7T7 Custom Wear — Attraction in Fairfax

I have worn made-to-measure shirts since 1989. First shirts I had made were from The Custom Shop at Fair Oaks Mall. FOM was 10 years old at that time and the mall was bursting with business. Now it is bust and TCS left long ago, well before box stores folded in mass.

The experience was good though. TCS had a thick book of fabric and pattern selections to choose from and their measurements were accurate. I discovered the shirts were made in New York and what I was buying is accurately known as made-to-measure. The shirts were not custom in the factual use of the word. But, their shirts fit well solving my neck to sleeve length ratio problem with rack shirts. Finding rack shirts that fit me was futile. The made-to-measure shirts looked and felt great to wear. After losing TCS I turned to Mark Levinson Custom Clothier for made-to-measure shirts and I have also purchased them over the years through Best Tailoring in Fairfax and Austin’s in Oakton. Key to success is accurate measuring.

Since FOM has turned largely to leasing space to restaurants to keep afloat (my opinion) I have enjoyed dining at Texas de Brazil at the mall and I am a regular. Walking the corridor to TdB I pass by 7T7 Custom Wear and noticed in addition to offering shirts, suites and ties that 7T7 offers bespoke shoes. It seemed to me the store was not very busy and occasionally I would drop in to browse. I began asking questions about their shoes and eventually made an appointment with the designer.

I worked with Tariq Aziz on design and came to understanding on terms with him. I was measured for shoes on June 3, 2019 making down payment with understanding my shoes were going to be hand made in Italy using measurements he had taken. He said delivery would be in 6 months, November 3, 2019.

In September 2019 I began making a series of delivery update calls to Tariq resulting in delivery date delay reports. February 3, 2020, exactly 8 months from order date, shoes arrived. I went for pickup the following day. To my eye the shoes look good, small exception that upper seam is not to my design specification but I can live with it. The big ticket problem is the shoes do not fit. Tariq offered me ultra thin silk socks and with lots of downward heel pressure and use of shoe horn I was able to get the shoes on. Quarter and lower throat on each shoe were unbearably tight. Back Stay, heel counter and toe box of each shoe fit fine. Then I got the mainstay cheap shoe store sales pitch: “Shoes will be fine, they just need to be broken-in.” Did I just buy a pair of Buster Brown’s for $950.00?

Back to made-to-measure and bespoke. Bespoke standard is last for each foot is made using measurements that have been taken. Using custom lasts prototype pair of shoes is made in an inexpensive leather. At a fitting appointment the customer tries on prototype shoes and shoemaker checks for any adjustments that may be needed. There was no fitting appointment. Prototype shoes were not made for me. So, in my judgement what I received were, like my shirts, shoes made-to-measure, which is fine if measurements are accurate. Right? Do not pitch you are selling/making bespoke shoes. I did 2 one hour break-in sessions the first week of having them. Then I put cedar shoe trees in the shoes setting them aside until today. Having plenty of discretionary time these days in self isolation I now have ample time to devote to the breaking-in project. I believe quality of leather and craftsmanship have merit and I would forget about the delays if the shoes had...

I live in NY. On 11/11/17, I was in Virginia visiting my son when I purchased a custom suit, total price of $1266.70. I was fitted by the gentleman and when I asked how long it would take was told 8-10 weeks. I was somewhat surprised how long it would take but he assured me it might be earlier but he could not say for certain. I said I was thinking of coming back to visit DC and my son in January, specifically the weekend of 1/20/18. He said if it was ready earlier they would hold it for me. On January 15, 2018 I called to remind them I was coming January 20 to try on and pick up my suit. They said they would have it ready. I was driving toward Virginia on 1/19 when I received a text that the suit would not be ready until Monday. I was only scheduled to be in town until Sunday. They offered to ship it to me. The whole point of my trip was to get my suit and I had hotel reservations only through Sunday and had to be back at work Monday. I called and was told they would try to have it done by Saturday. Then I received another text saying it would not be ready. Note that 1/20 was exactly 10 weeks from the order, the very end of the 8-10 week time frame. Wasted my trip. (BTW, I was not going to visit my son since he came to NY during Christmas just a few weeks prior). On Tuesday 1/23 I got a text asking for my address. I received the suit on Friday 1/26 in a small box. I removed the suit that night and it was folded up and all wrinkled. I tried it on the next morning. First the workmanship was shoddy. The material was thin (this was supposed to be an all weather suit with a substantial lining. Worse, it did not fit. I could not wear the jacket. The sleeves were way to short and I could not raise my arms. I was original told the suit would be a little larger so I could move around in it. Instead it was smaller. I texted the company back and explained the problem, They asked for photos. I sent 14 photos. I was told that the designer was coming to NY in February (I though the person measuring me was the "designer" and that he would come to personally meet me for a fitting. I was not happy. I dsid not receive a response until today 2/1. The letter was nasty. Instead of trying to fix the problem I was told the suit fits "amazingly". This from photos showing I can not raise my arms and barely can button the jacket. He said they fulfilled my needs. I HAVE A TOTALLY WORTHLESS SUIT. I CAN NOPT WEAR IT. Those are not my needs. I could have spent less than half that and gotten a suit off the rack that fits better. DO NOT GO TO...

We had the best experience at 7T7! My fiancé needed a custom suit for our wedding as regular suits were not fitting him comfortably, and we were on a really tight 6-week timeline. Tarique went above and beyond — he had the suit finished in less than a month, and it turned out absolutely perfect. The fit, the quality, and the attention to detail were all phenomenal.

We had a specific color scheme that we wanted to follow to align with our wedding and he tended to every aspect of that to incorporate our three colors throughout the whole suit; from his bow tie to the studs on his shirt and the two tone color of his shoes which matches his custom belt!

Tarique made the whole process easy and stress-free. He’s professional, kind, and genuinely cares about making sure you’re happy with the end result. Seeing my fiancé’s face in his suit during his fitting, you could tell how much he loved everything about it, he couldn’t stop raving about the comfort and fit of the suit. He said dressing up was never this much fun! I can’t thank Tarique enough for making it happen, even with a little over two weeks to spare before our wedding day!

We’re so grateful and will be coming to Tarique at 7T7 for any future suit...