A Revolution In Women's Suits

I’ve been so thrilled lately to be meeting with so many women who are looking to get themselves into a custom suit. It was the central mission I had when I started this company: To put more women in bad-ass custom suits; to contribute in some way to leveling the playing field by making it so women had access to the same quality of custom suits that men have had access to forever. And now that it’s happening — now that more and more women realize that this is an option and are booking to come in — now that I’ve seen it turn from a trickle into a steady stream of amazing new female clients, I’m frankly elated.

We obviously make suits for men too, and we of course love our male clients and the process of making custom clothes for them. But that’s the thing — we love our female clients just as much, and that really hasn’t been the case for women shoppers in this industry before. They’ve been second-rate, played second-string to the men. That has involved women being squeezed into men’s templates because most companies don’t make templates for the female gender. Regrettably — and this is a story I’ve heard from women many times over — it’s also involved a lot of condescension and discomfort, the result of which is usually that female clients leave suitless and feeling dejected. We let neither men or women leave feeling that way. When we say that we cater to men and women equally, we mean equally. It’s not just PR.

I do have to say, though, that making suits for women gives me a special kind of thrill. Because it’s exciting! Because it’s new! Because women haven’t really been able to play in this male-dominated custom suit game before — either as tailors / designers (like myself), or as clients — and to see us do so in numbers is incredible.

We look just as amazing in suits as the men do, so why not? Sexy, powerful, sleek, stylish. Sometimes I think we look even better ;)

Lately, we’ve made some amazing women’s suits and garments. See the red three piece above.

Experimented with angles in this design. The lapel notch is a horizontal peak, a first time for Watson Ellis. The hem of the jacket and vest are both what I call ‘cut away square’. Because the jacket is double breasted with two closing buttons the cut away happens after the second button which creates 3 angles/lines in the center front of the jacket. When open, the angles are mirrored and you get a sort of inverted hexagon. The vest is also double breasted to match the jacket. When the jacket is closed you see less of the vest (and no buttons) because of the wrap nature of a double breast. The vest is cropped and works well with a high waisted pant. Because it is double breasted it also closes higher up on the neck, which I think looks great if you want to wear it on its own.

Or this electric blue three piece suit:

This future Supreme Court justice wanted something bold. We found this electric blue that really suited her skin and hair. The rest of it is about the fit because you don’t need flashy design details when you have a bold color three piece suit. I love that she did a vest, it really completes the look. The design choices were classic, narrow notch lapel, single breasted, single breasted V neck vest, and a slim tapered pant. We did do a strong square hem on the jacket which gives this classic a more modern edge. The touch of flare is definitely the matte nickel rimmed buttons, especially when the jacket is open and you have 5 center front buttons going down the front of the vest. Think of buttons like accessories — they can be changed out in time.

Or this cashmere overcoat:

I was pretty much given free rain here with the inspiration being: “Want to feel like I’m wearing an old man’s coat,” and single breasted. This coat is oversized in all the right places, shoulders, arms and chest/back, but then is pretty tapered through the body and at the hem. It’s also a bit cropped. I wanted to balance the oversized nature with the length, and not have it swallowing her whole, so the hem comes nicely to the top of the knee. Still long enough for winter but short enough to wear into spring. Design, well again, free rain — I did a wiiiide curved dropped notch lapel, structured shoulder, an extra long belt in the back only and a reversed sleeve vent so it’s seen from the front instead of the back.

If you’re a woman and you’re in the market for a custom suit, firstly I would say great choice and welcome to the revolution. Secondly, you should come and see us at Watson Ellis. We will turn your design fantasies into reality, and work with you every step of the way to make sure you leave with the best custom garments money can buy. On top of that, we can promise an amazing experience — you won’t feel like a woman in a man’s world anymore. Women’s suits are our passion, let us design one for you.