Custom Suits for Downtown Los Angeles
Mr James is a bespoke tailoring house at 221 Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey, forty minutes or so west of Downtown Los Angeles on the 10 or the 105. We have made fully canvassed, fully bespoke suits since 2010, priced at consultation, cut from a pattern drawn for one person and made by hand in Southern Brittany, France.
Downtown is the most suited square mile in the city. The courts, the banks, the law firms and the architects are all within a few blocks of one another, and the lofts of the Arts District have brought a different kind of client who wants a suit with some character for the evenings. Which of the three office registers a given building is working to is a live question here, and business formal, professional and casual sets out where the lines fall.
For the courts and the towers
The civil and criminal courthouses are both downtown, and lawyers who appear in them want cloth that looks the same at four in the afternoon as it did at eight. A mid-weight high-twist worsted in navy or charcoal, cut with enough room to sit and stand all day. Dressing for a Los Angeles courtroom goes practice by practice. For bankers and the executives in the towers, the brief is the same minus the courtroom.
Three suits in rotation last longer than one worn daily. How to care for a bespoke suit covers that and the rest.
For the Arts District
The other half of Downtown wears a suit by choice rather than by rule, which opens the field: a tobacco or olive cloth, a double-breasted jacket, a dinner suit with a shawl lapel for openings and the restaurants on the east side. Our custom tuxedos in Los Angeles are priced at consultation and cost no more than a two-piece. Double-breasted or single-breasted and choosing a lapel are the two decisions that change a suit most.
Weddings in historic rooms
Downtown weddings tend to be in restored theatres, hotel ballrooms and rooftops, and they tend to be in the evening. Black tie suits those rooms; tuxedo or suit for your wedding works through the choice and the tuxedo page has the detail. Dinner suits are priced at consultation, wedding parties 20 per cent less. Hiring is the obvious alternative, and the two routes are set side by side in renting a tuxedo or having one made.
Getting here from Downtown
The 10 west to Lincoln, then south to Playa del Rey; or the 110 to the 105 west to Sepulveda. Forty minutes outside the rush, more in it. Most Downtown clients have us come to the office, which takes about an hour and fits before or after court. For the media companies north of here, up the 5 and over the river, custom suits Burbank is the nearer page. For anyone working north west of here, our custom suits Hollywood page covers that side of town. A few miles north, up Glendale Boulevard, custom suits Silver Lake sets out the same arrangement for the Eastside.
Who comes to us from Downtown Los Angeles
Lawyers first, then bankers, architects and the people who run the hotels and restaurants, then grooms marrying in the historic venues and the Arts District lofts. The suits are dark during the week and rather more interesting at the weekend.
What it costs
Two-piece suits priced at consultation, three-piece priced at consultation, dinner suits priced at consultation, odd trousers priced at consultation, shirts priced at consultation. The making is full canvas at every price; what moves the figure is the cloth. Bespoke suit cost Los Angeles sets the whole card out, mill by mill.
We do not offer made to measure, and the comparison is set out on made to measure Los Angeles.
Measured at your desk
A visit is available, travel and the full cloth selection included, and it fits inside a lunch hour. $300 visit within 20 miles of our Playa Del Rey studio. Farther away? Ask us when you book. See home and office visits.
Banks and law firms downtown more often commission for several people at once than for one, and that is the subject of our page on corporate suiting Los Angeles.
Questions we are often asked
Is there a bespoke tailor near Downtown Los Angeles?
Mr James is in Playa del Rey, about forty minutes west, and comes to Downtown offices. $300 visit within 20 miles of our Playa Del Rey studio. Farther away? Ask us when you book. Full canvas bespoke suits are priced at consultation.
What should a lawyer wear to court in Los Angeles?
A navy or charcoal suit in a mid-weight high-twist worsted that holds its shape through a long day, with a white or pale blue shirt. Three suits in rotation last years longer than one.
Can I be measured at my office downtown?
Yes. A visit is available with travel and the full cloth selection included, and takes about an hour. $300 visit within 20 miles of our Playa Del Rey studio. Farther away? Ask us when you book.
Downtown Los Angeles is one of the neighbourhoods we look after from Playa del Rey, and the bespoke tailor Playa del Rey page covers the shop itself. For the whole picture, what every garment includes, the cloth houses, the full price list and how the making is done, our guide to custom suits Los Angeles has it in one place.
How long does a suit take?
4 to 12 weeks, depending on the cloth, Italian or English. Fittings are unlimited and included. Where those weeks go is set out in how long it takes to make a bespoke suit.
What does a dinner suit cost?
Priced at consultation, which is no more than a two-piece. Wedding parties are 20 per cent less.
What does a bespoke suit cost?
A two-piece is priced at consultation. A three-piece is priced at consultation, an overcoat priced at consultation, odd trousers priced at consultation, a shirt priced at consultation. Full canvas at every price.
Come and see us
221 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey, with free parking front and back. Appointments seven days a week with 48 hours' notice; book here, call 310-503-3592, or write to mrjames@bespokemrjames.com.
Booking a fitting describes what the first hour involves.
Nearby: custom suits Culver City · custom suits Pasadena · custom suits Beverly Hills. More: bespoke suits Los Angeles · tailor Los Angeles · custom tuxedo Los Angeles · about the house. Reading: suit, blazer or sport coat · how long suit trousers should be.