Bespoke · Mumbai
Custom linings
The inside of the jacket is yours too.
What a lining does, and what it says
A lining lets a jacket slide on over a shirt, protects the canvas and the seams, and gives the inside a finish. It also decides how hot the jacket is. A ready jacket is fully lined in polyester because it is cheap and hides the construction; it is also the reason ready jackets feel like a tent in Mumbai. The lining is the first thing a tailor looks at inside a jacket, and the first thing we decide with you.
Choose how much lining, then what it is made of, then what it looks like. In that order, because the first two decide how the jacket wears and the third is the pleasure.
Full, half, quarter, or none
Full lining for a worsted suit jacket and a dinner jacket, where the inside should be finished and the cloth is light enough not to need the breath. Half lining, which covers the shoulders and the front and leaves the back open, for most jackets here. Quarter lining or none for linen and cotton, where the inside seams are bound by hand and the cloth breathes through the back. An unlined jacket is more work to make, not less; the inside has to be beautiful because it is seen.
Silk, cupro or viscose
Cupro, often sold under the Bemberg name, is a cellulose cloth that breathes, slides and lasts; it is what most good tailors line with, and what we suggest first. Silk is the luxury: cooler, lighter, a deeper colour, and it wears out faster at the armhole, which is why we use it where it is seen and cupro where it works. Viscose is cupro's cheaper cousin and is fine in a dark colour. Polyester is not used.
Colour, contrast, print and the monogram
A lining to match the cloth is the quiet choice. A contrast, the ochre of the waistcoat in our own photographs, a bottle green, a burgundy, a sky blue, is a private pleasure that shows only when the jacket is open. A printed lining, a paisley or a Como silk, for the man who wants the inside to be the loudest thing he wears. Your initials, a date, or a line of text, embroidered inside the breast pocket or on the lining, in a thread colour you choose. Nobody sees it but you, which is the point.
In practice
What we decide together
How much
Full for worsted and the dinner jacket; half for most jackets here; quarter or none for linen and cotton.
What
Cupro first, silk where it shows, viscose in a dark colour; never polyester.
Colour
Matching, contrast, or a print; shown against the cloth before you decide.
Monogram
Initials, a date or a line, embroidered inside the pocket or on the lining.
Book an appointment
A consultation costs nothing. Tell us the occasion and the date, and we take it from there.
Questions
What people ask us
What is the best lining for a jacket in Mumbai heat?
The least you can get away with: a half or quarter lining in cupro, with the back open so the cloth breathes. A fully lined polyester jacket is what makes a jacket feel hot, not the wool.
Silk or cupro lining?
Cupro for the body of the jacket, because it breathes, slides and lasts. Silk where it is seen, if you want the colour and the hand of it. We often combine the two.
Can I have a lining in a colour that contrasts with the suit?
Yes. A contrast shows only when the jacket is open, so it can be as bold as you like without changing how the suit reads.
Can I have a monogram inside my suit?
Yes: initials, a date, a name or a line, embroidered inside the breast pocket or on the lining. Choose a thread colour that whispers or one that does not.