Savile House by Scabal

Savile House by Scabal is a private men’s tailoring business that offers a bespoke service, and it is one that we decided to put to the test.

Scabal, the mother company founded in Brussels in 1938, is a historic tailor and supplier of material, renowned for the excellent quality of its products, having dressed Marlon Brando for his role in The Godfather, Michael Douglas (Wallstreet) and Salvadore Dali among many others.

We are welcomed into an attractive Hausmann-esque apartment, based in the Square de l’Opera Louis Jouvet, by Guillaume, Laurent and Benoit. They have made every effort to make clients feel at home, and like true gentlemen.

We make ourselves comfortable in the small lounge, discussing clothes and elegance over a drink, and then decide to move on to more serious subjects: the production of a suit, or rather in our case, of a separate jacket and trouser pair.

Therefore we head through into the following room, where a large office is covered in sheets of fabric (more than 5000), sorted by type of material, colour, pattern, and weight… Each book is kept in a library, which is full to the brim with fabrics ranging from the most simple to the most exotic.

The portait of Barack Obama hangs in pride of place overhead; with good reason, since Scabal created the suit that he wore for his inauguration as President.

The most difficult aspect when considering a tailor-made suit is the amount of choice available. Cut, details, material… The possibilities are endless. The Savile House team is of course there to help you, offering their invaluable guidance and advice. They are also there to curb the inevitable excitement in such a unique situation, which could so easily lead to a complete error of judgement regarding taste.

There is then a lot of trying on, listening, debating and we try to picture ourselves in the finished product.

I was personally looking for an elegant, slightly formal jacket that I could wear with either jeans or pleated trousers. Just one button. I wanted to be able to wear it to a dinner or a party, or even during the day if I felt like it.

After a long deliberation over the type of collar, I decided to go with a point collar, because I also wanted to add a satin trim.

The next choices revolved around pockets: two, simply lined with satin, then the buttons (main and sleeve): in matching satin. The back of the neck, what lining I would prefer, the colour, number of pockets, embroidered or not…

You get the picture; there are infinite possibilities (more than 200 personalisation options!) Quite confident with the general outcome of my design, I had still spent many minutes debating my choices, always given insightful pieces of advice by the team.

Feeling in a navy mood, I went for a midnight blue, fitted jacket (in very fine wool), with satin trim and pearly-white buttons, a blood-red interior and a matching shade of red on the back of the neck. One button, a slit at the back, and two welt pockets.

I promise I’ll show you the completed jacket in a future instalment, along with the trousers that go really well with it!

We arranged another meeting for the second fitting, as it take four weeks to produce seeing as it’s made in Western Europe. For those of you who are more impatient, the measuring and fitting can be done at your house, or the location of your choice.

Catch up with us again in the next article where you will be able to see photos of the finished product…