Bespoke suits
Cut from your own pattern and made by hand over three fittings.
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Cut by hand in Edinburgh
Hartwell & Lowe have made suits, coats and shirts on Thistle Street since 1968: one paper pattern for one person, cut and sewn by hand in the room above the shop.
One pattern, one person
A ready-made suit is cut for a man who does not exist. A bespoke one starts with you: twenty-six measurements, a note of how you stand, and a brown paper pattern drawn by hand that nobody else will ever wear.
From that pattern the cloth is chalked and cut, and the jacket is sewn together loosely so that you can try it on before a single seam is final.
It takes three fittings and about eighty hours. It lasts for decades, and the pattern stays in our drawers for the next one.
What we make
Shirts to measure
Your collar, your cuffs and your sleeve length, in cotton from the best mills.
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Alterations
A good suit from anywhere made to fit you, in the same workroom.
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1968On Thistle Street since
80Hours in a jacket
3Fittings for a suit
2000+Cloths to choose from
What customers say
CRCallum ReidThree-piece suit
My father had his wedding suit made here in 1979. Mine came from the same drawer of patterns, and it fits better than anything I have owned.
DFDr Fiona MackayTwo-piece suit and coat
They noticed my right shoulder sits lower before I had said a word, and the jacket is cut for it. I stand differently in it.
JLJames LowtherOvercoat
Ten years on, the overcoat has been relined once and pressed every winter. It looks better now than the day I collected it.
Before your first visit
How long does a bespoke suit take?
Ten to twelve weeks from the first measure, with three fittings in between. A second suit from the same pattern takes about eight.
What happens at the first visit?
We talk about what the suit is for, you look through the cloth books, and we take your measurements. It takes about an hour and costs nothing.
Do I pay at the start?
Half when the cloth is ordered and half when you collect the finished suit.
Can you make a suit for a wedding?
Yes, and we are glad to dress a whole party. Come to us at least four months before the day.
Will you alter a suit you did not make?
Yes. Bring it in and we will tell you honestly what can be done and what it will cost.
Begin with a conversation
The first visit is an hour on Thistle Street, a cup of tea and the cloth books. There is no charge and no hurry.