Hockerty Review (Proceed With Caution)

Hockerty, formerly known as Tailor4Less, has been on the MTM menswear scene for quite a while. Read on if you’re wondering if ordering from this custom clothing brand is worth it. 

Hockerty is a made-to-measure clothing brand that has served over 250,000 unique customers. They have tons of options on their site for custom suits, overcoats, boots, and more. 

With winter approaching and I was looking to get a custom-made overcoat, I decided to reach out to Hockerty (Tailor4Less’ new name), about receiving a sample coat for review.

Despite The Modest Man founder, Brock McGoff, having a bad experience with Tailor4Less a few years ago, I wanted to review this popular brand. 

A Hockerty representative offered samples of not only an overcoat, but a pair of custom dress pants, jeans, and boots. 

Unlike Brock, my experience wasn’t entirely negative. However, while some of the custom pieces turned out well, I can’t say I’d recommend the brand. Here’s why: 

My Build

For reference, I am 5’6″ (without shoes) and 140 pounds. I wear size XS or S tops (depending on the brand). 

My off-the-rack suit jacket size is typically 36S and my ideal pants size is 27×30.

What I Tried

Here are the pieces in this review:

• Hockerty Custom Boots
• Hockerty MTM Jeans
• Hockerty Custom Wool Trousers
• Hockerty Custom Double-Breasted Overcoat

Let’s go through them one at a time.

Hockerty Custom Boots Review

Hockerty offered to send me a custom pair of shoes or boots. I used their creator tool to design a pair of dress boots. 

I reasoned that since I wear a suit quite often, dress boots would help me to traverse muddy or icy streets while keeping my feet dry.

I spoke with a Hockerty representative and he assured me that after I submit my order in the system, he would take a look to double-check my measurements on everything with me before passing it on down the line. 

However, a couple days after “pre-submitting” the order, a pair of boots from Hockerty arrived at my doorstep. I opened the box and found a completely different pair of boots than the ones I’d designed. The boots I received were dusty and didn’t seem to be of very good quality. 

The representative was as puzzled as I was and he told me not to bother sending the boots back. 

When I finally got the boots I ordered, all the details were correct.

The boots’ silhouette and details are good! However, the quality of materials isn’t the best. The leather feels, looks, and smells cheap, as does the rubber sole. 

Although these boots fit well and do a good job at keeping my feet dry, I feel that they sometimes detract, rather than add to, a great outfit.

While I’m somewhat disappointed with these boots, I’m going to keep them to wear on rainy days. 

So far, I’ve worn them a few times in slushy, icy conditions and they’ve kept out water, but they don’t have excellent traction (however, that’s pretty much to be expected from most traditional dress shoes/boots).

Overall, priced at over $250 dollars, these boots definitely aren’t worth it. The quality is what I’d expect from $80-$120 boots. Even being “custom,” I think the price is way too high for what they are. 

If you want to get a pair of custom dress boots, I’d look somewhere else. 

For quality boots but not custom, I’d check out Becket Simonon. For custom, though a little more pricy, I’d recommend Idrese. 

Hockerty MTM Jeans Review

Hockerty sent me a pair of MTM jeans for review. Here are the details I chose:

When I tried on the jeans the first thing I noticed is how similar the fit (these are slightly tighter) and feel is to my jeans from Huckberry. 

These jeans fit well, but they’re a little slimmer below the knee than I usually wear.

The waist on these jeans is pretty loose on me and will definitely need to be brought in. 

Besides that, the buttons on the fly are really strange. They kind of feel plasticky, but I’m not 100% sure that they are. Also, the tops of the rivets spin around when you’re trying to button them, which is kind of annoying. I wish I’d gone with a normal zipper fly this time. 

I wouldn’t recommend getting custom jeans from Hockerty as I think that comparable jeans are available elsewhere at lower prices. (These were priced at $154). Levi’s, for instance, offers a huge range of styles and sizes at a fraction of the cost. 

However, if you are very hard to fit (say, if you’re a 5’2”, 160-pound bodybuilder, for example), I think that it might be worth giving Hockerty custom jeans a try. 

That said, you could probably do better elsewhere.  

Hockerty Custom Wool Trousers Review 

Hockerty also offered to send me a pair of wool dress pants for review. After looking at the swatches they sent and considering each of their wool and other non-polyester options, I chose their Moonstone fabric.

I decided to go with a mid-rise, a slight break, a slim fit, and suspender buttons on the inside. I asked about side tabs instead of belt loops, but they don’t have that option. It’s kind of strange not to include the option for side tabs on custom trousers. Hopefully, in the future, this will change.

The trousers I received are quality and fit well, but not perfectly. The waist is a little loose, but that’s a problem I personally usually get with pants because of my build. 

Also, the upper thigh area was a little tight, causing some “whiskering” wrinkles in the crotch area. Even when standing straight up there is some, I don’t know what to call it, “puddling” beneath the knee.

The pants don’t need hemming, but I think a competent tailor could fix this. (I haven’t stopped by a tailor yet).  

Despite the fit not being perfect, I really like these pants and wear them all the time. I especially enjoy wearing them with suspenders.

I’ve found wearing these pants with suspenders and a turtleneck to be a cool look. I also often pair them with a long-sleeve white polo or dark grey henley, making for unexpected smart casual styles.

All things considered, I could recommend Hockerty for custom dress pants.

At $206, these trousers aren’t cheap, but not outrageously priced either. If you decided to order, just be sure to choose a quality fabric, specify your measurements carefully, and expect to need minor alterations. 

Once again, there are many other companies offering MTM odd trousers. If a friend asked me where I’d recommend getting MTM pants made, my first thought wouldn’t be Hockerty. Personally, I’d recommend a local MTM shop where he could get measured and fit for pants in person.

Hockerty Custom Double-Breasted Overcoat Review 

Now to the overcoat — the centerpiece of this review. 

Initially, I knew that I wanted a double-breasted wool overcoat in either charcoal grey or navy. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest a DB coat to a man buying his first formally-styled winter coat. 

For a first coat, I’d recommend a well-insulated warm single-breasted wool coat in dark grey, navy, or black (with black being the least versatile, depending on your preferred color palette). 

Since I already own a very practical black SB overcoat, I wanted to go for something a little more formally-styled. 

Since I was ordering this garment entirely online, I was very methodical in the ordering process. Probably most of my 40 emails back and forth with a Hockerty representative were questions and answers about selecting options for an overcoat.

After entering in my measurements, over email, I specified the exact coat length I wanted. I made sure that the coat would be 36 inches. 36 inches brings the coat to just above my knee — a measurement I determined by trying on and measuring coats in a menswear store. 

A longer coat provides greater protection and warmth. Also, in the case of a DB coat, it also clearly distinguishes it from looking like a peacoat. 

I choose flap pockets and a breast pocket up top. Besides that, a decorative half-belt in the back and buttons on the cuffs.

I also selected “peak lapels” in the system.  

As always, I avoided flashy details like a bright-colored lining, elbow patches, or a contrasting neck lining. 

After many back-and-forth emails and double-checking that my options and instructions were understood over email, I submitted my order. 

In a few weeks, I received my coat with my order. To tell you the truth, due to what I’d heard about the company and my experience so far with Hockerty (I’d already gotten the wrong pair of boots), I was expecting to have to send the coat back to be remade. 

Especially considering I didn’t have high expectations, I was blown away by the overcoat I received. This coat fits me very well and looks great!

It certainly feels like a custom-made garment. It fits pretty much flawlessly with enough room to layer a suit underneath, but just barely. 

I think it could fit a little bit better in the waist area, but that’s just me nitpicking. Of course, if I’d gone for a full bespoke coat, or even one with internal canvassing, the fit and drape could be improved even further.

I choose a double-breasted coat because, since I got a double-breasted suit, I’ve come to really like the style. Yes, it’s a little bit more difficult to wear this coat casually than if I’d gone single-breasted, but I dress up a lot. To be honest, I find it easier to dress this coat down than I thought it would be.

Also, since it fits well, wearing it unbuttoned isn’t as much of an issue as I anticipated — the front of the coat hangs close to my body and doesn’t look sloppy (unless I’m walking somewhere fast).

While this coat exceeded my expectations, it wasn’t exactly what I ordered. Despite selecting “peak lapels,” the coat came with “ulster lapels.”

I very briefly considered insisting on having the coat remade, but all the other details are on point, and after a day or two I decided that I actually like the ulster lapels better than peak lapels on this particular coat.

I think the wide lapels look great and they even provide a little bit of extra warmth as they are an extra layer over the chest and can provide protection from inclement weather when the collar is popped. 

Besides that, while I opted for Hockerty’s warmest option for a DB coat, a quilted lining, this coat isn’t as warm as I thought it would be.

Also, I wish there were heavier wool fabrics available, but at around 640gsm (I can’t recall exactly and this fabric is now out of stock), this was one of their more substantial fabrics. I can’t say I was surprised, very heavy wool fabrics are not as common as they were 60-70 years ago. 

I tested this coat by wearing it on a walk on a cold night. Then, I came home and after a few minutes, changed into my old overcoat and walked the same route.

I determined that the Hockerty coat is not as warm as my old overcoat. However, that’s not a big deal because I can wear the new one earlier in the season (and later in spring).

Also, layering makes it wearable on warmer winter days. (I should mention that I live and travel in locations that get very cold winters). 

I have already had a button fall off from the half belt, and I’ve also had to get the anchor button (the button helps support the double-breasted structure) resewn on.

All things considered, Hockerty did a good job making this coat!

Pros and Cons of Buying Custom Clothing From Hockerty

Here are some things to consider before ordering from Hockerty:

Pros: 

• Wide selection of fabrics (though you may have to pay more for quality options)
• Impressive software for choosing options
• Generous return/remake policy 
• Good at outerwear (in my experience)
• Clothing arrives very quickly after ordering. (For me it took around ten days from the time I submitted the order to delivery).

Cons: 

• From getting a pair of boots I didn’t order, to incorrect lapel styles on the overcoat, to a somewhat complicated measurement process — Hockerty as a company seems very disorganized.
• Custom jeans and boots seem overpriced
• Boots’ leather quality isn’t great
• No option for side tabs on trousers
• Relatively few 100% wool options for trousers and coats 
• Premium options add up. While they advertise custom coats starting at $289, my coat was priced at $584. 
• It may be a lot of hassle to actually get what you want. Again, I sent dozens of emails to Hockerty throughout this whole process.

My Recommendations

Overall, my opinion of Hockerty is mixed. I definitely wouldn’t recommend them for custom footwear, and probably also not for jeans. Their custom dress pants are pretty decent and their outerwear is excellent (if you’re very careful choosing fabrics and other options). 

While I didn’t order a suit, I also wouldn’t recommend them for custom suits as there are so many other great MTM suit options out there. For one thing, a suit jacket is a lot less forgiving than a wool overcoat, so flaws in fit and construction are easier to spot on a suit. 

Also, with how much back and forth it took to feel comfortable placing an order, I think ordering a MTM suit here would be quite a hassle. In fact, when Hockerty was still called “Tailor4Less” Brock had a MTM suit created by them in 2015. Brock’s experience was, to put it mildly, “not stellar.” 

Furthermore, comments on his Tailor4Less review from Tailor4Less and, more recently, Hockerty customers are — with one exception — unanimously negative (and there are a lot of comments!). 

My take is that if you’re very experienced with the MTM process, have your measurements dialed in, and are willing to be very involved in the process (that’s a lot of “ifs!”), I think that Hockerty might be a good brand for you to try to get a custom overcoat or pair of dress pants made (but probably not a suit). 

To put it bluntly, if you do choose Hockerty for MTM clothing, do so at your own risk.  

If you have questions or comments about Hockerty or custom clothing leave them below!