Women's Skirt Suits & 3-Piece Skirt Suits, Made to Fit in NYC
The skirt suit is underrated, and I think I know why. Most women have only ever tried one off the rack, where the jacket fits or the skirt fits but almost never both — because they're cut for a body that averages thousands of women together and matches none of them. Then the whole silhouette gets written off as stuffy or dated, when the real problem was the fit.
Made properly, a skirt suit is one of the most versatile things you can own. And "properly" is the part we can actually do something about.
Why the fit is the whole thing
Most women are not the same size on top as they are on the bottom. That's not an outlier — it's closer to the rule. Ready-to-wear skirt suits are sold as a matched set in a single size, which means at least one half of the outfit is compromised before you've left the store. You take in the waist, or you size up for the hips and swim in the jacket.
When we make a skirt suit, the jacket and the skirt are cut to two different sets of measurements that happen to belong to the same person. Nothing is a compromise between them. That is the entire reason to have one made rather than bought.
We've been fitting all body types for over a decade — petite, plus size, long-waisted, short-waisted, and every combination that ready-to-wear pretends doesn't exist. If you're a genuinely difficult fit, we'll make a muslin test garment first and get it right before we cut your fabric.
The three-piece skirt suit
Here's the thing more of my clients are doing, and I'd nudge you toward it: make the skirt the third piece of a three-piece suit, in place of the vest.
You end up with a jacket, trousers, and a skirt, all cut from the same fabric to the same body. That's not one outfit — it's a small wardrobe. Jacket and skirt for a formal day. Jacket and trousers when you want to move faster. Skirt with a knit and no jacket at all. Trousers with something else entirely. Every piece works with every other piece because they were all made together.
It's the best value per garment we offer, and it's why I bring it up with nearly every woman who comes in asking about a skirt suit.
And if you'd rather have the vest — we make women's vests too. It was never an either/or.
What you actually get to choose
Custom means custom, so this list is a starting point rather than a menu:
Skirt shape — pencil, A-line, straight, pleated, wrap, or something you've drawn on a napkin.
Length — above knee, at knee, midi, maxi. Whatever you'll genuinely wear, not what a size chart decided.
Waistband — high, natural, low, contoured, faced, self-belt.
Pockets — yes, real ones. Side seam, welt, patch. Deep enough to hold a phone, if that's what you want.
Vents and closures — back vent, side vent, no vent, invisible zip, button placket, hook and bar.
Lining — half, full, or a print nobody sees but you.
Same range applies to the jacket: lapel shape and width, one button or three, patch or flap pockets, cropped or long, structured or soft.
Fabric, and picking for the season
Skirt suits work across more of the year than people assume. Lighter worsteds and open weaves carry you through spring and summer. Come autumn, flannel, tweed, and mid-weight wools give a skirt suit real presence and hold their shape beautifully.
If you're planning ahead for cooler weather, start with our fall suit fabrics. For something you'll wear across most of the year, the four season collection is the practical place to begin.
Everything we carry is milled in Italy, France, and England, and we hold over 4,500 fabrics in the atelier. Bring a colour you love and we'll find it.
Why women come to us specifically
Plenty of tailoring companies in New York will tell you they make women's suits. Most of them are built around men's bodies and men's fitting templates, and they adapt from there. That adaptation is exactly where the fit goes wrong — bust, hip, and waist relationships aren't a variation on a men's block, they're a different problem.
We're female-led, and the women's side of the business gets the same attention as the men's. Melissa built the women's fitting templates herself, from scratch, because none existed worth using.
You can see the full range of what we make on our custom women's suits page — skirt suits, trouser suits, tuxedos, blazers, and overcoats, in every size we've encountered.
Come in
We're by appointment only at our atelier on the corner of 8th Avenue and 14th Street, and appointments are one-on-one. You'll see samples, handle fabric, and leave knowing what your suit will look like before anything is cut.
If you're not ready to commit, book a browsing appointment or a phone consultation and ask everything you want to ask. There's no obligation at either.
Happy suit shopping.
— Melissa