FITThe art of getting dressed
The FIT man at a first fitting in a sunlit tailor’s workroom, looking down at the chalk mark on his navy jacket cuff.

Learn the
tailor’s eye.

Five fittings a day. Look closely, mark the one alteration, then see the garment finished and the reason behind it.

Begin today’s fittingsDress the model

Six details a tailor
will not let go.

A fitting is a conversation about fractions of an inch. These are the places every fitting comes back to, finished the way a good workroom finishes them. By the end of a week you will look at them first.

  • The charcoal shoulder seen close, the seam ending on the bone, the collar against the shirt.

    The shoulder

    The seam ends on the bone. The sleeve falls clean.

  • A navy hopsack sleeve ending at the wrist bone, a sliver of pale blue Oxford cuff below it.

    The cuff

    The sleeve stops at the wrist bone. A quarter inch of cuff.

  • The navy jacket fastened at the top button, the front flat, the quarters open below.

    The button

    Top button closed. The front lies flat.

  • The navy jacket from the side, its hem level with the curled thumb.

    The length

    The hem covers the seat and lands at the thumb knuckle.

  • A navy grenadine tie whose tip meets the belt buckle.

    The tie

    The tip of the tie meets the buckle.

  • Stone wool trousers resting on brown suede penny loafers with one soft break.

    The break

    One soft break, resting on the loafer.

One alteration left.
Mark it.

The fittings. Each photograph is a good look one alteration from finished. You do not need the words. Look first; the rule comes after, in one line.

  1. 01

    Look.

    Shoulders, collar, sleeves, button, hem, trousers. Zoom in if you want.

  2. 02

    Mark it.

    Tap where the chalk goes. Miss, and the tailor shows you the place.

  3. 03

    See it finished.

    The rule a cutter gives at a first fitting, and the detail done right.

Begin today’s fittings
Trouser length. The hem folds on the shoe. An inch off fixes it.
A jacket sleeve chalked on navy cloth, with shears, a tape measure, a pincushion and basting thread on an oak table.

Cut by hand.
Judged by eye.

No tailor measures a break with a ruler. They look, pin, and look again, and the garment is right when the eye stops catching on it. That eye is not a gift. It is trained, a fitting at a time.

FIT has no feed and sells nothing. One man, 12 looks and 44 alterations, each one photographed before and after.

An open cloth bunch of navy hopsack, charcoal worsted, grey flannel and stone drill beside a folded Oxford shirt and a grenadine tie.

One man.
Many ways to dress.

The wardrobe. Same man, same pose, 12 outfits. When only the clothes change, you can see what each piece does.

All 12 looks
The FIT model in an ivory crew-neck T-shirt, stone pleated trousers and brown suede loafers.

The quiet essentials

Everyday
The same FIT model in a forest-green knitted polo, stone pleated trousers and brown suede loafers.

A little more intention

Smart casual
The same FIT model in a navy textured sport coat over a pale blue shirt, stone trousers and brown suede loafers.

Softly tailored

Tailoring
Every look photographed three timesFront, a quarter turn, the back

Five principles.
Ten briefs.

Dress the model. Each challenge opens with a principle, then asks you to dress him for a brief. The lesson says why the picture works. 10 challenges, 5 chapters.

Dress the model
  1. 01Weight at the ground
  2. 02Layering
  3. 03Texture and season
  4. 04Contrast
  5. 05Formality

Five fittings a day.
New ones at midnight.

Begin today’s fittings