Your first visit · Est. 1972
Your firstappointment
Nobody is born knowing how this works. Here’s exactly what happens, what to bring, and what you’re committing to. Which is nothing.
Your first custom appointment takes about an hour. We talk about how you actually dress, take your measurements, and go through cloth and options. You leave with a firm quote and no obligation. If you order, the garment arrives in four to six weeks and you collect it here.
Before you come
What to bring
Nothing is required. But three things make the hour considerably more useful, and they cost you no effort.
Bring the jacket you like best and, if you have one, the jacket you never wear. The second is often more informative than the first — it tells us exactly what has gone wrong for you before.
Wear or bring the shoes you would actually wear with the garment. Trouser length is decided against real footwear, not an estimate. If you wear boots, bring the boots.
And have a rough idea of where you will wear it. A suit for court, a sport coat for client lunches, and a jacket for Saturday dinners are three different garments.
The hour itself
Roughly how it goes
- The conversation
- Ten minutes. What you do, where you wear it, what has annoyed you about clothes in the past. This shapes everything that follows.
- Measurements
- Fifteen minutes or so. More measurements than you expect, including posture and shoulder slope, which standard sizing ignores entirely.
- Cloth
- The longest part, and the most enjoyable. Swatches in hand, with weight and season discussed honestly — Texas is unforgiving of the wrong cloth.
- Details
- Lapel, pockets, vent, buttons, lining. We will give an opinion when asked and stay out of the way when not.
- The number
- A firm quote before anything is ordered. No deposit is required to reach this point, and plenty of first appointments end here.
Afterwards
What happens next
Four to six weeks
If you order. Your garment is made to the specification agreed in the appointment.
Collection
You come in and put it on. Most garments need nothing at all.
Adjustments if needed
Handled here by our tailor. Not shipped anywhere, not weeks of waiting.
Common questions
Your first appointment, answered
What should I bring to a custom clothing appointment?
Nothing is required, but three things help: the jacket you like best, the jacket you never wear because something about it is wrong, and the shoes or boots you will wear with the finished garment. Trouser length is decided against real footwear.
How long does the appointment take?
About an hour for a single garment. Allow two to three hours if you are building a full wardrobe. Call ahead with a rough idea of what you are after and we will pull cloth before you arrive.
Do I have to buy anything?
No. You can be measured, look at cloth, get a firm quote, and leave. Nothing is ordered and no deposit is taken until you decide to proceed, and plenty of first appointments end exactly there.
Do I need an appointment or can I walk in?
You are welcome to walk in during business hours, Monday to Saturday, ten to five. For custom we strongly prefer an appointment so we can give you the unhurried hour rather than fitting you between other customers.
What if I don’t know what I want?
That is the normal starting point and it is genuinely fine. Tell us where you will wear it and roughly how you like to dress, and we will narrow it down. The appointment exists to answer that question, not to test you on it.
Will I be pressured to spend more than I planned?
No. Tell us your budget at the start and we will work inside it, including telling you when off-the-rack altered here is the better value. We would rather have you back in two years than oversell you once.
An hour, no obligation
Come in
Bring the jacket you never wear. It tells us more than the one you love.
100 S. West Street, Arlington, Texas 76010
Mon–Sat 10am–5pm · Closed Sunday
(817) 265-1116