How to book — and what to expect.

Walk-ins are always received during opening hours (Monday through Saturday, 11am to 9pm). If a fitter is available immediately, the consultation begins at once. If we are with another client, we will ask you to wait briefly or suggest a time to return. Walk-ins work well for straightforward enquiries, for picking up a finished garment, for returning a garment for minor alteration, or for an informal first look at the workshop and cloth room.

Appointments are preferred for first consultations on new commissions, and required for wedding commissions and large or complex orders. An appointment guarantees an uninterrupted hour to ninety minutes with a fitter, with the cloth room prepared and the relevant swatches and bunches pulled in advance. If you have a specific occasion date or a complex requirement, an appointment ensures the consultation can cover everything it needs to without time pressure.

Phone: Call us on +91 98414 31402 or +91 44 2491 3465 (Mon–Sat, 11am–9pm). We book appointments immediately and can answer any preliminary questions at the same time.

WhatsApp: Message us on +91 98414 31402. We respond to WhatsApp during working hours. You can describe your requirement in writing and we will confirm a suitable time.

Email: Write to hello@theblacklapel.com with your name, your requirement, and your preferred day and time. We respond within one working day.

Visit page: Our visit page has the enquiry form and full contact details. Submit the form and we will be in touch to confirm your appointment time.

We do not book appointments via Instagram or Facebook messages, as these are managed by our communications team and not by the atelier directly. For appointment bookings, use phone, WhatsApp or email.

Yourself. The consultation requires you to be measured and — if you proceed — to make decisions about cloth and garment details. It cannot be conducted on your behalf.

Reference images, if you have them. If you have images from magazines, lookbooks, or other tailors that illustrate the silhouette or style you are looking for, bring them. They are useful for establishing a shared visual language quickly. We will tell you directly if the reference is achievable or if it needs to be adapted for your body type, the cloth you have in mind, or the occasion.

Garments you currently wear and like. If you own a suit or shirt that fits well, bring it. We can measure it on the body to understand what works and use these measurements as a starting reference for the pattern draft. This is particularly useful for shirt collars, where even a small variation from the preferred size creates discomfort.

The shoes you plan to wear. For trouser consultations and for suits, the heel height of the intended shoe affects the trouser length and break. If you plan to wear a specific shoe with the garment regularly, bring it or wear it to the consultation.

The consultation begins with a conversation about your requirement: what you are making, for what occasion, by when, and what your priorities are. This typically takes fifteen to twenty minutes and is the most important part of the process — a commission that begins with a clear brief consistently produces a better result than one that begins with uncertainty.

We then move to the cloth room. Based on the occasion and your preferences, we pull appropriate cloths — suiting weights, colours, and patterns that are relevant to the brief — and discuss their properties. You handle the cloth, hold it to the light, and make your selection. This stage takes as long as it takes; we do not rush it. The cloth is the foundation of the garment, and choosing it should be given the time it deserves.

If you decide to proceed after the cloth selection, we take measurements. This takes approximately fifteen minutes for a suit. During the measurement session, we may observe posture and fit characteristics that will inform the pattern — a slight shoulder slope, a fuller seat, a forward chest — and note these for the cutter.

We then discuss garment details: lapel style, button stance, pocket type, lining, buttons, personalisation if required. We give you a clear timeline and a quote. You leave with a confirmed commission, a confirmed timeline, and the knowledge of what will be made and when.

If you have never visited a bespoke tailor, the process may feel unfamiliar. There is no need for prior knowledge of tailoring terminology or cloth types — we explain everything at the consultation and welcome questions at every stage.

You are not expected to know what Super 120s means, or the difference between a hacking pocket and a straight pocket, or whether you want a two-roll-three or a traditional two-button stance. These are things we discuss with every new client. What we do expect is that you have a sense of what you need the garment for and roughly what you would like it to look and feel like. Everything else follows from there.

The first consultation carries no obligation. You may come in, look at the cloth, have the process explained, receive a quote, and leave without committing to anything. We are comfortable with this and will not pressure you into a decision. We want clients who have chosen The Black Lapel because the workshop and the work are right for them, not because they felt obliged.