St. James custom projects - unique pieces based on unique ideas

At St. James, we take great pride in helping our clients find the perfect garment, and in many cases, that perfect garment might not be part of our existing made-to-measure or ready-to-wear repertoire. However, given our nature of semi-bespoke service, we are able to explore possibilities beyond our standard options and offer custom projects, in close collaboration with the client and our master craftsmen. Since we work with highly skilled tailors in a dedicated workshop, we are not bound by the limitations often seen in factory production lines. Most su misura services offer a large number of customizable features, but only within a predefined subset. For instance, lapel width can often be adjusted, but not necessarily the shape of it nor a specific desired width. Different types of pockets can be chosen, but not necessarily specific dimensions, nor the exact angle to the body.

As an example, see the wide peak lapels with a pronounced belly shape. This was a custom order outside of the ordinary.

At St. James, we make our own designs, and every new commission represents a blank canvas where everything is possible. There is nothing we enjoy more than seeing new ideas being turned into beautiful garments, and while we have completed a few custom projects already, we encourage you to keep the flow of ideas coming. To spark the inspiration further, have a look at two of our previous custom projects.

Modified Shooting Jacket

A good client of ours requested a garment inspired by the classic and traditional British tweed shooting jackets. However, to increase its versatility and also wearability, we agreed to do a slightly modern take, with our beloved house-style as the starting point. The final result can be seen below - a beautiful two-button jacket in a Vitale Barberis Canonico oatmeal herringbone fabric that really suits the overall style of the garment. Slitted patch pockets with buttoned flaps help preserve the DNA of the original shooting jacket, and padded shoulders with roped sleeve heads give it a strong and more defined silhouette - in line with traditional British tailoring. With this garment in particular, we wanted the right balance between original details and stylistic relevance. That is why we decided to make the pockets less excessive and slimmer to the body than the traditional models. The result is a truly elegant and quite versatile piece that stands out from the sea of regular sports jackets.

Modified Duty Jacket

Another client of ours was searching for a slightly more casual jacket - a garment that could easily be worn with a knitted sweater, but also dressed up with a shirt and tie for a sharp yet modern look. We based the model on our J001 Safari, but made some changes to the overall design - regular shirt collar that can be popped up, no belt and chest pockets, angled (jetted) side pockets with cashmere lining for added warmth and comfort, buttoned side tabs for waist adjustment and a vertical slit in the back for increased range of motion. This piece was commissioned in the fall, and hence, was made fully lined and in a beautiful ~300g gray herringbone wool/cashmere fabric from Drago. A truly versatile garment that will certainly stand the test of time and hopefully serve our client well through several seasons in many years to come.

Inspiration can be found everywhere. For us at St. James, we are particularly fond of the natural colors painting the landscape of our Scandinavian countries. With the winter months behind us, we now welcome brighter days, warmer weather and hopefully new inspiration to influence our wardrobe selections for the season. With that in mind, we will be running a special promo for the four weeks (until April 5th), offering a 30% discount on all our su misura garments in selected inhouse fabrics (ranging from solid worsted wools, to flannels and bold overchecks). If you have any particular projects/garments in mind, whether that is a sports jacket, full suit, safari/duty jacket or anything else, shoot us a message and give us your details. We love to be part of the creative process, and we would love to sit down with you to discuss options and possibilities.