For more than five decades, our tailors have made clothes the considered way — by hand, to measure, for those who know the difference.
0+
Years of bespoke
1900
Founded in Hong Kong's trade
2–3
Fittings per garment
What We Make
Every garment. The same hand.
Cloth from the world's great mills · ~85–90% premium European
The Process
Made to order, in Adyar.
01
Consultation
Occasion, lifestyle and taste — with guidance on cloth and cut.
02
Measure & Pattern
Your measurements taken, your own pattern drafted.
03
Fittings
Two or three trials to perfect the fit before finishing.
04
Delivery
The finished garment — your pattern kept on file.
In Their Words
“Chennai has several good tailoring houses, and I'd had my share of disappointments. You will not be disappointed here. Tell them what you're looking for, and they come through.”
Arun Vishwanathan
Questions people ask us
- What does The Black Lapel make?
- Bespoke suits, tuxedos and dinner suits, groom and wedding suits, jackets and blazers, trousers, shirts, overcoats, womenswear, and Indian ethnic wear (sherwani, achkan, bandhgala, Nehru jacket, bandi, kurta, Jodhpuri suit). Every garment is cut from a pattern drafted for you. The full list is in our product catalogue.
- How much does a bespoke suit cost at The Black Lapel?
- We do not publish a price list because the cloth decides most of the number. Entry tier: an Indian mill wool such as Raymond, half-canvassed. Mid tier: an imported British or Italian worsted from Holland & Sherry, Vitale Barberis Canonico, Dormeuil or Roger La Viale. Top tier: Super 130s to 150s and above from Zegna or Scabal, full canvas, hand-finished. Ask on WhatsApp or at the consultation for the exact figure.
- How long does a bespoke suit take, and how many fittings?
- A two-piece suit takes four to six weeks from the first consultation, with a basted fitting at week two or three and a final fitting before finishing; a third fitting is added if the fit demands it. A three-piece adds a week. Shirts take three to four weeks, trousers two to three, a sherwani five to six weeks (eight to twelve with heavy embroidery).
- Which fabric houses do you stock?
- Suitings from Ermenegildo Zegna, Holland & Sherry, Scabal, Dormeuil, Vitale Barberis Canonico, Roger La Viale and Raymond; shirtings from Thomas Mason, Alumo, Söktaş and D&J Anderson; raw silk, dupion, brocade and velvet for ethnic wear. The bunch books are opened with you in Adyar.
- Do you make any size?
- Yes. There is no size chart. The pattern is drafted from your own measurements, so tall, short, broad and asymmetric builds are cut as they are, and your pattern is kept on file for repeat orders.
- Do you do alterations?
- Yes, in-house, on garments we made and on garments bought elsewhere. Hems and waists take three to five working days; a jacket recut or re-lining one to two weeks.
- Where are you, and which areas do you serve?
- We are at 4 Sardar Patel Road, Adyar, Chennai 600020, open Monday to Saturday 11 am to 9 pm, by appointment. We serve all of Chennai and its suburbs (Adyar, Besant Nagar, Mylapore, T Nagar, Anna Nagar, Velachery, OMR, ECR, Tambaram, Guindy, Nungambakkam, Alwarpet, Kilpauk, Egmore, Porur, Chromepet, Sholinganallur, Perungudi, Thiruvanmiyur, Kotturpuram), every city in Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy, Salem, Vellore, Tirupur, Erode, Hosur, Pondicherry), South India (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Calicut, Trivandrum, Mysore), the rest of India, and NRI clients visiting Chennai. Measurements are taken on a visit to Adyar; clients travel to us from Coimbatore and Bangalore and we plan fittings around their trips.
- How do I book?
- WhatsApp +91 98414 31402, call, or use the form on the visit page. Walk-ins are welcome when we are not with another client. The first consultation is free.