Our Approach
The Process
Five stages, seven weeks, one client at a time.
A custom garment moves through five stages, from the first appointment to the day it's delivered. Most clients have their first fitting seven weeks after they walked in the door.
1. The Conversation
Thirty to forty-five minutes. No measurements. No commitments.
The first appointment is a conversation. We sit in the showroom, look at the books, and talk about what you wear now, what you'd like to wear, and what the suit is meant to do.
A few things we ask first-time clients: What's the occasion. What's the calendar. What are you wearing now. How will the garment live.
These answers shape everything that comes next, the cloth tier, the construction grade, the lapel and lining choices, even the lead time. We don't write anything down on a worksheet until we know what we're building.
If The Tailored Man is the right fit, we move into selecting cloth. If it isn't, we'll tell you and recommend someone whose work might suit you better. The shop has run on referral for decades; we'd rather send you to the right house than build you the wrong garment.
2. The Measurement
Forty-nine measurements. Posture, build, and judgment.
Once we know what we're building, we move to measurement.
Forty-nine measurements per garment is the number we work from. Chest, shoulder width, scye depth, neck point to natural waist, sleeve length, sleeve pitch, hip, seat, thigh, knee, hem opening, full leg length, inseam, rise, and the smaller ones that decide how a coat sits.
But measurement is the floor of fit, not the ceiling. What separates an exceptional fit from a good one is judgment about posture, build, proportion, and how a client carries himself in real movement. Two men with identical chest measurements wear a coat differently. We watch you stand, sit, walk, reach across a counter. The numbers go on the worksheet. The judgment goes into the pattern.
The pattern that comes out of this appointment is yours. We keep it on file from this day forward. Every garment you order with us, for the rest of your relationship with the shop, works from this pattern, refined over time.
3. The Construction Choice
Cloth, canvas, hand-finishing, and the small choices that decide how the garment lives.
Construction is where most of the price scales. The choices we walk you through:
Cloth tier. Iniziare ($895, our floor), Italian Mill Collection ($1,295), The Reserve Collection ($1,895), or the Exceptional / Atelier tier ($2,995 and up). The Mills & Fabric page walks through what lives in each tier and why.
Canvas. Half canvas is our floor; we don't make fused garments. Full canvas (+$200) adds structure that holds shape over years. Fully handmade (+$350) applies hand-stitching throughout the construction. Presidential (+$500 to $750) is our highest grade, made by hand throughout, with the most handwork in the lapels.
Lapel. Notch, peak, or shawl. Width to match your build and the formality of the occasion.
Lining. Bemberg, silk, or a body-and-sleeve combination. Color to match the cloth or to surprise you each time you take the coat off.
Buttons. Horn, mother of pearl, corozo, or working brass. Two-button or three-button on the front, four-button working sleeves.
Pocket configuration. Flap, jetted, slanted, ticket pocket, hacking pocket, or patch.
Interior detail. Hand-stitched name inside the lining. Optional monogram on the cuff.
Most clients make these choices in the room with us, fabric in hand, looking at past garments hanging on display. The decisions take an hour the first time and twenty minutes thereafter.
When the choices are locked in, the order is cut and sent into production. Seven weeks of work follow before the garment comes back to Tysons for fitting.
4. The Fitting
The garment comes back. We dial it in.
When the garment arrives back at the shop, we schedule a fitting appointment. This is where the work is finished, not started.
In the fitting room, we look at how the garment sits on you in real movement. Shoulder cleanly seated. Chest filling without breaking. Sleeve falling to the right break. Trouser falling to the right break. Lapel rolling correctly. Coat closing without strain.
Most first commissions need small refinements at this stage. A sleeve shortened a quarter inch, a waist taken in a hair, a trouser hem set to the right break for your shoe. These adjustments are made by our in-house tailors and the garment is ready a few days later. They're included in the price.
For complex builds, we may schedule a second fitting. We'd rather take the extra week than send you out in a garment that isn't right.
5. The Delivery
The garment is yours. The relationship begins.
When the garment is finished, you pick it up at the showroom or we deliver it. We walk through care, dry clean only when necessary, hang on wide-shouldered hangers, brush between wears, rest the cloth, and we save the pattern.
For six months from delivery, complimentary adjustments are available for fit changes that come up in real wear. After six months, alterations are billed at our standard rates.
The garment lives with you. The pattern lives with us. Reorders from the same pattern can be placed without re-measuring; we know what to do. Many clients build a wardrobe in this way over time. A second suit a few months in. A sport coat in the fall. A tuxedo before the spring gala season. An overcoat for winter. A wedding suit when the day comes.
That's the relationship the shop is built for.
By appointment
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