Made-to-measure leather

Made-to-measure leather

Jitrois makes leather pieces to measure, and takes special orders, in its Paris atelier. A dress built to your measurements, a blouson in the colour you choose, trousers taken to your length: the wardrobe extends well beyond the sizes shown online.

Close to 30% of the house's orders are made to measure. The whole wardrobe is eligible, women and men, and made-to-measure is offered at the price of the standard size.

It all starts with a conversation. Write to us with the piece you have in mind and what you would like: we answer, and we prepare a cart for you.

Three levels, one standard

Both made-to-measure levels start from your measurements. A special order starts from a catalogue model.

All three are conducted in the boutique and online alike. Coming to Paris is a pleasure, not a condition.

Below that: the catalogue, in the sizes and colours shown online.

Two paths, and the leather decides

Each piece calls for the work its material asks of us.

For a piece in stretch leather, the material does that work itself. It follows the body where a rigid leather imposes its own ease. A pattern drafted from your measurements is enough.

For an exceptional piece, whether python, crocodile or another precious leather, the atelier builds a toile to your measurements: a prototype assembled to your dimensions, on which the line is adjusted before the leather is touched. One or more fittings follow, as many as the piece calls for. This is the gesture of leather couture.

What a special order covers

A catalogue model can be remade for you:

• another colour, among the house leathers
• another leather: plongé lambskin, stretch plongé lambskin, lamb suede, stretch suede
• hardware and metal finishes: zips, buckles, buttons
• adjustments in length: sleeves, hem, leg

Some projects welcome exotic leathers, python and crocodile, selected to the same standard as all our leathers. Their use strictly respects the CITES Convention: traceability, legality, responsibility.

The toile travels

A toile does not oblige you to come to Paris. We send it to you, you try it on at home, and you pin it, yourself or with the help of a seamstress. You then send it back to us, together with photographs and your comments. The atelier reworks the pattern on those marks, and the leather is cut once the toile is approved.

How an order unfolds

1. You write to us: the piece you have in mind, what you would like adjusted.
2. We prepare a personalised cart for you.
3. You confirm the order.
4. We collect your measurements. When a piece calls for particular precision, we send you the atelier's own sheet: forty measurements, each one explained in a photograph. One photograph from the front and one from the side, without your face, allow us to check the balance and the proportions. Those photographs are deleted when your order closes, unless you ask us to keep them.
5. The atelier drafts the pattern. For an exceptional piece, it first builds a toile: you try it on, you pin it, you send it back to us with your photographs and your comments.
6. The leather is cut, once the pattern is settled.

Every order is followed by four hands. Your client advisor remains your point of contact, from the measurements through to the delivery, working with the atelier and with the head of the atelier when the piece goes through a toile.

In the boutique

We take your measurements at 38 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Monday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm. The boutique welcomes you without an appointment. For an exceptional piece, the atelier then builds a toile to your measurements and you return for one or more fittings, until the line is right.

The price

A made-to-measure piece is offered at the price of the standard size, within the sizes of the model's own range.

Every Jitrois garment is cut and assembled by hand, one piece at a time. Building a pattern on your measurements calls for exactly the same work: so it is the same price.

Beyond that range, the piece leaves the template: we draw up a quote and send it to you before preparing your cart. The sizes of each model are shown on its product page and in the size guide.

The whole wardrobe is eligible, women and men.

Women: dresses, jumpsuits, jackets and blousons, shirts, tops, trousers, skirts, coats and accessories.

Men: jackets and blousons, coats, trousers, shirts, jumpsuits and accessories.

The lead time

Allow four to five weeks when the leathers are in stock.

A special colour, or a leather we order for you, adds four weeks.

For an exotic leather, the lead time is the lead time of the supply: allow around two months for python, and up to six months for crocodile. We confirm the date when we prepare your cart.

For an exceptional piece, allow a further week and a half for each round trip of the toile, transport and alterations included. One is usually enough.

Taking your measurements

Once your order is placed, we collect your measurements. Thirteen are enough to begin most pieces. A soft tape measure, close-fitting clothes, and someone to help you: a measurement taken by two people is a more accurate one.

1. Neck
2. Back width, shoulder to shoulder
3. Shoulder length
4. Chest
5. Underbust
6. Waist
7. High hip
8. Full hip
9. Nape to waist
10. Arm length, elbow bent
11. Upper arm
12. Inside leg
13. Waist to floor, without shoes

If you wear the piece with heels, tell us their height. A garment is built for a silhouette in wear, not for a size chart.

Our size equivalences are set out in the size guide. When a piece calls for particular precision, the atelier works from its full sheet: forty measurements, each one illustrated. We send it to you at that point.

Our commitment on the fall

A made-to-measure piece is built for your silhouette and for yours alone. That is what gives it its value, and it is also what makes it final: a made-to-measure or special order is yours.

In return, our commitment is complete. You have fourteen days from receipt to tell us about an adjustment. The piece then returns to the atelier to be altered, until the fall is right. Alterations and shipping both ways are ours to cover.

And should a doubt remain, we issue a credit note, valid for two years.

The craft behind it

Our lambskins come from the French and Spanish Pyrenees, chosen for the fineness and the regularity of their grain, and for their ability to stay supple and stable over time. The tanning is carried out in France, in the Graulhet region, a historic centre of French leather.

Then comes the gesture that decides everything: the cutting. At Jitrois, the cutter holds a central role. He reads the nuances of colour, the direction of the leather, and anticipates how it will behave in movement. Each piece is cut by hand, one at a time.

Assembly takes place in our Paris atelier and in the regions. This closeness between design and making is what allows us to keep the promise of a piece built for a body.

Produce less, and produce it better.

Stretch leather, and why it makes made-to-measure straightforward

It was in the 1980s that the house made leather a couture material: colour, the sculpted shoulder, the marked waist, embroidery on skin.

Then, in the early 1990s, Jean-Claude Jitrois developed stretch leather: the grain of a plongé lambskin bonded onto a textile base of 97% cotton and 3% elastane. The material stretches by around 30% and returns to its shape, giving up nothing of the surface of the leather.

It is stretch leather that makes made-to-measure as straightforward online as it is in the boutique. A rigid leather imposes its own margin of ease, and a centimetre's difference shows in it. Stretch leather follows the body. It allows a closer cut than traditional leather and makes the piece livable day to day, where an exceptional piece goes through the toile and the fittings.

Write to us

For an online order
customerservice@jitrois.com · +33 (0)1 58 18 38 76

For the boutique
faubourg@jitrois.com · +33 (0)1 47 42 60 09
38 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris. Monday to Saturday, 11am to 7pm, without an appointment.

Frequently asked questions

Does made-to-measure cost more?

A made-to-measure piece is offered at the price of the standard size, within the sizes of the model's own range. Every Jitrois garment is cut and assembled by hand, one piece at a time: building a pattern on your measurements calls for the same work, and therefore the same price. Beyond that range, the piece leaves the template and we send you a quote.

Is made-to-measure common at Jitrois?

Yes. Close to 30% of the house's orders are made to measure. It is an ordinary part of the atelier's work, in the boutique and online alike.

Can every piece be made to measure?

Yes, for women and for men. For women: dresses, jumpsuits, jackets and blousons, shirts, tops, trousers, skirts, coats and accessories. For men: jackets and blousons, coats, trousers, shirts, jumpsuits and accessories.

Is made-to-measure available for men as well?

Yes, on the same terms. The men's wardrobe is built on your measurements or reworked from a catalogue model, in the boutique and online, at the price of the standard size and with the same commitment on the fall. Jackets and blousons, coats, trousers, shirts and jumpsuits are all concerned.

Can I have a leather blouson made to measure?

Yes, for women and for men alike. The blouson is built on your measurements like the rest of the wardrobe, in stretch leather or in plongé lambskin, and it can be ordered in the boutique or online. You can also start from a model in the collection and have it reworked in another colour, another leather or with different hardware.

How do I have a made-to-measure leather garment made at Jitrois?

Write to us at customerservice@jitrois.com, telling us the piece you have in mind and what you would like. We prepare a personalised cart for you. Once your order is placed, we collect your measurements and the atelier drafts the pattern. You can also come to the boutique at 38 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, which welcomes you without an appointment.

Do I need an appointment to come to the boutique?

No, the boutique welcomes you without an appointment, Monday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm.

What is the difference between a special order and a made-to-measure piece?

A special order starts from a catalogue model, reworked in another colour, another leather or with different finishes. A made-to-measure piece starts from your measurements: the pattern is built for your silhouette.

What is the lead time for a made-to-measure piece?

Allow four to five weeks when the leathers are in stock. A special colour, or a leather we order for you, adds four weeks. For an exotic leather, the lead time is the lead time of the supply: allow around two months for python, and up to six months for crocodile. For an exceptional piece, allow a further week and a half for each round trip of the toile; one is usually enough.

Can I order made-to-measure online?

Yes, for every piece, and for special orders too. Everything is conducted by email: the conversation, the cart, then the collection of your measurements. For an exceptional piece, the toile is sent to you: you try it on, you pin it, and you send it back to us with your photographs and your comments.

How do you take my measurements remotely?

Thirteen measurements are enough to begin most pieces. When a piece calls for particular precision, we send you the atelier's own sheet: forty measurements, each one explained in a photograph. One photograph from the front and one from the side, without your face, allow us to check the balance and the proportions.

What happens to the photographs I send?

They serve only to check the balance and the proportions, and we ask you for them without your face. They are deleted when your order closes, unless you ask us to keep them.

Who follows my order?

Every order is followed by four hands. Your client advisor remains your point of contact, from the measurements through to the delivery, working with the atelier and with the head of the atelier when the piece goes through a toile.

How does a toile work when I cannot come to Paris?

We send you the toile built to your measurements. You try it on at home and you pin it, yourself or with the help of a seamstress, then you send it back to us with photographs and your comments. The atelier reworks the pattern on those marks. The leather is cut once the toile is approved. Allow a week and a half for that round trip.

Do I need to send my measurements before ordering?

No. You write to us first, we prepare a cart for you, and we collect your measurements once the order is placed.

What if the piece does not suit me?

You have fourteen days from receipt to tell us about an adjustment. The piece then returns to the atelier to be altered, until the fall is right. Alterations and shipping both ways are ours to cover. And should a doubt remain, we issue a credit note valid for two years. A made-to-measure or special order, on the other hand, is yours: it is built for you.

Are alterations chargeable?

No. Alterations and shipping both ways are covered by the house, until the fall is right.

Do you make toiles and hold fittings?

Yes, for exceptional pieces and precious leathers, python and crocodile. The atelier builds a toile to your measurements, on which the line is adjusted, then come one or more fittings until it is right. The leather is cut once the toile is approved. This is the gesture of leather couture. A piece in stretch leather is built directly from your measurements: the material follows the body.

Do you work with python and crocodile?

Yes. These leathers go through made-to-measure with a toile: the atelier builds a prototype to your measurements and the line is adjusted on it before the leather is cut. Their use strictly respects the CITES Convention: traceability, legality, responsibility. The lead time is the lead time of the supply: allow around two months for python, and up to six months for crocodile.

Can I choose another colour or different hardware?

Yes. A catalogue model can be remade in another colour, or in another leather: plongé lambskin, stretch plongé lambskin, lamb suede, stretch suede. The hardware, zips, buckles and buttons, can be chosen as well. Allow four additional weeks if the leather has to be ordered.