Bespoke / Made around you
First, you talk.
Then we cut.
About twelve to fourteen weeks. At least three fittings. Around sixty hours of hand work by four people. Here is what happens, and what it costs.
From conversation to collection
A conversation. And a measure.
Tell Ruth what you do all day. How you sit, work, move. You don’t need to know the cut you want. Allow about an hour and bring the shoes you’ll wear with the suit.
First appointments: currently about 3 weeks awayYour pattern, on paper.
Ruth cuts a pattern for you. It joins the brown paper library downstairs and stays there for ever. It is a record we can return to, even decades later.
The first fitting.
You try on a basted shell, held together with white thread. This is the suit taking shape around you. The white thread is there because the work isn’t finished.
The second fitting. Forward.
The suit moves on. We look again at how it sits on you and how you move in it. At least three fittings means there is time to keep looking.
A final fitting. Then it’s yours.
At collection, you pay the remaining half. Every jacket has a hidden pocket sized for a paperback. It’s been there since 1921. Nobody has ever been asked if they wanted it.
Alterations are free for the life of the suit
02 / The price, plainly
No need to
ask in a whisper.
Cloth can change the price. Ruth will tell you before you choose, not after.
Half on ordering. Half on collection.
- Two-piece suit
- from£6,400
- Three-piece suit
- from£7,600
- Jacket
- from£4,600
- Trousers
- from£1,500
12–14 weeks from first measure to collection.
03 / Before you ring
The questions
you’re allowed
to ask.
Do I need to know what I want?
No. You need to know what you do all day. Ruth will work out the rest. You don’t have to learn about cloth before you come.
What should I wear?
Bring the shoes you’ll wear with the suit. The first appointment is a conversation and measuring, about an hour. If you’re unsure about anything else, ask Ruth when you ring.
Can I bring someone?
Mention it when you ring to make the appointment. It’s a perfectly ordinary question for Ruth.
What if I change shape?
People do. Ruth’s rule is painted on the cellar door: “Measure twice. Cut once. Measure again on Tuesday.” Alterations to any Pellow & Vane suit are free for its whole life.
Can you make it in two weeks?
No. Someone once offered double the price. Ruth’s answer: “You can have it fast or you can have it right. We only know how to do one of those.” Allow about twelve to fourteen weeks from first measure.
What if I have an old suit already?
If it’s ours, bring it back into the conversation, even if you inherited it. Your pattern is still in the cellar if we made it for you. We also alter other makers’ bespoke suits, by arrangement. Ring Ruth to discuss it.
Start with what you know.
“I’m getting married.” “I’ve never had one made.” “You made my last one twenty years ago.” Any of those will do.
Mon–Fri 9:00–17:30 · Saturday by appointment
Ruth answers when she isn’t cutting.
Savile Row, London W1.