The London Lounge

Any experience here of this firm in Pall Mall? They claim to offer purely bespoke tailoring at what seems like a remarkable price.

They are a Hong Kong-based operation, owned by an Indian family, with workshops in mainland China. Fused construction for jackets. Their shop in HK would charge about GBP250-300 for a two piece suit. I think MTM is a better description than Bespoke for this; you get what you pay for.

I agree that is more MTM, than bespoke.

A few years ago I gave them a try. The price was in line with a decent off the rack suit, so I figured it was worth a gamble and had them make a single breasted peak lapel.

The Pall Mall shop has a very large selection of cloth, among them the usual suspects like H&S etc. I picked a 15 oz navy blue.

I liked the pants. They were very comfortable and draped nicely. Double pleats, pockets on the seams, fish tail back.

The suit jacket was a mixed bag of goods.

I had instructed them I wanted very little or no padding, since I already have broad shoulders and high / tight armholes. I was assured that both of these requests could be met and I seem to remember that he refereed to this option as a 'conductors cut' (for musicians).

The jacket they ended up making was pretty much the opposite of what I had asked for.

It was very hard with enough padding to satisfy a linebacker and the armholes were far too low and large. This was rather annoying, since the overall proportions of the suit relative to my body were actually quite good. I also feel that they placed the front button holes a touch too high. If you only button the top one, the front feels a little like it is about to 'hinge' apart from that point. The stitching etc was quite nice and better than most off the rack suits. I seem to remember that my lining was not fused, but perhaps it's a hybrid construction.

The sales man was very attentive, took copious notes, but was quite cold. I never felt very welcomed in the shop.
The tailor pretty much did his thing, but unfortunately he did not speak very good English, which always left you guessing if he had understood what you had requested. His young assistant was actually quite rude. I had specified a cm width for the end of the pants and he kept ignoring me and instead tried to measure the bottom of the dress slacks I was already wearing.

So, overall it was not a very pleasant experience. The suit itself could have been a success for what it was (MTM), if they had followed my directions, but the armholes are a disaster and worse than on many off the rack suits. The pants are quite nice and see some use. But the jacket lives at the back of my closet, as a back up piece in case there is an emergency.

Hope this helps.

I used Apsley for 3 suits, all H&S cloth about 3 years ago. I agree with previous comments, it should be described as MTM not bespoke, also they seem to make a boxy coat no matter what you ask for!

I found the staff in Pall Mall were friendly and the service was pleasant, overall the quality of the garment was competent, and when I used them last reasonably priced. I heard that the prices have increased recently.

They are fine just don't expect a bespoke suit.