I`ve been looking around for about a year for another jacket,, one with all the vintage trimmings i.e. lapped seams, hooked vent, two buttons on the cuff, half-lined, but without success. As a 36s it`s difficult to find anything on e-bay or Ask Andy which fits all the requirements; in fact, I haven`t seen anything.

Given this lack of success I started thinking about mtm and went so far as getting a couple of quotations based on copying a BB camelhair I have but with some tinkering. However, I was always a bit wary about getting a British tailor to produce something in what would be, to him, an alien style.

So, a while back I was running through the merchants listed on Ivy Style and landed on Eljo`s where what seemed to be the ideal jacket was shown but not, of course, in my size. An exchange of e-mails established that one could be made for me by Southwick (now owned by BB) but at a custom price. Several e-mails later and one phone call to Charlottesville, Virginia and the order was progressing. The beauty of this process was that I was getting a standard size made but with all the vintage details I wanted because it was a one-off order, in effect  bespoke but without the need for fittings.

It`s just arrived and has exceeded my expectations. Excellent fit, lovely material (lightweight tweed from W.Bill, the London fabric merchant which used to have a shop in Bond Street) Not cheap by any means but the total cost, including shipping, duty and clearance charge by the shipping co. was the same as one of the quotes I had been given for a mtm here.

So, all in all, a satisfying and satisfactory experience.