Having your first bespoke suit made can be a nervous experience. There's a misguided belief that you should know about suit cuts and cloths already. With Mullen & Mullen you don't need to worry about such things. Our decade of tailoring experience and success is built on making customers feel comfortable and trusting. Here is a list of FAQs we experience in new appointments:
Where are you based?
We are based in York, in North England. Dominic and Damien Mullen, alongside colleagues Catriona Brown and Tom Church commute down to London each week and visit customers in their offices and homes. We are each usually in London two days per week, and then come back up to York to take the new orders and suits to the cutting room.
What is the tailoring process?
You normally experience 2 - 4 appointments, split over 8 - 11 weeks. At the first suit appointment we discuss what type of suit you're looking for - and we help guide you with this decision - what cloth you would like and lining. This takes up to an hour and very often the appointment is in a meeting room at the customer's office. We take your measurements, write our notes and then come back to York to our cutting room where we chat our cutters through your requirements.
About five weeks later, we visit you again for a suit fitting. The experience varies per person, but the suit is half-made, often with just baste stitching and one sleeve sewn on. We fit the suit to you, pinning it to shape and observing any alterations to make. Together we shape it to the way you like it. The suit comes back to York and is taken apart again to be re-made with any alterations.
The third visit is usually with a finished suit. We try it on, make sure everything is sitting well and that you're feeling comfortable. This tends to be five weeks after the fitting, ten weeks since the first appointment. If there are some little wiggles to improve then we take the suit away and make those changes. The exact timings are different for everybody and is subject to both your and our diary availability.
How much do your suits cost?
Our suits start from £699.
What influences price?
The primary factors influencing price are the cloths chosen and type of garment you're after: normal suit, morning jacket, sports coat, overcoat etc. At the appointment you'll see our prices are clearly marked and straight-forward. There is no additional charge for fun extras such as coloured button holes.
What influences cloth quality and price?
Tough question as there are many factors. Our cloths are mostly British cloths from British mills. Some are famous brands such as Holland & Sherry and Scabal. Some cloths have higher thread counts (you may have heard of "Super 150s"; this refers to 150 threads per square inch) and are brushed more (picking up loose frays). Other cloths have been produced on a small run - for example, the mill only made 100m of it, enough for about 30 suits. Mullen & Mullen only use robust, durable cloths with a proven record and heritage. We will guide you through the choice and find the right cloth for your taste and budget.
How do payments work?
Mullen & Mullen asks for a 50% deposit up front, and 50% at the end. This can be paid by cheque, credit card, debit card and electronic transfer.
We hope this helps answer some questions you may have before booking your first appointment with us. If you have any more, please call us and we'll be happy to chat with you.