Inside the Garment
Fit & Construction
A suit is decided in the construction.
Two coats can be cut from the same pattern in the same cloth and come out completely different, because of what's hidden between the body of the cloth and the lining.
The Four Grades
We offer four construction grades on every suit and sport coat. The cloth choice is independent. You can put any construction grade with any tier of fabric.
In the drawings, the shaded area is the canvas, the layer between the cloth and the lining that gives a coat its shape.
Half-canvas (baseline, included)
Our floor is half-canvas. We don't make fused garments at any price.
A half-canvas coat has a sewn canvas interlining through the chest and lapel, the part of the coat that does the visible work of holding shape. The lower half of the coat is fused to a lightweight interfacing. This is the construction grade for the client who wants a real custom suit at a sensible price point.
A well-made half-canvas suit will hold its shape for several years of regular wear. It travels well, drapes correctly, and doesn't develop the rippled chest you sometimes see on cheaper made-to-measure. If you've never owned custom before, this is where you start.
Full canvas (+$200)
Full canvas runs the sewn interlining the full length of the coat, through the chest, the body, and the front edge. There's no fused interfacing anywhere in the coat.
What this gets you, in plain terms: a coat that breathes better, holds shape longer, drapes more naturally, and conforms to your body over time rather than fighting it. Wool is a living fiber. A full-canvas coat lets the cloth do its work.
We recommend full canvas for clients building toward a multi-suit wardrobe, for travel suits, and for any commission in a heavier weight cloth where the structure benefits from the additional canvas.
Fully handmade (+$350)
Fully handmade applies hand-stitching throughout the construction, not just the canvas but the lapel padding, the buttonholes, the lining attachment, the armhole construction, and the small finish work that an experienced hand does differently from a machine.
This grade is what most tailors call bespoke construction. The cost is in the labor hours. The visible signature is in the lapel roll, which lays more naturally because it's been hand-padded; in the sleevehead, which sits more cleanly because it's been hand-set; and in the buttonholes, which have a subtle dimensionality you can feel without seeing.
This is the grade for clients who care about the work itself.
Presidential (+$500 to $750)
Our highest grade. The coat is made by hand throughout, and the lapel work goes far beyond our fully handmade coat: many more rows of finer pad stitches, set while the lapel is held in its roll. That is what gives a lapel its life and lets the coat sit like a second skin.
We don't recommend this tier as a first commission. Wait until you've worn a fully handmade coat for a year and decided what you care about.
The Components That Decide Fit
Construction grade is the structural decision. These are the smaller choices that decide how the coat actually sits on you.
Shoulder
The shoulder is the most important inch of the coat. A clean shoulder line falls from the side of your neck to where your arm joins your torso, with no break, no roping, and no flare. A poorly-cut shoulder shows in every photo.
We offer three shoulder constructions: roped (slight elevation, traditional Italian), natural (clean continuation into the sleeve, American classical, the house default), and soft (minimal padding, Italian Neapolitan). Most first-time clients land at natural shoulder.
Lapel
Lapel choice is decided by occasion, build, and personal preference. Notch is the default for business suits. Peak is slightly more formal, traditional on a double-breasted coat. Shawl is reserved for tuxedos and dinner jackets.
Width follows the build. Broader shoulders carry a wider lapel cleanly. We start from 3 1/2 inches and set the width to your chest, your shoulders and your overall build. We rarely go narrower. We often go wider, up to 4 inches.
These drawings are mock-ups. Every detail shown can be changed.
Vents
We recommend side vents. Nearly every coat we have made in the past five years has been cut with them. They keep the back of the coat clean when you sit, move, or put a hand in your pocket.
A single center vent is available if you prefer it.
Sleevehead
The point where the sleeve meets the body of the coat is where construction quality is most visible. A clean sleevehead has no roping, no pucker, and a smooth continuous line from shoulder cap into the upper arm.
Hand-set sleeveheads on our fully handmade and Presidential grades produce a noticeably smoother line than machine-set sleeves.
Lining
Lining choices include Bemberg, a cupro-fiber lining that breathes well and ages gracefully (our default); silk, for higher-end builds; and body-plus-sleeve combinations that allow a surprise of color when you remove the coat.
Why It Matters
The construction is what makes a custom suit different from a well-altered off-the-rack one. Alterations can adjust dimensions. Construction is what holds the dimensions in place over a thousand wears.
You can buy a suit cut to your exact measurements out of a fused interfacing and it will look fine for a year. By year three, the chest will start to ripple. By year five, it'll be a thrift-store coat.
A full-canvas suit built to your measurements, in a real worsted wool, with hand-set sleeveheads and a hand-padded lapel, that's the coat you'll still be wearing in 2036. The cost is more up front. The cost per wear is significantly less.
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