PassformMaßschneiderei seit 1972

Hamburg / Neuer Wall 44, Hinterhof

A pattern drawn
once and kept
for the rest of it.

Bespoke, cut by hand, four fittings. Sixty-two hours the first time and forty every time after, because the hard part is already on paper with your name on it.

A long tailor's cutting table covered with brown paper pattern pieces, shears and chalk
Bench 1. The pattern for a coat begun in 1996 and altered eleven times.
62 h
Hours, first suit
4
Fittings
28
Measurements
1972
Bench opened

Five stages

  1. I

    Measure

    Twenty-eight measurements, taken twice, and a long look at how you actually stand rather than how you stand when being measured.

    2 h
  2. II

    Draft

    The pattern is drawn on brown paper by one cutter and kept forever. Your second suit begins from it and takes forty hours instead of sixty-two.

    6 h
  3. III

    Baste

    A first fitting in white thread, deliberately ugly, so nobody is tempted to admire it instead of correcting it.

    14 h
  4. IV

    Forward

    Canvas, padding stitch, and the shoulder. Second and third fittings sit here, a fortnight apart.

    22 h
  5. V

    Finish

    Buttonholes, lining and the last fitting. If the collar is not right we take the whole thing back to the bench, and we have.

    18 h
A half-made jacket in canvas basted onto a tailor's dress stand
Stage III. White thread, on purpose.
A close view of chalk marks and basting stitches on dark wool cloth
Chalk survives one pressing. Say what you mean the first time.

Cloth we keep on the shelf

About four hundred lengths in the room, and a merchant two streets away for everything else. We will talk you out of anything under nine ounces for a first suit.

  1. Worsted, 11 ozHuddersfieldYear-round, four seasons
  2. Flannel, 14 ozYorkshireAutumn and winter, drapes and forgives
  3. Fresco, 9 ozHuddersfieldHigh twist, open weave, for August
  4. Tweed, 16 ozOuter HebridesCountry only. Heavy, and it should be
  5. Linen, 8 ozKortrijkCreases. That is the material working, not failing
A wall of thread spools arranged by shade in a tailoring workroom
Silk thread, arranged by shade because the light changes.

Prices

  1. Two-piece suitfrom €4,60062 hours, four fittings, pattern kept
  2. Repeat orderfrom €3,40040 hours, two fittings, same pattern
  3. Jacket alonefrom €3,20044 hours, three fittings
  4. Overcoatfrom €5,10070 hours, four fittings
  5. Alterations, our workfree, foreverBodies change. The pattern is still here.

Come and be measured

Workroom
Neuer Wall 44, Hinterhof
20354 Hamburg
Appointments
Tue to Fri. Allow two hours for the first.
Waiting list
Fourteen weeks to the first fitting.

Three things a machine cannot do

Not romance. Three specific operations that decide whether a coat hangs.

01

The shoulder

Pad stitched by hand so the canvas and the cloth move independently. A fused shoulder is flat on the hanger and flat on you.

02

The canvas

Floating, not glued. It takes the shape of your chest over about a year, which is a feature and cannot be simulated.

03

The second fitting

Where the coat stops being a size and starts being yours. Nothing measured at the start survives it unchanged.

What we make besides suits

Same bench, same pattern, smaller commitment. All prices before cloth.

  1. Overcoat704€5,100
  2. Odd jacket443€3,200
  3. Trousers, alone162€1,150
  4. Waistcoat142€980
  5. Dinner suit684€5,400
  6. Alteration, our workn/aAs neededFree

Before your first appointment

What should I bring?
The shoes you will wear with it, and a jacket you already like, even if you like it for reasons you cannot articulate. Especially then.
How long does it take?
Fourteen weeks to the first fitting, and about six months to delivery. Repeat orders are half that because the pattern already exists.
Can I supply my own cloth?
Yes, and we will tell you honestly if it is not enough or not suitable. Three and a half metres for a two-piece, more if it has a check.
What if I change shape?
We alter our own work free, for as long as the garment lasts. Bodies change; the pattern is still in the drawer.