A bespoke tuxedo, cut in New York.
Black tie, built on 61st Street.
Black tie is the strictest brief in tailoring, which is exactly why it rewards a proper workshop. L&S Custom Tailors has cut dinner suits at 138 East 61st Street, Suite 201, since 1974 — Salvatore Cristiano opened the house; Carl Cristiano runs it today. Nine master tailors build the clothes.
A tuxedo forgives nothing. The cloth is dark and plain, so the cut is all there is: the line of the lapel, the set of the shoulder, the way the jacket closes at one button and holds. A rented dinner jacket announces itself across a ballroom. So does a well-cut one, differently.
The rules, briefly
Shawl or peak lapel, faced in grosgrain or satin. One button. Jetted pockets. Trousers with a single braid down the seam, no cuffs, no belt loops. Black or midnight blue — midnight reads darker than black under evening light. Marcella or piqué shirt, hand tied bow. The full grammar — every choice you will face before commissioning a dinner jacket — is in black tie, decoded.
We hold the rules because they are what make black tie easy: a correct dinner suit does not date. The one we cut for you this year should stand at every wedding, gala, and opening you attend for the next twenty.
The shirt under it is cut here too — marcella or piqué, bib front, in exact proportion to your build, on the house shirt program. A tuxedo commissioned with its shirt arrives as one garment, not two purchases — collar height set against the lapel line, cuff sized to clear the jacket sleeve by the right fraction.
How a tuxedo is commissioned
The house commissions in three tiers — made-to-order from $1,295, made-to-measure from $2,695, full bespoke from $3,695 — and for black tie we recommend starting at made-to-measure: the master pattern adjusted to you, full canvas, one fitting, 4–6 weeks. Full bespoke is the tier above — a pattern drafted from a live drape, 3–4 fittings on a first commission. Full canvas is the standard on made-to-measure and bespoke, and a dinner suit meant to last decades of evenings is not the place to go without it.
Marrying? The house dresses whole wedding parties — groom, fathers, best man, groomsmen, rehearsal dinner through the last dance. That work has its own page: weddings at L&S.
When to book
Work backward from the event. A made-to-measure dinner suit takes 4–6 weeks with one fitting; give it two months and the timeline is comfortable. A first bespoke commission takes 8–12 weeks across 3–4 fittings, so a spring wedding means a winter consultation. Black tie is not a garment to commission in a hurry — the whole point is that you will never have to buy it twice.
The atelier
138 East 61st Street, Suite 201, New York, NY 10065 — the Upper East Side, between Park and Lexington. Tuesday–Friday 8:30–5:30. Saturday 8:30–4:00. By appointment.
Book at book.lstailors.com. Call (212) 752-1638. Concierge (212) 308-4431.
What does a custom tuxedo cost in NYC?
For black tie we recommend made-to-measure, from $2,695 with full canvas construction, or full bespoke from $3,695. Cloth and facings account for the rest; final pricing is confirmed at consultation.
How long does a tuxedo commission take?
Made-to-measure runs 4–6 weeks with one fitting. Bespoke runs 8–12 weeks on a first commission, with 3–4 fittings. Book ahead of the event accordingly.
Black or midnight blue?
Both are correct. Midnight blue reads darker than black under evening light, which is why it has been a favorite of good dressers for a century. We will show you both in cloth.
Shawl or peak lapel?
Both belong on a dinner jacket; a notch does not. The choice is proportion — your build, your shoulders. This is decided in person, not from a chart.
Do you dress wedding parties?
Yes — groom, fathers, best man, groomsmen, rehearsal through black tie. The wedding page covers how the house handles a full party.
L&S House