6 Steps to A Tailor-Made Suit

Every man needs at least one elegant, high quality suit. Whether it's for work or a special occasion, we all need one suit that sets itself apart from the rest. The funny thing, however, is that most guys who shop for that quality suit will usually rush to high-end boutiques and purchase the suit for its brand name rather than its quality.

Don't get me wrong; I love Boss, Cerrutti and Zegna, but you can buy a tailor-made suit that really fits, for the same price or less. If you're worried about not being trendy enough, just cut out a magazine picture and let the tailor duplicate the style you're looking for.

Follow these easy steps to get your hands on the finest tailor-made suit:

Step 1: Find a reputable tailor

Good tailors are usually found in major department stores or in the high-end shopping districts. Friends, family and influential colleagues might also refer you to a trustworthy tailor. Ask around and inquire about references.

Step 2: Choose your fabric

Once you've chosen a highly regarded tailor, the next step is to settle on a suitable fabric. The suit's fabric will make the difference between a $1500 suit and a $6000 one. That's why many popular designers use fabrics with a grade of 100s or 110s [quality of fabric] to cut costs and increase markups.

Because you're not paying for the brand name, you can opt for higher quality grades and still pay the same price or cheaper. Anything above a grade of 110s is guaranteed to make a respectable looking and durable suit. As you may have guessed, higher grade equals better quality and an elevated price.

Grades range from low 80s to high-end super 180s. At the price you'll pay for the super 180s, you're better off just putting a down payment on a brand new BMW.

Step 3: Measure for fitting

At this stage, your tailor will take all the required measurements to make your suit fit like a glove. It's important to maintain open communication at all stages of your suit's fabrication. Chances are your tailor has made thousands of suits and he knows what he's doing, nevertheless, ask questions and provide feedback.

Tell him how you'd like your suit to fall on your shoulders, waist and shoes. That's the beauty of a tailor-made suit; you won't need to have it altered several times before it fits perfectly. We all know how frustrating it is to have a piece of clothing that falls awkwardly, especially when it costs you an arm and a leg.

Customization is especially attractive to those with distinctive body types. Tall men won't have any problems with short sleeves or pants that don't fit. Chubby men, on the other hand, can have suits made to make them look thinner and more attractive. All these little perks definitely override buying a popular brand name.

Step 4: Determine the style

Three buttons or four? Double-breasted or single? It all depends on the current styles at the time of your purchase. If you are more conservative and don't follow fashion trends, opt for a classic suit. You can discuss your options with your tailor, as he has probably seen every suit style and knows every trick in the book.

If you're looking for something a little trendier, look through fashion magazines and see what designers recognize as being trendy and stylish. Just bring the magazine to your tailor and he'll be able to tell you what type of fabric you'll have to purchase for him to reproduce the suit. A tailor can also tell you what best compliments your body type to make you look better.

Step 5: Personalize it

The beauty of a tailored suit is that you can add personal touches to make your suit look genuine and unique. Whether it's specific types of buttons, pockets or a different number of pleats in the pants, just ask and you shall receive. These simple touches will impress your colleagues and really make your suit stand out from the rest.

Step 6: Final fitting

At this stage, you'll have to look over every detail. Don't hesitate to ask for a little adjustment because you're paying for the suit, and you should make sure that everything fits to your liking.

The tailor will ask you to try on the suit, while he personally checks every angle to make sure your suit is perfect. Unfortunately, at this stage, it's also time to pay the bill. I suggest that you pay with cold hard cash because we all know that cash is king and the price might become somewhat more... let's just say interesting .

This is example of the best brand suit you should tailor of:

H. Huntsman

High quality fabric, comfortable. Suitable for CEO, Board of Director and Corporate member. Price from $4,500.


Anderson & Sheppard

Favorite brand for Prince Charles that matched suit from double-breasted. Suitable for royalty and successful corporate member. Price from $3,0000.

Gieves & Hawkes

Besides ready and order suit, this brand tailored army uniform. Price from $920. Suitable for Vice President of company, entertainment and publication.

Hickey-Freeman

Suit design for businessman is smart investment for this brand. Suitable for businessman only. Price from $1,100.

Polo Ralph Lauren

Combination of British and America. With slim fit and three button, suitable for youngster and new-star. Price from $900.

J. Press

Conservative design, with made from high quality fabric but can also for stylish. Suitable for doctor, bank officer and reunion ceremony. Price from $500.

Caraceni

Brand from Italy with guide from Gianni Campagna made it design with good for big clients from around the world. Inside from pure silk suitable for rich man. Price from $4,100.

Giorgio Armani

The exclusive design can see from far, that's Giorgio Armani. Suitable for Hollywood star agent, successful architect and anyone who into advertising firm. Price from $2,200.

Ermenegildo Zegna

Internal design of light canvas make it looks elegant besides shapes between shoulder, chest and hip looks perfect. Bargaining design that not have in any shopping complex rack. Suitable for company's Vice President and they involved in various industry. Price from $1,500.

Gucci

Can get in various colors and absolutely black. Gucci suit suitable for VIP and musician. Price from $1400.

p/s: I choose polo and zegna!! =p

What's Wrong with Multi-Level Marketing?

Bad Image or Bad Reality?

"Let me tell you about an incredible ground-level business opportunity," and you are invited to a house or to lunch for "a discussion." Funny enough, you feel sick in your gut that there is some hidden agenda or deception. "Probably a multi-level marketing (MLM) organization," you think. Suppose it is? Should you trust your instincts? Is there anything wrong with MLM?

Specifically, it will focus on problems of I) Market Saturation, II) Pyramid Structure, III) Morality and Ethics, and IV) Relationship Issues associated with MLMs. Thus, you can properly assess your "instincts."


I. Market Saturation: An Inherent Problem


Back to the Basics

A tutorial on market saturation hardly seems necessary in most business discussions, but with MLM, unfortunately, it is. Common sense seems to get suspended when considering if MLMs are viable, even theoretically, as a profitable means of distribution for all parties involved. This suspension is created by a heightened expectation of "easy money," but more on that later.

Don't Some People Make Money in MLM?

First, we will analyze the "driving mechanism" of MLMs. We will detail how they are intrinsically unstable, guaranteed by design to oversaturate the market with no one noticing. We will look at why MLMs can never equalize into profitability the way companies in the real world can, so that the result will be that the organization as a whole cannot, even in theory, be profitable. When this inevitable destiny occurs, the only money to be made is not from the product or service but from the losses of people lower down in the organization.

Thus the MLM organization becomes exploitative, and many high-level MLM promoters have been shut down, the "executives" incarcerated, for selling the fraud of impossible success to others. Other, larger MLMs have survived by hiring large batteries of attorneys to ward off federal prosecutors, even bragging about the funds they have in reserve for this purpose.

The unfortunate "distributor" at the bottom is the loser, and once this becomes apparent beyond all the slick videotapes and motivational pep-talks, good people start to get a bad taste in their mouths about the whole situation.

So, yes, money can be made with MLM. The question is whether the money being made is legitimate or "made" via a sophisticated con scheme. And if MLM is "doomed by design" to fail, then the answer is, unfortunately, the latter.

But how exactly does this happen, and must it always?

"Everyone Will Want to Buy This Product!"

All products and services have partial market penetration. For example, only so many people wish to use a discount broker, as evidenced by the very successful but only partial market penetration of Charles Schwab. Not everyone wishes to join a particular discount club, or buy gold, or drink filtered water, or wear a particular style of shoe, or use any product or service. No one in the real world of business would seriously consider the thin arguments of the MLMers when they flippantly mention the infinite market need for their product or services.


II. Pyramid Structure: An Organizational Problem

The Un-Pyramid

For most MLMs, the product is really a mere diversion from the real profit-making dynamic. To anyone familiar with MLMs, the previous discussion (which focused so much on the fact that MLMs are "doomed by design" to reach market saturation and thus put the people who are legitimately trying to sell the product into a difficult situation) may seem to miss the point. The product or service may well be good, and it might oversaturate at some point, but let's get serious. The product is not the incentive to join an MLM. Otherwise people might have shown an interest in selling this particular product or service before in the real world. The product is the excuse to attempt to legitimate the real money-making engine. It's "the cover."

Intuitively, we all know what is really going on with MLMs. Just don't use the word "pyramid"!

"You see, if you can convince ten people that everyone needs this product or service, even though they aren't buying similar products available in the market, and they can convince ten people, and so on, that's how you make the real money. And as long as you sell to a few people along the way, it is all legal." Maybe...

But the way to make money in all this is clearly not by only selling product, otherwise you might have shown an interest in it before, through conventional market opportunities. No, the "hook" is selling others on selling others on "the dream."

It Will Fail??? It Cannot Fail???

Nothing irritates a die-hard MLMer more than the preceding argument. If you point out the absurdity, for example, that if "the pitch" at an Amway meeting were even moderately accurate, in something like 18 months Amway would be larger than the GNP of the entire United States, then listen closely for a major gear-shift: "Well, that is absurd, of course. Not everyone will succeed, and so the market will never saturate."

Well, which is it? Are we recruiting "winners" to build a real business, or planning by design to profit off of "losers" who buy into our "confidence"?

During "the pitch," anyone can make it work. "It's the opportunity of a lifetime." "Just look at the math!" But mention the inevitable saturation and the losses this is going to cause for everyone, and then you'll hear, "Of course it would never really work like that." "Most will fail," you will be told, "but not you, Mr. Recruit. You are a winner. I can just see it in your eyes."

If you are a starry-eyed recruit, it will grow as presented. If you are a logical skeptic, then of course it would never really work like that.

But the dialog usually never even gets to this. The fact that MLM is in a mad dash to oversupply is largely chided as mere "stinkin' thinkin'." Expert MLMers know how to quickly deflect this issue with parable, joke, personal testimony, or some other sleight of mind.

III. Morality and Ethics: A Problem of Greed

Moral Riddle: What is Ever Present but Universally Condemned?

While issues of morality and ethics can be tricky to discuss, materialism and greed are universally condemned by every major religion, and even by most of the irreligious. This does not mean people are not materialistic or greedy; in fact, the common ethical call to not be so is strong evidence that we are.

For most people, this means if we are going to be materialistic or greedy, we would rather not be obvious about it. Thus, Madison Avenue has subtle, highly polished ways of appealing to these vices without being heavy handed. We don't mind so much... as long as it is "veiled." This hypocrisy, while sad, is the status quo. So, Madison Avenue is trying to be ever more subtle in appearing not to be manipulating our immoral "bent" towards greed and materialism.

Moral Inventory

By way of review, the prospective MLM initiate has to face and resolve these ethical issues:

1. Do I want to be involved in encouraging people to be more materialistic?

2. Do I want to sell a product that perhaps couldn't be sold any other way?

3. Do I want to be a part of an enterprise famous for slander, libel, and rumor?

4. Do I want to be a part of a company that may employ criminals as marketing experts?

5. Do I want to make money off my ability to convince people that an unworkable marketing system is viable?

6. Do I want to be known among my friends and family as a person who tried to con people with a thinly veiled pyramid scheme?

If you can answer these questions "yes," training is available... But remember that God is watching, even if you never get "successful" enough for the Feds to notice you.

IV. Relationship Issues: An Experiential Problem

Learning the Hard Way

MLMs grow by exploiting people's relationships. If you are going to be in an MLM, you swallow hard and accept this as part of "building your business." This is "networking." But to those not "in" the MLM, it seems as if friendship is merely a pretext for phoniness, friendliness is suspected as prospecting, and so on. There is no middle ground here, try as you might.

While this is the most difficult point to make, it is perhaps the most important. Anyone who has any experience with an MLM has strong feelings, either for or against, and this is the problem. Polarization runs deep.

Disease Alert: Beware of MLM Blindness

Apparently, it is difficult for gung-ho MLMers to see how they look from the outside. They can watch lifelong friendships unravel, churches and civic groups poisoned, the avoidance of friends and family, etc., and never see that MLM was the cause.

If you try to point this pathology out, you are treated as if you have attacked the very gospel! Perhaps for some, the MLM approach is a new gospel?

They will claim to have made "new friends," most of which are MLMers or new acquaintances who could be considered "future prospects." The shallowness of these "new friends," the stilted conversations among the "old friends," and the embarrassment, in general, for what seems clear to everyone but the MLMer go unnoticed. Callousness sets in; standards are lowered.

Of course, it could be pointed out that this might have happened anyway. Perhaps the die-hard MLMers would have ruined their friendships anyway in some other non-MLM business failure. Is the MLM really the cause, or just the vehicle?

Business failure of any type is traumatic on the relationships involved, but in most small businesses there is at least the chance of success. And this is never the case in an MLM, unless "success" can be defined as profiting off of the failures of others.

Non-MLM real-world businesses that offer products of interest to friends, family, etc., such as insurance agents and small retail shop owners, seem to be more circumspect in dealing with personal relationships in all but a few rare (and grievous) cases. But the MLMer is recognizable by duplicity of friendship overtures, overbearing glad-handing, full-time prospecting, outrageous initial deception, and social callousness. This is no accident, but rather sheer desperation. How could it be otherwise? For the active MLMer is in a hopeless bear trap: with hubris as one steel jaw and oversaturation the other.

And so the MLM relationship "bull" tramples through the relationship "china closet," blindly ruining fragile and valuable things. Some never pull out of this, figuring the coldness they experience in their emotional lives is due to some other cause than their MLM participation.

Summary of What's Wrong With Multi-Level Marketing

1. MLMs are "doomed by design" to recruit too many salespeople, who in turn will then attempt to recruit even more salespeople, ad infinitum.

2. For many, the real attraction of involvement in multi-level marketing is the thinly veiled pyramid con-scheme made quasi-legal by the presence of a product or service.

3. The ethical concessions necessary to be "successful" in many MLM companies are stark and difficult to deal with for most people.

4. Friends and family should be treated as such, and not as "marks" for exploitation.

p/s: Get easy is not easy, but get hard is not hard.. Also in business.. =)

Olympic Games, the Prestigious Sports Event

The Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event subdivided into summer and winter sporting events. The summer and winter games are each held every four years (an Olympiad). Until 1992, they were both held in the same year. Since then, they have been separated by a two year gap.



The original Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες; [Olympiakoi Agones]were first recorded in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, and were celebrated until AD 393.Interest in reviving the Olympic Games proper was first shown by the Greek poet and newspaper editor Panagiotis Soutsos in his poem "Dialogue of the Dead" in 1833.Evangelos Zappas sponsored the first modern international Olympic Games in 1859. He paid for the refurbishment of the Panathinaiko Stadium for Games held there in 1870 and 1875. This was noted in newspapers and publications around the world including the London Review, which stated that "the Olympian Games, discontinued for centuries, have recently been revived! Here is strange news indeed ... the classical games of antiquity were revived near Athens".

1896 Athens Olympic Games

The International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894 on the initiative of a French nobleman, Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin. The first of the IOC's Olympic Games were the 1896 Summer Olympics, held in Athens, Greece. Participation in the Olympic Games has increased to include athletes from nearly all nations worldwide. With the improvement of satellite communications and global telecasts of the events, the Olympics are consistently gaining supporters.The most recent Summer Olympics were the 2004 Games in Athens and the most recent Winter Olympics were the 2006 Games in Turin. The upcoming games in Beijing are planned to comprise 302 events in 28 sports. As of 2006, the Winter Olympics were competed in 84 events in 7 sports.

1896 - Athens

1900 - Paris

1904 - St. Louis

1908 - London

1912 - Stockholm

1920 - Antwerp

1924 - Paris

1928 - Amsterdam

1932 - Los Angeles

1936 - Berlin

1948 - London

1952 - Helsinki

1956 - Melbourne

1960 - Rome

1964 - Tokyo

1968 - Mexico City

1972 - Munich

1976 - Montreal

1980 - Moscow

1984 - Los Angeles

1988 - Seoul

1992 - Barcelona

1996 - Atlanta

2000 - Sydney

2004 - Athens

This sports event will come again.. 08.08.08 Beijing as host..

Bird Nest Stadium, official stadium

This is mascot of Beijing Olympics.. So cute =)

p/s: Hopefully this Olympic, Malaysia contingent can win many gold medal.. I will support them!!

Manchester United may sue over Daniel Levy remarks

Manchester United are considering taking legal action against Daniel Levy after the Tottenham Hotspur chairman’s fierce attack on Sir Alex Ferguson. Levy described Ferguson as arrogant and hypocritical on Friday, when making a formal complaint to the Barclays Premier League about United’s pursuit of Dimitar Berbatov.

However, the champions do not expect it to hamper their attempts to sign the Bulgaria forward. A second bid is likely this week after an opening offer of £20.5 million was rejected.

Tottenham maintain that they have the evidence to prove that United have “tapped-up” Berbatov over the past year. Tottenham have collated information that they will submit to the Premier League in the next few weeks after making formal complaints about United and Liverpool, for their pursuit of Robbie Keane.

The last straw for Tottenham were quotes attributed to Ferguson that appeared in The Sun last week. The newspaper quoted the United manager as saying that he was confident of signing Berbatov.

Lord Coe has reiterated his desire to have Ferguson manage a Great Britain football team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, while Carlos Queiroz, the Portugal coach, has spoken for the first time of his desire to succeed the Scot as United manager.

p/s: What ever happened, its good =)