This article has been updated every four years for the past 12 years. It was originally written in 2012, and has had new versions in 2016, 2020 and now 2024. 

The number of bespoke tailors we have tried and covered has increased, but the growth peaked somewhere in the middle. Between 2016 and 2020 there were 18 added to the list; this newest version adds six, with some more coming soon. 

Those six are:

  • Taillour, the popular tailoring house set up by Fred Nieddu
  • Assisi, one of my real favourites and based in Korea
  • Luca Museo, also from Korea
  • B&Tailor, whom we had covered previously but only through a short-lived cooperation with a European tailor
  • Vittorio Salino, the ex-head cutter of Liverano in Florence
  • And Shibumi, which is the oldest having been covered just after the list was last updated

In the offing are J Mueser’s bespoke offering (benchmade in New York) and the last couple of Koreans.

 

 

Most of the names people will be interested in have already been covered. The point of this article is to be a reference for all of those – a way to dip into our previous coverage, and also ask any new questions and comments you may have over which one to choose. 

There are links in all the descriptions to posts elsewhere on the site, while the names of the tailors themselves are hyperlinked to their ‘brand’ page, where you can find all posts listed.

There are now 61 tailors, which is too many by anyone’s standards. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone pursue this course with bespoke, or maintain this number of tailors. One to three is more like it (see the post ‘How many tailors do you need?‘).

Anyone that would like to see many of these tailors’ cuts analysed, with consistent measurements, should see the Guide to Tailors Styles. And if you want a more targeted article on who my favourite tailors are, see here

Remember there is also a separate list for made-to-measure, which I will update later in the year too. 

 

UNITED KINGDOM

Anderson & Sheppard

The biggest exponent of the ‘drape cut’, with soft shoulders and fullness of cloth in the chest and back. Together with a closely cut waist, this gives the illusion of a bigger chest and is very comfortable. Some think that the soft shoulders are unflattering. It is among the cheaper houses on the Row, and I particularly like the double-breasted style as it has a relatively broad lapel with plenty of belly. My suits from A&S were all cut by John Hitchcock, who has now retired.

 

Benson & Clegg / Oliver Cross

Benson & Clegg were not largely known for their bespoke department, with a stronger reputation for their buttons, cufflinks and braces (they hold the royal warrant to Prince Charles for such things). That changed when Meyer & Mortimer cutter Oliver Cross joined the team, and Oliver made me a green-flannel suit. His style is English structured with some drape – though also with an openness to adapt the make and cut. Since that suit, Benson have largely shut down unfortunately, but Oliver Cross set up on his own – as ‘Ollie’s

 

Chittleborough & Morgan

One of the finest finish of any English tailors, learning from the French in their buttonholes among other things, Chittleborough was founded by two cutters from the legendary Tommy Nutter shop, where Edward Sexton was the head cutter. Roy Chittleborough is retired, but Joe Morgan carries on cutting Sixties-inspired suits with large lapels, nipped waists and strong shoulders. My navy suit can be found here.

 

Dege & Skinner

A highly traditional Savile Row tailor with a rich military history, Dege cuts a strong-shouldered, longer jacket. Still family owned, they have been remarkably consistent as other houses such as Huntsman have changed look or ownership over the years. Cutter Nick De’Ath made me a superb tobacco-linen suit. And although the higher rise of the trousers didn’t quite work out the first time, he was accommodating on several other points. We subsequently made an unstructured summer jacket as well. 

 

Edward Sexton 

Edward sadly passed away recently, but the style and house he founded are still going strong. Edward made me a fantastic double-breasted flannel suit and a long grey overcoat. The former has proved very useful and the latter also, after it was shortened rather (by four inches) a year after making. Sexton also offer an offshore service which is partly made in China, which we reviewed here

 

Gieves & Hawkes (Davide Taub)  

Davide Taub, of whose style I am a big fan, is the head cutter at Gieves. He trained at Maurice Sedwell among other places and tends towards a strong shoulder and silhouette. He is also very innovative, and has made several very original and stylish pieces for me, including my pea coat, leather jacket and gilet. For the purpose of this list, however, the most interesting piece is this green linen suit, which is striking for being light in construction yet sharp in appearance.

 

Graham Browne

A traditional City tailor in London. This means not making to the same standard as Savile Row, but doing the important things of cutting by hand and working up a personal paper pattern. Graham Browne is great value as as result, and I have had many things made over the years, including my first bespoke suit in London. (Another tailor, Choppin & Lodge, was an offshoot of Graham Browne but no longer exists. That team, together with Dan McAngus from Graham Browne, runs MacAngus & Wainwright.)

 

Henry Poole 

Known as the founded of Savile Row, the Poole style is more moderate and flexible than either A&S or Huntsman. The basic cut is strong and English, however, just with slightly less padding and structure in the shoulder and chest than Huntsman. I had a double-breasted Prince of Wales suit made, which has been quietly superb. It gets more compliments than almost anything else, yet it is conservative in everything by the cloth. (Subsequent to that post, I have had two additional buttons added at the top, and swapped the buttons for brown horn rather than grey.)

 

Huntsman 

The opposite of Anderson & Sheppard in style, with strong, padded shoulders and a closely cut chest. Relatively slim through the waist and with little skirt, it is known for a one-button fastening. Most other English tailors cut this traditional style, with slight variations. I liked the hunting suit I had made by David Ward, though had some problems with the bi-swing back, as the vents stayed open and elastic was added inside to fix that.

 

Kathryn Sargent

Kathryn used to be the head tailor at Gieves & Hawkes. Her style is, like Poole and others, a traditional English military cut. My travel blazer and trousers were cut by Kathryn Sargent while she was at Gieves. She has since set up her own premises, and made a beautiful tweed jacket for my wife there, which reflected her particular skill in women’s styles.  

 

Kent and Haste

John Kent and Terry Haste work on Sackville Street. Terry was head cutter at Huntsman and his style is very similar; John tends to cut a slightly smaller back and slimmer leg – sharper, in that way. John made my pattern and I have two suits from it, the second cut and fitted by Terry – hence the difference in styles noted above.

 

Manning & Manning

Bryan Manning is an old tailor who used to work at Kilgour and has operated on his own for several years, meeting clients at Holland & Sherry on Savile Row or in workrooms on Tottenham Court Road. He is good value for money, but the high-twist summer suit he made me had some issues, particularly around the finishing.

 

Michael Browne

Michael is a young, stylish cutter who deserves credit for many of the good things that happened at Chittleborough & Morgan, before he set up on his own. Michael’s style is similar, but his mode of working – absolutely without compromise, including remaking every fitting himself – is not. His aim has been to produce the best possible garment, no matter what the cost. This means that the beautiful coat he made for me was very expensive, but it makes Michael unique. 

 

PA Crowe 

A city tailor, PA Crowe has a small shop near to St Paul’s cathedral. I worked close-by for several years and eventually had a pair of brown flannel trousers made. The results were not perfect, with the persistent issue I have of hollow fronts and bulging rear causing the trousers to lose their sharpness too easily. 

 

 

Richard Anderson 

Richard used to be the head cutter at Huntsman and his cut is similar, though with less padding in the shoulder. One difference is perhaps a more adventurous style; he makes jackets in denim, for example, and wool jersey, and has his own collection of jeans. Richard made me a tuxedo, single breasted with a shawl-collared waistcoat. It was slim and perfectly fitting, though my favourite part was the superb trousers.

 

Richard James 

Ben Clarke at Richard James has been growing the bespoke side of the business, which has its own dedicated premises on Clifford Street. Ben made a brown cashmere jacket for me, waistcoat and trousers, deviating from the normal Richard James style somewhat to make something slightly softer and more casual. The result was very good, both in terms of fit and finish.

 

Steven Hitchcock

Son of A&S head cutter John Hitchcock, Steven was trained there and his style is very similar. He now lives outside of London but has a workshop and appartment in Fitzrovia where he sees customers. Steven has made me a tweed jacket and moleskin trousers, a beautiful pale-grey jacket from the Lamlana bunch, a fantastic charcoal donegal jacket and a navy cashmere. I would highly recommend him for this style of tailoring.

   

Taillour

Set up by Fred Nieddu, previously the head cutter at Timothy Everest, Taillour benefits from a high level of Savile Row product and a sense of style that a lot of tailors can often lack. Fred tends towards a wide shoulder and lapel, with little roping in the shoulders, but the whole is subtle and balanced. He travels extensively but is based in East London, near Shoreditch. He has made me a suede belted jacket and brown chalkstripe suit.

 

Thom Sweeney

A more contemporary cut than most on this list, Thom Sweeney started out offering a particularly short jacket, narrow sleeve and fitted waist. They have moderated their style over the years, but it is still the house that will feel most like a modern designer brand to most in London. They made me a navy checked jacket and cord trousers several years ago, which fit very well (though I somewhat regretted the boldness of the windowpane check). 

 

Timothy Everest

Tim is no longer offering bespoke tailoring, having exited his own business and now involved with Grey Flannel on Chiltern Street. The lovely bespoke operation on Elder Street did spawn Taillour though, covered elsewhere, and when it was open Tim made me a suit and velvet jacket that were both solid, but some minor issues and poor style choices on my part. 

       

Whitcomb & Shaftesbury 

Whitcomb & Shaftesbury has an extremely good value service called Classic Bespoke that is cut in London but has much of the making done in a workshop they own and have trained themselves in India. The result is perhaps the best place to start for any full bespoke suit. The full review of the navy worsted suit they made me can be seen here. They have also become my go-to location for bespoke trousers, given that value. 

 

JAPAN

Kenjiro Suzuki

Kenjiro recently moved back to Japan, having been based in France for a long time under his own name, and previous to that the head cutter at Smalto (the other big name in Paris after Cifonelli and Camps de Luca). His style is similar to the other French makers, with little personal touches like the amount of ironing to shape the leg of the trouser. Kenjiro made me a beautiful navy cotton suit. We have covered other Japanese tailors (here) but not had anything made by them. 

 

SOUTH KOREA

Assisi

I was very impressed when I visited Korea in 2023 to see the craftsmen there, and Assisi were probably the one that impressed me most. Relatively young, they have a beautiful sense of style that tends towards the fuller, late 80s or 90s style, but can cut anything. And the execution of the tailoring was fantastic. The only thing they can sometimes lack is trimmings such as buttons, as these have to be imported. They travel to New York for trunk shows, and have made me a tweed jacket and a light-grey suit.

 

B&Tailor

B&Tailor were the first well-known Korean tailor, and several of the houses today have people who started there. They are also thebiggest. Chad Park leads the house, with his father overseeing the making. He has a great sense of colour and style, though the casual clothing is a little less classic and not to my taste. Chad made me a superb double-breasted overcoat

 

B&Tailor/Robin Petterson

This is included more just for the record, as the service no longer exists. But for a while B&Tailor worked in Europe through a Swedish agent, helping serve all those who admired the Korean work from afar. Unfortunately that didn’t work out; my experience was covered here.

 

 

Luca Museo 

Luca Museo’s style is not that dissimilar to the other Koreans covered here, but it does lead towards the more tonal and perhaps larger in cut. See my review of the navy three-piece suit they made me here for some illustration of that. They’re also as innovative as the other tailors, and have their own very nice knitwear line.

 

FRANCE

Cifonelli 

The biggest of the Parisian tailors, the Cifonelli cut is characterised by a light construction but a strength of shape achieved by a roped shoulder and slim waist. Stunning finishing on the buttonholes, trousers and linings. The Cifonelli designs aren’t always my taste, but the workmanship is among the best in the world. I’ve made several things with them over the years, starting with a tweed jacket. The best have been two overcoats, however, one navy and one brown. 

 

Camps de Luca 

Camps de Luca is a small but no less fine Parisian tailor, and made me a beautiful grey two-piece suit with their characteristic closed notch on the lapel and small Milanese buttonhole. Slightly square of shoulder, with a fantastically made trouser and exquisite detailing, they rival Cifonelli in most departments. Although they can seem more classic than Cifonelli, they do also make suede and leather pieces, and some unusual jackets for hot weather.

 

ITALY

Caliendo

A small, second-generation tailor in Naples. Elia Caliendo is the cutter and his father still does some of the tailoring work. Neapolitan style is fairly consistent, with self-lined jackets in the foreparts, very light construction, shirt shoulders and those curving pockets. The biggest difference between them is quality of finishing and fit, and Elia is good on both. He visits London every month or so, which makes him more expensive than some. I have had a summer jacket a Permanent Style tweed jacket and several other things made by Elia.  

 

Cerrato

A Neapolitan trouser maker with a good reputation – and making trousers for some of the other Neapolitan tailoring houses – Marco Cerrato has started to expand more abroad with his brother in London handling a lot of commissions. Marco has made me a few pairs of trousers, including green cottons and pale-grey cavalry twills. Of the three Neapolitan trouser makers listed here, I’ve had the most consistent positive experience with them.

 

Ciardi

Renato Ciardi was one of the best-known cutters in Naples, and his sons have admirably carried on his work. Enzo now travels to London, and has become one of my favourite tailors ever, for his character, cut, and consistency. The cut is more traditional Neapolitan, which means slightly longer and more generous in the body and shoulder, while still being soft. My tweed jacket in particular was superb.

 

Cornacchia

Most areas of Italy have a bespoke tailor or two left, unlike most other parts of the world, including England. In the Puglia area in the south-east, I visited a few and tried out Nicola Cornacchia, who was recommended to me by Vitale Barberis Canonico. The light-grey high-twist suit they made me was not world class, but it was very good, and I’d recommend them to anyone that find themselves in the area. 

 

Dalcuore

Sartoria Dalcuore are a slightly larger tailor in Naples, with a workshop supplying ready to wear garments to places like China and Japan, alongside traditional bespoke. They made me a brown Crispaire suit for the summer among other things, which was beautifully fitted and in a classic Neapolitan style – only lacking a couple of details like fit around the trousers that perhaps could have been corrected at a second fitting.

 

Ettore de Cesare

Ettore is a lesser-known Neapolitan tailor, but actually with a large workshop and international client base. He tends to cut a shorter, closer-fitting jacket, like many modern tailors, and I have had to fight back against that tendency. But he is a very talented cutter, and achieved great fit on the hopsack jacket and coat he made for me. Also works regularly in suede and leather. 

 

Ferdinando Caraceni 

Ferdinando Caraceni, one of four outfits doing bespoke in Milan and Rome under the Caraceni name, made me a cashmere herringbone jacket. A beautifully made piece, it was noticeably more formal than other Italians I had tried – more an unstructured alternative to a Row suit than a rival to Neapolitan casualness. Nicoletta Caraceni is the charismatic head of the house, Ferdinando’s daughter. The next piece, a double-breasted cotton jacket, was even better. Unfortunately, the house closed this year

 

Formosa

My experience with Formosa in Naples was not a very good one – but as with other negative experiences, it is hard to tell how much this should be a conclusion about the tailoring house as a whole. Gennaro wanted to try using two younger cutters for my jacket, whom he was training to take over from the senior cutter. What they made was not a good fit, and the subsequent attempt to correct it by the senior team was not sufficient. I eventually gave up on the jacket. 

 

Gaetano Aloisio

One of the biggest names in Romain tailoring, Gaetano has a strong international following. I haven’t had any suits made by him, but US writer Bruce Boyer penned a lovely piece for Permanent Style on his experiences, which can be seen here. His style is more similar to the northern tailors in Italy, but with a slightly softer shoulder expression than either.  

 

Granata

Biagio Granata is a young cutter who set up his own operation a few years ago. Unfortunately, while clearly a good cutter, he suffered from a lack of consistency in visits to London, in execution of styles, and a lack of English. The suit he made for me had a decent jacket, but I never saw the trousers. The tweed jacket he made to improve the situation in the meantime, was a good fit in the top half, but had gaping vents. Hard to recommend on that basis. 

 

Liverano & Liverano

The best-known tailor in Florence, Antonio Liverano cuts a short jacket and slim trousers. The house is quite contemporary in that respect, and has been popularised by the support of The Armoury in New York and Hong Kong. Antonio made me a purple jacket, which was beautifully executed – and a good example of a tailor guiding effectively on cloth. Liverano is very expensive though; cutters such as Vittorio Salino that have left the house offer better value for money. 

 

Musella Dembech  

Gianfrancesco Musella was one of the young tailors I brought to our Symposium event in Florence, and no one better deserved the invitation. He is both highly skilled and genuinely innovative, bringing different flavours to the Milanese style. Gianfrancesco made me a navy cotton suit, in the same lightweight cotton as my brown Caliendo. It has striking lapels that I love, and great finishing. I like the style of the single-breasted jackets less.

 

Panico

Panico is one of the greats of Neapolitan tailoring, and particularly known for his big double-breasted lapels and comfortable cut. I went for a grey-flannel suit, and really liked the style, though single-breasted. That comfort was also striking, with some shape through the waist at the front, but pretty much no suppression in the back. Antonio Panico has since retired however, and I have no experience of the house since. 

 

Pasinato

Massimo Pasinato is a small tailor in the Italian town of Vicenza. He is a good cutter, and embraces technology when it can help him in the fitting process, for example. He made me a nice cavalry-twill suit, and also offers some made-to-measure on his travels. He has been travelling regularly to London, and if you are after a soft Italian suit that is very good value, similar to Vergallo, he is worth considering. 

 

Pirozzi 

Nunzio Pirozzi runs a highly regarded tailoring house in Naples, and travels to London, New York and Asia. He made me a tan corduroy suit – very similar to an Anderson & Sheppard DB that I love, but single breasted and in the casual Neapolitan style. The result was very good in terms of fit and execution, but the style was a bit too short and close. A subsequent jacket and suit have been more my style, and I highly recommend the family. 

 

Pommella

Lino Pommella used to be the head trouser cutter at Rubinacci until, as often seems to happen with Rubinacci cutters, he left to set up on his own. In this case, it was with the help of filmmaker Gianluca Migliarotti, and the two have established something of a brand for high-end trousers – doing trunk shows with The Armoury among other places.  

 

Rubinacci 

The biggest name in Naples. An interesting take on Neapolitan style, with slightly more closed fronts and sometimes padding through the ends of the shoulders. Rubinacci’s strength is its styling, rather than execution or value. The cashmere Donegal jacket I had made from an old 70s cloth was good, with a great make and ok fit. But it was Luca’s recommendation of the bronze-green lining that made it for me.

 

Salvatore Ambrosi 

Salvatore Ambrosi is easily the best known trouser maker, travelling to lots of cities and working with shops like Brycelands. Salva makes to a very high level, better than most Neapolitans, with lovely hand detailing. He also has style, which helps rather with commissions. My experience was quite inconsistent though, with a few mistakes along the way.  

 

Shibumi

Shibumi is mostly a tie company, founded by Benedikt Fries and based in Florence. I’d highly recommend their ties – they always seemed to tie the perfect knot – but he also used to run a well-priced bespoke offering, which Benedikt fitted but was made by a local tailor. Since Benedikt moved to Japan the service is no longer offered, but he made me a slightly boldly checked suit here.

 

Solito 

One of the biggest names in Neapolitan tailoring. Gennaro Solito is a great cutter; he speaks no English but his son, Luigi, does. Their style is typical Neapolitan although they do a large number of regular (not shirt) shoulders too. Luigi has made me a few jackets since he started visiting London with Neapolitan shirtmaker Luca Avitabile, including the first – a  lightweight green sports jacket. The make hasn’t always been great, with a few things needing repairs, but he is also a little cheaper than others. 

 

Vergallo

A local tailor from the town of Varese, north of Milan, Vergallo has become a bigger name in tailoring since cutter Gianni Cleopazzo began travelling to London. A north Italian style, so softer than English but sharper than the Neapolitans, Vergallo made me a navy cashmere suit and houndstooth jacket. There is an openness on style and cut; not the highest level of make among Italians, but good value. 

 

Vestrucci / Stefano Bemer

Loris Vestrucci was a retired tailor, brought out of hiding by Tomasso Melani and Tomasso Capozzoli of Stefano Bemer shoes, in order to create a new bespoke tailoring house. Vestrucci has a claim to make the original Florentine suit, and his tailoring is soft but elegant, with rounded hips and relatively closed quarters. He made me a charcoal-flannel suit but the operation has shrunk since, focusing more on MTM and going under the Bemer name.

 

Vittorio Salino

Vittorio Salino is a Florence-based tailor who used to be the head cutter at Liverano & Liverano. He makes a largely Florentine-style garment with a high level of execution and some great personal style (he is a fan of vintage clothing among other things). For that style of tailoring I would highly recommend him. He made my a herringbone tweed jacket here, which was perfect except for a little big in the waist. That has subsequently been slimmed down. 

 

Zizolfi

Ciro Zizolfi was introduced to me by Gianluca Migliarotti, the filmmaker and long-time client. Ciro cuts a fairly traditional Neapolitan jacket, which means a comfortable fit, a little padding in shoulders, and overall a little longer and squarer than others. The great fit of my dark-green tweed jacket can be see in the images on that post. 

 

SPAIN

Calvo de Mora 

The best of the three Spanish tailors I tried, Calvo de Mora made a closely fitted grey jacket, a self-backed grey donegal waistcoat, and green cotton trousers. The jacket was quite close through the skirt and soft in the shoulder, although not as casual as a Neapolitan make. Unfortunately Calvo don’t travel to London or anywhere else regularly. They are the most expensive of the Spanish tailors here, perhaps inevitably given the quality.

 

Langa 

Sastreria Langa are best known for their shirtmaker, Mariano, who has a long and storied list of customers. The shirt he made was well-fitted, if quite formal and stiff in the collar, with a good deal of handwork. The linen suit cut by Joaquin was a lovely piece, largely because of the colour of the Scabal linen. The jacket itself could have been made better and there was an issue with the shoulders – partly due to trying to create a Neapolitan look.

 

Reillo 

Reillo is a small tailor – one cutter, Jose Maria, with some help with making at the back of the shop. Like Langa he is good value for money, although the green cotton suit that we made together suffered rather in the shoulders. Partly, as with Langa, this was due to trying to create a very soft, Neapolitan-style jacket, which is not the natural style the Spanish tailors were trained on.

 

HONG KONG

The Anthology

A team based in Hong Kong, Taipei and London, but using a tailoring workshop in China. There have been many tailors over the years that have relaunched and rebranded in Hong Kong, making use of young tailoring enthusiasts, but The Anthology is one of the best. Modern, with a generous cut and great style (thanks to founder Buzz Tang). Some small hangovers from cheaper production, but good value and a cut that I particularly like and find flattering. The Anthology team made me a grey-herringbone tweed suit.

 

E.Italian

Back in the days when I travelled to Hong Kong a lot, and had less money, I tried three or four different cheap HK tailors. Edward Tam at E.Italian was the best, at around £300 for a suit. That will have gone up now, and the cut was rather boxy but if you’re insistent, it can be a good choice for the price. Cut by hand and made by hand, with a fitting or two required. Not to anywhere near the same standard as bespoke elsewhere (try WW Chan or similar for that) but not a rip-off 24-hour tailor either.

 

Prologue

Prologue is a Hong Kong shop making in China – now in its own workshop – with a good, modern sense of style. Similar to The Anthology in that respect, but deliberately making at a slightly lower level in order to be as accessible as possible. Jerry and the Prologue team have made me a green summer jacket and a heavy glen-check winter one. 

 

WW Chan

One of the best-known tailors in Hong Kong, and the only old name that has really adapted to the modern growth of interest in bespoke – thanks in no small part to The Armoury. They also make for Bryceland’s, however, and it was trying the Bryceland’s cut that made me commission a jacket from WW Chan. The result was very good, and I’d highly recommend them. They also do MTM through Bryceland’s which I have covered separately.

 

AMERICAS

Paolo Martorano

Paolo is a young tailor in New York – a place with a historic lack of resident tailors – but with lots of experience in tailoring factories and shops, having helped run the custom programme at Paul Stuart for several years. His natural style is for an English-derived, drapey cut, but he is also very flexible and enjoys making things that fit customer ideas. He is not a cutter, but unlike many in New York, he does employ a cutter and tailor, who work off-site. The two blazers he has made me have been superb. 

 

Sr Francesco

Sr Francesco was an Italian tailor resident in Toronto, Canada. After working on his own there for many years, he was brought into the new Leatherfoot store when it opened, and given his own workshop. The store promoted his tailoring, and took him on trunk shows to New York. Unfortunately the store has subsequently closed. Sr Francesco made me a double-breasted donegal-tweed jacket, which I haven’t covered on the site as he is no longer available to customers outside Toronto. 

 

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Matt

Dear Simon,

I am a relative newcomer to your blog and have found it to be a veritable treasure trove of interesting and useful pointers on personal tailoring and gentlemen’s dress. However, I notice that many of your articles on ‘English’ tailoring tend to be overwhelmingly focused on London and its immediate confines. This is understandable, given that the metropolis is obviously your place of residence and home to the some of the country’s best tailoring houses, but perhaps of limited use to those of us who don’t live in the South East and would like some help and advice on locating a tailor closer to home.

I am getting married in the summer and would love to know if you could recommend any tailors in the North of England who offer a bespoke service starting in the £1,000 – £2,000 range? I haven’t the time, or the inclination to make the 2-3 six hour roundtrips that would be required to visit a tailoring establishment in London and the cost of rail fares would increase the overall price of the suit by 10 – 15%. I’m therefore looking for someone good, and reasonably priced, who is located anywhere between Sheffield and Edinburgh.

After trawling through numerous online forums I have come up with the names of a countless businesses offering what appears to be factory-made M2M, and of the provincial outlets of Savile Row-trained tailors like Thomas Mahon and Steed, but there appears to be very little in between. Can you help, or am I simply searching for a mythical Northern tailor who doesn’t actually exist?

Regards

Matt

Anonymous

There is a bespoke tailor in Lincoln with 25 years savile row experience, at Timothy Everest and Davies and son. his name is Andrew J musson. Hope that helps

Kev Fidler

Matt,
I sympathise with your problem being a resident in the Midlands. I recently found a small tailoring business locally only to find he is retiring soon and has stopped making garments and has not been able to find anyone to carry on the trade. I do know of Timothy James Henderson who has a premises in Baslow, Derbyshire who purportedly has a fully bespoke service you may be interested in. He has a website and does answer e-mails. He also. Travels around the Midlands, I believe for appointments. Best wishes for the wedding.

Gary Buck

I have used Mullen & Mullen of 16, High Petergate in York close to the Minster .
They are worth a try and are in your price range and are online also .
They can also travel to your residence or place of work if required.

Kenny

Please tell us more about Mullens and where its garments are made. There is not much information on the website. My guess is that the tailoring is sub-contracted to firms in and around Leeds.

Do you know anything about Carl Stuart? The firm has a large factory and shop in Osset near Wakefield plus another shop in Huddersfield. I have heard that it subcontracts for Savile Row and other tailoring firms.

Vaatturi

Desmond Merrion is tops and in Rawdon

Anonymous

No longer there I’m afraid. I live quite close. The shop looks to have shut down.

Richard

Des is now working from home (Pontefract) and still very much active.

Robin

This is a point I’ve made to Simon myself on several occasions .

Unfortunately from what I’ve seen outside of London there are a lot of MTM outfits masquerading as ‘bespoke tailors’ and , to make matters worse, charging BEYOND Savile Row London bespoke prices (a simple google search for Birmingham ‘tailors’ will show this ) .
Which is one of the reasons Simon’s input is so necessary in travelling to the regions.

I’ve even politely challenged some (I consider myself a little educated in these matters from reading PS ) at which point the reply has been a rather disparaging paraphrasing of “what do you know !?” .
Yes, a trait I’ve found some tailors share with chefs ….. blunt and rude when challenged with facts.

P.S.
Simon, would be useful if you could pick one from each country which would be your go to if you were starting out on a limited budget(£1500 -£2000) to buy your first suit.

Oggi

Try Rhodes Wood in Harrogate.The proprietor Jeremy Beaumont is very knowledgeable but is focus is mainly on MTM.Take a look at his numerous videos on YouTube.

Bob

Dear Simon,

i need to buy a couple of new suits
i have never spent a lot on suits (maybe £500ish; some fella who came to the office), but am willing to stretch a bit now
i am 53, and don’t wear a suit often. Need one for work once a week. Board meetings etc. Single breasted. Classic. Medium weight cloth.
i am tall (6’4″) and a few kg the wrong side of where i should be. My intention (has always been) is to lose a few kilos. I would want to be able to accommodate that, should i be successful!
Price? I was originally thinking less than £1k, but can now (having read some of your pages) see myself stretching to a bit more.
I live in Notting Hill and work near St Paul’s, so Savile Row or somewhere close is ideal.
Separately, I see you are having/had a cashmere blazer made. I used to have one, bought off the peg at Harrods, but it was nicked at a restaurant. I would love to replace it. What should i do?

Found your site by accident. Love it!

Any advice, much appreciated,
Yours,
Bob

ps is there such a thing as a “special offer” with any of your recommended tailors?

stephen

Hello, Re. Northern Tailors. I thought I would mention Michelsberg Tailors in Leeds. whilst I don’t have direct experience I understand that his work is of a good quality and reasonable price.
Stephen.

RT

I had a number of things made by James Michelsberg while I was living in the North of England. His products are MTM rather than bespoke. However, jackets are full canvas rather than fused and definitely the best MTM I’ve had (better than a MTM suit I had from a very well known Saville Row establishment, for example). I thought that value for money was good (if I remember correctly’ suits started at about £900 and jackets at about £650, but don’t hold me to that!). James is a very likeable person and, in my experience, places great emphasis on customer service. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him.

LB

Michelsberg tailoring was a great entry for me as an 18 year old interested in tailoring but never being able to afford full bespoke prices, highly recommend him for his work after having a suit, separate jacket and trousers and the mtm shirt i bought for my dad and myself as a birthday present. Wonderful service too!

LB

C

Re Northern Tailors Cock of the Walk Hull full bespoke made on the premises saville row trained cutter/owner. Brookes tailors Bernard Castle again full bespoke made on the premesis

S

Simon,

Did you ever do a full article on the Richard Anderson dinner suit? It would be interesting to read, but couldn’t find it.

Did you go for vents on the DJ or ventless?

Thanks,
S

David Lilienfeld

I tried working with Anderson, but it was simply too frustrating–repeatedly.

dave

Morning, I’ve had a good read through your blog and found it to be very interesting and a glimpse into the world of suits. I am getting married in June and me and my best man are looking for a taylored suit that will look great for the wedding but would also be usable afterwards. I particularly like the blue suit you have had made. Here comes the problem we probably have up too £550 to spend. I’ve got an appointment with cad and the Andy, are there any otheres that you could recommend I don’t mind where in London as I would rather get a better suit than pay for the name when I can’t afford that. I would be greatfull if you could offer me any advice. Thanks you.

Francis

Dear Simon,

I have decided to take the plunge and have my first bespoke suit made. My means do not allow me to go to Savile Row, but I think Graham Browne prices could work for me. I am looking to pay less than 2000 pounds for a genuinely bespoke 2 pieces suit.

I have heard of other tailors in the same price range and I wondered if you had had a chance of experimenting with any of them since you wrote this post? I am thinking of people like Chris Kerr, Sims & MacDonald, etc.

Also you wrote that you had all your alterations made at Graham Browne – is that still the case, and would they take on alterations on OTR suits from someone who is not a bespoke client? I have a couple OTR suits that I would like to improve where possible, so as to bridge a bit of the gap between the upcoming garments and the older ones.

Thank you in advance.

F.

M

Hi, Whitcomb & Shaftesbury is a great one to have in mind. Simon wrote a great article on their Classic Bespoke offering. You would be looking at around ~£1.7k. Best value for money in my opinion for a first bespoke suit (even more so than Gordon Brown as the make and fit is much more comparable to Savile Row tailors).
Cheers,
M

RT

I’d definitely second that. I’ve found W&S to be consistently excellent, both in terms of quality and value for money.

facebook_Shan Phoenix.10153307603893152

Hi Simon,

Will you ever do a review of Chris Kerr? He was highly recommended to me by Ten Group Concierge and I have found him to be a truly excellent tailor, from the service to perfectly fitting suits and jackets. He also stocks a great range of fabrics, including the Caccioppoli bunches you’ve mentioned are quite hard to come by in London.

I have looked at some of the other tailors you have featured, but I have been so impressed with his skills, that for pretty much this whole year I have been going back to him for all my tailoring needs. I don’t feel like I need to go anywhere else.

He doesn’t blow his own trumpet, so it would be great to get your take on his work.

Best regards,

Shan

It is funny you mention Chris Kerr. I asked in one of the places recommended by Simon for pressing suits as to whom they thought was a very good tailor and Chris Kerr’s name came up. So I don’t think you are alone.

DKP

As I’m not in a position to go down the bespoke road just yet, I have in the past purchased very well made second hand garments with an eye towards having them altered. The challenge however has always been in finding a skilful tailor willing to carry out the necessary work. Now that I live in London (East End) it seems the only options available are Saville Row or Dry Cleaner Seamstress. Is there anyone in between and if so who??

Samuel

Dear Simon,

I follow you blog with interest and was wondering if you could advise on my attire and a tailor.

I was looking to have two pice suit done for my summer wedding. This will be a relaxed affairs and no matching groomsmen attire.

I am contemplating a made to measure service by Gieves & Hawke or alternatively Graham Brown. Some of the other tailors you recommend such Kent & Haste come in a little to pricey.
Do you have any thoughts on the matter? Whom would you choose in London for getting a great suit with some consideration of value for money?

With regards to cloths I was thinking of a mid blue, Scabal 280 gr. Any thoughts on this?

Your suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Kind regards

Samuel

Mk

Hi Simon,

I noticed that your review of Liverano is not up-to-date as it still talks about you waiting for your purple jacket. Can you please provide an update after having experienced their jacket and worn it for a period of time?

Thanks!

Adam Jones

In respect of Graham Browne how has you overcoat held up over the years? It is the next thing i am interested in having made. I have an idea in my head how I want it to look which would not fit with some of the more traditional houses, (nothing outlandish or dandy, just a double breasted overcoat in length with great coat style lapels) so being GB are up for a bit of experimentation I thought they might be the ones to try. Thom Sweeney made my suit recently and I have been very happy with them but I would like to experiment with other tailors.

Burt

GB made me an overcoat too, it’s the best GB piece they’ve made for me. However, in general their work was very inconsistent (trousers varied a lot in size!) and I found them not always honest to me as a customer. E.g. they cut a pair of patterned trousers the wrong way in order to save cloth. I did not realize until another tailor told me the stripes and checks were askew. I haven’t used them since and if I were you would certainly stick to Sweeney!

M

Hi Simon,

This is a very helpful list. Looks like Dege & Skinner is missing on the UK side? The tobacco linen suit you commissioned from them looked very nice.

And hopefully Maurice Sedwell will make it to the list at some point! No secret that I am a big fan of Andrew Ramroop (head cutter / owner) and it is probably one of the most interesting British tailors out there which have not been covered yet on Permanentstyle.

Cheers,

M

M

If I may suggest, Simon, what would be helpful for readers is also to have price points for the various tailors.
Cheers,
Moez

M

Certainly although I still think it would be very useful to point out the latest update you have on price and precise the date (probably your last commission) as it gives a sense to people directionally. This list is exhaustive but the price point is rather wide between the various tailors. We all agree that value is not equivalent to price but price still is a big factor of the purchasing decision…
Cheers,
M

Josua

Hi Simon,

even though this does not relate to suits. When can we expect the final Report on your Charvet Shirt?
Best,
Josua

Tim Correll

At Maurice Sedwell, all of the employees evenly split cutting and sewing all of the garments that they offer. Outside of braces, belts, pocket squares, hosiery, boots and shoes, garments with artwork (copyrighted or otherwise) and garments that are too personal (such as lingerie, though they do make sleepwear that isn’t too personal), they’ll make any garments you want them to make.

Maurice Sedwell currently has 56 employees (half of them men and half women). All of the information about Maurice Sedwell that I share is from an exchange of emails with Andrew Ramroop (the current owner).

In fact, any information about any bespoke boot and shoe maker and bespoke clothing maker that I share is from an exchange of emails with the current owner.

Tim Correll

Correction, Maurice Sedwell currently has 112 employees, not 56. Sorry about the mistake.

Tim Correll

Of course, Maurice Sedwell has 56 employees at a time working and 56 at a time off from work.

Tim Correll

Oh, all of Maurice Sedwell’s employees are on their payroll. There’s no freelance.

Phil

Very useful summary of the main players in the bespoke business, thanks. I will certainly refer to this post in future.

By the way, when are we going to hear about the Charvet bespoke shirt? Or did I miss that post?

Reader

That’s just what I’m looking for in regard to RTW !
Bravo, Prof. Crompton!

rups

I don’t have the money I used to for tailored clothes so was looking for a good reliable (not necessarily flash) affordable tailor that I could start to use, heard about quite a well established tailor called C Antoniou on Gray’s Inn Road (been there for several decades). I called and made a few enquiries and was told he makes a fully canvassed, bespoke suit for £1,200! It sounded a little too good to be true, have you heard anything good or bad about this place Simon (or anyone else reading the blog)? Cheers.

Anonymous

After beginning reading this blog a few years ago (I have learned a ton, thank you Simon) I took many suits, trousers, jackets and an overcoat for alteration to Mr. Antoniou. His alteration work is super, he is very experienced and delivers just what I want – he altered a new OTR jacket recently. He gets five stars on that front from me. It is evident from his shop that he is making bespoke regularly, but I have not yet tried something – I have followed Simon’s guidance and been using graham brown and Sartoria Vergallo to date. However, I think in due course I will try Mr. A. with something. Hope that helps.

Glanton

I had my first two suits made by Mr Antoniou in 1992 and I still wear them today (December 2016)! I have been going back to him ever since and he has made for me by now some 16 suits and 3 or 4 tweed jackets. The quality of his work is overall very good, fully bespoke and lots of handwork. His work can sometimes be a bit inconsistent though and he basically only cuts a traditional English suit. So if you are looking for something fancy or extraordinary you better go somewhere else.

Rups

Hey thanks Glanton! Very good of you to reply to my message. I’ve been going round in circles not being able to find decent RTW and not having the money to spend that I used to on bespoke. I really need some trousers made as I’m making do with only a couple of pairs which fit now! Does he cut a nice trouser? I like a traditional trouser with a high waist, pleats (which are surprisingly difficult to get right!) and usually wear braces. On your saying he only does a traditional English cut that’s fine in my book as I like traditional English tailoring and actually don’t want or need anything fancy! (no Peter Stringfellow leapord suits for me 🙂 ) Cheers.

John

Hi Simon,
The idea of taking stock of your experience with bespoke tailors is an excellent one! Somehow if I were living in London and decided to go down the route of bespoke tailoring, I think, I would start with Graham Browne as a good way to sound the waters in this area before moving upwards. Even though at first sight, I feel Richard Anderson or even Thom Sweeney closer enough to my taste in matter of style.
Aside note: personally, I find your navy checked jacket made by Thom Sweeney amazingly well cut! And it’s not that bold as you seem to believe. Just the right amount of boldness really bearable even by a French!
John

Wooster2

Very helpful list — PS at its best. Many thanks

RM

Hi Simon,

I am no expert but is there not one major flaw in your approach here: namely, you should judge a tailor/house only after the second suit, not the first suit. Unless glaring errors are made, it takes time for a customer and tailor to develop.

RM

Hi Simon,

Any experience with Davies & Son on the Row?

TRC

Hmmm, No man ( or woman) should have this much clothes or use this much tailors.

Still, it is interesting i suppose.

Nabil

Simon,I know this is perhaps the wrong thread to comment in but have you ever wanted to try out Cesare Attolini?I know the cover RTW but would be interesting to hear what are your thoughts on them (especially since youve tried Kiton)

F.

Hi Simon,

I have some questions regarding Marco Cerrato’s work:

In terms of quality, details and finishing how do his trousers differ or compare to that of Solito, Ambrosi?

Hoe much does he roughly charge for a pair of trousers?

And do you know when he will be visiting London again for his trunk show(s)?

Thanks.

F.

M

Hey, do you think the post will come out before the 5th of October? It would be helpful to have an idea about price / contact details before he comes to London to potentially book an appointment.
Cheers
M

Matt

A piece on regional tailoring has been mooted a number of times in the past – any plans to commission suits in outside London if that post ever gets off the ground?

Matt

I’d challenge the assumption that regionally-based tailors are only likely to be of interest to comparatively small people living in their immediate vicinity.

If you take the two tailors that I’ve most experience with – Tom Mahon and Des Merrion – both seem to spend considerable amounts of time either in London or abroad (principally in the US) and so would presumably be potential options for people living beyond the north of England.

You may argue that regional tailors do not have the same commercial cache as ones operating on the Row, but then neither does Graham Browne or the other off-Row London tailors you’ve covered.

R Abbott

Simon: it might be worth looking into several regional tailors that have strong pedigrees and travel extensively (like Tom – I used to enjoy reading his English Cut blog before he lost control of the English Cut brand name…)

Tailors that are London-trained but set up shop outside of London can offer a lot of value. These tailors (like Tom) have the skills and pedigree but are often able to offer lower prices because it’s much cheaper to set up shop in the north or in the countryside than it is in London.

Jerrell

Hi Simon,
Did you ever end up adding additional buttons to the Henry Poole DB?

Vincent

Hi Simon:

From what I’ve read and from your posts I gather that Cifonelli and Camps de Luca are probably the one of the best, if not the best, of bespoke tailors. You mentioned that CdL is more square in the shoulders and have a very distinct lapel shape; whereas Cifonelli has its famed Cifonelli shoulder. But for someone who wants to splurge on one perfect suit, are there any pros and cons of each house and how do you go about picking between the two?

DE

Hi Vincent, I would warn against ‘splurging’ on just one suit from these makers. You are right to identify both as excellent, but the first suit is unlikely to be ‘perfect’ from either (I have tried both). I am not entirely sure why, but I find that it takes at least one suit (if not two) for even a great tailor like these to ‘understand’ a client fully. One garment will be very nice, but the second or third will be great!

William Gambrill

Simon: I am wondering how you would compare the style of Solito versus the other Neapolitans you have used?

Matt

Dear Simon,
I’m planning on having an Olive green SB summer suit made up in Naples. Do you think this would be better in linen or cotton? Any recommendations for a fabric? I understand that selecting the correct type and weight of fabric is key… Thanks in advance

Matt

Thanks, Simon, it will be a whole suit. And I think you’ve tempted me with cotton! Can you suggest a cotton that might work?

Chee

I am wondering if the reason why A&S is a cheaper option on the Row is because it has slighly less handwork when compared with Huntsman or continental option suvh as Liverano?p

Josh

Can you elaborate on your dismissive comment regarding Attolini? Do you really not rate them?

Jav

Hi Simon

I understand that you live in London and hence most of your tailor reviews are for that area. I am due to get married next year and I am looking for a MTM suit with a budget of £1,200 for a three pice suit. Can you recommend any tailors in the North of England. Have you heard of any of the following; Carl Stewart Huddersfield, Rhodes-Wood tailors, Steed tailors, Richard Smith Manchester?

If you are able to offer some assistance that would be much appreciated.

Thanks
J

Jav

No problem. Thanks for your reply.

I reckon the £1,200 budget for a 3pc would not be enough for bespoke, would you agree?

Nick Inkster

If it’s any help, Jav, I know people who have MTM from Steed and Des Merrion who are more than happy with the outcome, and they fit well within your price range.

Jav

Hi Nick

Looking at Des he offers a semi bespoke option woth a full floating canvas and a new pattern rather than existing pattern like typical m2m from about £1,400. Would this effectively be a bespoke suit then?

Thanks
J

Matt

Jav,

I can highly recommend Des. The main differences between his bespoke and semi bespoke option are the amount of hand-sewing that goes into each suit, the construction of the canvass and possibly the number of fittings.

I live in the north and mucked around for years trying trailing back and forth to London for fittings etc., so I’m glad I found out about him.

The only note of caution I would sound is that, as a virtual one man band, he is pretty busy and you may be waiting 4 -5 months from order to collection of the finished suit, so make sure you get in early.

nick inkster

Hi Jav

I know Des does not outsource any of his work, so I imagine you would get your own pattern rather than an adjusted block but a lot less handwork than his bespoke, hence the lower price.

Dom

Jav, MacAngus & Wainwight (mentioned in the bit about GB) will be in your budget: https://macangus-wainwright.com/pricing

William Gambrill

Simon: now that you have had a a few garments made from Solito, I am curious to know how you would rank home versus the other Neapolitans?

William Gambrill

Thank you, Simon. I want to commission some more Neapolitian garments but I guess I am struggling with whether they are for “jacketings only” rather than suitings. I wonder if the Neapolitan cut is simply too informal for a serious business environment. Or maybe, provided the suit jacket length covers the seat, suitings could work. Thoughts?

William Jenkins

Ahh so happy to have read this Simon, I’m planning a trip to Italy next year. Will definitely visit the tailors you’ve mentioned above 🙂

Regards,
William Jenkins | https://mrjenks.com |

Chee

among all the suits you have, who is the maker of your favourite suit?

DE

For what it’s worth Chee, I think the Taub G&H dark green linen is an absolute work of art. Davide Taub is a maestro and I don’t think I’ve seen Simon look better in any other suit. If you haven’t read the review it’s well worth taking a look.

Marc

Dear Simon,

Are you aware of/can you recommend any good value bespoke tailors in the Netherlands? Thank you for your response and great website!

Best regards
Marc

Felix

No personal experience, but I’ve seen nice suits from Ettemadis in Den Haag (and the guy who makes my shirts in Germany vouches for him…).

Michael

Hi Simon,
Thanks for this list. I recently visited A&S to commission a suit. I have traditionally used Italian tailors but am keen to find a row tailor as well since moving to London.
The cutter I met was young (perhaps 6 years experience). How would you recommend one navigates the bigger houses with multiple cutters? My preference would be to go with the head or most experienced cutter but would appreciate your thoughts on how much of a difference it makes and how to approach this with the house.
Also, would Steven Hitchcock be a good alternative to A&S in terms of make and fit? I like the though of going to independent tailors but don’t want to compromise quality despite cost difference.
Thanks!

whitebananafarmer

If anything, Steven’s quality is going to be higher. I would much rather trust him than a random cutter at A&S (no offense). I think traditional “old school” Savile Row houses have been falling off in quality personally.

Lloyd

Dear Simon

I wanted to know your thoughts on the drape cut for a heavy set body shape. I am 5’10, deep chested and very thick in the thigh. The drape cut appeals to my eye but I wondered if the filling of the chest area would be unflattering on someone who maybe needs the opposite. I have used Timothy Everest bespoke in the past and have dabbled with various MtM offerings since but I’ve never been totally happy, jackets sitting away from the chest being a common unflattering problem. In your opinion would a sharper house style work better for me from say Kent&Haste.

Any suggestions much appreciated

Lloyd

Jason

Lloyd,
I have to jump in here because I have a similar shape.
There are some real misnomers kicking around about ‘The Drape’ cut.
Skinny guys sometimes like it because they think that it gives them an impression of upper body strength – they want effectively what we’ve got. Consequently they assume that it isn’t for us because we either don’t need it or, it will make us look too big.
Not true, the reverse is the case. On a big chested guy (I’m 42”), ‘The Drape’ softens things and gives you a more fluid shape – much less the nightclub bouncer !
And A&S are certainly the king of ‘The Drape’ wether it be SB or DB.
I also think their cut gives our Italian brethren a run for their money. It’s a truly soft and natural look. Not like the militaristic look of some Saville Row practitioners.
If your budget doesn’t stretch to A&S, an alternative I’d heartily recommend is Anglo-Italian MTM. They have a lot of drape in their house style. They recently cooked me up a 3 seasons SB. I love it and at £1,800 it is great value.

Ollie

Hey Simon,

How would you rate the make of Solito & Calends etc to Thom Sweeney?
The reason I ask is that TS also do a neapolitan shoulder if desired and they’re based in the UK, and there isn’t much information with regards to the make of Thom Sweeney in comparison to other houses.

The tailors names which you have given in this blog are the famous and the best tailor! I was not knowing about this much tailors but after reading this blog i come to know about tailors and information about the tailors. Thank You!

Luis

Dear Simon,

I am looking at the work of Neapolitan tailors and noticed that in a previous thread you mentioned having tried Panico, and said it was excellent, but then didn’t elaborate on your experience, nor include him in this post. Could you please share your thoughts on his work and how you think he relates to his fellow Neapolitan tailors? This would be very helpful!

Luis

Thank you very much for your reply Simon, and I look forward to read your thoughts about your upcoming Panico suit!
(Btw, not that it is any important, but the comment I referred to was a reply dated 02/05/2013, found in the “Solito Jacket” post thread: https://www.permanentstyle.com/2013/05/solito-jacket.html )
​All the best and please keep up the great work!​

Joel

Hi Simon,

Have you or are you planning to have anything made by Henry Rose?

I understand he is old school, having worked with the likes of Doug Hayward and Edward Sexton.

Best

Joel

Marcus

Simon,
Interesting that Germany plays no role on this list and hardly any on PS. Is it a sartorial desert? If so, I wonder why. You’d think such a major economic power would have some kind of a market for high-end menswear…

Somebody in Freiburg i.Br. and CH

Marcus’ comment about Germany (to which I would add Swiss-Germany) is not clear because he doesn’t treat the obvuous fact that Germans and Swiss have different taste for clothes than British and perhaps Italians do.

Surprised

Dear Simon,
Do you know tailors in Freiburg i. Br., Germany or in Basel or Bern?
I don’t know any who were trained in London.

Peter O'Connor

Dear Simon,
I saw the interview of bespoke tailor Eva Brautigam (her surname means bridegroom in German) in a copy of the street magazine Surprise left on the train and contacted her. We met in Basel and she agreed to sew buttonholes on my N&L RTL jacket Thomas Bauer in Eton couldn’t get cut and sewn for me. Eva confirmed she learned her English bespoke from a retired English tailor in Zuerich. Eva also teaches tailoring at the Basel city trade school. Unfortunately for me Eva only takes orders for bespoke now.

Marcus

I can see how uneven development preserved these crafts in S. Italy. Yet they survived advanced capitalism in London, Paris and N. Italy, and you’ve written about their growth in Japan & East Asia. So the relationship seems complex…

Germany definitely used to have a tradition of mens’ bespoke tailors – Herrenschneider. And Berlin was once a serious contender. I bet there’s a fascinating story in how history decimated the Herrenschneider.

A quick web search shows there are a few senior names – Arnulf in Berlin/Potsdam, Radermacher in Düsseldorf, Dietl in Munich – as well as old houses that closed, and some new kids on the block. No idea how they compare to the English, Italians or French in terms of style or quality.

Marco

Varese and Sartoria Vergallo is with the train from Zürich just 3 hours away…

Mo

Hi Simon,

before I add to the above, let me thank you for taking the time to provide all the insight you do – it’s a pleasure to read (and learn from)!

As for Germany, the lack of high-end tailoring is down to a couple of things, I think – most being cultural (I will have to resort to some stereotypes here).
1 – Germans are a nation of savers, so spending 4k+ on a single item of clothing would seem outrageous to most (in spite of bespoke’s better long-term value)
2 – We’re talking about a very sober society that has lost all pomp and circumstance. Things that feel/look expensive tend to be frowned upon (cars are an obvious exception).
3 – Most aristocrats have disappeared from the public eye, meaning a class naturally drawn to commissioning (and championing) bespoke no longer sets the kind of public example the Tatler crowd do in the UK.
4 – Outside of sport, post-war Germany does not really do patriotism (reasons are obvious…) and while German brands will happily promote their German reliability (etc.) abroad (“Made in Germany”), they don’t tend to enjoy some kind special status at home (although, in recent times, people are beginning to go local – but that’s not a German trend per se).

Marcus has a point, though: surely there must be some top-class bespoke in this big/rich a country? Given Germany’s federal structure (which is the exact opposite of the London-heavy UK), they will be scattered all over the place, of course (which doesn’t help).
You mention your friends in Germany. Have you taken this up with any of them yet? Would love to hear their thoughts (and yours!) before weighing my options – which I wouldn’t have to do if Edward Sexton were to drop by for a couple of weeks at a time…
Thanks!

v

This ranking might help gaining an overview of bespoke tailors in Germany: http://www.kleegraefe-strothmann.de/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/EURO-25-beste-Massschneider.pdf Given that Bernhard Roetzel is on the jury and that well-known tailors (Arnulf, Dietl, etc.) are included, this appears to be a credible resource. Starting prices are also given which comes in handy. Dating back to 2009, the list might be outdated and certainly is not exhaustive.

@Surprised: Cannot comment on London trained tailors in Southern Germany/Switzerland, but according to James Whitfield’s website, he is the only Savile Row (A&S) trained tailor in Germany.

@Simon: Thank you for your sharing your insights and making the effort to provide substantive and transparent coverage of artisans. Much appreciated.

Stephen Dolman

Hi Joel,
I have no personal experience of Henry Rose, but an extremely well dressed friend of mine went to him quite a few years ago and was pleased with the result.
Stephen

Marco

Simon, have you (or anyone else reading) tried the Tailor Made London shop in Shoreditch for a bespoke suite?

They use a 3D scanner to take the measurements in 10 seconds (more precisely than a tailor they say) but all the rest of the service (consultation, fabrics available, special requests, alterations, etc) should be the same as offered in a Savile Row shop.

A 3 pieces suit with the best fabric comes at £1,300 but you can have a 2 pieces at £800. And I am talking about fully bespoke suit not made to measure.

I saw a lot of comments from readers who cannot afford a £3,000+ suit but still looking for a bespoke experience.

Given your wide experience on bespoke services it would be very interesting if you could try this service and tell us what do you think about the process and more interestingly about the final product.

Congratulation for this website.

Dom

I have, was the first thing that was made for me – 30th birthday present arranged by my girlfriend. It’s very much a made to measure operation. Your consulation and fittings are with a salesperson. They do have alteration tailors in house, who jump in if theres a problem with the fitting and actually perform the alterations.

Their listed prices are for their house fabrics if you want a wider selection then the prices jump up a bit.

It’s probably fairer to compare them to SuitSupply than a bespoke tailor.

I still wear the jacket they made me (back in 2013) and love it. Future commissions were not quite so successful and I’ve since had suits / jackets made by GB and then MacAngus & Wainwright. I’ll be continuing to save longer and buy bespoke personally.

Anonymous

An update to this for 2018 would be highly appreciated!!

JJ

What house cut do you think flatters the athletic build best? I.E., Big chest and shoulders with a large drop in the waist. Would Cifonelli’s slim waist, light construction and roped shoulders flatter this (my) frame?

JJ

Thanks Simon. I want to look powerful and have a commanding presence, without being boastful. It is a tall order!

Christian Riedl

Hi there.

Does someone have experience with Fielding & Nicholson in Shoreditch?

Thanks for your comments
Christian

PaoloJae

Hi Simon, you mention: “Cifonelli is my top recommendation for a business suit, given the shape. ”

Could you please expand on why? I’m considering Cifonelli or an A&S for business and would appreciate your insight.

PaoloJ

Thanks Simon. I recently got to try on jackets from both houses to get an idea; and have been perusing this incredible site at length.

My initial impression (for myself working in a conservative industry) was that the Cifonelli is very bold… A match for the boardroom or giving TV interviews. Whereas a classic English suit fits the discretion and uniformity perhaps required in a workplace still coming suited and booted.

As you suggested I’ll continue reading more to better understand. Cheers.

Scott

Simon, what tailor would you recommend to make a loden style overcoat?

Joel

Hi Simon,

Do you know good places to buy a mix and match suit?

I don’t fit regular suits and don’t have time for MTM.

Thanks

Joel

Lujac

Hi Simon,
Curious to why you do not have not done a suit yet with Cesare Attolini?
Would love to hear your thoughts.

Best Regards,

Anonymous

Correct me if I am wrong, but I am quite sure Attolini offers full Bespoke…

R

Hi Simon,

Thank you for all the work you put into your blog – it’s both interesting and hugely helpful.

Have you had any experience with Henry Herbert? I see they’re tagged in this article but I can’t find any review. I’m looking for a bespoke, blue, linen suit. I like the cut of theirs and it’s at the more reasonable end of the bespoke price range.

Any other suggestions would be gratefully received – I see Graham Browne and Whitcomb & Shaftesbury are your recommendations for the more modestly priced bespoke suit.

Yours,

R

Chancellor

Just seen how you’ve updated and consolidated almost all the tailors with whom you’ve dealt into this one article. Good stuff and a great resource. Suggest it may now belong in your Guides section.

Karthik

Simon, this post is a wonderful resource as I’m looking to commission my first bespoke suit later this year.

What are your thoughts on Norton & Sons? They seem like an interesting house. I realise that you don’t seem to have commissioned anything from them, but I would be interested to hear your thoughts?

A

Simon,

Thank you for the update. When do you think you’ll have a full review of WW Chan? Also, what do you mean by keeping up with the growing interest in bespoke?

Thank you!

Andrey

Hi Simon,

I thought the question can be better put in the comments section to this blog post.

I’ve tried some of the London tailors on your blog’s recommendation – Graham Browne, Whitcomb and Shaftesbury and Manning and Manning. Out of them I found Whitcomb and Shaftesbury the most satisfying and had a couple of suits and a coat made by them. However, I’m starting to think about commissioning a bit more expensive suit and I was wondering whom would you recommend as a step up from Whitcomb and Shaftesbury? Would the next step be Savile Row tailors?

Many thanks in advance!

Best,
Andrey

Andrey

Many thanks Simon. I thought about A&S, but will also look at Steven Hitchcock.

Benjamin Abraham

Dear Simon,

I’m based in New York and I’ve been considering some bespoke makers. We have storefronts for Thom Sweeney, Huntsman, and Richard James, all of whom you’ve covered here. Additionally I had the pleasure of meeting and getting measured by Terry Haste and Stephen Lachter on their most recent visit. I’m looking for a Huntsman like style of suit; strong shoulders, single button and I was wondering how those tailoring houses compare to one another in your experience.

Ian

Hi Simon,
I finally decided to get my first bespoke suit. Following your recommended, I would like to go for a 2 piece navy suit but not sure which tailor I should go to. I like a bit of structure and since I’m 35 it will be nice to get something that doesn’t make me look older if you know what I mean. Ideally, I would like to spend a maximum of £3/ 3.5k so I was thinking about the following tailors: 1. Whitcomb & Shaftesbury 2. Thom Sweeney 3. Henry Poole (not sure if it is within my price range) and 4. Huntsman (bespoke 100 is within my price range but it might be too structured for me). Would love to get your advice and thank you very much for this wonderful website!

Ian

Thanks for the prompt reply Simon.
1. Whitcomb & Shaftesbury – Good price and according to your review very good product 2. Thom Sweeney – I heard very good things about Eithan Sweet, younger cut? and relatively good price 3. Henry Poole – classic, solid savile row suit (there is something about having a savile row suit I guess) 4. Huntsman (bespoke 100) – I do like their cut but dont want my suit to be too distinct.
Not sure if it makes sense butI find it hard to decide.

DKP

Simon – how would you compare the drape cut of Whitcomb to that of Anderson & Sheppard?

Ian

Thanks Simon. I think that I need to visit their shops in order to get better idea on what I actually want (in terms of style). Hopefully, they have a jacket that I can try on to see if the style suits my needs. Obviously, it will be useful to have a wardrobe which contains different styles but as I’m just moving away from RTW (and have a limited budget) it will take some years.

Lindsay Eric McKee

Hi Simon. Hope you are well. I am considering bespoke at some stage in the future and on my shortlist I am considering Benson & Clegg, G. Golding or Kent & Haste and one or 2 others.
Can you throw any light on the first two tailors from experience or feedback?
I met Terry Haste when I briefly called in at Sackville Street to see his house style and the reception was very friendly indeed as was Brian Lishak at Richard Anderson but very expensive.

Lindsay Eric McKee

Fantastic Simon.
Many thanks for this as Benson and Clegg could well be top of my short list.
I like a roomy loose fit, a first priority. I also forgot to mention Malcolm Plews / Meyer and Mortimer here.
Despite these sad and trying times, I want to wish you and your family a very blessed Easter.
Stay safe.
Lindsay

S

Hello Simon, Thank you for all tour amazing work. I find that this post is one of your most useful articles (perhaps the most practical !) — particularly when choosing a new tailor. I was wondering if you were planning on updating it with recent acquisitions ?

S

Hi Simon, Excellent news, looking forward to it! Thank you for you great work!!

S

P.S

For some reason, when I click on this article from the search function on your website, I get “OOPS! THAT PAGE CAN’T BE FOUND.”. It only seems to happen for this one. I just have to search for this article on google to get it, but thought you might like to know.

Lindsay Mckee

What about the Sicilian Tailors? I was thinking of getting the book on Sicilian Tailors by Sleevehead and reading up on them. Have you ever visited Sicily and the tailors there?

Scott

Simon, I’ve really enjoyed your pieces on Ciardi and think that silhouette looks fantastic on you, particularly the shoulder on that sport coat. Is there English tailor makes a garment that has a similar cut to Ciardi?

Scott

Thank you. I was coming to that conclusion as well. This is very helpful indeed. I’m trying to narrow my tailors to two at the most for the sake of simplicity, maybe just one. I noticed that Huntsman and Thom Sweeney have fully functional cutting operations in New York now, but I don’t think either one would cut the kind of garment that I’m interested in.

Sam

Simon,

A great read – might suggest putting “New” or something next to the tailors that you’ve added each time to make it a bit easier to parse for people who’ve already read a previous version?

Anonymous

Have to believe this resource is unparalleled. Quite an accomplishment.

Graham Morgan

Didn’t Timothy Everest leave ‘Timothy Everest’ a few years ago and start his ‘Mbe Studio’ business. I believe that Fred Nieddu, who I have heard very good things about, is the cutter at ‘Timothy Everest’ now.

Lindsay Eric McKee

This is probably one of the posts that I have referred to the most.
Forgive me if the following is a tad naive but my question here is this.
As I cannot abide the slightest tightness in a garment but a more comfortable fit, which of the tailors you have had good experience with would fall into this category and be of a high quality and finish in the various categories of structured, drape or neapolitan tailoring?

Néstor

Now Simon, if you had to choose only one tailor to work with for the rest of your life which one would it be?

My bet is either A&S (maybe Hitchcock Jr. instead?) or Cifonelli, being Ciardi up close.

Alex

Curious why you’ve never had anything made by Steed, given their relative international popularity and thus, international availability? I mean, as an A&S customer it strikes me as odd that you wouldn’t review alternative takes on soft, draped English tailoring. What gives?

Nick Inkster

I would say that Steed are a match for the very best actually.

Edwin’s heritage alone makes for a very compelling argument; you are missing something here Simon. Don’t allow their home base to distract you from their craft.

Tim Correll

Fun facts about Steed: They give customers the choice of hand set or machine set shoulders and sleeves for the coats and jackets. Half of their customers choose hand set and half choose machine set.

The prices are the same either way.

The showroom with their cutters is on Savile Row with Chittleborough & Morgan and Scabal. The workshop with all of their very own seamsters and seamstresses is in Carlisle, Cumbria.

Edwin Deboise, the founder and current owner of Steed, told me all of the above in an exchange of emails. And, yes, they rank up there with the worlds best in every way (including having the same amount of handwork to boot).

Tim Correll

Steed’s 12 cutters (half of them men and half of them women) evenly split cutting all of the garments rather than specializing in a specific garment. Steed’s seamsters and seamstresses (there’s an equal number of both; six each) evenly split sewing all of the garments rather than specializing in a specific garment.

Tim Correll

Again, all of the information about Steed that I share is from an exchange of emails with Edwin Deboise, again, the founder and current owner of Steed.

Tim Correll

What I meant to say was the following:

Oh, all of Steed’s employees are on the payroll. There’s no freelance. Sorry I forgot to type in the word all.

Jtkuga

Funny Steed is getting a lot of mention on here lately and I just met with them this morning in Dallas. First off, they seem like great guys, funny, wish I could have spent more time with them. Its nice to see a family run business that looks like it will continue for decades to come as Edwin passes it down to Matthew. I just ordered a made to measure suit as their bespoke is out of my price range. One thing I found, at least compared to other MTM options in Dallas, is they had a much broader range of fabrics. I saw Lessers, Smith, Harrisons, Dugdales, Fox, etc. Most local MTM offer just a 2-3 mills and merchants, and mostly Italian at that. Another thing was with styling, everything I wanted with styling on a bespoke suit they could do with MTM, roped sleeves, DAKS style side adjusters, etc. I would also like Simon to do a write up on them at some point and one thing that differentiates them from a lot of tailors is they travel a lot in the USA. I know you, Simon, have a lot of Americans who follow this blog, maybe even more than British who do, and Steed is more accessible to us than a lot of the tailors who are covered here. I think that is especially true for those of us who don’t live on the coasts. I will get my suit shipped in 6-8 weeks, then meet with them again in June. I like this because in this past tailors have wanted to do the alterations right on the spot and be done with me. Here, I get to wear the suit for a while first and then I can tell them any issues I have when I meet them. If the suit is for some reason unwearable until then, I can set up a zoom meeting for a temporary fix. So just putting in one more vote for Steed. I think, if nothing else Simon, you would enjoy visiting with them.

ANONYMOUS

To Nick & Tim,
I have had a recent commission with these tailors, and had the garments go back for adjusting and while the trousers were superb, the outcome on my jacket could have been better.
I’ll leave it at that.

David

Simon, out of curiosity what size shoe do you wear (assuming off the rack)? I find that the perception of slimness on the bottom half of trousers is strongly tied to how big the shoes are, but I can’t find anything on your size. Thanks very much.

Stephen Dolman

Hi David,
Excellent question
When I had my last bespoke suit made,
We settled on a 17 inch hem, I take an 8-5 shoe.
The thinking being that they can always be tapered, and trouser width’s don’t change that often
Regards
Stephen Dolman

KD Master

First off, congratulations on this blog. This is really awesome. Great blogs related to bespoke tailors that we can sink our teeth into and really go to work. I love this bucket list and you know you are right. Blogging can be very overwhelming for a lot of people because there is so much involved but it’s like anything else. Everything takes time and we all have the same amount of hours in a day so put them to good use. We all have to start somewhere and your plan is perfect.

james lottsfeldt

Simon,

Ive enjoyed this blog for a while, but as someone who is hard to fit and lives far from the bespoke centers, I never thought I would be asking you for advice. Nonetheless, here it goes; I’m tall (6’5″) with a rectangle body shape. Off the rack in the US, Im a 48L or 46L.

I live in Alaska, frequently wear suits, and have often thought I wanted to go true bespoke instead of made to measure.. For me, its a plane ride to a tailor. Europe is just as easy (or hard) as for me to get to New York.

So the question is; if I were to travel somewhere for bespoke, should I go to London, New York or Asia. Being 6’5″ and 240 lbs, I would feel most comfortable with a tailor used to making suits for larger men.

Any advice?

Dachshund

Good God, what a rotation! Wherever do you store it all?!

Anonymous

Hi Simon,

How then do you decide what to keep and what to give away/sell, especially since some of the pieces would’ve had a cost price into the £1000’s

Obviously pieces that weren’t succesful/didn’t turn out how you thought they would P Johnson is one example that comes to mind? obviously go but those pieces are from what I can tell having followed your site for a while few and far between.

Do you tend to only keep pieces from the bigger established or expensive houses Cifonelli, CdL, Liverano Anderson & Sheppard as apposed to Thom Sweeney, Richard James etc

James

Wonderful list, Simon!

Have you ever come across Bottega Dalmut? I like their style, but I worry if their more a fashion tailor. Any opinion on that?

Karl

Simon,
As to the question asked by Nestor regarding the one tailor that you would use for the rest of your life, your response was: ” It would be very hard, but right now yes, I think it would be Ciardi followed by Steven.” Please ADVISE, who is Steven (in this context)?

Winot

Any plans to review Meyer & Mortimer Simon? Paul Munday has made most of my business suits since 2008 and I’ve been very pleased with them. Classic English style, and not as structured as the military history suggests.

Nick

Dear Simon, much appreciated update! Would be interested to see or hear your take on the Sr Francesco db tweed jacket you mention, from a styling point of view, how did a db tweed work out? Perhaps, also an update to your article on the different styles of db jackets you have is due? I noticed the ciardi db, but would be good to have a bit more meat on what you think of it’s style.

Jon Bromfield

Last year Suresh and Karen of Whitcomb & Shaftesbury helped me put together my first bespoke suit, a stunning 3-piece country suit in a beautiful brown plaid, with contrasting vest. Now waiting for the UK to open back up so I can have the first fitting.

If their taste and passion are any indication, this garment will be the the crown jewel of my wardrobe. Suresh also showed me a stunning tuxedo in black barathea, which will no doubt be my next commission.

Hamish Stuart

Hi Simon,
Thanks for a very informative read.
I was wondering , is it possible to let us know the fabric used to make the Ambrosi trousers in the photo ?
I’ve had a number of Ambrosi trousers made after a visit to Naples a few years ago and really love them . Your choice of fabric looks wonderful.
Best regards
Hamish

Jtkuga

Simon,

I’ve read in your blog and others about the differences between bespoke, RTW and MTM. Now RTW is pretty easy to define, it’s the suit already made on the rack at a store. That seems to be its defining characteristic. I’m trying to decide if my tailor falls into bespoke or MTM. I live in Dallas, Tx and frankly don’t know if anyone here is a true bespoke tailor. A lot of the tailors that claim to be bespoke Or custom just take a few measurements and send them up and you get a Coppley suit or its equivalent. I’ve had that before. My tailor is a step up from that, significantly more measurements, multiple fittings, but they still don’t make the suit on site. It is made elsewhere. Does that mean it is not true bespoke? Are there clear definitions between MTM and bespoke, or is it more of a point on a continuum? They call their suits bench made and claim more handwork than any suit made in America. They have great reviews, so I’m not knocking them at all and they appear to be the best in my city, outside of maybe tailors that visit Dallas. I’m just curious what exactly separates made to measure from true bespoke?

jtkuga

Following up as I have received my suit. There really wasn’t multiple fittings. I got measured, then I had a fitting with the suit basically already made, had a few adjustments from that, and then received my suit a week later. I never met the tailor who made the suit, or who did the alterations. As far as choices and style I wasn’t limited at all, they did the roped shoulders like I like with DAKS style side adjusters. They had a large selection of fabrics from over a half dozen English Mills you list on this site. As far as fit goes I can’t complain at all, trousers were perfect, don’t think I’d change a thing. Suit jacket is an inch too short, but that is probably more on me than them, since their style is the short jacket and I didn’t press them on that. Would you say that rates as high end made to measure or low end bespoke or what?

jtkuga

I reached out to them and this was the response “It isn’t the padding so much as the canvassing. There is a basted version in our showroom of all of the hand stitching for the canvassing, collar, lapel, button holes, etc. This is the “before” the final version, I can show you next time you are in the showroom.” Maybe that will give you and idea, as I am fairly new to all of this. I’m really just beginning to start understanding these things. I started reading your blog and Matt Spaiser’s blog when the pandemic hit.

Jtkuga

https://harperandjones.com/uncategorized/sometimes-its-what-you-cant-see-that-matters-more-than-what-you-can/

That is a link to their blog. If you get bored you can tell me what you think, if not I certainly understand. As I said I’m overall very happy with the suit, just curious about these distinctions.

Jtkuga

That’s good to hear. I suppose the discussion is somewhat academic, and me being happy with my suit is most important, but the words custom and bespoke are abused badly over here in America. Thanks again as always.

Greg

Doesn’t sound like bespoke to me Simon. Make is straight to finish. Just saying.

Joel

I think if by luck it’s done right first time, the amount of fittings is almost irrelevant.

A.

The list is not exhaustive. I remember you’ve been also at Eduardo De Simone for a bespoke and also a MTM jacket. There was the article comparing them.

Ray

Sorry you didn’t mention Simone Abbarchi who I found through your site and who continues to make excellent casual and less casual shirts for me. In fact I placed an order days ago. A shirtmaker in Italy with your pattern in stock would welcome a client’s call about now fellas.

ray

Yes – I guess he is mainly a shirtmaker though I saw two beautiful overcoats he was delivering when I was there last. Tailor or shirtmaker all these Italian craftsmen would love an order from overseas about now, that’s the main thing. With a shirtmaker that has your pattern thats a bit easier I suppose.

Anonymous

Simon do you know of/can recommend any good tailors in Australia?

Anonymous

Of the Neapolitan-style tailors you’ve tried, which one(s) would you say had the finest finishing?

Michael R.

Dear Simon,
Have you found that Neapolitan tailors put the notch higher than British one. I am quite tall and yet my notch is position high and I don’t particularly like that aesthetic.
Any views?
Michael

Vinay

Hi Simon,

Very interesting article.

What is your view on having the label of the tailor and fabric (e.g. VBC) attached to the jacket?

Would you have both stitched to the inside of the jacket, hidden inside the breast pocket of the jacket or do you prefer not to have either incorporated into your commissions.

What is the general rule when it comes to labels for bespoke and MTM in your experience.

Thanks.

Vinay

Thanks Simon.
What is your preference if you have one?

Vinay

Thanks Simon

Jan

hi simon,is there any German house you like ?

DKP

Simon – I may be answering my question here but, I’ve searched through the site to see if you’ve ever had experience of Pasquale Mola trousers but can’t find any direct reference. Would this mean you’ve not had anything made by him?

James

With regards to house style, what are the differences in the silhouette between Henry Poole and Huntsman? I am looking for my first bespoke suit but i am quite broad with a narrow waist and wondered which would suit better. Thank you

NDRU

Hi Simon,
Thanks for the insightful article though I kinda wished you would have reviewed more Asia tailors!!
If I may also ask do the tailors from Savile Row normally employ paddings in their suits?
Thanks.
Andrew

NDRU

Fair enough Simon was thinking along the likes of WW Chan/Gordon Yao/A Man Hing Cheong from HK and maybe few others from Singapore/Taiwan/Malaysia.
Thanks for the clarification on shoulder paddings. Personally what’s your take? Aye or Nay?
Thanks.

NDRU

Cheers for the input Simon because I do get the feeling that jackets(be it part of suit or on its own) tend to be natural and without shoulder pads going by what I have read on websites on Ring Jacket or The Armoury.

Ravi

Hi Simon,

Thank you for all the incredibly helpful information on the website. Not knowing anything about bespoke (and therefore not knowing what to look for without spending multiple lots of £5,000 on a trial and error basis) was the main thing putting me off, but I think I’m coming round!

I’m looking for a tailor that will provide quality in terms of the cut and material, but also one that will guide me through the process. For example, I’d like someone who will cut the cloth to allow my body shape to look its best, without being wedding to their own preferred style. I’d also like someone who can be creative, for example, I’d like to commission an evening wear suit that isn’t a dinner jacket, but isn’t a business suit either.

Essentially, I want to be able to rely on getting the best quality, fit and advice from a tailor, without having to shop around. I recognise that there will inevitably be a premium to pay for this, but I’d rather do that once and forge a long term relationship that I hope will develop into commissioning other items, such as overcoats and shirts.

On that basis, is a tailor you would recommend? My own searching has lead me to favour Chittleborough & Morgan or Michael Brown, but I’d be very grateful for your input, especially if there are any tailors off the Row, which seem to be much harder to research. For context, I’m early 30s and have a t-shirt size of “Medium slim fit”, so I’d be looking for somewhere that could do slim and suitably modern well.

Thank you in advance, and also once again for the information on the website.

Ravi

Ravi

Thanks for the swift response, Simon. I think I’d like a tailor to favour what looks good on me, rather than their own house style. Having read the articles on this website, it seems C&M seem to lean towards the 70s style, with MB being more modern and sleek. Having said that, presumably C&M would be able to recreate a more modern look. I suppose what I’m really looking for is someone who’ll impartially tell me what’ll look best on me, as opposed to trying to fit me in to their house style, as I simply don’t have the knowledge to be able to guide the tailor myself at this stage.

On this basis, I’m leaning towards MB for the exceptional items (evening suit, dinner jacket, overcoat etc.) and Whitcomb & Shaftesbury’s classic bespoke service for more everyday suits and clothes. Would you say that sounds sensible? By the way, did you find there were any differences between Whitcomb & Shaftesbury’s Saville Row bespoke and classic bespoke suits beyond the minor finishing touches? I wasn’t able to find the final comparison article on the website.

Many thanks!

Ravi

Hi Simon,

Just a quick follow up question on the above. For subsequent commissions with the same tailor, how many fittings should you expect to have, if any? To my mind, I’d have thought if you’re commissioning something that’s of similar weight, in terms of cloth, there might not be any fittings required, but, regardless of the cloth chosen, only one would be necessary at the most.

Also, and please excuse my ignorance once again, how does a fitting differ from a finished fitting? Is the later simply trying on something that you could walk home in and to which only minor alterations can be made?

Many thanks!

Jasper

Hello Simon. What a great article.. Do you have any experience with tailors in sicily? If not, maby just heard of a few houses there? Any tips or maby just a good rtw shop? I was surprised that the Italian tailors where mostly from Napels. Cheers!

David Miller

What about Canali, love them!

Nick

Hi Simon, with the end of the transition period next year and hopefully the resumption of trunk shows, do you know how the question of VAT will be dealt with if an order is placed in London? Also, do you think tailors in Italy will provide forms that give you a VAT refund? I apologise for such a dull question…

Nick

Thanks! I live in London, so curious how this will affect the commissioning process.

Gui

Thank you, this is a really helpful list. Out of interest, have you had any experience with Couch & Hoskin?

Alexander

When we try to define what „real bespoke“ is, and therefore separating it from MTM: I‘d say from what I learned so far, it is not critical for bespoke that the person who takes the initial measurements is then also the cutter (but ideally it should be?). But I‘d say it is critical that at least one person from the tayloring house is involved in every single measuring- and fitting step? Could you please help me draw the line here? (Separating it from the best MTM like JMM in Paris f.e.) Thank you!

Alexander

Thank you for this detailed reply. Cheers

Anthony Williams

Hi Simon
Have you had a suit made by Maurice Sedwell? How would describe their style?

Suracherd

Hi Simon
I do not clear about house style and cutter style such as you always refer to Mr.John Hitchcock when you talk about Anderson and Sheppard this mean the style of the house alter by cutter.On the other hand when the cutters move out to open their own they carry the house style with them such as Michael Brown.Question is house or cutter ?

Jasper

Hi Simon,
Helpful list, thank you! At the start you mention a MTM list too, did you publish that one already (apologies if I missed it)?
Regards,
Jasper

Renata Rimkr

Thank you for the amazing list of tailors. I am so happy to meet with them.

Paul

Great article Simon, thank you.

Clifford P Hall

Simon, hi i am thinking about having a classic navy suit made, any thoughts please about folks to talk with in NYC or greater NYC area. Thinking of a A&S style, also welcome any thoughts on material type.

Many thanks.

Cliff

Paul F.

Can you speak to how an Italian tailor would refer to his services as either bespoke or MTM? This may be more of a linguistic distinction, but for Italians, is making something ‘su misura’ indicative of making something MTM or bespoke? Or does it depend entirely on the tailor? Is there specific verbiage an Italian tailor would use to indicate that he offers bespoke services?

Paul F.

A perfect segue! With the many PS references to hand padding in jackets, I’ve actually been meaning to ask whether you could be slightly more specific about what this is. I understand that it’s desirable in tailoring and certainly adds to the price, but I can’t articulate what it means. How are hand padded jackets different from non-hand padded jackets? Why are they superior? How does one look for hand padding or otherwise tell that a jackets has been hand padded?

Paul F.

Thanks for this! This explanation was very helpful.

Istvan

If from now on you would have to stick to three tailors only either from England or Italy who would that be? Thanks

Istvan

I wear a lot of suits (mainly Kent Haste) but also increasingly more casual as well. I also like to mix it up from the most formal to more casual. I realise it’s very broad, which is why I was curious to hear your own personal opinion.

Peter Z.

Dear Simon,

On trousers some time ago here on this blog you praised the English trousers and how people didn’t pay enough respect to them and obsessed over Neapolitan trousers. At the time I could not realise how true it was what you were saying. I have had 4 trousers made by one of the famous Neapolitans but they never quite worked for me because what I wanted was essentially a very British trouser in a Neapolitan make. On 4 pairs of trousers I showed pictures and explained how I wanted them to fit and my vision was a high-waisted pair of double forward pleat trousers with a rich leg. You have also cautioned against trying to get a tailor to do a style that is not their by default style – yes, I realize how true this is. I had given up on my trousers until I went to Steven Hitchcock who with my explanation managed to cut an absolutely beautiful pattern of the trousers I wanted. Yes, they are significantly more than the Neapolitan and are not as beautiful in make, but they are comfortable and the style I wanted; they make me 10x happier than the Neapolitan ones. I also wanted to mention how much more comfortable they are for wearing. With my Neapolitan ones who are in fact quite slim and close cut (I don’t know how that happened), I am very self-conscious about wearing them, they fall down, they wrinkle in the wrong places whereas the British hang beautifully.

Best,
Peter

YJ Kim

Dear Simon,
Henry Poole and Cesare Attolini.They are two brands that symbolize Britain and Italy, respectively. If you compare the two, please tell me your opinion on what has better quality. They focus on “Bespoke” and “RTW” respectively, so direct comparisons are not easy. However, if Henry Poole’s “Bespoke” and Cesare Atolini’s “Su Misura (MTM)” are the same premise, we can compare the results.I would like you to compare the overall design, feel, appearance, completeness, etc. I’m look forward to hearing from our experts and enthusiasts.

In addition,Whether Bespoke or RTW, I wonder which house you prefer the most in the UK and Italy.
It may be difficult, but please reply!!
Thank you!!

YJ Kim

Thank you very much for your reply. Normally, I read most of your writing. I would like to have a Single Breasted Suit in Dark Navy color. Please recommend one each from England and Italy. It’s not a detailed evaluation, I just want you to let me know what impressed you personally.

YJ Kim

I know you like Ciardi’s clothes among non-British clothes. In the meantime, I have had some questions while reading your writing. After John Hitchock’s retirement, I wanted to ask whether A&S or Steven Hitchock were showing better results. In addition, Liberano hired a large number of employees and was told that the Chinese were making clothes. Nevertheless, I wonder if it is worth paying for the price and matching the clothes. In Florence, I think Guida’s clothes are comparable to Liberano’s. From my point of view, I only need to choose one place to match the suit. I just want to ask you which of the Single Breasted suits you’ve experienced that you’ve shown impressive quality. I’m sorry for asking too many questions. But I don’t think I can ask you a comparison question by naming each store, so I ask like this. I am worried that it will be frustrating, complicated, and difficult for you. I respect you for always giving me answers.

YJ Kim

I think the questions were too low-key and rash because I was too curious. I feel sorry and ashamed. Thank you for teaching me.

YJ Kim

Currently, I go to law school. So, I’m looking into it in advance because I think I’ll wear a suit more often soon! Please recommend a few more single breasted suits that will suit legal professionals such as judges, prosecutors, and lawyers. I trust you completely. Thank you a lot??????

Jtkuga