Custom Suits Sherman Oaks

Mr James is a European tailoring house at 221 Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey, and Sherman Oaks is over the hill from us. Two-piece suits from $1,795, every one full canvas, cut to a pattern drafted for one person and made by hand at our atelier in Southern Brittany, France.

Sherman Oaks sits in the San Fernando Valley, with Ventura Boulevard running the length of it, Studio City on one side and Encino on the other, and the 405 climbing out of it over the Sepulveda Pass. Because the pass is the whole of the distance between us, there are two sensible ways to begin a commission from 91403 or 91423, and neither is better than the other. Further east along the valley floor, past Studio City and Toluca Lake, custom suits Burbank covers the studio district on that side. West along the 101 at the far end of the valley, custom suits Calabasas covers the hills either side of Las Virgenes Road.

Two ways to begin

The first is the storefront. Number 221 has no suite number, free parking in front and behind, and one of two people in it. The first appointment takes an hour, costs nothing, and ends with a pattern drawn for you alone.

The second is that we come to you. A visit to a home or office anywhere in Los Angeles is $300, including travel and the full cloth selection, and for a Valley address it is often the natural answer. More on tailor home and office visits Los Angeles.

Coming over the pass

The 405 south from Sherman Oaks, over the Sepulveda Pass, then west towards the coast and down to Playa del Rey. It is one freeway and one turn, which is as simple as a cross-city errand gets in this city, and quieter outside the two hours at either end of the working day.

We are by appointment only, seven days a week, with forty-eight hours' notice, so the drive is never made to find a closed door.

Or we bring the cloth to you

A visit brings the whole of the showroom into a living room or a boardroom: suitings, shirtings, linings, buttons and the mill books, with the prices shown as they are chosen. Around thirty measurements are taken and three photographs record how you stand. Finished garments come back over the pass for the fittings, and where a group commissions together one visit measures everyone.

For a Valley client this often costs less in time than two round trips, which is why we quote it plainly at $300 rather than burying it.

What it costs

A two-piece starts at $1,795, a three-piece at $2,045 and a tuxedo at $1,795. An overcoat is from $1,200, odd trousers $450, a custom shirt $295 and alterations $80 an hour. A visit to your home or office is $300.

Cloth from the finer mills costs more, and the figure follows the cloth rather than the making: Drago from $2,995, Zegna and Holland & Sherry from $3,495, Loro Piana from $3,995. Every garment is full canvas and fully bespoke, so what you choose at the cloth table is weight, hand and mill, not construction. Unlimited fittings and a year of complimentary alterations are included, half paid at cloth selection and the balance on delivery. Every figure sits mill by mill on the bespoke suit cost Los Angeles page.

What bespoke means here

A pattern drafted from around thirty measurements and three photographs, so posture is recorded and not dimensions alone. A canvas of horsehair and wool built into the chest by hand, which moulds to you over the first months and then holds its shape for years. And a garment sewn by Max, the house's French atelier, who has made every Mr James garment by hand since Robb Pollard founded the house in 2010.

There is one service here and it is the whole thing. Bespoke suits Los Angeles walks through the stages, and custom suits Los Angeles sets out everything the house makes, for women as well as men.

Turnaround is four to six weeks in domestic cloth, six to eight if it travels from Italy or England. Shirts are two to four weeks, alterations about a week.

Weddings and black tie

Six months before the date is perfect, three is comfortable and six weeks is a rush we will still take at twenty-five per cent more. A year out we would rather you waited, because bodies move in twelve months. Wedding parties and groups are twenty per cent less, and a party scattered across the Valley is the clearest case for a visit: one evening at somebody's house measures all of them.

Questions we are often asked

Is there a bespoke tailor in Sherman Oaks?

Not in Sherman Oaks itself. Mr James is a European tailoring house at 221 Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey, one freeway south of the Valley, and we also come to homes and offices anywhere in Los Angeles for $300. Two-piece suits start at $1,795 and every garment is full canvas.

How do I get to the shop from Sherman Oaks?

The 405 south over the Sepulveda Pass, then west towards the coast and down to Playa del Rey. Number 221 is a storefront with no suite number and free parking in front and behind, so there is no garage to circle and no lobby to sign into.

Will you come over the hill to Sherman Oaks?

Yes. A visit to a home or office anywhere in Los Angeles is $300, including travel and the full cloth selection brought with us, suitings, shirtings, linings and the mill books. Finished garments come to you for the fittings the same way. For an address off Ventura Boulevard it is often the simpler of the two routes.

What does a bespoke suit cost for a Sherman Oaks client?

A two-piece starts at $1,795, a three-piece at $2,045, a tuxedo at $1,795, an overcoat at $1,200, odd trousers $450 and a custom shirt $295. Alterations are $80 an hour. Cloth from the finer mills costs more: Drago from $2,995, Zegna and Holland & Sherry from $3,495, Loro Piana from $3,995. The making is identical at every price, full canvas throughout, so what you choose at the cloth table is weight, hand and mill, not construction.

How long does a commission take?

Four to six weeks in domestic cloth, six to eight if the cloth travels from Italy or England. Shirts are two to four weeks and alterations about a week. A rush at twenty-five per cent more will bring a suit forward, though we would rather not hurry it.

I have a wedding in the Valley. When should I start?

Six months before the date is perfect, three is comfortable and six weeks is a rush we will still take. A year out we would ask you to wait, because bodies and minds both move in twelve months. Wedding parties and groups are twenty per cent less, fathers and brothers included, and one visit can measure the whole party in an evening.

Do you cut for women?

Yes, by the same method, on the same patterns and at the same prices. Every garment is fully bespoke and full canvas, whoever it is for.

Is the first appointment free, and who will I meet?

The first hour is free: around thirty measurements, three photographs and a long look at cloth, with no obligation at the end of it. You will meet Robb or Ben. There are two of us, and whichever one you see at the consultation sees the garment through to delivery.

Come and see us

221 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey, CA 90293, seven days a week by appointment, roughly nine to six. The calendar moves week to week, so the simplest thing is to look and take what suits you. Reserve a time, use the book a fitting page, or telephone 310-503-3592. If the pass is the problem, say so when you call and we will come to you instead.

Nearby: custom suits Westwood · custom suits Brentwood · custom suits Beverly Hills. Reading: how a woman's suit should fit · British, Italian or American suit styles.