Duchess Clothier

First off — I was not able to use Duchess’ services. I have slacks which have reached the end of their natural life, are no longer made by the manufacturer, and I have been stymied trying to find same or better at stores. Not willing to give up a perfect fit, I reached out to several clothiers here in Portland that provide sewing and alterations to see if anyone could make a pattern off the slacks and new slacks from that pattern. In short — crickets — except for Duchess! They, sadly, don’t do this, but no only did Marisa email me a very kind response, but she had also gone to the trouble to do some research and found a company for me here in Portland that does exactly that.

I went to Duchess to get a custom suit made for my upcoming wedding in July. Katie was very friendly, easy to work with, and very receptive to input from my fiancée and me. I just went to my first fitting a few days ago and the suit not only matches but even surpasses what we envisioned, and we definitely have high standards. The fabric is lovely and the cut is so perfect for my tall, slim frame that we barely had to do any alterations. While a custom suit from Duchess isn’t cheap, you get what you pay for and you’re getting real quality. It’s easy to feel confident on your special day when you know you’re looking your best! Wonderful experience and very highly recommended.

Amazing. My sweetie and I went to Duchess to have custom suits made for our wedding. They are so wonderful to work with, very queer friendly and very trans-​competent. We are ecstatic.

My suit is STUNNING and I could not be happier. Everything about the experience went smoothly and despite a tight timeline, everything was done with wiggle room to spare.

The first thing I ever commissioned with Duchess Clothier was back in 2009, a custom-​designed sportcoat. Six years later and it still gets more comments and compliments than anything else in my wardrobe.
I’ve since worked with the ladies of Duchess to create custom dress shirts and trousers. They are total professionals and they share a genuine excitement about creating top-​notch custom suits, shirts, jackets, trousers, and even overcoats for you. Everything fits impeccably, because it’s made from the start to fit YOUR body. Saville Row this is not, but it’s as close as you can get without spending heaps of money. There is also a refreshing absence of pretension and stuffiness, which is a total bonus!
I have always been very impressed with what they do. If you need a suit, a jacket, trousers, or shirting, you absolutely cannot go wrong here.

Katie is a rockstar. She made this whole process as simple as possible. Designing every detail of a new suit sounds tedious, but they made it quite enjoyable. I can’t recommend this place enough. I’m not going to lie, it wasn’t cheap, but you get what you pay for and I looked like a million dollars at my wedding. To boot, I have an amazing suit that I can wear for the rest of my life and it fits like a glove. 5 stars.

First off, Hannah was phenomenal from start to finish. Her knowledge of suiting, fabrics, and her ability to understand what I was looking for was amazing. Her friendly attitude and great personality made the fitting appointment extremely enjoyable. Great taste in music also :). Can’t wait for my next visit and any future products I buy. Thank you so much for the great experience.
Cheers,
Austin

I really wanted to love Duchess, but if you need truly custom clothing, look elsewhere. Tailors are about attention to detail. Unfortunately, my 7-​month drama with Duchess is riddled with conflict and disasters that were all highly avoidable. I’m not sure if they only have one tailor, or if they simply bit off more than they could chew with my job… anyway, this was my experience:
I ordered two coats, a shirt and a pair of pants in July. They told me they were getting slammed with wedding season, but I should have them ready for a fitting in 2 months.
Fast forward to NOVEMBER: I go back, and everything is too small. Not just a little bit. They measured my waist around 32 – 34 in July — the pants had to be 28″. It was like the tailor didn’t even look at the measurements when building them.
Hannah was obviously chagrined that nothing fit, but was professional. I was still hopeful that the clothes would turn out right, despite being grossly off measurement. I ordered a few more pairs of pants on the spot.
A few weeks later, I heard from Duchess that the tailor had unexpectedly taken ill, and they asked if I was willing to wait indefinitely for the pants. This struck me as very odd. I cancelled that order. I continued to wait.
Almost a month later, I was contacted by Duchess regarding an additional fitting. By this point, I just wanted my clothes and asked them specifically to ship them UPS or FedEX, because I knew they would drop these at my location. I originally wanted these for my birthday — at the end of September, which Duchess agreed to attempt. Now it’s almost January.
I got a shipping notification from Jimmy, who sounded proud that he had packed the shipment himself. The tracking # was USPS.
Obviously, I never got the shipment.
At this point, my patience had run out. I emailed them and politely requested they simply refund my money. They refused.
It wasn’t until January 15^th that the package finally arrived. One of the coats is way too narrow in the shoulders. It will never fit me.
The other coat — the big-​ticket item that I painstakingly designed with Hannah, to the tune of $ 1700 — they decided to sew a gigantic Duchess logo inside, almost 6″ across. I understand why Duchess would be proud of the garment — but it just added insult to injury.
The entire process of working with Duchess was one disappointment after another. I tried to remain polite and enthusiastic throughout the half year I waited and struggled to receive my stuff. Maybe for their rack designs, they can just knock it out for you. But if you need an actually custom job (which is why you go to a tailor) look elsewhere.

Suit-​ably Amazing!
It’s not just the suit that is amazing (fabric choices, tailoring, details details details…) but how helpful and amazing they have been along the way! We had soo many questions, soo many ideas, and Katie and duchess not only put up with us along the way but encouraged us! :)
Of course the suit is soo freakin’ cool and comfortable and perfect and awesome that they could have been meanies and I’d still be here saying «best! suit! evah!» ;) …good thing they weren’t though!

Absolutely the best experience I could have hoped for. With everything else to worry about during the planning of my wedding, thank goodness I didn’t have to worry about my suit!
From the moment I walked in to Duchess Hannah greeted me with smiles and seemed genuinely interested in guiding me though the process. Everyone was super helpful and very quick with email correspondence.
The Duchess staff is very kind, thorough, knowledgeable, and welcoming. And I don’t think I’ve ever looked as good as I did on my wedding day. Ever.
If you need a suit made, look no further than Duchess Clothier!

If you are wondering whether or not to go to Duchess – stop it. Just go. There is no way you could EVER regret this decision. I contacted the ladies at Duchess a year ago about making a suit for my wedding. I actually had been wanting a really nice tailored suit for years but I was a bit nervous considering I’m, you know, a woman. But from start to finish they were completely knowledgeable, friendly, and full of amazing ideas to make my suit totally me. When I put the suit on on my wedding day I have literally never felt so fly. Everything they gave me was perfectly fit, well made, and flat out beautiful. Do yourself a favor and go to Duchess!

I’m a woman a little right of center on the feminine-​masculine scale. In planning my August 2013 wedding, I knew I wouldn’t be wearing a white dress but wanted a suit that was something nicer than what I’d normally buy for work off the rack. I was nervous about working with a custom outfitter that makes men’s suits because despite my penchant for boy clothes, I have a very female body, curves, extra weight and all. The ladies of Duchess put me immediately at ease. They have worked with many LGBT folks over the years and their professionalism and sensitivity showed in my dealings with them. Hannah helped me pick out an amazing suit in a fabric and lining of my choosing, and gave many helpful suggestions of how the suit might be altered or different touches added or omitted to feminize it a bit and make it work for my style. I worked with Hannah and Katie for a few fittings once my suit was in and I was ready to go with plenty of time before the wedding. My wife says I looked great and I absolutely loved the suit that Duchess created. Couldn’t praise them more!

I can *NOT* say enough good things about my (our) experience with Duchess (a fair amount of this may or may not occur parenthetically. You’ve been warned.).
After a scant 14 months of engagement, my fiancée and I are staring down the barrel of wedded bliss. The only major detail left, at this point, was the groom’s outfit. So, as soon as we knew what he was after, we headed to Portland via Oregon Trail. (Without suffering dysentery or a failed attempt to ford the mighty Columbia, I might add)
Because it was highly unlikely that we were going to find wedding apparel in a vintage style, in his sizes, matching, AND in good shape we agreed our best bet was to buy New. New in Portland. We did thorough research on what the Rose City had to offer in terms of menswear and came armed to the teeth with photos for reference and a list of stops to make (and their hours of operation).
I had marked Duchess under the category: «Unsure». Partly because nobody I know in the area had ever even been inside the store. Also in part, because I had some idea of what we could expect to pay for such high quality goods. That aspect was, admittedly, a little daunting.
Friday, we drove past and noticed that we were just about to miss our window for the day. We parked anyway, and did a quick walk-​by, just to scope out the goods through the window. While I was staring into space, he scoped a shirt through the window that fit the description of what he liked from our reference photos, so all that was left to do is touch and try it on. (Neither of us EVER has any luck shopping online)
I already have my dress (which we had a picture of, in the binder, just to make sure that whatever he was trying on would jive.) so I was just along for support and company.
Saturday morning, we made our way back to Duchess after a powerful protein-​packed breakfast at a nearby café (which is our custom in PDX anyway) … We were a little bit apprehensive, because I was under the impression that shopping required an appointment. Thankfully, we were assured that it was fine to browse on our own. (since we were not in a position to commit to the full, custom ordeal)
Unbeknownst to the two of us, Duchess carries exactly ONE line of clothing from an outside designer called Scully. Apparently, Scully hired my fiancée to model for them when they were cutting the pattern for their size 32 britches, because that shit was MADE for this man. The pants break beautifully at the cuff, the waist is a perfectly snug (but not-​too-​snug) fit. they truly are the total package, and a steal at that, costing a mere $ 75. (THAT IS LESS THAN I SPEND ON JEANS. JEANS! Hell, those pants are the same price as the crappy jeans at the GAP! SCORE!!)
The shirt he eyed on the rack through the window? He tried it on, and we both loved the fit and fabric. This is a truly well-​made shirt. The dress shirts he buys for work are in the ballpark of $ 40 – 75 each, so to invest in a piece of clothing for an event like our wedding was not an issue. In fact, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that this shirt was not a far cry beyond that price point at about $ 150.
Next step was to find a vest. In 98% of the photos I carried with me for reference, the subjects were decked out in vests. His preferences limited us to looking only at vests made of a single material on front and back (no silky-​backed vests, there will be no jacket, so it’s unnecessary), low-​cut (ooh-​la-​la!) and NO LAPELS. After trying on a vest or two (and loving neither), Katie suggested he try braces (suspenders). I was apprehensive. I mean *I* was into it, aesthetically, but it wasn’t up to me. Because, at the end of the day, HE’S the one wearing it. and I’ve made it clear that I don’t care what he wears, as long as he shows up.
I digress … So I helped him fasten the braces to the pants (which, I should add, were made with buttons FOR braces) and stepped back to see the whole thing. In a word: AMAZING
Katie was available to us for the duration of our shopping date and made suggestions that complimented the clothes, without bullying us into (or alternatively, OUT of) anything he tried out. She tied ties for him (Sorry, babe! I have sisters!), fetched us alternative shirts and braces.
She offered SO many solutions and insights that made the whole experience nothing short of wonderful. I am not a huge fan of shopping to begin with, so to say it was a joy is big. To have a good time without spending a month’s salary on an outfit? Huge.
After spending hours on the road for the sole purpose of shopping for ONE WEEKEND ONLY, one can imagine how bedraggled we felt schlepping from store to store to store. Nothing is worse than not knowing when, OR IF, we would find even one item on the list. But just like that, our whole agenda was satisfied, and we were free to spend the remainder of the weekend enjoying the amazing city instead of stressing out.
Many MASSIVE Thanks

I don’t like buying off the rack if I don’t have to, and now that I’ve found Duchess, I certainly won’t have to.
Everything other customers have already said were true of my experience as well. The process was quick, fun and easy. I attribute that solely to the fantastic Ariel, who was not bashful about keeping me on course and helping me pick out the right suit.
Duchess is a guaranteed fast and friendly experience, and I am very much looking forward to my finished suit. It’s definitely not cheap, but for those special occasions when you absolutely need to look your best, accept no substitute.

Pretty great stuff. If you want to choose local for your custom clothing then here is where you should choose.

I just received my first suit from Duchess. Both the suit and the experience was amazing.
Just some background, fully custom suits start at $ 1200, but they have a few designs in the «Scotch Basic» collection that start at $ 700 for a 2-​piece and $ 850 for a 3-​piece suit. These are «made to measure» meaning they have a pattern to which they adjust to fit you. These prices are very reasonable. I checked out Nordstrom’s beforehand and a Hugo Boss 2-​piece was $ 795 (it also did not fit me as well as the suit I got from Duchess).
So far I have only worn my suit twice, to work and a wedding. Most people say «wow», compliment me and then barrage me with questions about the suit and my agenda/​job. I am not kidding, it is like putting on a suit of armor. Women stare and men are envious. I am given the right of way while walking down the street, it is an amazing feeling… all men should have a suit that fits this well in their wardrobe. I have never had clothing custom made for me but now I am hooked. I will be going back to Duchess for a second suit soon.
In my book, Duchess is a tremendous value, especially if you opt for a suit from their Scotch Basic line.

I think I have 9 suits from Duchess with no end in sight.
I’m one of those guys who most would consider ‘big and tall’, but whenever I go to the big and tall stores, I find that I’m just tall. I also have a penchant (fetish?) for early 20^th century fashion.
I also run hot, so polyester linings don’t work for me (Hello Men’s Wearhouse?). Duchess gives me silk linings… paisley, two-​tone silk linings.
If anyone knows vintage clothing shops, you know that men weren’t all built like Abe Lincoln in 1920. Until I discovered Duchess, I simply went without. Sure, I had a sports coat here and there, but finding pants that fit (or lasted), shirts… all of it was a tedious nightmare. And going to the mall to find clothing: insulting.
From the first suit I got, I’ve been hooked. I literally have a closet full of Duchess. Having clothes made to fit you, instead of having you fit into the clothes, is bloody revolutionary. A custom-​made shirt not only lasts a LOT longer than anything off of a retail rack, it also is loads more comfortable. To top it off, YOU choose the fabric, colour, cut, cuff length/​style (cutaway French cuffs for the win, people), collar style – everything. All my shirts have removable collars so I can mix and match those!
The same goes for suits. You choose what looks best on you and what you want, you don’t hunt for something that kind of works. My first suit fits me 5 years later like it did the first day I got it (OK, it is a bit roomier, but that’s OK with me), and I buy two suits a year because I can mix and match everything they’ve created for me. I don’t have 9 suits, I have 27 pieces that I can mix and match to create an enormous amount of variety.
I’ve had also them make vests and shorts/​knickers so I can sport Duchess in the summer as well. If you can find a pattern or a picture or dream it up, they can make it happen.
There is nowhere I know of where I can pick up a 1920s, 30s, or 40s suit. It is likely the case for you as well. Duchess suits don’t have the ‘love’ of age (moth holes, cigarette odour, you know… old stuff). Having one tailor made is the best thing I’ve done. Crafting the suit, the details, the fabrics, the linings, buttons, and the theme of a suit with Ariel: pure joy. It is seriously a lot of fun.
If you’re lucky enough to not be Abe Lincoln-​sized and can buy off the rack, it doesn’t matter. If you thought jeans and t-​shirts were comfortable, you have no clue: try one custom suit and you’ll seriously be sold. And you’ll look and feel amazing in it.

Wearing one of these suits is like putting drunk goggles on everyone who looks at you. Get used to being asked, «Would you mind leaving the suit on?» And promotions. Whenever I put my Duchess suit on 1960’s Sean Connery appears from nowhere and starts slobbering all over my hand stitched seams. Did I mention the Duchess Process? Working with The Ladies of Duchess on finding your suit is like working with Bill Nye on a science project. A science project about dinosaurs and space… diorama. If you can, get a Duchess Suit.

I love all the ladies of Duchess. They are warm and welcoming. And they make sexy suits that hug in all the right places. Duchess is one of those amazing places perfectly suited for Portland, Oregon. Highly recommending and very unique!

If you suit wasn’t made especially for you it doesn’t fit. I just ordered my 3^rd suit the other day, & I have to say that each one has been so splendidly made, so expertly constructed, that I refuse to go anywhere else for a suit. & where else can you go and have something made that looked like it came from you favorite decade (mine being the 30’s & 40’s).Their suit designs range from the Victorian to the present. Something for every taste, and if your tasteless they can fix that 2.
Your custom nonsense will be met with much enthusiasm at Duchess, mine always is.

Absolutely beautiful mens clothier. If you need a suit and you’ve got some cash, go here and have Seyta fit you for a custom made suit. You will look better than anyone else in the room… unless someone else in that room has a Duchess suit too. You will be a sharp dressed man for sure.

The ladies at duchess created a fabulous three piece suit for my husband. It is so hard to find quality clothes these days… but at duchess they certainly know how to produce fine clothing. The prices may seem a little high… but it is worth it to look dapper.