How Long Does It Take to Make a Bespoke Suit?

A bespoke suit from Mr James takes four to six weeks in domestic cloth, and six to eight weeks in imported Italian or English cloth. A custom shirt takes two to four weeks, and alterations take a week.

Those are the numbers we give on the telephone before anyone sits down. What follows explains what happens inside those weeks, so you can judge a date for yourself rather than hope.

What the weeks are actually for

The clock does not start when you walk in. It starts when you choose your cloth and leave a deposit, because that is the moment the order goes to Max, our French atelier, who has made every garment for this house since 2010, by hand, in Southern Brittany. Nothing is cut from a stock block. A pattern is drawn for you, the cloth is cut to it, the canvas is shaped to your chest, and the garment is built up by hand from the inside out. Every suit we make is full canvas and fully bespoke, and we do not offer made-to-measure, so there is no shorter route hiding behind the one we quote.

Within that window the work divides in three: drafting and cutting, making, then fitting and finishing once the garment is back in Playa del Rey and on you. The third part is the one people forget to plan for, and the part that decides whether a suit fits.

Why imported cloth takes two weeks longer

A domestic cloth is close at hand, so cutting can begin almost as soon as the order is placed. A cloth from an Italian or English mill must be ordered and brought to the atelier before a scissor touches it. That journey, not the sewing, is the difference between four to six weeks and six to eight.

It is the one variable you control. If a date is tight, a domestic cloth will usually save you a fortnight without changing the making in any way. The canvas, the hand work and the fittings are identical at every level. Only the cloth changes, and with it the price: a two-piece from $1,795, a three-piece at $2,045, rising to $3,995 in Loro Piana. The figures are set out in full on our bespoke suit cost page.

The first hour

The consultation takes an hour and costs nothing. You will meet Robb or Ben; the team is the two of them, and a client always sees one of us. We take around thirty measurements and three photographs, front, side and back, because posture tells us things a tape cannot. Then cloth, with prices shown as we go, and after that linings, buttons, detailing and a monogram if you want one. That hour is written out in what happens at a bespoke suit consultation.

Fifty per cent is taken at cloth selection and the balance on delivery. Nothing is asked for at the consultation, and nothing at a fitting.

Fittings, and why we will not promise a number

Fittings are unlimited and included. Most clients have three, counting the consultation as the first; some have four or five, and that is neither a problem nor an extra charge. A shoulder that sits a fraction proud, a sleeve pitch that wants moving, a waist that has changed: these are found in front of a mirror, not on paper.

That is the honest reason we quote a range. A suit needing one adjustment finishes sooner than a suit needing three, and we cannot know which yours is until it is on you. After delivery, every garment carries a year of complimentary alterations, because bodies change and a suit cut for you should go on fitting you.

If you need it sooner

A rush order is possible and costs twenty-five per cent more. We will tell you before taking a deposit whether your date is achievable, and if it is not we will say so rather than take the money and apologise later.

A domestic cloth plus a rush is the fastest honest route we have. Failing that, a jacket you already own can often be made to work; alterations are $80 an hour with a one-week turnaround, and for an event three weeks away that is sometimes the better counsel.

Weddings and dates that cannot move

Six months before the wedding is perfect. Three months is comfortable. Six weeks is possible as a rush. What we discourage is ordering a year out, because men change shape over a year and a suit drafted to last spring's measurements needs rescuing in the last fortnight.

A party has more moving parts than one man, since every member must be measured and fitted, so take the longer end of any range. Our wedding tailoring page covers the terms, and the month-by-month plan is set out in when to order a wedding suit. For black tie, the dinner suit follows the same timeline as a two-piece.

Shirts, overcoats and the rest

A custom shirt takes two to four weeks and costs $295. Odd trousers are $450 and an overcoat $1,200. An overcoat is the heavier garment, so plan it on the longer end of the suit range, and order it before the weather turns.

How to begin

We are at 221 Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey, a storefront with no suite number and free parking front and back. We see clients by appointment only, and we ask for forty-eight hours' notice. If a visit is easier, we will come to your home or office for $300, including travel and the full cloth selection.

You can book a fitting, choose an hour at our booking calendar, or telephone 310-503-3592 and tell us the date you are working towards. We will say honestly whether it can be done. Sixteen years in, that is still the most useful ten minutes we offer, and you can read how the house came about on our about page.

Questions we are often asked

How long does it take to make a bespoke suit?

Four to six weeks in domestic cloth and six to eight weeks in imported Italian or English cloth, measured from cloth selection rather than your first visit. A custom shirt takes two to four weeks and alterations a week.

Why does imported cloth take longer than domestic?

Because the cloth must be ordered from the Italian or English mill and reach the atelier before cutting begins. The making is identical, so a domestic cloth will usually save you two weeks without changing the garment.

Can you make a suit faster than four weeks?

Sometimes, as a rush order, which costs twenty-five per cent more. We will tell you before taking a deposit whether your date is achievable rather than promise it and apologise afterwards.

How many fittings will I need, and do they add time?

Fittings are unlimited and included. Most clients have three counting the consultation, and some four or five. They are why we quote a range rather than a single date, because a garment needing three adjustments finishes later than one needing one.

How far ahead should I order a wedding suit?

Six months is perfect and three months comfortable. Six weeks is possible as a rush. We discourage ordering a year ahead, because men change shape and the suit then needs rescuing in the final fortnight.

Does the clock start at the consultation?

No. It starts at cloth selection, when the fifty per cent deposit is taken and the order goes to the atelier. The consultation is a free hour and can happen well before you commit.

How long do alterations and shirts take?

Alterations take a week at $80 an hour, and are complimentary for a year on anything we have made. A custom shirt takes two to four weeks.