Becoming Faustus

Not at all. Beyond your first consultation, most clients visit us just three or four times in total — and many enjoy those visits as part of the experience.

We begin with an initial consultation to understand your needs and talk through fabrics, styles, and options. Many clients like to take a little time after this to reflect, especially when choosing something for a wedding or special occasion.

From there, the process is simple: one visit for measurements and final fabric selection, a first fitting around five to six weeks later, and then a final appointment to collect your finished garment after any last adjustments. Occasionally, a fourth visit may be needed for fine-tuning, but in most cases you’ll only need three.

The whole process is designed to be straightforward and enjoyable — a few focused visits that fit easily around your schedule.

Most visits take less than an hour — the first consultation can be a little longer if you’d like to explore fabrics and options in depth.

The initial consultation is usually 30 minutes to an hour, but we’re happy to take longer — up to two hours — if you’d like time to explore fabrics, try different options, and ask questions. Your first fitting typically takes around 30 minutes, and the final collection appointment is usually 15–30 minutes.

Each stage is designed to be relaxed, efficient, and enjoyable — a short pause in your day rather than a disruption.

Around six to seven weeks from your measurement appointment — or a little longer if you’ve chosen a more detailed, fully handmade process.

As standard, your suit will be ready in approximately six to seven weeks after your measurements are taken. If you choose to include a toile fitting (a preliminary fitting in a trial cloth) or request a fully handmade garment, the process usually extends to around nine to ten weeks.

Either way, we’ll guide you through each stage so the timeline feels smooth and considered — giving you something worth the wait.

Yes. We offer an express service of around three weeks for house fabrics, or four and a half weeks for cut lengths.

If you’re short on time, we can usually fast-track the process: around three weeks for garments made from our house fabrics, and about four and a half weeks for cut lengths.

Please note that this service isn’t available for fully handmade pieces or for orders that include a toile/baste fitting, as those require more stages. But where possible, we’ll always do our best to meet your timeline without compromising on quality.

That’s no problem. Many of our clients live abroad — one visit is enough to get started, and we’ll take care of the rest.

We work with many international clients, so if you’re only in London briefly, one consultation is all we need to begin. During that visit we’ll take your measurements, discuss your needs, and finalise your design and fabric choices.

From there, we can complete the process remotely and ship your finished garment to you, wherever you are. If any minor adjustments are required, we’ll guide your trusted local tailor with clear instructions.

Nothing but yourself. If you’d like to bring inspiration or favourite garments, that can be useful — but it’s not essential.

All you really need to bring is yourself. If you have garments you particularly like the fit or feel of, you’re welcome to bring them along, but we have plenty of samples to guide the conversation.

Some clients — especially those preparing for weddings — also like to bring visual references, whether that’s a Pinterest board, saved Instagram images, or just a few photos that capture the mood they’re after. These can be helpful, but they’re by no means necessary. The consultation is designed to be relaxed and collaborative, with or without references.

Fully handmade garments are crafted entirely by hand, while hand-finished pieces combine machine work with key finishing details done by hand.

A fully handmade garment is constructed 100% by hand, from the first stitch to the last. With hand-finished, the majority of the garment is made with the precision of a machine, but the final 40% — things like collars, buttonholes, pick-stitching, pockets, sleeves, and linings — are shaped and finished by hand.

We make this distinction so you can choose what matters most to you: the artistry of a fully handmade piece, or the practicality and value of a hand-finished garment. Both are crafted to the highest standards — it simply comes down to preference, budget, and how much handwork you’d like in your suit.

Handwork brings a subtle softness and sculptural quality that many people love — but whether it’s right for you depends on taste.

The difference is often subtle, but meaningful. Tailoring is closer to sculpture than sewing, and when a garment is handmade, it’s shaped by the most experienced tailors who stretch, mould, and coax the cloth into form as they go. Machines can’t replicate that process. The result is a garment that feels softer, rounder, and more “alive.”

That said, whether it’s right for you is subjective. Handmade garments carry what we like to call an elegant inconsistency— a natural character that comes with human craft. If you prefer perfect symmetry and uniformity, machine finishing may suit you better.

The best way to decide is to see and feel the difference in person. We keep a range of samples in the studio so you can explore both approaches before making your choice.

Fully handmade garments are crafted entirely by hand, while hand-finished pieces combine machine work with key finishing details done by hand.

A fully handmade garment is constructed 100% by hand, from the first stitch to the last. With hand-finished, the majority of the garment is made with the precision of a machine, but the final 40% — things like collars, buttonholes, pick-stitching, pockets, sleeves, and linings — are shaped and finished by hand.

We make this distinction so you can choose what matters most to you: the artistry of a fully handmade piece, or the practicality and value of a hand-finished garment. Both are crafted to the highest standards — it simply comes down to preference, budget, and how much handwork you’d like in your suit.

Because it gives the suit shape, comfort, and longevity. A full canvas adapts to your body over time, making the garment more flattering and far more durable than fused alternatives.

Canvassing is what gives a tailored jacket its structure. A full, floating canvas runs from the shoulder seam to the hem of the jacket and is invisibly stitched to the cloth with hundreds of small, flexible stitches. These allow the outer fabric and the canvas to move independently, so the garment gradually moulds to your body, achieving both comfort and a flattering silhouette.

By contrast, a fused or part-fused jacket uses adhesive to bond fabric and canvas together. This prevents the cloth from moving naturally, making the jacket less comfortable and prone to issues over time — from bubbling to distortion, especially if exposed to poor dry cleaning.

With a full canvas, your suit not only feels better from the first wear, but also stands the test of time, improving as it adapts to you.

Not quite. Bespoke creates a garment from an entirely new paper pattern, while made-to-measure refines an existing pattern to your exact measurements — faster, more accessible, and still highly individual.

It’s a common misconception, as both approaches create a garment from scratch, but the processes are different.

Bespoke means starting with a blank sheet: a cutter takes your measurements and drafts a unique paper pattern, which is struck onto cloth and cut by hand. The garment is then assembled layer by layer by a single tailor, with four or five fittings over a period of 16 weeks or more. In the UK, this typically starts upwards of £5,000.

Made-to-measure is faster and more cost-effective, while still solving up to 90% of the fit and design issues that bespoke does. Instead of creating a new pattern from scratch, we use try-on garments to represent different existing base patterns. This allows us to refine fit and style from the outset — a process that mirrors the baste fitting in bespoke tailoring — before your final cloth is cut. From there, your garment is constructed by a team of skilled tailors, resulting in a suit that is customised to your body, lifestyle, and taste, without the long wait or cost of full bespoke.

Yes, we do it all the time - we've assisted with full wedding party outfit planning and design on many occasions, including page boy and ring bearer outfits. Feel free to message us with what you're thinking for your big day, and we can start chatting...

We ask for either full payment or a 50% deposit upfront, with the balance due on collection.

For ease, we accept all major credit cards (including AMEX), contactless payments, PayPal, and bank transfer. Our aim is to make the process as straightforward and convenient as possible, so you can focus on enjoying the tailoring experience.