sport coat to go to the library or to walk through a mall and to wear dress shoes as uncomfortable as they were. but, the more I kind of realized that I was stuck in this And there was nothing wrong necessarily with me really being into menswear, classic menswear, but, I kind of felt several years later that in a way I was fooling myself, it wasn't who I was. I have a very deep background and a lot of different, scenarios that have contributed to what had become in my life. and I don't want to loose out of that either because I am who I am. So, it's okay to wear a death metal t shirt sometimes. I'm not trying to impress anybody. It's just, you know, this is who I am. Yeah. I mean, I used to wanna get tattoos in places that would never be seen because I didn't want people to, you know, treat me differently, but I realized this is who I am. This is I can't I can't be happy if I'm trying to impress people all the time. You know? So, it's okay to have different styles. It's okay to play around with style. okay to be creative. It's okay to be, something that other people are not. In fact, I completely want people to look for things that other people are not doing because I find that it just evolves. It involves people's style in general, and I think it rather than dressing to impress people, you dress to impress yourself, and through impressing yourself, you attract other people for that same reason. And that's where I would rather see people. That's how I'd rather see people dress. Reg Ferguson [00:58:15]: I totally agree. It's the last question I asked all of my guests, Timothy. Timothy Hanchett [00:58:23]: Let's go. Reg Ferguson [00:58:24]: What does the term always be fly mean to you? Timothy Hanchett [00:58:30]: I mean, probably exactly because I just, as I just said, the whole, impress yourself don't impress other people. Always be flat. Like, always always own what it is that you're wearing, even if people disapprove or people wanna scoff at you when you walk into the store. You know, I get that a lot, but it's a it's a mark of success in a way. just when people make fun of you, it doesn't necessarily mean that you need to look into yourself, subconsciously, try to figure out what it was that you did wrong. It's you did something different that nobody else did, so you have to own it. Reg Ferguson [00:59:14]: Timothy, Hanchett, Representing Toronto, the 6th, and do add a Tio, Induette, a FC. I see you got a garment in the back. Maybe one day we'll collab, you know, I can't afford you. Timothy Hanchett [00:59:31]: This is this is a bespoke piece, not made to measure, but, yeah, maybe we can have a bespoke centered, discussion sometime in the future too, because I'm bouncing all over the place. So Reg Ferguson [00:59:42]: -- It'd be my pleasure, bro. I'm glad that we finally finally made this happen. only took a year to 2 years. Timothy Hanchett [00:59:51]: A year and a half. Well, that, yeah. It's been been some time. I'm trying to remember when you first messaged me where I was, but it's definitely been around 2 years, for sure. But I'm glad we're able to, to make it work. So I'll, I, I, I appreciate your patience. Reg Ferguson [01:00:07]: Absolutely. I thought you were worth it. Always get my man. Timothy Hanchett [01:00:11]: Yeah. I appreciate it. Reg Ferguson [01:00:13]: Peace. Timothy Hanchett [01:00:15]: See you.