Ascots & Chapels has recently collaborated with Zaki’s Design to bring forth a fitting room concept to community neighborhoods such as in Motor City and Al Raha Mall. We provide fully bespoke and semi-bespoke services to offer you all the services of a boutique Ascots & Chapels store, at convenient locations around the region.

Many people view their suits simply as a uniform, something they wear because it’s the company policy. This attitude will not further their careers. First impressions really do count. Wearing a sharp suit will significantly improve your chances of promotion. It’s also important to bear in mind that you get a lot more for your Ascots & Chapels merchandise than you would elsewhere.

Firstly, you get to purchase any clothing of your choice without stepping foot outside your office (work out the cost of taking the morning off to travel to any of the stores three times). Secondly, you get the clothing that fits you significantly better than anything else in your wardrobe that lasts longer. You also get exceptional after sales service from your dedicated bespoke advisor.

Ascots & Chapels is home for superior quality tailoring and it has remained for over 130 years. It has a reputation internationally for setting benchmarks for well-made suits and shirts. Ascots & Chapels has its own style for suits and it can be identified by these features: a soft (but straight) shoulder line, high front-buttoning position, a curved waist and a high and prominent sleeve crown. These are some of the hallmarks which transform the quintessential English suit which Ascots & Chapels has a reputation for.

All our suits have the Ascots & Chapels finishing to it no matter where they are made. The suits in the Middle East would be cheaper than buying it in England as all of us are aware of the fact that the construction and over head costs are much lower than England.

We have realized that in a retail environment it is always difficult to give that individual attention to a client who takes out time from his busy schedule to come and make a suit or a shirt so by maintaining a By Appointments Only policy our Bespoke Advisor could give that undivided attention that is truly deserved by our clients.

Our appointments usually last for a maximum period of 45 minutes and we wait for 15 minutes after the scheduled time, if the client has not called in we consider it cancelled and if you would like to cancel a appointment we would suggest our clients to do it 72 hours prior so that we could accommodate another client.

We accept all major credit card and for our visiting tailor service we have handheld Credit Card swipe machines for the convenience of the clients. A 50% deposit need to be paid while booking the suit and the balance on delivery.

You will get constant updates on our promotions and will also be mailed our latest seasonal swatch line collections by which you could order just by picking up the phone or sending us a email.

Ask your tailor the following questions to check his credentials:
a) Where are the suits made?

This is a crucial question. Be wary of anything that isn’t made in England (or Italy). England would be preferable, and even though Ascots & Chapels is branching out in the Middle East their workshops in the United Arab Emirates are supervised by the stringent quality standards which our customers are adhere to.

b) How long have you been measuring bespoke suits?

Also an important question. Anything less than 5 years is not nearly enough. Anything less than 8 years is mildly questionable. As for Ascots & Chapels we have a history that spans back over 130 years.
Will I get the same service in Dubai what I am used to in England?

We have spent several months training the staff in Dubai to the standards of quality and service our clients are used to for the past decade and are quite confident that our stores in Dubai and all over the Middle East will maintain our traditional values

The life span of a suit depends on three main factors:

One: The number of suits you own

This factor is by far the one that has the biggest effect on durability. If we assume you have to wear a suit 5 days a week, if you only own three suits, two of them are going to be worn twice every week, assuming you’re rotating them correctly.
Furthermore if only one of those suits is light enough to be worn in the hottest summer months, you are going to end up wearing it every day for up to 2 months.

This can mean that the suit is worn out after one summer.

Ideally anyone who wears a suit 5 times a week should have at least seven suits: 1 winter weight for those ‘below zero’ days, 4 year-round medium weights that will be worn the majority of the time and 2 summer weight suits that can be rotated during July and August.

Anyone who flies to hot countries extensively on business will need more than 2 lightweight suits.

One way of improving durability without buying so many suits is to buy an extra pair of trousers. Typically the trousers will tend to wear out first as the jacket is often removed at work.

If the trousers are rotated then the suit will take far longer to wear out.

Two: Where and how often you have them cleaned

Suits do not benefit from being cleaned and it does shorten their life. As a result they should be cleaned as seldom as possible.

Dry cleaning can seriously affect the life of a suit; therefore, if the suit is to last, it must be done properly.

High Street dry cleaners will clean your suit with other garments that could include riveted jeans, studded leather jackets etc. that can damage the fabric. The suit may also suffer if pressed at too high a temperature.

To ensure your suit is dry cleaned carefully we would recommend specialist dry cleaners. As the garments are sponged and spot-cleaned individually rather than thrown into a drum. Staffs in these establishments are also well trained and know how to handle and press a suit correctly.

Three: How you look after your suits

You have invested in your suit so if you want your suit to last ,you must treat it with respect. Do not put heavy items in the jacket pockets, as it will pull the suit out of shape. Why not put your Blackberry, wallet, cheque book etc. in your brief case or trouser pockets? If you ride a motorbike or push bike this will also reduce the life of your suit.

This is an impossible question to answer as it depends on how many suits you own and how well you look after them but as a general guide, anything between 3 and 8 years.

The most durable fabrics are the heavier ones, preferably without cashmere or any other softeners in them.

We at Ascots & Chapels boast of having the best selection of fabric available. If you are looking for a lightweight suit then anything with mohair would be best. Mohair as a fiber is harder wearing than wool but is not generally found in heavy weight fabrics. The collection of ‘English Mohair’ would certainly be appropriate.

Take a close look at the suits in your wardrobe. Do they still have a shape or do they hang like an old sack? Are they starting to go shiny or threadbare in certain places?

These are the usual signs that a suit is worn out.

If any of your suits look like this they are probably more comfortable than career enhancing.
It is important to examine how suits wear out in order to avoid it happening.

When a soft fabric like wool is constantly rubbed against a hard surface, the fibres break and this shows visibly. Eventually a suit will just look too worn out to wear.

Consequently it’s a good idea to look at the kind of seat you’re sitting on. Many office chairs have hard polyester meshing upholstery, which isn’t all that good for wool.

Remember that many people spend most of their day sitting on the same chair putting the trousers of a suit under extreme pressure.

If you take a cigarette break three times a day and you always rest on the wall outside your office, the seat of your trousers will wear through quickly. If this is the case it is advisable to order an extra pair of trousers to extend the life of your suit.

Try to avoid loading up the jacket of your bespoke suit with too much clutter. This pulls it out of shape and spoils the silhouette.

That horrible shiny look that usually appears on the seat of a pair of trousers is caused by the dry cleaners pressing the garment too hot and drying out the natural oils inherent in wool. An inexperienced dry cleaner can also turn your suit shiny by mixing the chemicals inappropriately.

To ensure your suit is dry cleaned carefully we would recommend specialist dry cleaners as the garments are sponged and spot-cleaned individually. Staff in these establishments are also well trained and know how to handle and press a suit correctly. We would recommend Lilliman and Cox, Lewis & Wayne or Jeeves of Belgravia . Consult your bespoke advisor to direct you to the nearest convenient location.

There is nothing wrong with a suit being worn twice in the same week, especially if those days are a few days apart, but obviously the more often a suit is worn, the shorter its life span. Try to avoid wearing a suit two days in a row. If you own at least 5 suits and you rotate them properly, they should last a decent length of time

When driving, always remove your jacket and hang it on the clothes peg above the rear passenger door, or lay it flat on the back seat of the car. Otherwise seat belts can wear a shiny band across the top of your suit.

When traveling overseas on a business trip a suit should be carried in its suit carrier and stored in the overhead compartment.

If you are going on a business trip that requires you to arrive wearing your suit, wear casual clothing on the plane and then change into your suit whilst waiting for your luggage. The suit will be far less creased than if you’d worn it on the plane.

A badly made suit – whether bespoke or off-the-peg will often crease in places where there shouldn’t be any.

One quick way to spot a badly made suit is to have a look at the sleeves and the lapels. The top of the sleeve where it meets the shoulder is called the crown. A well tailored crown will sit up proudly at the head of the sleeve and have a generous roundness to it, whereas on a cheap suit the crowns tend to be rather flat and lifeless.

The finishing on the lapels can also be a giveaway as they tend to curl forward away from the body on a cheap suit. Often they appear puckered and wrinkled as if shrunk in the wash. Any well-made bespoke suit will have lapels that lie flat and even.

What about the fit? If you have had a suit made, but it feels tight, don’t accept it. Ask your tailor to adjust it for you, and keep adjusting it until it’s comfortable.

Look at the cut, does it actually flatter the wearer or just fit them?

Does the suit convey personality or is it just bland and shapeless? Well made suits will be curved to flatter your shape and convey a defined silhouette.

Off the peg suits are designed to suit as many potential customers as possible and are therefore very often faceless, generic, all-purpose and not closely fitting.

They are designed and chosen by retail buyers 18 months before they actually hit the shelves. These buyers have to try and predict what the fashion is going to be a year and-a-half before it happens. They are also more focused on profit margins and may go to East Europe or even Far East to buy fabric direct from the mill. In effect, this means that fabric used for off the peg suits (especially below the £500 mark) cannot be of superior quality as opposed to choosing an English made piece of fabric and simply buying enough for one person, as a client of made to measure would.

Similarly the factory that the buyer chooses would have to be capable of churning out hundreds of off the peg suits a week in order to maximize profits. This means that they cannot afford to take the time or the effort needed to make a suit as well as it should be made.

Finally, in an off the peg suit your choices are limited. Whereas, with a made to measure suit, obviously the styling and the fabric is up to you down to the last detail.

This service is only available to people that have actually purchased clothing from us.