The Men's Vest

What goes into a fine men's vest from Amy's Top Stitching Co.? I created this article to explain the process, quality, and workmanship that goes into our custom men's vests. 

The apparel business is competitive and sometimes complicated.  American designers are competing with cheap foreign labor and coping with escalating costs.  Finding true customer oriented designs and high quality workmanship at a respectable price can be challenging.  This has always been our mission at Amy's Top Stitching, and we are shameless perfectionists about it. 

The Patterns

Our vest patterns are custom drafted individually for each customer.  Each customer provides his measurements, and a pattern is drafted up and his own file is created.  Our patterns adhere to strict classic menswear standards.  Our welts are exactly 1" high and set at a 78 degree angle.  Front break points, and angles and waistline contours are hand drafted and carefully checked and measured.  Front darts are contoured and placed based on customer dimensions, with the welt pocket carefully centered over it, at the perfect distance from the hem to accommodate the pocket depth.  Standard ease allowances are used, to be adjusted later according to customer preference at the fitting.  Finally, patterns are checked against standard measurement charts and proofed. 

The Fitting

After the first draft of the pattern is complete, a muslin model (or toile) is created and sent to the customer for fitting.  A perfect fit is achieved by using digital photos and the customer's own advice about the fit. Much time is spent evaluating the photos, and modifying the pattern. We consider this a very important step, and we do this even for children's vests.

The Production

Only the highest quality materials are used in our vests.  We select our vendors and products carefully and inspect every piece, every button.  Fabrics are preshrunk to make them needle ready.  Only high quality tailor grade interfacing is used.  We put as much attention into the inner workings of a garment that are never seen, as we do in the outer parts.  Seams are carefully graded and pinked when necessary.  Each piece is measured and re-measured.  A typical men's vest will have several checkpoints of in-process inspection by a certified QA inspector.  These checkpoints include: marking of the welts after darts are placed, inspection of pockets when complete, marking/placing of buttonholes, and final inspection. The time involved in hand cutting each piece and inspection along the way really shows in the final product.  We use front facings, neck facings and interior pocket facings to add extra polish and class to our vests.  Hand worked detail is also a hallmark of our product.  We find the polished look of undetectable hand stitching much preferable to the top stitched detail of most other vests.  It takes time and patience, but the finished product is well worth it.

Customer First!

We want our customers to know how special they are to us. Our vests have size and care labels, FTC compliant labels, and brand labels.   We package our vests for shipping as carefully as we make them.  They arrive clean and ready to wear, in a garment box lined with tissue paper and inspection signatures.  We remember you, no matter how many customers we have helped.  We always try to send a follow up email to find out how you like your garment. Everything we produce is 100% satisfaction guaranteed.  We're looking for lifetime customers not just "sales." What's more, if you choose to order another vest, using the custom pattern we created just for you, you will receive a $20 discount off the current price.  Our goal is to put custom fit clothing within your reach.

Thanks for your interest in our brand!  Coming soon, our menswear will have a new name: AC Ashworth & Company.  Expect great things!  Same people, same quality, new name!