Losing weight? When to order made-to-measure clothes

What changes and what stays the same

It helps to sort your measurements into three groups. As a yardstick, each UK size on our size guide is about 5 cm apart at the bust, waist and hips. Once a measurement has moved by that much, a closely fitted garment made to the old number will look and feel like the wrong size. A relaxed cut hides a good deal more.

• Measurements that move: bust, waist, hips, upper arm and thigh. These decide whether a fitted garment still fits.
• Measurements that hardly move: shoulder width, sleeve length, trouser length and height. These follow your frame.
• Measurements that shift slightly: kameez length and front neck depth. A kameez hangs a little longer once there is less body for it to travel over, so the hem and the neckline can sit lower than they did.

Garments that tolerate change, and ones that do not

The difference is how many places the garment touches you. A loose kameez rests on the shoulders, which barely change, and skims everything else; a fitted one depends on the bust, waist and hips all matching at once.

If you need an outfit for a date that is coming up, choose from the first group below and ask for the amount of room you like now. Our guide to how loose a kameez should be helps you put that into words.

• Tolerant: a straight or A-line kameez with comfortable ease, a kaftan shape, a wrap or angrakha style that ties, a shalwar or wide trousers on a drawstring or elastic waist, a tiered or loose maxi dress, an abaya and, of course, a dupatta.
• Less tolerant: a kameez shaped closely through the waist, anything that needs a zip to get on, churidar and cigarette trousers, fitted sleeves, and a structured waistcoat or jacket.

Measure close to ordering, and tell us

Five habits keep a changing body from spoiling a good outfit.

• Measure in the week you enquire, not from last season’s notes. Our checklist for checking measurements before you send them takes a few minutes.
• Send the body you have, not the one you expect. We cut to the numbers in the written quote. Measurements you hope to reach are a guess, and non-stretch fabric does not forgive a wrong guess.
• Say that your size is changing. A line such as “please keep it relaxed at the waist” lets us suggest a cut that suits.
• Update before you approve. If your numbers move between the enquiry and the quote, send the new ones. Design details and measurements are agreed in writing before cutting, so that is the moment to get them right.
• Count the time honestly. Production takes 5 to 7 working days from approval and full payment (on Stitching Only orders, from your fabric reaching us), and shipping time is separate and varies by destination, so the body that wears the outfit is a little later than the body that was measured. Planning ahead covers the timeline.

If your size changes after the outfit arrives

An outfit that matches the measurements agreed in writing has been made correctly, so a later change in your size is not a fault in the garment. What can be done depends on the cut. Simple side seams can usually be taken in by a tailor near you, and our general guide to taking in a kameez explains what that involves; shoulders, armholes and embroidered seams are much harder to change. We do not alter existing clothes ourselves, which is one more reason to choose a forgiving shape while things are moving.

Once your measurements have settled, that is the time for the fitted pieces. See custom stitching for the two ways to order, or ask for a quote with fresh numbers.