This talk with Tommaso Capozzoli of Sartoria Vestrucci is a useful beginner’s guide for commissioning a suit. 

Tommaso explains how he would work out what kind of suit a customer wants, how he would direct cloth choices, and how the measuring process works. 

He also discusses the advantages of a bespoke tailor having a ready-to-wear offering, which the customer can try on to get a sense of the style. 

This is something I think a lot of bespoke tailors would benefit from, particularly for first-time customers, and particularly when they’re not familiar with the local style. 



Other takeaways from the video are:

• Most people come in for a business suit, for a wedding, or as an experienced customer of bespoke. It’s worth telling the tailor early what your needs are.
• The second-most important thing to relate is where you live, and therefore the temperature the suit will be worn in. Or the time of year you intend to wear it. 
• Young men often want something more fashionable – trying on a Vestrucci jacket is a good way to show how the house style is different.
• The Vestrucci style is defined by an extended shoulder, soft structure, and single dart in the front of the jacket (which means patterns are not interrupted).
• Trousers are usually made with a single pleat and a 4.5cm cuff, for a person of any height, as it provides a frame to the body.
• Customers are much more likely to want exactly the house style when they order their second suit.
• Customers should vocalise any thoughts they have when they see the fitting in the mirror.
• Vestrucci uses a lot of English cloth, because they personally like it and because of Florence’s connections to England.
• Try to relax while being measured, even if it doesn’t feel natural.
• The relationship you establish with the tailor is key, as it makes the process both more accurate and more enjoyable.
• All the quality of a good shoe or suit is hidden inside, so pick a tailor that can explain things well.
• Fittings can be done quickly at Vestrucci, even within 10 days, if enough notice is given.

In the video I am wearing my charcoal-flannel suit from Sartoria Vestrucci, with a pink-stripe shirt from 100 Hands, a black knit tie and a green ikat handkerchief from Anderson & Sheppard. 

Tommaso is wearing a rather splendid suit, again from Vestrucci, in the cavalry twill I rewove with Fox Brothers. 

You can see other videos from this film series here:

• How a shirt fitting works
• How to order bespoke shoes
• How to look after tailoring
• How polish shoes part 1 and part 2
• How to fold a handkerchief
• How to look after suede jackets
• How to look after good shoes

Photography: Jamie Ferguson

Learn more about how Permanent Style’s work and how it is funded, here.