When Sarah Met Sandeep

Last September, SS Homme featured in a great article in ‘Sartorial Man’, highlighting our endeavour to  make our brand one of the leading labels in the creation of not only Traditional Wear For Men but bespoke business suits for men and producing the best suits for men in Mumbai.

Sartorial Man (Magandeep Singh)

September 2012

For those still not sure about the upside of bespoke and made-to-measure, Mumbai based SS Homme is a good place to start

The recent passing of the eminent Ms Ephron may have something to do with the thought behind the title of this piece but the real inspiration was a recent meeting with two youthful spirits in Mumbai who have set out to, pun intended, cut themselves a niche in the tough world of men’s tailoring.

They are not designers (you can see the pride they take in disdaining the tag) even though ironically they are juxtaposed behind the store of a very famous one, just off Linking Road on Khar 11th Road in Mumbai. Suitor, bespoke tailor , stylist, call her what you may, Sarah Sheikh is a graduate from the revered London School of Fashion, while her partner Sandeep Gonsalves is a marketing man who decided to quit the corporate rat race to assist her in the endeavour to redefine men’s tailoring (for starters) in the city. Two years ago they launched SS Homme, a unique place where men can come and get measured up and tailored in classic London style.

There are broadly two prevalent styles for men: The Classic English and the more contemporary Italian. The former emphasises comfort whereas the latter is all about the silhouette. You can live life as usual in an English suit; famed for their soft drape, you could go to bed in one and sleep easy. An Italian suit, au contraire, dictates that he who dons one has to look good in it and allow himself no physical toil, no matter how functional. The fittings then follow according to this philosophy. English cuts tend to hug yet remain generous; Italian, definitely constricting. Both have a clientele in the world. I love to have a mix of the two, shuffling between the comfortable and the corset-like, choosing one over another depending on the occasion.

SS Homme is more classic, as Sarah herself shared. But she doesn’t stifle creativity and all I told her while ordering my jacket was, “Surprise me!”  Coming from a person who feels at ease sporting red to plum trousers, orange pullovers, the brightest of ties, and formal bowler hats with jeans, this can be quite the open challenge. Instead, what I saw was a twinkle in her eyes as she gladly accepted.

Shortly, I was measured up. It was a tiny but quite a busy space, frequented mostly by what seemed largely an expat clientele. I was happy to get in a good hour of conversation during which Sarah quietly made notes about my likings and preferences, not just in colours and textures but also in life in general, ideas that would help her construct an image of what she would wish to attire me in before she put pencil to paper. She speaks little, but you can tell she’s listening; attention to detail was apparent in her designs – funky linings, an understated piping, a variation on the collar… All was playful and yet classically congruous.

It takes about 10 working days for a suit to be stitched by SS Homme, a shirt about four days. Since I live in Delhi, I came back after a month for the fitting. The jacket needed little amends. It was as if Sarah had read the contours of my physique: it fit like a glove and yet it managed to make me look slim. The detailing was intricate and the leather collar and elbow patches, the carefully appointed buttons, the well-thought out inner lining, and finally the fall, all were elegantly classy. Even the packaging with their own personalized hangers in wood was just the touch that is oft missing on the Indian bespoke scene. Overall, the jacket managed t look bespoke with looking anything ostentatious. I, for once, was glad that I was wearing something that I hadn’t had to put my mind to.

The proof eventually is in the pudding. I have worn the jacket on a few occasions and not once has it been that people haven’t noticed it or complimented me for it. For those who know how I look, they’d realise just how impressive an achievement that is.

So far they have been finding their clients through word-of-mouth, or rather, their clients have been finding them. Frankly, I am the happiest to have a suitor who is never too busy for his clients, or her clients. Like many other designers in India, I hope they don’t end up being buried under wedding orders for three generations of a family all at once, comprising of people who cannot tell a Pucci from a potato sack.

If you have never indulged in a bespoke experience due to apprehension that the price tag will leave you short-changed, SS Homme could be a sensible introduction. They are more expensive than your regular tailor but you will pay a lot more for a made-to-measure suit (which is still not bespoke) at a fancy designer store than you will here. The tailoring charge for a suit here is ₹12,500, for a jacket is ₹9,500 and ₹2,500 for a shirt. Fabric is extra, of which they provide a big range.

In any good suit, the fabric is the most expensive component and that always remains up to you to decide. Whether you take your own fabric and appoint their tailoring and styling services or let them do it all for you, it will always be more satisfying than even the most branded off-the-peg suit that you can buy anywhere in the world. If you are still unsure, start perhaps with just a shirt or a jacket. They also make almost the entire range of men’s wardrobe essentials including single and double-breasted suits, tuxedos, dinner jackets, blazers, sports, jackets, linen jackets, dress shirts, formal trousers, chinos, sherwanis, bandhgalas and even ties.

Bespoke is a healthy and yet hedonistic habit to allow oneself. The only problem with such indulgences is that the desire only gets more intense with time. Once you’ve taken the plunge, there is no turning back.