Women's Wedding Suits in Los Angeles

Bespoke wedding suits for brides, brides' partners, mothers, officiants and women in the wedding party. Cut from a pattern drawn for you alone and made by hand in our atelier in Brittany, France. Two-piece suits from $1,795, three-piece from $2,045, with unlimited fittings and a year of complimentary alterations included. Wedding parties are twenty per cent less.

More women are getting married in a suit, and almost nothing on the market is made for them. The bridal salons hold dresses. The women's labels hold a jacket and trouser cut to a size chart, which can be taken in at the waist and nowhere else. A men's tailor will often say yes and then adapt a men's block. None of those begins with the woman who is wearing it on the day, and a wedding is the one garment where that shows in every photograph.

Mr James has dressed Los Angeles since 2015 and been making by hand since 2010. We draw a new pattern from around thirty measurements and three photographs, choose the cloth with you, and make the garment by hand in Southern Brittany. It is the same house, the same canvas and the same maker whether the client is a groom or a bride.

What a bride can commission

A two or three-piece trouser suit in white, ivory, cream, champagne, pale grey or any colour you want, with the jacket cut to the length and line you choose
A skirt suit, with the skirt cut to your own length
A dinner suit or tuxedo for an evening or black tie wedding, with or without a waistcoat
A single blazer over a dress, for a bride who wants one tailored piece rather than a whole suit
Second-look tailoring: a dress for the ceremony and a suit for the reception, made to be moved into
Suits for a bride's partner, for two brides dressing together, and for bridesmaids or groomswomen as a party
Mothers of the bride and groom, officiants and witnesses

Everything is fully bespoke and fully canvassed. We do not offer made to measure at any price, and nothing is cut from a stock block. If you are deciding between the two, we have set the argument out honestly on made to measure or bespoke in Los Angeles.

Decisions worth making early

Colour and cloth. White and ivory are harder cloths than they look. A thin white worsted shadows the lining and marks easily; a slightly heavier cloth with a close weave photographs cleanly and survives a day of being hugged. Cream and champagne are kinder in Los Angeles light than a cold optic white. Silk and wool blends give lustre without shine.

Weight. A wedding in Playa del Rey in July is not a wedding in Pasadena in January. For a summer or beach wedding we would usually put you in something open-weave and light, around nine ounces; for an evening or a cooler month, a mid-weight with more structure holds the line better through the day. The full reasoning is in what the numbers on a suit cloth mean.

Trousers, and shoes. If you expect to change from heels into flats, we cut the trousers to your heel height and make a second pair, or finish them to a length that works for both. It is a small thing that ruins photographs when it is wrong.

How the jacket closes. A single button at the waist, a double breast, or no closure at all. This decides more about the silhouette than the cloth does, and it is worth seeing on you in a fitting rather than deciding from a photograph.

Prices

The price card is the same for every client. Price is set by the cloth; the making is identical at every level.

Two-piece suit, from $1,795
Three-piece suit, from $2,045
Tuxedo or dinner suit, from $1,795
Odd trousers, from $450
Custom shirt, $295
Overcoat, from $1,200
Alterations, $80 an hour

In the finer mills: Drago from $2,995, Zegna and Holland & Sherry from $3,495, Loro Piana from $3,995. Wedding parties of several garments are twenty per cent less. Half is taken as a deposit when the cloth is chosen, the balance on delivery. A rush is possible at a twenty-five per cent surcharge. The whole picture is on what a bespoke suit costs in Los Angeles.

When to start

Six months before the wedding is perfect. Three months is comfortable. Six weeks is possible as a rush. We would gently discourage starting a year out, because bodies change in a year and a pattern drawn today is drawn for today.

Making takes four to six weeks in domestic cloth and six to eight in imported Italian or English cloth, and shirts two to four weeks. Everything before and after that is fittings, which are unlimited and included. There is a fuller timeline, written for grooms but true for anyone, at when to order a wedding suit.

How it works

Consultation. An hour, free, with Robb or Ben at the showroom in Playa del Rey, or at your home or office anywhere in Los Angeles for $300. We talk about the wedding, where it is, what time of day, what you have never been able to find in a shop. Then cloth, lining, buttons and detail together, with the prices in front of you.
Measurement. Around thirty measurements and three photographs, front, side and back. Posture and stance recorded as carefully as length.
Making. Your pattern goes to Max, our maker in Southern Brittany, and the garment is made by hand.
Fittings. As many as it takes. Most clients have three, counting the consultation.
Delivery. A final try-on, then a year of complimentary alterations, which matters more before a wedding than at any other time.

If this would be your first visit to a tailor, the whole journey is written out in a woman's first bespoke suit in Los Angeles.

Questions we are often asked

Do you make wedding suits for women?

Yes. Mr James dresses women as well as men, and wedding suits are among the most common things women commission from us. Every one is fully bespoke, cut from a pattern drawn for the client and made by hand in France.

How much does a bridal suit cost in Los Angeles?

At Mr James a two-piece suit starts at $1,795 and a three-piece at $2,045, in our own cloths. The finer mills run from $2,995 to $3,995. Unlimited fittings and a year of complimentary alterations are included, and wedding parties of several garments are twenty per cent less.

Can I have a white or ivory suit?

Yes, in any shade you want. We would steer you towards a cloth with a close weave and a little weight, because thin white worsteds shadow the lining and mark easily. Cream and champagne also sit more kindly in Los Angeles light than a cold white.

How far in advance should I order?

Six months is perfect, three months is comfortable, and six weeks is possible as a rush at a twenty-five per cent surcharge. We would discourage ordering a year ahead.

Can you dress both brides, or the whole party?

Yes, and that is some of our favourite work. Parties of several garments are twenty per cent less, and we keep everyone's pattern on file so later garments match.

Can I have a skirt rather than trousers?

Yes. A skirt, trousers, or both made to the same jacket. Jacket length, button stance, lapel width, trouser rise and leg shape are all your decisions.

Do you alter a wedding suit I bought elsewhere?

We do alterations at $80 an hour, and we are honest about what can and cannot be changed. A sleeve, a waist and a hem are straightforward; a shoulder, an armhole and the way a jacket closes are drafted into the pattern and cannot be moved. There is more detail on suit alterations in Los Angeles.

Where are you?

221 Culver Blvd, Playa del Rey, CA 90293, a few minutes from LAX, with free parking front and back. We also visit homes and offices anywhere in Los Angeles for $300.

Book a consultation

Book a private consultation, or telephone 310-503-3592 and we will find a time. You can also write to mrjames@bespokemrjames.com. We are by appointment only, Monday to Sunday, and ask for forty-eight hours' notice.