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Next step: design ideas for a bespoke suit!

catgirl

Veteran

First, let me say that I only learned the word "bespoke" recently from Steph - I don't even want to tell you what I thought it meant before that.

Anyway! I found a local tailor that does custom suits and comes highly recommended. She is a former Nordstrom tailor and has gotten great reviews online as well as from a friend. I am hoping to go by her place tomorrow to look into pricing.

So next phase: what to get, and design ideas. I am ridiculously excited about this possibility - thank you SO MUCH to those who suggested it. The struggle I've had over the past year to be at ease in my professional look has been way too time-consuming and expensive, and this is a brilliant solution. I'm thinking something like Theory + Smythe + Allsaints.

Fabrics?
Colors?
Jacket and pants or skirt or both?
How do I keep it both edgy and timeless?
Best pant leg style - straight, wide, tapered?
Cuffed or not (I adore cuffed pants and can never find them, but are there pitfalls?)?
Two button jacket?

I assume the tailor will have thoughts as well but if I'm going to do this I want the suit of my dreams and the best style for my body type. It's as bad as designing a new kitchen!

30 replies

Latest reply was from abc

Scarlet

Veteran

That sounds promising! I would think a jacket, skirt, and pants. I am thinking pinstripe.

catgirl

Veteran

Oooh, pinstripe would be cool as long as it was subtle - this will be an investment and need to be versatile. Great suggestion.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Let menswear be your guiding inspiration, that way it will look timeless and also permanently edgy. That means, a classic jacket (not cropped) with a rather straight cut. The pants would be straight -legged. If you want to add a skirt, a knee length pencil style would be the most timeless.

Another idea is to go purposely retro. A strong-shouldered 1940s style suit is timeless and stylish as well.

Finally, you could go tuxedo style suit. Also timeless (Marlene Dietrich wore them in the 30s, and YSL made them big in the 70s) and chic.

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catgirl

Veteran

LOVE those inspiration photos, Denise. You're exactly right. This tailor used to work in the men's department at Nordstrom so hopefully that will be her forte. I'm going to go over there tomorrow and see if we hit it off in terms of expectations and ideas.

Vix

Veteran

Exciting but pressure-y! Do you have a jacket style you love on yourself?

I like CocoLion's thoughts on this for you; I do think a straight leg is "your" silhouette.

You could swap in sleeveless sheath or shift dress for the pencil. Seems like if you had to pick dress vs skirt you'd go with the former.

Pinstripes read as more traditional than solids to me but do elongate (and it could be fun for you to subvert the traditional element).

WIth your coloring -- and if you're wanting this to be "the" suit for court -- I'd do black. [A tonal pinstripe could be fun.]

K. Period.

Veteran

I have a couple of pairs of bespoke trousers, and I totally agree with going slightly retro, referencing an era that you love. My trousers came from a men's custom suit maker that was trying to branch out into women's wear. The most successful ones were the ones that referenced men's styles. I got a great pair of camel trousers with a white stripe, heavier wool fabric and a straight leg. They tried to talk me out of them, but they were (and are) a perfect Katherine Hepburn style trouser, and completely timeless. Totally worth it.

Definitely do a skirt as well as trousers. Jackets hold on much longer than bottoms, so you'll want to distribute the wear between a few bottoms.

By the way, before you do cuffs, consider what type of shoes you'll wear with it. I have a couple of deeply cuffed, wide legged pants that I wore with heels until I tore them out. The wide legs let the pant leg swing enough that the deep cuff would get fouled in my heels. Wedges work fine.

catgirl

Veteran

Oh, k can shop, I would love to see pics! Hepburn (Kate) is an idol of mine... Sounds like I'm on the right track. Did you go in for more than one fitting? What was the process?

christieanne

Veteran

Hit your closet and try on your suits/jackets/etc. Do you have something now that you love that could be at all inspirational? Or something you would love if it was slightly tweaked?

Very exciting!!!

Kirti

(website)

Veteran

No helpful suggestions but I super excited for you!

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I love the katherine hepburn menswear inspired look too and think it would be conservative and edgy at the same time. I am not sure I would go with black but would try for a more neutral fabric if you plan to keep it around for years. I helped the kid pick out the fabric for two new suits last week and there were a lot of gorgeous textured wools in super 150s. One that looked like a very small honeycomb in grey appealed to me as did an extremely subtle glen plaid in the finest striped blue on grey.

A bright navy would stand the test of time too. This is really exciting and I can't wait to see what you get.

I think a jacket, pants, and a dress would give you a lot of versatility.

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

I'm soooooo waiting to hear what Angie has to say...the thought of a custom suit is so exciting Una! I love the idea of slightly menswear inspired but I would be careful you don't make it too much so that it will become "costumey" looking after a while. I also love the idea of it NOT being black - navy is just a versatile as black but has more "life" to it. I'm going to follow this thread like a beagle!

Anonymous

Another vote for black pinstripe, menswear inspired.
What about a jacket and vest, in addition to the pants and skirt?

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Once you have the prices Una, I would make up an inspiration board with the elements you like.

With regards to fabric, is one fabric capable of being warm/ cool enough year round? Do you need to be able to machine wash the pieces? What colour fabric would co-coordinate best with your key wardrobe colours.

Other considerations, how much movement do you need in the jacket? Do you need to be able to reach the top shelf without pulling a stitch)

Would straight leg trousers be best for dealing with the slush and wet? Would a waistcoat serve you well over the summer?

catgirl

Veteran

Ooh, waistcoat! It's my fantasy to find a waistcoat that fits me!

A light gabardine (like the j. crew 120s) would probably be best for this climate - nothing cotton or linen, obviously. Hopefully the tailor will have some suggestions since she is here in this miserable weather also.

I tried to picture a suit from top to bottom with all the elements involved. Decided I do not want strong shoulders or flashy collar or anything too statement-y. I'm hoping most of the edge will come from the perfect fit and the menswear vibe. I think a straight trouser leg might be most versatile for shoes and boots under.

Oh, I'm giddy with excitement! I have no idea of cost, though - so I'm thinking I'd start with black, and maybe if that works out, do something similar in grey (my favorite) or navy (my weak point in styling)...

Jewell

Veteran

No design ideas for you but plenty of EXCITEMENT! I can't wait to hear about the process and see what you get!!

Sunita

Veteran

Ooh...I'm so excited for you! If I were you, I'd go for charcoal or navy...very versatile. I love pinstripes but don't rule out other patterns (how about herringbone?). The others here have a good point about getting a matching skirt as well, but make sure you'd use it some that all items gets roughly the same amoutn of wear. Some people also dry-clean all 3 items each time for that reason.

I have a navy (it's more of a midnight blue) pinstripe pantsuit that I love. I don't have a WIW up here, but the pants are straight-legged and the jacket is long (covers the rear) and has an asymmetrical closure in the front with a panel that has the pinstripes running horizontally. It adds a little fun twist to the classic pantsuit and is one of my FFBOs (fast fall-back outfits).

I also have a earth-brown pantsuit with a herringbone pattern. Similar fit in the pants but the jacket is a traditional 2-button closure. Unfortunately, the pants are far too big on me now.

I can take pictures later tonight as food for thought...

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Here's Rag & Bone suit collection

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/b.....eys-071211

catgirl

Veteran

Thanks Sunita - I hope to see pics.

Anna, PERFECT! I will bring those images in...

Meredith1953

Veteran

What a wonderful opportunity. I would love to have a capsule wardrobe made and it sounds like you have found a wonderful tailor! Can't wait to see some designs and follow the progress!

Aida

Veteran

Fun!! I hope it works out, this could be a huge help for your work wardrobe woes. I second Denise's suggestions of sticking to fine menswear inspiration, and also that a thin pinstripe would be awesome (that suit in the last photo Denise posted is so fabulous!).

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Here is a man's blazer with a very cool arrangement of stripes. I can see this in a classic neutral pinstripe, even a classic cut but the different direction of stripes would really make it interesting and sharp.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/-j4upmiI2.....25255D.jpg

Freckles

Veteran

What fun Una! I say go for the grey if it's your favourite colour and don't worry too much about making it the perfect suit. Once you have the style and fabric that goes a long way towards being perfect. The little details such as buttons, cuffs, stitching are the jewellery as the line ends up being pretty much everything. I would get two pairs of pants or two skirts, whichever you tend to wear more of. They could be slightly different styles too to give it a bit of variety. You also have the opportunity of making one of them in a pattern that co-oridnates perfectly.

When I look back at my young working wardrobe my aubergine crepe suit was the one I wore to death and at the time I worried about it not being a sensible colour. I was an IT back then with a very feminine vibe contained in the formal corporate world.

Jonesy

Veteran

So exciting, Una! It sounds like you are on the right track to me. The quality of the fabric seems so essential: something with really nice drape, durable, doesn't wrinkle..a nice high-end wool blend? Maybe some sewers (seamstresses?) will chime in? Also, I don't see why you couldn't start with a lovely charcoal gray, since it's your fave and I think dark gray is just as versatile as black.

Can't wait to see how all of this shapes up! I will live vicariously through you :)!

rachylou

Veteran

Summer-weight wool gabardine, slim-fit. Bootcut takes you everywhere, tapered leg would be edgy.

I'd get a waistcoat too. They are amazingly useful.

catgirl

Veteran

cjh, that jacket is amay-zing! My DH would run screaming if I tried to make him wear it... wonder what he'd think of it on me?

rae

(website)

Veteran

Wow I was going to argue against stripes, but the pic from cjh totally converted me! I feel as though artful details like that transcend time even better than perfectly "plain" garments, because art is always art.

Ooh, and at Freckles' mention of buttons, I totally thought of the infamous spat pants that didn't work for us.

I am jumping on board with everyone encouraging the gray. I personally feel my gray suit is more versatile than the black, because it can pair well with the bright colors I like to wear near my face.

Sunita

Veteran

Hi Una,

Here are the pics I promised. I didn't bother with the pants because they are simple straight legs. The first is the navy pinstripe with the asymmetrical closure and the second is the brown herringbone.

S.

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christieanne

Veteran

My charcoal menswear trousers had a lighter grey/not quite white pinstripe and I swear I could have worn those every day. I still mourn the day that I had to finally admit they were worn too death. In menswear, pinstripe is a total neutral.

Staysfit

Veteran

Una, I'm excited to see how this turns out! One of my all time HEWI's is a well fitting suit/blazer. This is so fun!

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