Custom Suits for Culver City
Mr James sits at the far end of Culver Boulevard from Culver City — about fifteen minutes, straight down the same road. We make fully canvassed, fully bespoke suits from $1,795, cut from a pattern drawn for one man and made by our own atelier in Southern Brittany, France.
Culver City has changed a great deal. The studios were always there; the technology companies that arrived alongside them brought a different kind of client, and a different question about clothes.
The dress code problem
Most men who come to us from Culver City are not buying a suit because they wear one daily. They are buying one because they occasionally need to look unmistakably serious — a pitch, a premiere, a board meeting, a funeral, a wedding — and the rest of the time the office is jeans.
That changes what we would recommend. A single very formal suit that lives in a wardrobe for eleven months is poor value. A soft-shouldered navy or grey in a cloth that holds a crease but does not shine will carry a pitch meeting and still look right with no tie and better shoes. It is the most useful garment we make, and it is the one most often not asked for.
We will also say plainly when a jacket and separate trousers would serve you better than a suit. Odd trousers are $450 and a jacket can be commissioned on its own. That is frequently the honest answer for a Culver City wardrobe.
What it costs
| Two-piece suit | from $1,795 |
| Three-piece suit | from $2,045 |
| Tuxedo | from $1,795 |
| Custom shirt | $295 |
| Odd trousers | $450 |
| Overcoat | from $1,200 |
Finer mills from Drago at $2,995 to Loro Piana at $3,995. Unlimited fittings and one year of complimentary alterations included in every price. More on the cost page.
Full canvas, and why it matters here
Every garment we make is full canvas — a layer of horsehair and wool stitched between the cloth and the lining rather than glued. A fused jacket, which is most of what is sold including a great deal of expensive made-to-measure, is bonded with adhesive. It looks correct in the shop and bubbles after a few years of heat and dry cleaning.
If a suit is going to be worn a dozen times a year for a decade rather than twice a week for two years, construction matters more, not less. The full comparison is on our made to measure page. We do not offer made to measure.
How a commission runs
An hour, free, with Robb or Ben — one of them is at every fitting. Cloth chosen with prices shown, then around thirty measurements and three photographs that record posture. The pattern is drawn for you and kept, so the second commission is easier than the first.
Four to six weeks in domestic cloth, six to eight in imported Italian or English. Shirts two to four weeks. Fittings unlimited.
If it is easier, we will come to an office anywhere in Los Angeles for $300, bringing cloth and finished garments — which works well for a team commissioning together.
Come and see us
221 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey. Monday to Sunday by appointment, roughly nine until six, forty-eight hours' notice. Free parking front and back.
Book a private consultation — or telephone 310-503-3592, or write to mrjames@bespokemrjames.com.
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