Southlake · Est. 1972
Women’s suits,made to measure
Same tailors, same cloth houses, same process. Directed by Patrick Milligan.
Made-to-measure women’s suits for Southlake, cut and fitted at The Man’s Shop in Arlington. One appointment to choose cloth and take measurements, four to six weeks to build, then a second visit to collect. Cost depends on the cloth rather than the construction. Alterations are handled in-house.
The process
For a schedule that does not sit still
One appointment to choose cloth and take measurements, four to six weeks to build, then a second visit to collect. There is no basted fitting and no series of return visits.
A meaningful share of our Southlake customers travel constantly, and the wardrobe that suits them looks different from one that lives in a wardrobe five days a week.
Fewer pieces, better cloth, and a pattern kept on file so that reordering does not require another appointment. Several customers here have not been into the shop in a year and are still dressed by us.
Fitting around travel
What matters here
- Remote reordering
- Once your pattern is on file, further orders are a phone call. Several Southlake customers order this way exclusively.
- Cloth that packs
- High-twist wool recovers overnight on a hanger. Soft worsteds and linen do not, and arrive looking slept in.
- One appointment, then remote
- Come in once to get the pattern right, then handle everything afterwards without another visit.
- Twenty-five miles
- North up the 114 corridor. Most customers make the trip once and then work remotely.
- The alternative
- For most Southlake women the alternative is a department store fitting room and a promise to post the alterations back, which is a worse version of the same trip.
What gets specified
The decisions off-the-rack makes for you
- Shoulder
- Cut to your slope. It is the one thing that cannot meaningfully be altered afterwards, which is why ready-made tailoring so often fails here.
- Waist and hip
- Suppression through the waist and room through the hip, measured rather than assumed from a dress size.
- Sleeve length
- Measured per arm. Arms differ more often than most people expect.
- Trouser rise and length
- Cut for the shoes you will actually wear. Bring both pairs if the suit needs to work with flats and heels.
- Jacket length
- Proportioned to your torso rather than to a size chart, which is most of why a made-to-measure jacket looks different from a bought one.
Before the appointment
Three things worth doing
Bring the shoes
Both pairs if the suit needs to work with flats and heels. Trouser length is judged standing, in the shoes.
Bring something that fits
If you own a jacket that fits well, bring it. It communicates more in two minutes than a long conversation would.
Know the occasion
Daily business, an interview, and an event are three different garments, and knowing which shapes the cloth choice.
Common questions
Women’s tailoring, answered
What determines the price?
Cloth, almost entirely — the making is the same whichever you choose. We will show you the range with the cloth in front of you, because a number quoted without it does not mean much.
How long does it take?
Four to six weeks from the appointment. If you are working to a date, say so at the fitting and we will work backwards from it and tell you honestly whether it is achievable.
How many appointments?
Two. One to choose cloth and measure, which runs about an hour, and one to collect. Alterations at collection are handled in-house.
Can I reorder without coming back in?
Yes, once the pattern is settled. Several of our Southlake customers order entirely by phone after the first appointment, which is the practical answer for anyone who travels constantly.
What cloth survives a suitcase?
High-twist wool. It resists creasing and recovers overnight on a hanger, where a softer worsted arrives needing a press. If you fly weekly it is worth specifying.
Can I order separates rather than a full suit?
Yes, and many customers do. A jacket with two different trousers or skirts produces more outfits than a single matched suit for a similar spend.
Is this the same service as the men’s side?
The same process, the same cloth houses, the same tailors. Patrick Milligan directs the ladies’ made-to-measure work, so the person measuring you is the person handling the order through to collection.
Southlake to Arlington
Book with Patrick
Cloth first, then measurements. About an hour.
Book with PatrickBook with Austin
100 S. West Street, Arlington, Texas 76010
Mon–Sat 10am–5pm · Closed Sunday
(817) 265-1116