As you might have expected, Savile Row is not far away from the suits worn by the male dancers and contestants in Strictly Come Dancing. Each of the Strictly professional dancers and contestants has a ballroom (tail) suit made for them, to wear through the series. The suits are made by ex-Savile Row tailor Tony Brackley.

The show’s menswear is featured on a short BBC programme on the BBC website. In it Tony Brackley briefly explains how bespoke works and shows him making a first suit fitting and then fitting it to one of the dancers. If you ever wanted to know how men’s bespoke tailoring works, here is the lightning fast guide. He also talks about how he cuts the suit so that the jacket does not pull across the shoulder blades and the shoulders raise up as a consequence. Perhaps even more valuable is Tony holding up the finished jacket to show the cut, to show how tailoring to the contestant’s body holds the jacket in place and gives a smooth line across the shoulders.

Additionally, professional dancer Anton DuBeke talks about how a tail suit gives a man a longer body line and his enjoyment of the bespoke process.

Anton Du Beke

Contestant Tom Chambers talks about the feeling of wearing a bespoke suit. About how the jacket “moulds you into shape”. I would have said that bespoke coats mould to your shape but it is still a good acknowledgement of how a bespoke suit works for you.

This is a quick (three minutes) piece and is both informative and a bit of fun. It is on the BBC website here. Start the videostream at the 16 minute mark.