The Japanese Bespoke Tailoring Thread

[Destination_Arubin]

I've sometimes seen mention of the Japanese tailors on this forum, but it seems people have not had much experience with them – understandably so. Let's use this thread as a discussion for Japanese bespoke tailoring.

I'll post a few tailors I've seen, my experience dealing with my tailor, Chujo-san of Coccinella, and also a practical guide on ordering from him.

Tokyo

• Sartoria Ciccio
• Tailor Caid
• Pecora Ginza (he's got a great Japanese Youtube channel for any that understand Japanese, where he reviews various fabrics and tailoring topics)
• Vick Tailor
• Blue Shears
• Anglofilo
• Archies Bespoke

Osaka

• Coccinella
• Sartoria Raffaniello

Reference
Below is a Japanese wiki page of tailors by region; I have not verified the contents of the page. Prices seem a little outdated.
https://w.atwiki.jp/bespoke/pages/10.html

 

[Destination_Arubin]

Coccinella

Coccinella specialises in Florentine tailoring. Shoulders are extended with a touch of padding mainly around the front of the shoulder to give shape, wide lapel, a full cut, and of course, only a touch of waist suppression carved through the side back darts. It is hard to go back to patterned jackets with front darts after getting used to seeing the clean uninterrupted patterns of Florentine tailoring. Lapels are generally cut straight, but I have seen double-breasted jackets cut with belly also. It is run by Takashi Chujo, who I refer to as Chujo-san.

Compared to Sartoria Corcos, another well-known Florentine tailor, the buttoning points of his jackets tend to be a little higher, as does the gorge. I have the gorge altered by request, and Chujo-san politely suggests that over time the roll of the jackets opens slightly with use, so there’s no need to lengthen the lapel line by lowering the buttoning point.

To my eye, make is very good. His hand-sewn buttonholes are impeccable. Pattern matching is also done very nicely.

Order Process

His shop is based in Osaka, near Osaka castle. He also regularly visits Tokyo and Fukuoka, typically seven to eight times per year for Summer and Winter orders. For those based in Hong Kong he also visits twice or so per year. These times are usually communicated through his Instagram. His order process is typically three fittings:

• initial measurements and fabric selection (50% upfront deposit required)
• basted fitting
• forward fitting
• final delivery/final fitting (50% order balance due)

Rather than a final fitting, Chujo-san typically sends the final garments to customers, and asks for the customer to take photos and enjoy the garment. His post-transaction service is superb. He is very attentive to ensure adjustments are made for any issues. If you meet him after delivery, he typically asks you to bring the jacket so that he can judge the final fitting. He is quite the perfectionist, and last mentioned to me that if I lose any more weight he'll take my jackets back to take in the excess fabric around my back shoulder blades.

Customer Experience

I will offer my criticism (with love). The first jacket I made with him had fit issues. We had to redo the basted fitting, and even after final delivery of the garment there were minor issues with the right-left balance of the jacket. The whole process took longer than his typical lead time by several months. I was heartened that he took the time to take in the shoulders after final delivery to correct the balance, but even then he was limited with what he could correct as the jacket was patterned, and further adjustment would cause the pattern to become uneven. For those unfamiliar with bespoke tailoring, a first garment with some issues is not unique.

The second jacket, and subsequent garments I have made with Chujo-san have been great, with no fit issues.

The other gentle criticism I will make is that he is perhaps too flexible for some in his choice of fabrics for suits and jackets. In that regard I believe Sartoria Corcos has a much stronger opinion about fabric selection, and most of his customers appreciate him for that. For example, if you ask Chujo-san whether fresco can be used for both suits and jackets, his answer is an instant yes, with very little thought given. The question itself probably seems odd to him. I have seen him wear solaro as a jacket, despite the fact I typically associate it as a suiting fabric (but he still looked great, in fact he always looks great). I tend to appreciate him for not thinking with the same constraints that I do.

Fabric Selection

A note I will make about ordering fabrics in Japan in general, is that the selection is not the same as abroad, and some fabrics will be more costly to import than others. For example, for my latest commission I was considering ordering a Marling & Evans undyed tweed, but very few wholesalers stock the bunch, and even then just a few of the fabrics from the bunch. VBC is stocked through a few wholesalers (they do not have their own direct sales channels). Fox is expensive everywhere but perhaps even more so in Japan. Cacciopolli really increased prices for the Japanese market this season to about the same price as Fox. For that reason, some Japanese tailors will not have as much experience tailoring with fabrics which are not as readily available.

Foreign Orders

This part is a little tricky. Chujo-san doesn't speak English. He does however, have an assistant at his Osaka store who does speak English. Foreign customers are able to call his store and be attended to in English.

If you need to e-mail him in advance to confirm visiting dates/fabrics/tailoring details, he is likely to be slow to respond to English messages. If possible, I recommend e-mailing him in Japanese, using Google Translate to translate to Japanese. Subsequent communication can be done in English.

Although I do not recommend it, I understand foreign visitors have limited time in Japan, so regarding time frame this is what I would recommend:

• e-mail/call in advance to request Coccinella to prepare fabric samples for selection and confirm availability
• land at Kansai airport, choose fabric, and do an initial fitting as soon as possible
• give yourself a minimum of three weeks in the country
• do basted fitting, and depart from Kansai airport / Tokyo (if Tokyo please contact him to confirm his trunk show dates, and please be aware his assistant does not travel with him so English support will not be available)

Final garment will be delivered overseas, manufacture time is approximately four months.

Chujo-san will accommodate an initial fitting and basted fitting in that time, and will send the final garment overseas. Any fit issues will need to be resolved upon additional visits to his shop, for which he will happily accommodate.

Price

I hesitate to write about this, because tailoring as a hobby is not cheap and is constantly changing. Price should also not be the only criteria when choosing a tailor. That said, Chujo-san's pricing is extremely competitive for bespoke tailoring. Really more comparable to high end RTW or MTM in terms of price.

Please e-mail him to confirm.

Final thoughts

Chujo-san is softly spoken but kind, extremely hard working and has great pride in his work. I always enjoy listening to him, whether it is when he is criticising his own work or lamenting the death of tailoring (I find it endearing).

He's a great supporter of bespoke craft, has championed the work of the bespoke shoemakers Koji Suzuki of Spigola and Ann Bespoke, and does annual trunk shows with Roberto Ugolini. He talks about when Kotaro Miyahara of Sartoria Corcos and Noriyuki Higashi of Sartoria Raffaniello were in their twenties, and would often visit his shop to learn about bespoke tailoring and to do some part-time work. He catches up with them often for dinner.

I've enjoyed my commissions from him, and hope some members consider him, or other Japanese tailors for their future commissions. I'd be happy to support Japanese tailoring in any small way.

I am happy to facilitate contact with him if anybody is interested. If you have any questions please let me know.

Disclaimer: I have no business affiliation with Coccinella, but I like him and want to support his work.

 

[Destination_Arubin]

Thanks @__k! Glad the post was of use to you.

I just had a look at some of Sartoria Icoa’s work, and it’s really nice. This sport coat inspires me for the fall:

Unfortunately, time is always difficult on a holiday in Japan. There’s just so many things to see and do. Even the three weeks I suggested for an initial and basted fitting at Coccinella might be too long for some, if for example you work a full-time job with four weeks of leave per year.

It looks to me like Archies and Sartoria Icoa are smaller operations, which might explain the longer lead time. Coccinella offers a shorter lead time because Chujo-san runs one of the larger tailoring operations, and has I think about 5 staff to help. Higashi-san of Sartoria Raffaniello also has a few helpers, and even then, I think has a lead time of 6-8 months. 1.5 years sounds about right for a small operation with a waiting list. Stay strong and try to be patient!

If you can, please keep us updated about your experiences! I’m interested to know in case I consider those tailors in the future.

 

[Destination_Arubin]

Also, while I was browsing for Japanese tailor lead times, I stumbled across this article from Men's Ex magazine about a customer's experience ordering from Sartoria Ciccio. Lead time for production is about six months, but even to reserve the initial fitting appointment it looks like there's a waiting list of about six months.

The article details Sartoria Ciccio's beginnings and gives an introduction to Ueki-san. It's really interesting to see some of the details in his work, and also to read about his particularities during the fitting process.

憧れの「チッチオ」でビスポーク体験【Mr.David Diary ＃19】 | MEN'S EX ONLINE |

Making Ciccio’s bespoke jacket and trousersMEN’S EX誌上やイベントで...

www.mens-ex.jp

 

[Christopher Madaras]

This is an extremely welcome addition! Thank you so much for sharing this insight. I'm always interested in hearing more about products from the East - Japan especially.

 

[clee1982]

Nice, this is something we’re missing

 

[rbaker]

Very good experience with Takehara in Fukuoka. Somewhere between custom and bespoke. Very meticulous and flexible. Also an excellent shirtmaker.

 

[Destination_Arubin]

Thank you! Really appreciate the comments.

I often watch the youtube channel run by Sato-san of Pecora Ginza. Sato-san gives great insight into fabrics he’s worked with, and what catches his eye each season. It’s possible to watch his videos with machine-translated subtitles, although it has limitations.

I recently watched a video on sport coat fabrics that have caught Sato-san’s eye for fall/winter 2023. He shows mostly seasonal Italian fabrics. There are some interesting wool/silk Zegna fabrics, a blue Draper’s cloth, and some beautiful Italian-crafted blazer buttons which I like.



What Sato-san does in his videos as well, is to introduce some of the beautiful fabrics being produced domestically in Japan. In northern Japan, there’s a small cottage industry of homespun tweed weavers, which has been operating since the Meiji period (late 19th century). I found this interesting article on the industry:

https://www.fragmentsmag.com/en/2015/11/arikawa-kobo/

I’d like to learn more about Japanese fabrics. Kunishima is a mill I’ve come across which seems to produce mostly fine, conservative suit fabrics. However, occasionally there are unique designs released. The mill has a deep appreciation for tweed, and a small lineup of heavy tweeds at about 600g/m. It’s not for me but I appreciate that it’s there!

I believe this suit jacket made by Coccinella uses a Kunishima fabric. I like it for an office setting. I am hoping to see the fabrics sometime in person to judge the feel and hand.

 

[Destination_Arubin]

Very good experience with Takehara in Fukuoka. Somewhere between custom and bespoke. Very meticulous and flexible. Also an excellent shirtmaker.

What a cool shop! The shop and surrounding shopping arcade look to have such a nice atmosphere!

It's written that there's a lot of handwork in the make and there is a baste fitting too which isn't always typical of MTM. The cut of the suits too looks a little bit more traditional in terms of lower gorge, closed quarters and structured shoulder. Would love to visit one day and hear Takehara-san's opinion on suit style and fabrics!

 

[clee1982]

don’t know who he is or his work other than it showed up on my IG and he has a NY trunk show a month ago

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[DorianGreen]

don’t know who he is or his work other than it showed up on my IG and he has a NY trunk show a month ago

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Nice cut there.

 

[Destination_Arubin]

Dorso (Riki Saito) looks to be a MTM maker, with perhaps the option for Saito-san to cut the pattern and ask an external maker to sew the garment together.

Not sure how much handwork there is in the garments but at least the lapels are machine stitched. Delivery is three months after order, with the option for a basted fitting after one month.

The cut is nice, customers note online that it's flattering, and jackets don't pull at the back when the arms are raised. I'm glad there are MTM options such as these - I've never been able to make the standard Ring Jacket cuts work for me. Ring Jacket trousers for me are a little too slim, and the rise a little too short for my liking.

 

[__k]

I was also quite curious about this.

It looks like Riki Saito was at COL, a bespoke tailoring shop in Kobe, for close to 15 years until he decided to move to Saitama and open Dorso last year. He also mentions a very brief time in Italy between school and joining COL.

In his decision to go with MTM with Dorso (rather than sticking with bespoke), he cites a desire to build Dorso as a brand/shop focused more broadly on menswear and fashion rather than just suiting. He felt bespoke would simply take up too much time, but as @Destination_Arubin mentioned, it sounds like he also offers bespoke (at ~2x price of MTM). The only example of his bespoke work at Dorso I've found is probably what Arubin has also seen (a coat Mr. Saito made for himself being worn by a customer) which was described as being cut by Mr. Saito and sewn by another maker. Link here with photos of MTM jackets as well.

It's great to see more makers, but at his advertised bespoke prices, I would find it hard to justify giving his work a try over the many others in the Tokyo area. His MTM prices are quite reasonable but the style is not exactly to my taste. As an aside, Sartoria Icoa has also started MTM but it sounds like he is currently reworking the pattern and the updated pattern may not be ready until early/middle of next year.

I know this is a bespoke thread but since @Destination_Arubin has mentioned Ring, I'll bite.
@Destination_Arubin, I fully agree with your assessment of the Ring Jacket trousers! Quite slim and the rise just a tad bit too short. Nevertheless, I have a few pairs now after being convinced that the legs could be opened sufficiently to give some breathing room. I am also planning to try trousers from their Napoli line in the spring (if I can get my hands on a pair to try - their production counts are always only 1-3 pairs in each size). I also have a MTM jacket from Ring that I had made earlier this year that I've taken back for adjustments. They have since raised their prices 1.5x for MTM and I am not sure if I will consider it again. This is getting quite close to the prices of many bespoke tailors in Japan..

 

[clee1982]

another Japanese tailor pop up my IG

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Ps side note why is everyone soft shoulder and 50% spalla camcia!!!

Ps just a personal preference for structured stuff

 

[DorianGreen]

another Japanese tailor pop up my IG

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Ps side note why is everyone soft shoulder and 50% spalla camcia!!!

Ps just a personal preference for structured stuff

Maybe because the most of them have learned in Italy?

Personally, I like different styles.