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Hi there,

A friend of mine recently asked me to join him for his first suit commission at a made-to-measure tailor here in Tokyo. He works at a tech company and needed something for a wedding — not for an office. However, it also shouldn't be a one-occassion garment only, meaning it should work for other dressed-up situations too.

As an avid commissioner myself, walking him through the process made me realize again how much there is to consider as a first-time customer. Not because it's complicated, but because the decisions you make upfront have a big effect on how wearable the result is. I thought it was worth writing down the most important ones.

Start with when and how you'll wear it

These are the two questions that narrow everything else down. Is this for a conservative workplace, or do you have more freedom? Do you live somewhere with real seasons, or in a humid climate year-round? The answers will tell you a lot about which fabrics and colors even belong on your shortlist. A wedding guest suit in Tokyo in June needs to breathe and handle high humidity. A commission for a business suit for a London office will look quite different. Start here before you look at a single swatch.

Come with a rough picture in mind

You don't need to be rigorous about knowing exactly what you want. But having a vague image helps. Blogs, YouTube videos, menswear books. Even an AI image generator can be useful: describe the suit you have in mind and ask it to render it on a mannequin. It's not perfect, but it helps translate an idea into something you can actually look at. That makes the conversation with your tailor far easier.

Be cautious with bold fabrics

Fabric swatches are small. A pattern that looks interesting — maybe a little adventurous — on a 10cm square will be much more pronounced across the full width of a jacket back. It's easy to fall in love with a check or a deep color in swatch form, only to find the finished suit overwhelming. If it's your first commission, simpler is almost always wiser. You can be more adventurous once you've seen how samples translate to a full garment.

Don't follow generic advice blindly

The standard first-suit advice is navy or charcoal. And it's good advice, for certain people and certain contexts. But if you're not primarily dressing for a conservative office, if you want something you'll actually reach for regularly, then the standard advice might not apply to you. Being informed helps. Being blindly guided by it doesn't. If you're browsing swatches and a particular brown fabric keeps pulling your attention — and you can picture wearing it often, even broken up — that's worth paying attention to.

Think about your complexion

It's not the most decisive factor, but it's worth a moment's thought. Certain colors suit certain complexions better. Cool greys and navies tend to work well for fair, cool-toned skin. Warm earthy tones can be flattering on warmer complexions. It's not a rule, but if you're undecided between two fabrics, it can help you make the call.

Stay flexible

This is the one I'd probably emphasize most. You can go in with a clear idea of what you want and still leave with something completely different — and better. The fabric you end up with might not have been on your radar at all. Sometimes you pick up a swatch and something just clicks: you can already picture how it will look finished, what shirts it will work with, whether it wants to be single- or double-breasted. I've had that experience more than once, and it's always led to pieces I wear far more than anything I'd meticulously planned in advance.

Go with a direction in mind. But hold it loosely.

Best regards,
Lukas from Thoughtful Style