Custom Suits for Torrance

Mr James is about half an hour up the coast from Torrance at 221 Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey. 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.

Torrance is the largest of the South Bay cities and it behaves like a collection of smaller ones. Old Torrance sits around the original street grid in the east, Hollywood Riviera climbs the slope above the shoreline at the south-western corner, Southwood, Walteria, Madrona and Delthorne each keep their own character, and North Torrance runs flat up to the Lawndale and Gardena lines. The zip codes are 90501 through 90505, with 90510 for post office boxes.

If you are still deciding which trade the errand actually wants, what a custom tailor Los Angeles does, and the four quite different services sold under that one word, is set out on its own page.

Getting here from Torrance

The straightforward run is north on Hawthorne Blvd to Sepulveda and then west, or Pacific Coast Highway up through Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach before turning inland at Sepulveda. The 405 is quicker from the eastern zip codes, out at Rosecrans or Imperial and then west. Half an hour is a fair figure off-peak, nearer forty minutes if you leave at five.

Number 221 is a storefront, not a suite in a tower, with free parking in front and behind. No garage to find and no lobby to sign into, so after a drive of that length the appointment starts when you arrive rather than fifteen minutes later.

What the South Bay commissions

Three sorts of commission come out of Torrance. The wedding, which is the reason most people walk into a tailor for the first time in their lives. The business wardrobe, for someone whose working week asks for a jacket and who would rather own two good suits than six indifferent ones. And black tie, for the evening printed on a card that says black tie and means it.

There is a fourth we see often, which is the suit bought to replace something that never quite fitted. A jacket altered at the hem still pulls at the chest and stands away from the neck. A pattern drafted from scratch answers the whole set of complaints at once rather than one at a time.

We dress women as well as men, by the same method, on the same patterns, at the same prices. One house, one standard. A woman's tuxedo for black tie in Los Angeles goes through the options in full.

Neighbours up the coast

custom suits Redondo Beach covers the city immediately north-west, sharing a border with the Riviera. custom suits Hermosa Beach is the next one up. custom suits Manhattan Beach and custom suits El Segundo carry on towards the airport. Cloth, canvas and prices are identical at all five. Only the drive changes.

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.

Cloth from the better mills costs more, and the price follows the cloth rather than the making: Drago from $2,995, Zegna and Holland & Sherry from $3,495, Loro Piana from $3,995. Every one of those is full canvas and fully bespoke, so what you are choosing at the cloth table is weight, hand and mill, not quality of construction. Unlimited fittings and one year of complimentary alterations are included. Half is paid when the cloth is chosen, the balance on delivery.

Every figure is laid out on the bespoke suit cost Los Angeles page. A shirt is largely a set of small decisions, and how to choose a shirt collar and cuff goes through them, while custom overcoats Los Angeles covers the winter end of the wardrobe.

What bespoke means here

A pattern drafted for you from around thirty measurements and three photographs, a canvas built into the chest by hand, and a garment sewn by Max, the house's French atelier, who has made every Mr James garment since Robb Pollard founded the house in 2010. We do not offer made to measure. There is one service here and it is the whole thing. Why we leave the alternative alone is on made to measure Los Angeles, and the bespoke suits Los Angeles page walks through the stages in order.

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. A rush at twenty-five per cent more will compress that, though we would rather not hurry it.

Weddings and black tie

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 rather you waited, because bodies and minds both move in twelve months. Wedding parties are twenty per cent off, groomsmen, fathers and brothers included. The detail is on wedding suits Los Angeles, and for an evening that is genuinely black tie a custom tuxedo Los Angeles starts at the same $1,795 as a two-piece.

We can come to you

A visit to a home or office anywhere in Los Angeles is $300, including travel and the full cloth selection brought with us. Given the distance from the South Bay, and for a group commissioning together, it is often the sensible way to begin.

Questions we are often asked

Is there a bespoke tailor in Torrance?

Mr James is about half an hour up the coast at 221 Culver Blvd in Playa del Rey, and is among the nearest bespoke houses to 90501 through 90505. Full canvas suits start at $1,795.

How far is the shop from Torrance?

About half an hour off-peak. North on Hawthorne Blvd to Sepulveda, or Pacific Coast Highway up through Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. Free parking in front and behind.

What does a suit cost?

Two-piece from $1,795, three-piece $2,045, tuxedo $1,795, overcoat $1,200, odd trousers $450, shirt $295. Better mills cost more, from $2,995 to $3,995. The making is identical at every price, full canvas throughout.

How long does a commission take?

Four to six weeks in domestic cloth, six to eight if it comes from Italy or England. Shirts two to four weeks, alterations about a week.

I have a wedding. When should I start?

Six months is perfect, three comfortable, six weeks a rush we will take. A year out we would ask you to wait. Wedding parties are twenty per cent off.

Can you come to a house or office in Torrance?

Yes. A home or office visit is $300, including travel and the full cloth selection, with garments brought to you for fitting.

Do you cut for women?

Yes, by the same method 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. You will meet Robb or Ben, and whichever of us you see sees the garment through to delivery.

Come and see us

Half an hour from Torrance at 221 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey, CA 90293. Appointment only. Reserve a time, use the book a fitting page, or telephone 310-503-3592.

Nearby: custom suits Redondo Beach · custom suits Hermosa Beach · custom suits Manhattan Beach · custom suits El Segundo · bespoke tailor Playa del Rey. See also: custom suits Los Angeles · bespoke suit cost Los Angeles · about the house.