Completely enamoured as I was with Oxxford suits after watching their promo video, I headed over to the Oxxford Clothes website and was delighted to find a detailed guide to the anatomy of their suits.

The craziest part for me is the pattern-matching by hand.

Seriously, how can you learn all this and not want an Oxxford suit? We’re not robots.

The Robb Report “Best of the Best” issue in 2002 even selected Oxxford Clothes as the makers of the best suit. This is what they wrote:

A quick look at the lapels is all it takes to gauge whether a suit has a superior pedigree. A perfect lapel is not pressed flat but instead has an attractive natural roll and a gentle lift off the chest. If you ripped open the seams to inspect the contents within, you would find hundreds of uneven crow’s-foot stitches that climb the lapel and fan out around the collar. Such seemingly haphazard stitches not only hold the parts of the lapel and collar together, but the technique used to sew these stitches ensures that the roll will stay in place for the lifetime of the garment.

To save time in production, many clothing companies use a machine to stitch the interior canvas to the tiny fabric pieces that make up the collar and lapel. The problem is that no machine can minutely adjust the tension of a collar and give memory to the roll of the lapel quite like human hands. At Oxxford Clothes, the 1,350 herringbone basting stitches inside the lapel and the additional 850 stitches inside the collar are painstakingly placed and sewn by a single artisan working diligently over the course of several hours.

Devoting such meticulous attention to the lapel is just one step in the 23-hour process of fashioning a typical Oxxford suit. Only the purists use natural canvas blended from goat hair and wool for the interior linings. Of these, Oxxford alone uses hot water rather than steam to shrink the canvas, thereby ensuring that the suit retains its shape after innumerable wearings, pressings, and cleanings. The company selects the finest Italian and English worsted wools, gabardines, and flannels, as well as premium Scottish tweeds and cashmeres, and every seam is hand-stitched with silk thread for flexibility. When it comes to the most overworked elements of a suit—the buttons and buttonholes—Oxxford chooses genuine buf-falo horn buttons, and each buttonhole is cut and sewn entirely by hand and stitched twice—from the inside and the outside. While many suit makers hide a garment’s flaws with Bemberg silk linings throughout, Oxxford’s suits are always quarter-lined to allow more fluid movement. Finally, Oxxford employs an exclusive patented trouser design with pleats that expand inward and pockets that are sewn into the waistband so objects can be carried without sagging and destroying the shape of the slacks.
“At one point I had gone to Europe to try to find someone who could duplicate the Oxxford product, but [to do so] would have cost triple the price,” the late Stanley Marcus, son of the founder of Neiman Marcus, said in his final interview with the menswear trade journal MR earlier this year. “It is as fine a garment as is made anywhere in the world,” added the man who first brought the collection to Neiman Marcus back in 1932, when an Oxxford suit retailed for $65. These days the typical Oxxford suit is priced around $3,000. Custom and made-to-measure styles fabricated from one-of-a-kind Super 200 wool and cashmere sell for as much as $20,000.

Oxxford has remained true to its original construction methods, which have not changed since the company was founded in 1916. This year, Oxxford turns to its archives for design inspiration, as it re-creates exclusive patterns from the 1930s and ’40s that were originally produced in heavy tweeds and Saxony cloths. The modern versions, however, will be made from lightweight fabrics such as camel hair and worsted wool. “For years, the great mill owners in Scotland and England have told me that the best designs were greatly influenced by old Hollywood,” says Crit Rawlings, Oxxford’s chief executive. “So we took those types of patterns from our archives and created a collection that was so well received that even we were surprised.”

This is Oxxford Clothes’ Anatomy of a Suit; enjoy:

Custom Pattern Drafting

The CPM (Chief Pattern Maker) will adjust the pattern, if needed, to reflect new measurements. Traditional pattern drafting is a technical skill that Oxxford Clothes is committed and dedicated to perpetuate by investing in training our people in the “Oxxford Methods of Design”.

Cutter Making Marker

The patterns are laid out over the cloth to create a schematic for cutting the suit from the cloth. At Oxxford we cut every order observing a “one way” marker so that all of the pattern pieces are laid out in the same direction. This method greatly reduces the likelihood of shading when the pieces are sewn together. One of the most critical steps when making the marker is to position the pieces to ensure that the “stripe line” or “grain line” on the pattern is perfectly straight. This is achieved by measuring from two points on the pattern from the stripe line to the selvedge to ensure the pattern is being placed straight to avoid any bias in the cut.

Master Cutter Marking the Patterns

After the Master Cutter makes the marker it is time to “mark in” or “chalk” the pieces onto the cloth. Cutters weights are positioned over the pieces so that the patterns will not shift. The cutter then sharpens his chalk and begins to trace the patterns onto the cloth.

Master Cutter Cutting Cloth

The Master Cutter then cuts the pieces out. When observing the most highly skilled cutters you can actually see a small burst of chalk dust after each snip as they guide their shears right through the center of the chalk line.

Small Parts Cutting Specialist

The Master Cutters are responsible for cutting the major pattern pieces; as for the pocket flaps, welts, smaller parts; we employ a specialist to open each coat front (one by one) and match the flaps, welts, etc (one by one). This specialist has all the flap patterns and then cuts each flap/welt (one by one) to ensure perfect stripe and plaid matching. Also, we grade our flaps/welts so that a size 36 does not have the same size flap as a 46.

Hand Bar Tack of Pocket Corners

After the pocket is made we then hand sew a bar tack using silk thread at each pocket corner to reinforce all the layers. At Oxxford Clothes this is not just decorative but a feature that functions to strengthen the corners of the pocket which tends to undergo a lot of stress.

Reverse Chain Stitch the Armhole by Hand

It is critically important to maintain the integrity of the armhole or arm scye. This affects the overall balance of the fit and integrity of the sleeves. At Oxxford we use a Reverse Chain Stitch by Hand to maintain the shape of the armhole rather than sewing a tape into the armhole. Arguably one of the greatest features in an Oxxford coat, this method does its job while providing the wearer with a very supple armhole that moves and conforms to you, the wearer.

Canvas Baste

Basting the canvas to the coat front is the foundation that the rest of the coat will be based upon. This step positions the canvas to the front and holds them together so that the next artisans to work on the coat can do so. This basting will eventually be removed but is a critically important step in the construction.

Mark Bridle and Lapel

The next step is to mark the bridle and shape of the lapel on the canvas. The bridle is marked and drawn approximately 5/16” to create the shape for the coat to drape gracefully over the chest. This 5/16” is then basted and pressed into the front. The marking of the lapel shape provides a guide for hand padding the lapel.

Hand Padded Lapel

In order to create a soft and graceful roll to the lapel we elect to perform this step 100% by hand. Only a hand padded lapel results in a full and elegant lapel that snaps back to its original shape. Over 1,000 hand stitches and the skillful hands of an experienced artisan result in this feature. This method takes 1 ¼ hours on average (depending on lapel size) and is simply the finest way to complete this step.

Hand Padded Undercollar

Our artisans that hand pad our lapels also hand pad our collars since the technique employs the same discipline. Only the skillful hands of an experienced artisan can take a flat undercollar and build the concave shape into it so that it will hug the neck of the wearer. There is simply no better way to make the collar.

Hand Padded Bridle

After the bridle is marked, basted and pressed it is time to lock the cotton bridle into place. Much like padding the lapel, we use a herringbone like pattern of stitches that penetrates the bridle, canvas and coat front together to hold these three components together.

Die Cut Front Edge

Once an Oxxford lapel shape is designed we then have a die created and utilize it to die cut the front edge. This is simply the best method to be able to create a lapel shape that is consistent from coat to coat.

Trim Canvas from Front Edge

After the edge is die cut we then trim the canvas 5/16” from the edge so that we can prepare our front edge. Since we prescribe to sewing our front edge without any tape or canvas locked into the edge it is imperative to use the watchful eye of a highly skilled artisan to hand trim the front edge using tailors shears.

Baste Front Edge Tape

When placing the front edge tape it is critical that the tape is basted in certain areas with fullness or ease and other areas with the slightest bit of tension. Our edge tapes are basted by hand by an artisan that not only understands the method but understands textiles and matching the method to the cloth type. Worsted tropicals react differently than silk, cashmere, etc. Only the knowledge of a skillful artisan can address the needs of each coat.

Fell the Front Edge

Once the edge tape is basted properly we “fell” or hand stitch the tape on the inside and outside of the tape by hand. Since we do not lock our tape or canvas into the front edge it is necessary to stitch the tape to the canvas without penetrating the cloth. There is no better method for this then by hand using a needle and silk thread.

Position Shoulder Pad

The shoulder pad is positioned within the layers of the canvas and pinned into place. We then take each coat one by one and place on a tailors bust form. Based on the look we will re-position the shoulder pad to achieve the desired result. Once we are pleased with the look on the bust form we then baste the shoulder pad by hand. A hand basted shoulder pad results in a pad that is set in softly rather than locked into position. This enables the pad to conform to your body and move with you.

Mark the Undercollar Position

Each Oxxford collar is custom made to the exact neck opening, even on ready for wearing clothing. The collar position is marked one by one.

Baste Under Collar

This highly skilled artisan bastes the undercollar onto the neck opening by hand. This is critical to achieving a perfect fall of the lapel to the button stance. By performing this method by hand the artisan can see the fall and the position of the undercollar as they baste.

Top Collar Basted by Hand

At Oxxford we prescribe to a 100% collar construction by hand. The top collar follows the undercollar. This topcollar setting requires a very experienced and highly skilled artisan. We believe in balance and symmetry, as a result in the case of a plaid or windowpane you will notice that we match the balance of the plaid around the lapel and collar. The collar is basted in position using several rows of hand basting, each row serves a different purpose all geared towards achieving a clean topcollar setting. The gorge is then basted and sewn by hand from the outside of the coat. An Oxxford collar is constructed using only a needle and thread.

Sleevehead Basting

The sleevehead is set into the top of the armhole to fill out the cap of the sleeve. We baste the sleevehead by hand so that it is set into the armhole softly achieving a supple armhole. A hand basted sleevehead moves with you and conforms to your body.

Pick Stitch by Hand

Each Oxxford coat has the coat front , pocket flaps and welt edges stitched with a 1/16” hand stitch. A hand picked edge shows very little of the actual stitch and this discreet look signifies the refinement and sophistication of a custom suit.

Fell Lining by Hand

After the major construction methods are complete and the linings have been basted into position it becomes time to fell or stitch the linings. The armhole, shoulder , vents and coat bottom are all stitched by hand to finish them properly.

Button Holes by Hand

Stitching the button holes by hand is one of the details that is synonomous with the elegance and sophistication of a tailor made suit. Our buttonholes are sewn by hand and stitched over a gimp that is placed around the opening of the buttonhole. It results in a raised affect that provides a custom and masculine appearance.

Hand Pressing

A garment made with the attention to detail that goes into an Oxxford does not require heavy industrialized pressing techniques. After the basting thread is removed we find that soft hand pressing results in the most desired finished affect. Due to the immense hand shaping and earlier underpressing that goes into an Oxxford we find that the final pressing is best suited to lightly reinforce that shaping that we have formed and to remove any impressions that have been pressed into the garment. This is in direct contrast to most manufactures that utilize pressing to build shape into the coat rather than building the shape into the coat with hand tailoring techniques.

Buttons sewn by hand

Every Oxxford button is sewn by hand. The result is a button position that is hiked approximately ¼” above the cloth and wrapped firmly with silk thread.

Nickel Plated Zippers

The quality of the component is critical to the method. Nickel plated zippers are used and trimmed to each pant one by one. Our zippers are cut by the artisan to each pant one by one.

One-Piece Waistband Construction

The Oxxford pant features a patented one-piece waistband/pocketing construction. Essentially, one-piece of cloth is used to construct the waistband and pocket. This patented construction provides the wearer with the most comfortable pant interior. In addition, when using your pockets you’ll find the weight of the object is spread across the entire waistband rather than being a drag on the pocket.

Hook and Eye by Hand

The hook and eye construction is performed with no more than a needle and thread. This allows both the hook and eye to have a subtle amount of give. This feature is realized after a business lunch where the slight give and ease provided by a hand set hook and eye provides the wearer with just a little extra comfort.

Cuff by Hand

If one elects to order their Oxxford pants with finished bottoms you will find a cuff or plain bottom that is beautifully sewn by hand and immaculately finished.

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