Every suit that we make is unique and made for an individual client.
We don’t have 5 or 10 or even 500 designs. 
For every suit that we make, we start with the client and his own sense of style.
We ask him where he will wear the piece.
How often he will wear it. How much he wants to stand out or blend in.
We ask him what kinds of motions he will be making, whether he will be dancing or reaching across a desk or sitting on a barstool with his jacket buttoned.
And then we mine the rich history of menswear for details from the past that can be dragged into the present and recreated to fit within the thick context of his individual life.
We do not set out to create something new.
But the distinct individuality of each human person gives birth to newness. 
But this newness is never merely superficial or contrived.
It is instead filled with meaning; it carries its past within it; it is purposeful.
This post showcases some of our unique recent pieces.
Many of the pictures show a black pinstripe suit that we made recently. 
This suit combines details from many eras to create a suit that is perfect for business, pleasure,—and getting married in.
The fabric is a gorgeous wool twill with bright white stripes.
Many of the details of the piece are borrowed from more sporty and casual suits of earlier eras. 
The pleats in the back above and below the back belt on the suit give the suit an “action back”.
This keeps the suit feeling slim while allowing for lots of extra movement in the back when driving, operating a mouse, or shuffling papers around on a desk.
The hip pockets are hacking flaps, which make for easy entry and comfortable slouching, but they are further accessorized with buttons which help to contain items of importance when the jacket is tossed upon a bed.
The shapes of the pocket flap and the cuffs are in one of the more interesting and distinct nineteen teens/early 20s styles and give the pieces a slight aura of dandyism despite the business-like orientation of the pieces.
The jacket and the vest are cut with peak lapels and are single breasted. Like all of our “1909 Bespoke” suits, this jacket is finished with hand pick-stitching and distinctive vintage handwork tacks.
We also made the shirt, tie, and the tropical wool wedding gown shown, and always enjoy the chance to make as many pieces as possible for a special event or performance.
The next suit is almost completely different. This piece, cut from a more finished black and navy basketweave tweed, is an utterly fitted “Mod” piece that has more of a 1960s look to it.
This jacket is styled with a wide upper collar but narrow lapels. It has traditional hacking flap pockets with a ticket pocket and is finished with crowsfoot tacks on the pocket flaps and a simple handworked buttonhole on the lapel in navy.
The jacket has 2-button functional cuffs sewn with 30 ligne horn buttons for a more Mod look.
These buttons, like the buttons on the jacket, are a brown, rather than navy horn, all of which adds to the deliberate retro look of the piece.
The pants are slim “boot cut” low-rise pants with L-shaped jean pockets. This detail gives the suit a sporty look and allows for a highly fitted seat.
L-shape pockets are also excellent for holding your keys versus standard slash pockets should you decide to take a rest on the grass.
The third suit (a tan herringbone flannel) is a unique take on daytime formalwear. With this piece we wanted to do something that had the formality of a tuxedo but would work for daytime and outdoor events.
We wanted something that felt a lot more modern than a morning coat, but still felt pretty traditional. The design combines some Gatsbyesque 1920s details with a “space-age” 1960s look.
The lapels on the vest are made from a silk duppioni in cream, and the handworked boutonnière on the jacket is in a slightly contrasting tan. The pockets have an angle-cut hacking flap.
The result is what we think of as “Garden Party” formal.
The next suit is in a classic silver pinstripe wool. It is “tropical weight” with a dry hand. All of this makes for a piece that is highly breathable.
The customer was looking for a suit for traveling, and a quite matte fabric like this has excellent wrinkle resistance.
The pants are based on a favorite pair of boot cut jeans that the client mailed to us. This allowed us to get the ideal fit that he wanted and to make sure that the piece looked good with his cowboy boots.
Although some books on “dress etiquette” prescribe a vest that always covers the pant waistband, we went with a Western cut for this that would prominently display the client’s belt buckle in the notch of the vest hem. The jacket also has cuffs, which are easily rolled up when feeling hot.
The final suit in this listing is cut from a gorgeous 2-ply wool pinstripe.
The client wanted a suit that would work for business but also a suit that didn’t feel stuffy or basic and could be worn for special occasions.
The style that we ended up designing is a classic 2-button business suit, but with a Mod-style angled cutaway hem and pointed flap pockets.
This pocket style was found on many early 20th century sportswear jacket styles and on some Western and 1970s styles.
Incorporating a flap like this into a modern suit creates a piece that utterly resists the look of an “stuffy old man” business suit, while otherwise retaining the classic and traditional look.
If you are considering a suit, please drop me a line via email (aj@denverbespoke.com) and we can talk more. 
All of these suits are “muslin fit.” Which means that we cut and sew cotton mock-ups of the suit and mail these to you to try on. You send us your feedback and also digital pics; and we analyze the pictures to achieve a great fit that matches your personal send of style. We make the majority of our suits for clients that are outside of Colorado and often outside of the US—But we love local clients as well.
The pictures of the wedding with the black pinstripe suit were taken by photographer Kevin Fung. You can check out more of his amazing work here.
We make custom tailcoats.
Classic 1930s, Edwardian, Steampunk, a bit retro, a bit modern.
Just let us know what you are looking for and we will start sketching and putting fabrics together.
Our complete suits are muslin fit. 
This means that we mail you a mock-up of the pieces sewn in cotton so that you can try them on before we make the final garments.
You send us a pic of yourself wearing the muslins and we alter the patterns to get just the right fit and look.
The pics show some of our most recent outfits.
The pictures of the elephant grey tailcoat show a complete outfit that we made. 
The tailcoat is a classic open front style with silk shantung lapels that add a beautiful sheen to the look.
The vest is double-breasted and made from a silk brocade to coordinate with the wedding dress and the hat is a completely handsewn wool and silk buckram and wire frame piece that we made.
Each piece is uniquely designed and individually made-to-measure. 
This means that we can design something exactly in your style with all of the right details to match the look you are going for.
The pants are made without a front crease for a slim Victorian look.
Edwardian Tailcoat
The black tailcoats show two different versions of our classic open front tailcoats.
One was made for a 1930s style wedding.
This tailcoat has a pointed hem and wide lapels made from gorgeous silk grosgrain.
It is shown with a handmade backless white cotton pique vest, a bibbed detachable collar white pique shirt, and bowtie.
The other black tailcoat has smaller peak lapels, also made from silk grosgrain, and a straight cut hem for a look that is both Edwardian and very modern.
The chocolate brown tailcoat is cut from a wool gabardine with wide grosgrain lapels, also in chocolate, brass buttons, and a silk duppioni lining.
The pants are in a Victorian style with a fishtail and back belt.
The grey pinstripe military tailcoat was made for a steampunk wedding.
It is cut from a gorgeous wool flannel and shown with a matching Wellington style top hat.
We also made the boy’s vests and pants that are shown in the wedding pictures.
The navy blue tailcoat (shown with a seersucker vest) shows another version of our popular military tails.
We can do many types of military tailcoats.
So just contact us if you would like to see more ideas in this vein.
The final pics show a black lambskin tailcoat with embossed cuffs and side laces.
If you are thinking about ordering a tailcoat or complete ensemble, just contact us (aj@denverbespoke.com) so that we can talk about your project and start getting together fabrics to mail to you.
If you aren’t sure quite which details you like, just tell us a bit about yourself and the events that you will attend and we will start sketching.
Be sure to check out the websites of the amazing photographers who took the photos above! For more pics of the elephant gray suit, check out Old South Photography here. For pics of the amazing white tie wedding, check out David Tero Photography here. For pics of the tailcoat in brown with aqua silk details, check out Joyeuse Photograpy here.
Our completely custom line of suits–which are individually handmade to order right here in our studio in Denver, Colorado–often have a vintage flair to them.
Philosophically, our suits hark back to what we consider to be the most interesting period for men’s dress—the period between 1907 and 1921–when many of the distinctive looks of modern dress had been established, but before everything became entirely normalized by the advent of mass production in menswear.
At this point, suits were still meant to convey individuality and to express tastes, habits, and activities.
Although pocket styles have always been as much about conveying to others what one might put in such pockets as they are about functionality, one could, as it were, express more things which such details than one can today.
Our latest generation of suits strives to be distinctively contemporary in its look and functionality, while, at the same time, drawing upon the richest period of our history.
We also incorporate a vocabulary of vintage handwork into these pieces. The corners of pockets are tacked with crowsfoot and D-tacks.
Vintage style handwork buttonholes appear on the lapels.
Hand pick-stitching and lapel treatments add an aura of the handmade to the pieces.
Cuffs can be functional or highly decorative.
Our signature cutaway style is perfect for those times when you need to roll up your sleeves because of the heat or because a piece of machinery is in need of repair.
In this posting, I have put up pictures of many of our favorite recent suits.
The army green suit with brown vest is the outfit that I made for my own wedding this summer.
The fabric is a wool sateen with tons of sheen, and the details are drawn from a host of amazing vintage pieces.
This suit (like the navy suit with 3 buttons and the bold plaid cotton summer suit) are “One Button Suits”.
Although each of these suits has 3 buttons on the front, only the top button functions. The other 2 buttons are left undone so that the vest shows below the cutaway shape.
“One Button” suits are by far the slimmest, most elongating silhouette around, but are impossible to find in shops.
The navy 2 button suit (made from basketweave tweed) pictures illustrate our signature shoulder style.
Here the shoulder seam is pushed back to form a distinctive look with more visual interest in the back panels. The fronts have hacking flaps with crowsfoot tacks and a handmade lapel buttonhole.
The pictures of the white suit show a distinctive turn of the 20th century take on the summer suit, with narrow cuffs, patch pockets and peak lapels.
The light grey plaid suit shows a look with hacking flaps and our cutaway style in a two button look. This suit also featured contrast coral collar melton.
Also note the wide contour waistbands on many of these suits. This detail allows us to shape the waist as much as necessary for comfort and a perfect fit.
We can currently make fewer than 50 of our completely custom “1909 Bespoke” suits per year (although we can make many more pants and vests).
So if you are thinking of ordering a suit for a wedding or time-sensitive event, let us know as soon as possible.
We muslin fit each of these suits. For non-local customers, this means that we will mail you a cotton mock-up of the suit to try on.
You send us pictures of yourself wearing it, and we will alter the pattern to fit you.
Contact AJ@denverbespoke.com for more info, and so that we can get started working on a custom design for you.
The initial set of engagement photographs is by amazing Denver and Fort Collins Colorado area photographer Sarah Christine Photography (www.sarahchristinephotography.com/) be sure to check out her work and to choose her to photograph your wedding.
Waistcoats (or “vests” in good American English) haven’t been this in style for decades. 
Perhaps the recession made us all a bit more serious, and many of the guys out there who hoped to be boys forever decided to grow up.
Or perhaps we all just decided to think a bit more about history and a bit less about what was new, when future prospects seemed to dim.
But while vests have come back in style, attractive, interesting, and idiosyncratic vests are still absent from the stores.
1920s Style Vest
You can find a basic vest, but can you find a vest that someone spent some time designing?
We can design and make a one-of-a-kind vest that is completely designed to fit your body and your life.
Our waistcoats are drawn from the history of fine men’s dress but propelled forward into modern life through taste, judgement, and a selection of the best modern materials.
Our goal when we design is to take details from greatest pieces crafted over the past centuries and renew them by placing them in the context of contemporary life.
The white seersucker vest with the stand-up collar, wide lapels, and silver buttons, for example, is almost identical in style to a vest from the 1700′s that is in the V&A museum.
But when made up in the right fabric, with just the right proportions it does not look out of place at a summer picnic or garden party.
The most distinct detail on this vest is the forward sloped shoulder seams, that wrap the linen backs of the vest over onto the front.
The grey pinstripe vest is cut extra long for a slim early 1920′s look and is inspired by the same period in which the show Boardwalk Empire is set.
The heavy navy blue melton vest was inspired by a book on Victorian explorers of the Nile region that I had been reading and all of the wonderful paintings of the explorers.
I wanted a vest that I would be able to wear for work without getting destroyed with pockets that could hold all of my gear, and this was the result.
Photo By welovepictures.co.za
The vest is lined in cotton twill and is self-backed —the perfect vest for working with your hands or repairing machinery.
The two Western style vests in the listing were designed in a similar frame of mind. It is easy enough to find a Western style vest, but hard to find one that doesn’t seem like a costume.
With Austro-Hungarian Military Buttons
The heathered brown wool vest was designed for a 1950s style wedding in Hawaii, and I wanted something that would be both retro and Western but with a completely different sensibility than you would find if you were going line dancing. 
The grey pinstripe vest is almost identical. Here, the Western yoke almost disappears into the pattern of the stripes.
This vest was also made for a wedding, but this one here in Colorado. The fabric is an extremely breathable, open weave, tropical wool.
The dark grey vest with silver buttons has an early 20th century cast. The buttons are vintage Austro-Hungarian military buttons and the front fabric is a mix-stripe flannel wool. The result is a hip and youthful vest that draws on the well of history.
The wool windowpane vest pictured was made for a wedding in South Africa and is paired with a pair of trendy low-rise pants that we crafted and a Liberty print skinny tie that we made. A beautiful plaid is ideal for an outdoor summer wedding (where black should generally be avoided).
The last few pics show some shots from my own wedding (and you can expect to see more of these pics soon). When we design and make all of the pieces for a wedding (vests, shirts, hats, jackets, pants, dresses, ties, etc), the results are amazing. 
(Feel free to check out our women’s store for more pictures of our dresses: www.DenverDressmakers.com)
The picture of the bride and her father shows a brown gabardine vest with a green embroidered collar. The groom’s father is shown in an off black vest with brown pinstripes (made from superfine wool) with brown wool pants, and a green cotton sateen shirt. His vest is cut with a breast pocket that sports a cotton print pocket square.
The groomsman (in white) sports a silk matka vest with duppioni on the collar, welts, and back. And the groom (in greens and browns) is wearing a suit that is cut from an Italian wool sateen.
All of these vests are just samples of our work.
Contact us by email (aj@denverbespoke.com) and we will get to work designing a vest just for you. You tell us a bit about yourself, and we will send you sketches and swatches until we find the perfect fabrics and style for your events and the life that you lead.
We make vests for customers all over the world. So wherever you are we can deliver to you.
The initial set of engagement photographs and the final set of wedding photos are by amazing Denver and Fort Collins Colorado area photographer Sarah Christine Photography (http://www.sarahchristinephotography.com/) be sure to check out her work and to choose her to photograph your wedding.
Photos by www.lynnterry.com
The Victorian era was an age of excitement, experimentation, science, and progress.
Everything seemed possible and imminent. 
The material world was like a door about to be unlocked. The mind was a mystery that science could pry into.
We love to make steampunk clothing because it represents this moment and uncovers the analogies between the Victorians and today’s world.
The Victorians were simultaneously more certain than we are today and less certain. 
They believed that they were on a road to infinite progress and change, but were only just at the beginning of the path.
Today’s DIY and geek culture feeds off of a similar spirit.
We are all engineers hacking the material world, unlocking the potential of atoms through the power of bits.
Lianna and I are so much on the side of techne—on the side of a knowledge that allows us to do and to make.
Photos by www.worldstudio.ca
Our process of production and design combines computer CAD work for a completely custom fit, individual fabrics we design and print using advanced inks, and computerized machinery for cutting vinyl, with all of the traditional arts of tailoring and dressmaking that require nothing but a needle and a thread.
Our muslin fitting process for the suits is again a combination of the old and the new. 
We mail our customers traditional cotton mock-ups of the suit to try on before making the final pieces.
The customers send us back digital photos of themselves trying the pieces on, and we feed this information back into the computer to change and manipulate the pattern until it is exactly right.
The pictures show many of the styles that we have made or are making for steampunk weddings along with some wonderful pictures of the weddings themselves.
The black suit with the red cravat shows what we call the “Steampunk Anime Suit”.
This suit is made from a wool gabardine with satin face lapels.
The style looks and feels Victorian, but the details are completely modern.
The brown suit with red pinstripes and red satin face lapels, shows a Victorian style vest and pant, but with numerous Western style details and snaps.
The brown suit with a sage green piping shows a morning frock that cuts away into tails.
Photos by www.joshgruetzmacher.com
It has peak lapels, a pant with a back belt (which can be adjustable or decorative) and a handmade top hat to match.
Photo By www.MarkBrooke.com
The awesome wedding photos show two weddings where the grooms wore wool tailcoats and silk vests, a wedding with a double-breasted Prince Albert frock made from silk noil and velveteen pants (for a Victorian-era meets 1960s look) and an outfit with a black wool double-breasted vest with pearlized leather pocket welts.
The sketches show a bride and groom ensemble that we have in the works for this summer.
University Coats
It has a leather corset on the bride and matching leather tuxedo stripes on the groom’s pant, and also a set of concepts for modern looking university coats.
Contact AJ (aj@denverbespoke.com) to talk more about ideas for your wedding.
Be sure to check out the photographer’s websites for more photos. Lynn Terry did the photos for the wedding with the black vest and gold welts. Terry Martin the wedding with the skipping groom.
Josh Gruetzmacher the San Francisco wedding with the white slik frock. And Mark Brooke, the groom with the tails and peacock lapels.
Every year we make some of the most amazing custom coats that can be found anywhere. 
