Ordering
Two ways to have it. The fabric decides which.
- Ready to ship
- In stock · dispatched in 2 working days
- Cut to your measure
- Cut to measure · ready in 3–5 weeks
- Price
- Identical either way. Made to measure carries no premium.
- Alterations
- One free alteration within the first year
Ready to ship
The pieces we already cut, in the sizes we cut them. They are finished, pressed and boxed, and they leave us within two working days.
Returnable unworn within fourteen days. One alteration to fit at no cost in the first year, which is usually all a piece needs.
Cut to your measure
Your measurements, cut from what remains of the same roll. Three to five weeks, because the piece waits its turn in a workroom that finishes one thing before starting the next.
Because it is cut for you, it can be altered or exchanged but not returned for a refund. We say so before you pay, not after.
If we are cutting it for you
Nine steps, three to five weeks.
01
You order
You choose the piece and the closest size. Payment is taken in full; the fabric is reserved in your name that day.02
We confirm the measurements
Within one working day we write to check three or four measurements. If you would rather be talked through it, we will call.03
The pattern is adjusted
We start from the house block in your size and alter it — length, rise, sleeve, bust — rather than drafting from nothing. It is more accurate that way.04
The fabric is cut
Laid flat, marked in chalk, cut in a single layer. Cutting one layer wastes less than cutting six and is the only way to work around a flaw in surplus fabric.05
The offcuts are set aside
Anything above a hand's width is kept for facings, bindings, ties and pocket bags on later pieces. Smaller pieces go to a quilting collective we work with.06
It is sewn by one tailor
The same person takes it from first seam to last. No line, no stations, no handing an unfinished sleeve to somebody else.07
Hand-finishing
Hems, plackets, armholes and any rolled edge are done by hand. This is the slowest stage and the one you can see across a room.08
Pressing and inspection
Pressed in stages, then checked inside and out. If a seam is not right it is unpicked, which occasionally costs us a week.09
Packed and sent
Folded into a plant-starch garment bag, boxed in unbleached board, sealed with paper. The seed-paper tag goes in loose so it survives the journey.
Photography · 4:5
Fitting: the toile marked in chalk where the shoulder needs to come in.
Measuring at home
Four numbers, a soft tape, and someone to hold the other end.
Bust
Around the fullest part, tape level all the way round and not pulled tight.
The longer answer
Breathe normally and let the tape sit where it wants to. The most common error is pulling it up at the back, which loses two centimetres and produces a jacket that will not close.
Waist
The narrowest part of your torso, usually just above the navel.
The longer answer
Bend sideways — the crease that forms is your natural waist. That is where our trousers and skirts sit unless you tell us otherwise.
Hip
Around the fullest part, roughly 20 cm below the waist.
The longer answer
Keep your feet together. For a bias-cut piece this is the measurement that decides whether it hangs or clings, so it is worth taking twice.
Height, and the shoes you will wear
Your height without shoes, plus the heel height you expect to wear with it.
The longer answer
We set hems to the shoe. If you tell us flats and heels both, we will cut to the heel and leave the hem deep enough to take up later.
Worth knowing
The awkward questions, answered before you ask them.
What if it arrives and it does not fit?
We alter it once at no cost, including return shipping, within the first year.
The longer answer
Send it back and tell us what is wrong in plain words — tight across the back, too long in the sleeve. If it cannot be altered to fit, we will remake it once from remaining fabric, or refund you in full. That has happened twice, and both times it was our measuring error rather than yours.
Why does made to measure cost the same?
Because it is the same work. Nothing about your measurements makes the garment harder to sew.
The longer answer
Charging a premium for it would be charging for the privilege of waiting. The only thing made to measure costs us is scheduling, and that is our problem to solve rather than yours to fund.
Can you cut it in a different fabric?
Occasionally, if something suitable is on the shelf. Ask and we will tell you honestly.
The longer answer
Every piece is designed around the weight and behaviour of one specific fabric, so most substitutions produce a worse garment. When it would work we will say so, and when it would not we will say that instead.
Can I see the fabric before I commit?
Yes. We post swatches within India, or you can come to the studio.
The longer answer
Write to us with the pieces you are weighing up and we will send swatches of each. There is no charge and no follow-up unless you ask for one.