Planning fittings around a trip

Most people who write to us have a date in mind: a ten-day visit to Hong Kong, a conference in London, a wedding in Sydney. The first question is usually whether a suit can be finished inside that window. The honest answer depends less on how fast we sew and more on how often you can stand in front of the mirror with us.

Why one visit is rarely enough

A bespoke suit starts as a paper pattern drawn for one person. Measurements get the pattern close, but the way you stand, the way one shoulder sits lower than the other and the way the cloth hangs on you only show once the garment is on your body. That is what fittings are for, and each one needs a garment that has moved on since the last.

What each visit does

Measuring comes first. We talk through where you will wear the suit, take about thirty measurements and look at cloth together. Around two weeks later the baste fitting shows a jacket loosely tacked together with white thread, so the cutter can see the balance and mark changes in chalk. About two weeks after that, the forward fitting shows a garment close to finished: sleeves set, collar on, the length of the trousers checked. A final check comes at collection, around six weeks after measuring.

A shirt is simpler, with one trial fitting. An overcoat needs the same two fittings as a suit and about a week longer, mostly because heavier cloth takes longer to press and settle.

Fitting a suit into a ten-day stay

Ten days covers measuring. It does not cover the fittings, because the baste fitting falls about fourteen days after measuring. People in this position have three good options: stay longer, return to Hong Kong for the fittings, or start the suit at a trunk show and fit it on later visits to the same city. The planner on this site checks a Hong Kong stay or a trunk-show city against our sample calendar, including the days the workshop is closed. A mix of the two, measured in Hong Kong and fitted on tour, is something we plan with you after your request.

Using trunk shows for later fittings

Our tour fitter visits London, New York, Sydney and Singapore four times a year. A first commission started at a March visit is usually fitted at the June and September visits to the same city, then finished in Hong Kong and shipped. It takes longer than six weeks, but it means you never have to fly to Hong Kong for a fitting. Each later fitting happens in the same city as the first, because your pattern and garment travel with the fitter.

What to send before you travel

Send the dates you could attend, including any return visit, the garment you have in mind and where you will wear it. A photo of a jacket you already like helps more than a long description. Leave measurements out; we take them in person. Mira replies within two Hong Kong business days with a suggested plan, and nothing is booked until you agree it.

Written by Vulpesco for this fictional demo. The atelier, its people and the calendar are invented.