{"id":18943,"date":"2026-07-08T14:10:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T12:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/commissioning-your-first-bespoke-suit\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T14:10:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T12:10:26","slug":"commissioning-your-first-bespoke-suit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/commissioning-your-first-bespoke-suit\/","title":{"rendered":"Commissioning Your First Bespoke Suit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Once you have decided on bespoke, the next decision follows: what should I have made first? Unless the need is already fixed. Men often go to a tailor for the first time when they need a garment for a special occasion, a graduation, a wedding, a ball. But then there is a risk of ordering something that will only be worn once, especially with formal pieces, which is a shame. It is far nicer, and more sensible, to have something made the first time that fills a gap in the wardrobe and can be worn often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\"A<\/a>
A suit from the workshop of Simon Skottowe in Budapest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jacket, trousers or coat first<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A man who wears a suit to the office might order a dark two-piece; for others a jacket-and-trousers combination is a good choice. Coats are conceivable as a first order too, though it can be an advantage for the tailor to make a jacket first and then, on the basis of that pattern, a coat. Now and then men order a pair of trousers first, because they want a very particular model not available off the peg or as made-to-measure. Most of them then order a jacket as well, since for them the bespoke experience only really begins with that classic, so important to a wardrobe.

I would advise beginning with a jacket. Several reasons speak for it. A jacket combines with many trousers and is therefore very versatile. The choice of cloth is huge, and it is easy to find a quality that is at once unobtrusive and special. With a jacket the tailor has to show his colours and prove what he can do; his skills are clearly legible in a jacket. There are tailors who make very good trousers but have weaknesses with the jacket, and conversely the trousers of makers who are excellent at jackets sometimes disappoint. Some bespoke customers only ever order jackets and combine them with off-the-peg or made-to-measure trousers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Cutting<\/a>
Cutting at Henry Poole<\/a> in London.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Tweed<\/a>
Tweed jacket by Anderson & Sheppard<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Tweed<\/a>
Tweed jacket by Simon Skottowe<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n
\"Jacket:<\/a>
Jacket: Simon Skottowe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My first piece, and the cloth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

My first bespoke piece, in 1997, was a double-breasted blazer by Heinz-Josef Radermacher<\/a> in Düsseldorf. I was a great fan of that classic at the time, since I rarely wore suits then. Today I would not necessarily start with a blazer, as I now wear jackets more often. Still, a jacket would be a good start. A jacket in a checked cloth is a somewhat greater challenge for the tailor on a first order, because the pattern has to match. That is a matter of course with a hand-cut garment, but with a made-to-measure piece refined over at least two fittings the pattern can cause problems. If the sleeve does not sit exactly to the customer’s arm at rest (arms hanging down), the check will not run perfectly horizontally from the forepart onto the sleeve. On a finished garment this cannot be corrected; the sleeves would have to be recut and resewn.

The cloth is generally an important subject on a first order. Most tailors like to work with somewhat heavier cloths. They are less sensitive to handle and can be shaped well with the iron. A customer who orders, say, a Cheviot tweed of around 500 g\/m on the first commission will as a rule be satisfied with the result. If a very light cloth is chosen for the second order, the result can look different in terms of fit and finish. That does not mean you should choose a more demanding cloth the first time. To get a good impression of the tailor, a medium-weight cloth might be a good option. I do not mean that some tailors can only work well with certain cloths; a professional copes with any cloth. But there are makers with a better hand for particular cloths. Some say so openly at the first meeting, others only later. You can of course raise the question as a customer, though how honest the answer will be is another matter.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jacket, suit, coat or trousers? For a first bespoke commission Bernhard Roetzel recommends a jacket, with arguments on cloth choice, versatility, and whether you go to a tailor for a special occasion or to fill a gap in the wardrobe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[303,413],"tags":[596,623,790,472,791],"class_list":["post-18943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-schneider","category-tailor","tag-bespoke","tag-bespoke-en","tag-guides","tag-ratgeber","tag-workshop-visit"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feineherr.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}