Custom Suits Hollywood

Hollywood is a working neighbourhood, and much of what happens there is decided in rooms where how a person looks is part of the conversation. Most of it also happens to a date: a premiere on the fourteenth, an awards dinner, a meeting moved twice that will not move again. We make suits for people in that position, and have been doing it in Los Angeles since 2015.

MR JAMES is a European tailoring house. Every garment is cut for one person and made by hand, and we do not offer anything else. If you have not had a suit made before, our page on the bespoke process covers it in full.

What a bespoke suit from MR JAMES is

We take around thirty measurements and three photographs, and from those a pattern is drafted for you alone. Every jacket is full canvas, meaning a layer of canvas and horsehair is stitched into the chest rather than glued to it. That takes longer, and it is why a good jacket holds its shape for twenty years and settles to the person wearing it. You have as many fittings as the garment needs, with no limit and no charge, and alterations are complimentary for the first year. We dress women as well as men.

The house and the French atelier

The house was founded in 2010 by Robb "James" Pollard together with Max, our atelier, who makes every garment by hand in Southern Brittany, France. That arrangement has not changed since. Nothing is sent to a factory and nothing is cut by machine to a standard block. As far as we know we are the only genuinely European suitmaker in Los Angeles, which is no criticism of anyone else; there are fine tailors in this city. There are two of us here, Robb and Ben, and whoever measures you will see you through every fitting.

What it costs

A two-piece suit starts at $1,795 and a three-piece at $2,045. A tuxedo starts at $1,795, an overcoat at $1,200, odd trousers are $450 and a custom shirt is $295. Cloth from the named mills is priced separately: Drago from $2,995, Zegna at $3,495, Holland & Sherry at $3,495 and Loro Piana at $3,995. Alterations to garments we did not make are $80 an hour. We take a fifty per cent deposit at cloth selection and the balance on delivery. A rush is twenty-five per cent on top, and wedding parties twenty per cent off. Where the money goes is set out on what a bespoke suit costs in Los Angeles.

How long it takes

Four to six weeks for domestic cloth and six to eight weeks for imported. Shirts take two to four weeks and alterations about a week. For black tie there is almost always a date attached, so tell us at the first meeting; what to expect is on our page for custom tuxedos and black tie. For a wedding, six months is perfect, three is comfortable and six weeks can be done as a rush.

If you are building a wardrobe rather than buying for one evening, it helps to settle on how many suits a man needs before you order. The smaller decisions come up at the first fitting, among them whether a jacket should have one vent, two or none.

Getting here from Hollywood, and the home or office visit

We should be honest about the drive. The shop is at 221 Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey, on the coast just below the airport, and from Hollywood that is roughly thirty to forty minutes depending on the hour. Mid-morning or early afternoon it is straightforward. At six in the evening it is not. Parking is free, front and back.

For anyone who cannot easily get down to the coast, we come to you. A home or office visit is $300 and covers measuring, cloth selection and fittings wherever you are, which suits anyone on a shooting schedule. Many of our clients come from West Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles, so the traffic is well understood here.

Questions we are often asked

How far is the shop from Hollywood?

Thirty to forty minutes, traffic depending. We are appointment only, seven days a week, roughly nine until six, so you can pick an hour that is kind to the drive.

Can you come to me instead?

Yes. A home or office visit is $300 and covers the whole thing at your kitchen table or in a production office.

How quickly can something be ready for a premiere?

Four to six weeks on domestic cloth and six to eight on imported. If the date is tighter, say so at the first call: a rush carries twenty-five per cent, and there is a point beyond which we will tell you honestly that it cannot be done properly.

Do you dress women?

We do, and have from the beginning. A jacket cut for a woman is a different draft, not a smaller version of a man's, which is the whole argument for having one made.

What happens at the first appointment?

It lasts about an hour and costs nothing. We talk about what the suit is for, look at cloth, take the measurements and photographs, and you leave knowing the price and the date. We ask for forty-eight hours' notice so the right cloth books are out.

Which cloth works best on camera?

A mid-weight worsted in a solid dark colour is the safest thing under lights. Very fine stripes and tight checks can shimmer on screen, and a matte finish photographs better than a sheen. Tell us the venue and we will narrow it down.

Booking an appointment

The first consultation is an hour and there is no charge for it. Take a time at our fitting calendar, or see what the appointment involves on book a fitting. To speak to one of us first, the shop is on 310-503-3592, at 221 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey, CA 90293.