FAQ

We are always happy to see you regardless of whether you have an appointment. However, if you come without an appointment you might not find a specialist available and may have to wait until one becomes free. Additionally, the specialist will only be able to assist you until the next scheduled client arrives. We usually have gaps between appointments as we allocate extra time for complex cases. While you wait, we always offer delicious coffee and interesting books in our waiting area. To minimize waiting time you can always call ahead to check if we can accommodate you soon.

We typically work from 10:00 to 19:00 on weekdays and from 11:00 to 16:00 on Saturdays. Unfortunately, due to frequent off-site work, if you come during working hours without an appointment, you might find the door closed. If we are out all day, it will be reflected in our Google working hours. Selecting fabrics in Italy, France and the UK or attending fashion days and other official events can sometimes take up a lot of our working time.

If you can't schedule an appointment through the online calendar for any reason, you can always call us or send a message and we'll do our best to find a time that suits you.

We understand that sometimes services are needed, but finding time to visit the studio is difficult. Therefore, this service is available to our regular clients. Unlike services provided at our premises, home consultations are always charged. Many of our busy clients prefer to place full orders for men's suits from measurements and fabric selection to fittings and receiving the final product at home or in their office. We do everything possible to create the desired result with minimal client time and maximum quality. Unfortunately, it's impossible to bring all our fabric stock, fittings and product samples with us, so for the best selection and options it’s optimal to visit the studio.

Maria Havel is a seventh-generation tailor with a master’s degree in fashion design and over 25 years of experience in the field.

Our studio works with fabrics and tasks of any complexity. You should understand that sometimes the necessary work is so complex that it’s cheaper to buy a new item. However, if it's a beloved item you don't want to part with, "the impossible just takes more time." We don’t like working with low-quality synthetic fabrics. Given the cost of bespoke work, using synthetics doesn’t make sense.

When you receive your garment, you'll be informed about the permissible care procedures. Most garments come with care instructions on the label. When we hand over each item, we offer a printed care guide. If your garment doesn’t have a care label remember or save the information from the guide.

This depends on usage, but we can provide approximate guidelines. A business suit should be cleaned after 3-5 wears. The same applies to trousers and skirts. Outerwear like coats or jackets should be cleaned twice per season with regular use (50% of the time). The same goes for knitted items. Evening dresses made from delicate fabrics should be cleaned after each use, while everyday dresses should be cleaned after 4-5 wears. Blouses and shirts vary depending on your body and weather conditions; they require cleaning after 1-3 wears.

Probably, sewing on a single button. We accept orders of any size. It’s important to understand that the size of an item doesn’t always directly correlate with the amount of work required to make it and a small custom swimsuit can be much more complicated than a full evening gown.

We have two types of discounts. Regular customers receive a 5% discount on all our products and services, and VIP customers receive a 10% discount. This discount doesn’t apply to fabrics for tailoring, which we sell at cost price when ordering a garment. The criteria for assigning and revoking VIP status are not disclosed.

If the completion date for your order is known immediately we suggest scheduling a pickup appointment when placing the order. If notification is needed it can be done via email, WhatsApp message, SMS or phone call. When placing the order you’ll have the option to choose the notification method. If you want to be notified in a way not provided we will check the possibility and try to accommodate your request.

We currently accept cash, debit and credit cards and TWINT payments. If there is a consistent demand for another payment method it will be introduced quickly. We are ready to accept cash payments in Euros, US Dollars, British Pounds, Polish Zlotys, and Ukrainian Hryvnias at the market exchange rate, except of Swiss Francs for sure.

You will be informed about any possible additional services when placing your order, if your order may require such clarification. If you were quoted a specific price but additional services arose due to an error in assessment you may choose not to pay for those services. Many orders are formed without specifying the price of materials that need to be purchased if we don’t know their cost, but you can always purchase such materials yourself if you are unsure of our ability to find the best price for them.

All our fabrics are sourced from Italy, France and the UK. We usually select the fabrics of interest based on their characteristics and photos and then receive samples by courier. In cases where it is urgently necessary to select fabric for orders our designer visits suppliers to make quick but correct decisions on fabric selection. More than 95% of the fabrics we currently use are produced in Italy, as it is home to the world's main production of high-quality fabrics.

For orders over 300.-, there is a free delivery service within the city of Zurich. Orders under this amount can be delivered for 30.- VIP customers have special delivery conditions. Orders must be fully paid before delivery. Delivery is made within the working day, but the courier will try to arrive at a convenient time if you specify such a time in the delivery request. It’s important to understand that sometimes the final fitting is very important. Regardless of whether you receive a completely new, significantly altered or slightly modified item, minor additional adjustments may be needed, which can be done in the studio in 5 minutes for a perfect result.

The same type of work can vary greatly in complexity. Shortening pants can involve an open seam, a sewing machine or an overlock, using tape, by hand, with a faux seam, preserving the original seam, with slits, lining and expanding at the bottom, you might need asymmetrical alterations. Sometimes, the fitting issue seems to be in one area, but it’s actually in another or several areas and only after an inspection by a specialist can the correct scope of work be determined. We removed the price list from the website because in most cases clients arrived with incorrect price expectations. Sometimes it’s impossible to accurately quote a price without opening up the garment because it’s unclear from the outside how it was constructed. You can assume the cost is based on a specialist’s hourly rate of 60 francs. Sometimes we advise clients against making changes because they won’t get the expected result and it’s impossible to achieve the desired outcome with the item.

It’s very rare that a photo is sufficient. Sometimes conclusions can be drawn from a well-shot video or video call. However, sometimes it’s impossible to determine the exact scope of work (or even the possibility of doing it!) until the item is opened and inspected from the inside. We value our clients' time, but in most cases a personal visit is necessary to assess the required work and its cost.

Reducing the size of clothing is always possible, but sometimes it requires design decisions that may slightly alter its appearance. Increasing the size is possible when there is extra fabric in the relevant areas or if you are satisfied with designer inserts where it’s lacking. Often, these inserts make the garment very unique and significantly improve its look. To find out what can be done with your garment you can schedule a meeting and show it for an individual consultation. All short consultations are free.

You should understand that the ageing of materials is irreversible and sometimes repairing old items requires a complete replacement of the material and/or fittings. As a result you may end up with a new item that only retains 5% of the original which might not make sense for collectible items. In any case we are happy to carefully examine your old item and discuss all possible options for its preservation. We find such attention to old things very touching.

The standard time for this service is 14 calendar days. If specific materials are needed for the work, the timeline may be longer, but you will be informed of this immediately. In urgent cases, we can usually make the necessary changes to your item within 24 hours. There have been situations where a client passing by couldn't continue walking in damaged clothing and we resolved the issue within 20-30 minutes. You should expect that urgent work might cost more than usual, but the quality will not be affected by the time frame.

Indeed, some people do not notice the difference between suits made from different materials. For them it doesn't matter what the suit is made of and synthetic materials are generally more durable than natural ones. However, such people are very few. The vast majority of people who try on a suit made from natural fabrics never want to go back to cheaper options.

For many people a suit is a working tool that they use all day and comfort is crucial not only for pleasant wearing but also for work efficiency. We have corporate clients who understand this and provide their employees with high-quality workwear.

In a quality natural suit you will feel cooler in summer and warmer in winter, skin irritation won’t interfere and the appearance will remain as presentable as possible.

Therefore, we not only recommend suits made from natural materials but also do not sell suits that include synthetic materials.

1. The first meeting involves selecting fabrics and fittings, taking measurements and parameters of the customer and determining the design details, style, configuration and personalization of the item. Depending on the complexity of the item and the speed at which the client makes decisions on all possible issues this meeting can take from 40 minutes to 2 hours.
2. After that, the components of your suit are ordered and arrive at the production site where the fabric is cut, the main elements are sewn and the suit is initially assembled. Depending on the production location, the availability of all materials and the priority of the work, this stage can take from one to twelve weeks.
3. At the second meeting you have your first fitting and the tailor notes the features of your body that are difficult to account for during the initial measurements and marks them on the suit. This meeting usually requires 10-15 minutes of the client’s time unless there are unexpected complications which are extremely rare.
4. The finalization of the item with necessary adjustments if they were identified. This stage requires from 24 hours to two weeks depending on the urgency of the order and the workload of the atelier.
5. The final fitting of the item. Everything is ready – you can pick up your new suit! This meeting usually takes no less than 10 minutes of the client's time.
6. The client writes a review about the custom suit and the service provided by our atelier on Google, with or without photos. This takes about 5 minutes of the client’s time. Unfortunately, many clients ignore this step, making it difficult for new clients to objectively evaluate us. Remember, the process cannot be considered complete without this step!

We work with most of the leading global suppliers of suiting fabrics and sometimes find ways to purchase fabrics that are not available for public order.

We can order and use any pure elite fabrics and their blends for your suit: winter options – 100% wool or blends of wool types (vicuna, alpaca, cashmere, llama, Super 200s+, diamond chip), wool blends with silk and bamboo; summer options – all blends of linen, silk, wool, tropical wool and bamboo.

Buying a suit is rarely a high-priority task, so we fully understand how often situations arise where a suit is needed urgently. More than half of people find that a standard suit is not fully comfortable due to body shape peculiarities. For such people we have two main offers.

Usually, we have a collection of suits for sale tailored to the highest standards from excellent materials, prepared to fit the client’s figure. In urgent cases such a suit can be altered within 24 hours or even faster. Just under 2% of people have body shape peculiarities that make fitting such a suit too complicated. But this is very quick and high quality, so it’s always worth trying first.

The second option is to order a suit in expedited production using available fabrics. We do not declare deadlines for such orders, but if we can fit your suit into production out of turn we are ready to surprise you.

Let’s discuss your case in detail. Usually, a weight change of 2-3 kg significantly alters measurements, making the suit too small or the fit less than perfect. If, for example, your weight always stays within 100-105 kg but fluctuates up and down, there are three main solutions:

1. You need to take measurements at both the high and low points of your weight to make a suit for the maximum size, minimizing gaps in areas that decrease (everyone gains and loses weight differently).
2. You can create three separate suits for weights of 100 kg, 102.5 kg, and 105 kg, so you can switch them depending on your current condition.
3. There are stretch fabric suits with corresponding lining and padding materials that need to be made for a minimum weight of 100 kg with maximum gaps allowed for ideal fit. However, the quality assembly of such a suit is very complex, requires much more time, the highest qualification of the tailor and has a corresponding cost.

When ordering custom items we take a deposit equal to the cost of the materials and half the cost of the work which usually amounts to 65-75% of the full cost of the item. Most competitors ask for 50%, but the total sum is about the same. You know why that is.

In addition to obvious custom tailoring, there are several options available when ordering a custom suit.

The basic option is a wide selection of fabric: material (wool of any level, linen, cotton, silk and their blends), weight (light, medium, heavy), texture (smooth, ribbed, textured), color (from classic navy, gray or black to any possible colors and shades), origin (Italy, England, Scotland, Switzerland).

The second option is the choice of cut and fit of the suit.

The third option is the choice of jacket details: type of lapels; number and type of buttons; number of vents; number and type of internal and external pockets; presence, fabric and pattern of the lining.

The fourth option is the choice of trouser details: presence of pleats on the waistband, adjustable side fasteners, belt loops; presence of cuffs; cut and length.

The fifth option is small nuances: choice of thread colors for buttonholes, buttons, pick stitching; hand or machine embroidery of initials or name on various elements of the suit; use of contrasting details under the collar, in pocket linings and inner jacket details.

The last option is exclusive features: use of special handmade buttons and/or their personalization with engraving or inlay; hand embroidery according to individual client wishes, possibly with heraldic elements; antibacterial fabric treatments; inserts of exclusive leather, suede or velvet; personalized labels with hand embroidery options; accessory sets in the same style as the suit; selection of materials with adherence to environmental standards and ethically produced materials.

Our regular clients can also order, try on, and receive their suit at their location if necessary.

If it’s not an urgent order, you usually have two to seven working days before the order begins to be cut. Changes are possible until that point. You can always ask us if there is still an opportunity to make changes. We recommend placing an order only after you are sure of all the details of the desired suit.

Unfortunately, starting and stopping an order is a very costly process. You can cancel an order after it’s been placed and even refuse the finished item without explaining the reasons, but in such cases the deposit you paid will not be refunded.

In fact, the markup on the items we sell is the lowest on the Swiss market. If you see a well-tailored suit at a lower price, one of the following situations likely applies: cheaper fabrics are used (check the label for the composition); the tailoring of your suit will be done by low-skilled personnel, resulting in a much lower-quality outcome compared to the sample shown to you; the tailoring of your suit will be carried out in countries with low labor costs (the risks of such orders are usually reflected in Google reviews, such as issues with fit, deadlines and materials). In the latter case, it is sometimes possible to get a good suit for less, but we don't offer our clients to gamble, instead, we simply sell excellent suits and accessories at a great price.

For men, the comparison to cars should be understandable here. There is the Indian two-seater Tata for 3,500.- in India and there is the Bugatti La Voiture Noire bought by a resident of Switzerland for 17,000,000.-. You can commute to work, visit friends and even go to the sea in Monaco with both, but there is still a difference. And it's not just that it's easier to find a parking spot for the Tata.

The production cost of a cheap suit made from synthetic materials and low-cost components in mass production in Asian or African countries with cheap labor does not exceed 5.-. When you pay 100.-, you are mostly paying for logistics, advertising, the seller's administrative expenses, customs duties and local taxes, plus the markup. Usually, but not always, such a suit is poorly tailored and finding one that fits your figure well is a matter of luck. Even in this case suits made using cheap technology cannot hold their shape for long and soon start to look more like a sack than a suit.

If a mass-produced suit can be made with just two hours of a seamstress's time, higher-quality suits require much more handwork and a high-quality suit will take between 40 hours (with minimal mechanization where handwork does not affect quality) and 120 hours (for special orders with a large number of complex elements and a very difficult client's figure) of work by a skilled tailor. A more standard suit will require 60 hours of handwork. And that's just the tailor. There is also expensive fabric, pattern development, equipment and all the same expenses we listed for a cheap suit, but with higher demands and therefore higher costs.

This is how we get the cost dependence on the place of production. In low-cost European countries a tailor without a famous name but capable of making a good suit costs from 9.- per hour including taxes. For a suit made from the cheapest Super 100 wool with a viscose lining the fabrics and fittings will cost from 160.-. In total, for 40 hours of work and materials, we will pay 520.-

Now you can check many offers yourself. A tailor of this level in China, Vietnam, or Thailand costs from 4.-/hour. Can you buy a quality suit made there for 250.- with delivery? Obviously not.

For a long time, Italian suits have been popular in Switzerland. Italy has indeed traditionally produced a huge amount of high-class fabrics. Historically, it made sense to sew quality suits there. Unfortunately, young people in Italy are increasingly less interested in the hard work of tailoring and many tailors are retiring without passing on their skills to apprentices. More and more often an "Italian suit" in Switzerland is not high quality but a marketing ploy for a trusting buyer. The classic "sartorialist" tailors a suit in the standard 60 hours and values his work at minimum 30-40 euros/hour, making no more than three suits a month. The real waiting time for such a specialist is from 3 to 18 months. Considering the fabric, taxes and retail markup, in Switzerland, such a suit can be bought for a minimum of 5,000.-, but more and more often, even for this price, you will only be offered a bottle of champagne, good Italian fabrics and a familiar name.

In expensive and very expensive suits an important component of the price is the fabric and fittings. Vicuna wool from the most expensive fabric producers can require you to spend 20,000.- just on the main fabric for the suit. Special wear-resistant linings with high silk content, handmade buttons and other such "little things" can cost another 1,000.-

Well, you might say, the cost of a tailor without a famous name in Switzerland is 45.-/hour, while world-renowned tailors from Savile Row charge up to 100.-/hour, so even if they make me a suit from vicuna wool, it shouldn't cost 50,000.-. Unfortunately, you're right. Very often, the high price is not due to what you receive, but to the brand, the cost of renting a store on Bahnhofstrasse or the greed of the seller.

It's good that you now understand what makes up the price of a good suit. Whether to pay for the name and local production is a decision everyone makes for themselves. After all, when you’ve paid a lot of money not for a beautiful legend but for a good suit it always gives you the corresponding feeling.

We greatly value people who want to understand all the details and we are always happy to explain and show them the essence of our work. Come to us with your suit and we will explain, show and help you feel all the nuances that justify the price you paid. These consultations are free of charge.

The steps involved in making a dress, like any other item except men's suits, depend on what you bring to us. In the most comprehensive case, the following steps are involved:

1. Defining the requirements for the item, the purpose of use and the style. (Not necessary if you know exactly what you want)
2. Creating a sketch of the item. (Not necessary if you have a picture of the desired item, a sketch, or a good drawing)
3. Sourcing, agreeing on and purchasing materials and accessories for the item. (Not necessary if you already have everything you need)
4. Taking measurements.
5. Cutting and initial assembly of the item.
6. First fitting. (At this stage, the item usually looks very different from what you will receive in the end)
7. Refining and fully assembling the item.
8. Second fitting.
9. Refinement (if necessary) and final completion of the item.
10. Final fitting of the finished item.

The cost depends on the necessity of the initial steps and the time required by the specialists. You can estimate based on the designer and pattern maker's rate of 100 francs per hour and the seamstress's rate of 60 francs per hour. We are always ready to provide a free consultation on your desired project and clearly explain the necessary work and its cost, as the complexity of items is often not obvious to our clients.

Of course, this is possible. An important point is that finding matching components for your materials is often more challenging than gathering everything from zero and this may take more time. On the other hand, we try to keep a certain selection of fabrics and accessories in stock, so many clients can find the missing materials directly in our atelier.

We make any type of clothing: men's, women's, children's, sportswear, theatrical costumes, business attire, casual wear, evening wear. We have experience in making costumes for music videoclips and cinemas, kimonos for international competitions and swimsuits for fashion shows. We have created corporate collections of business attire for offices, hotels and stores in a unified style for both men and women, as well as a collection of leather clothing in a unified club style for motorcyclists. Everything we create is united by first-class design, high-quality construction, fabrics and tailoring.