Custom fit
Made to your measurements
Every piece we make can be cut to your measurements instead of a standard size. It takes about two weeks, and it costs USD 50. Here is exactly how it works.
The process
How it works
Five steps, about two weeks.
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Choose your piece
Select Made to your measurements on the piece you'd like, and note down its name.
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Send us your measurements
Same day
Email Isha.ishana.couture@gmail.com with the measurements for your garment — the list is just below.
If you'd rather be talked through them than take them on your own, say so in the email and we'll set up a video call.
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Order details and payment
One to two days
In the same email, send us:
- The product name
- Your name
- Your shipping address
- A phone number for the courier
We'll set up the order and send you an invoice for the piece plus USD 50 for the custom fit. Once it's paid, your piece goes into production.
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We cut and make
About two weeks
Your piece is cut to your measurements and embroidered by hand, exactly as everything else is. We'll email you when it goes to the embroiderer.
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It arrives
We'll send you updates as it moves, and a tracking link once it ships.
What we need
What to measure
Different garments need different numbers, so we've split them out — you'll only ever be asked for the ones your piece actually needs. Take them over close-fitting clothes rather than over a jumper, and don't pull the tape tight. Snug is right.
Dresses & gowns
Eight measurements
- Shoulder widthAcross the back, from the tip of one shoulder to the other.
- BustAround the fullest part, tape level all the way round.
- UnderbustDirectly beneath the bust, where a bra band sits.
- WaistThe narrowest part — bend sideways and it creases there.
- HipThe fullest part, usually about 20cm below the waist.
- Shoulder to waistFrom the top of the shoulder, down the front, to your waist. This is what sets where the waist seam lands.
- Sleeve length & upper arm If sleevedShoulder tip to wrist, and around the fullest part of the upper arm.
- Finished lengthShoulder to where you want the hem to fall. Measure a dress you already like, or stand against a wall and mark it.
Also tell us your height, and if you'll wear heels with it, how high. A gown length that's right barefoot is wrong in 9cm heels.
Shirts & tops
Six measurements
- Shoulder widthAcross the back, shoulder tip to shoulder tip. The measurement that most often decides whether a shirt looks right.
- Bust / chestAround the fullest part.
- WaistThe narrowest part. Tell us too whether you like tops fitted or easy through the middle.
- Sleeve lengthShoulder tip to wrist bone, with the arm slightly bent.
- Upper armAround the fullest part of the bicep.
- Finished lengthShoulder to hem — whether you want it tucked, at the hip, or longer.
For collared shirts we'll also ask for your neck measurement — taken where a collar would sit, with one finger under the tape.
Trousers & skirts
Seven measurements
- WaistWhere you actually wear them, not your natural waist — high, mid or on the hip. This is the one people get wrong most often, so tell us which you meant.
- HipAround the fullest part, roughly 20cm below the waist.
- ThighAround the fullest part, just below where the leg meets the body.
- RiseSitting down, from the waistband at the front to the seat. Easiest taken from trousers you already own — measure from the top of the waistband to the crotch seam.
- InseamInner leg, from crotch to where you want the hem. Take it from trousers you like the length of.
- Hem opening OptionalStraight across the bottom of the leg, if you want them narrower or wider than shown.
- Finished lengthFor skirts: from the waist to where you want the hem.
Tell us the shoes. Trouser length only works against a particular heel height, so let us know what you'll wear them with — or ask for two hems and we'll leave extra fabric.
Co-ord sets
Both lists
A co-ord needs the top measurements and the bottom measurements together — but you only send them once, and both pieces are cut from the same set of numbers so they sit properly against each other.
One thing that helps more than anything else: send us the measurements of a garment you already own and love the fit of. Lay it flat and measure across the bust, waist and length. People measure themselves inconsistently, but a dress that already fits you is an objective reference — and it tells us how you like things to sit, which numbers alone can't.
Scope
What we can and can't change
Fit, yes. Design, no — the embroidery is drawn for a particular shape and moving it changes the piece into something else.
We can adjust
- Bust, waist and hip
- Shoulder width
- Sleeve length and width
- Overall length
- Neckline depth
- Hem width
We can't change
- The embroidery design or where it sits
- The fabric or the colour
- The basic silhouette
- Adding pockets, linings or closures the piece doesn't have
If what you want falls outside this, write to us anyway. Sometimes it's possible, sometimes it isn't, and we'd rather tell you than guess.
Timing and cost
Two weeks, USD 50
Custom fit adds USD 50 to any piece, whatever it costs. That covers cutting a pattern to your measurements rather than to a standard size.
Making takes about two weeks from the day your invoice is paid — not from the day you first email us. If you're working to a date, it's worth sending your measurements and settling the invoice promptly.
Between October and December it can run to three weeks, because the embroiderers are at capacity. We'll tell you before you pay rather than after.
Shipping is added on top at the usual rates, and takes the usual time.
Before you order
A custom piece is cut for you and can't be resold, so we're not able to take returns or exchanges on it.
We'd rather say that plainly than bury it. It also means we take some care to get it right before anything is cut:
We check your measurements before cutting. If anything looks inconsistent — a waist that doesn't sit with a hip, a length that seems unlikely against your height — we'll email you and ask, rather than cutting and hoping.
We'll talk it through if you'd like. Ask for a video call and we'll take you through each measurement. It costs nothing and it's the surest way to get them right.
If we've made a genuine error — the piece doesn't match the measurements you sent — we'll put it right at our cost, without discussion.
Questions
The things people ask
What if I measure myself wrong?
We read every set of measurements before anything is cut, and if something looks inconsistent we'll email and ask rather than guess. If you're at all unsure, take a garment you already love the fit of, measure that instead, and send us both sets — or ask for a video call and we'll talk you through it.
Can I order custom in a piece that's sold out?
Usually yes, as long as the fabric is still available. Write to us with the piece you're after and we'll check.
Can I have it faster than two weeks?
Sometimes. Tell us the date you need it by before you order and we'll say honestly whether we can make it — we'd rather decline than miss it.
Do you ship custom orders internationally?
Yes, everywhere we ship normally. Add the usual delivery time to the two weeks.
Can I change my measurements after I've ordered?
Yes, up until we cut — usually two or three days after your invoice is paid. Just reply to the same email thread. After that the fabric is already cut to size.
Will the embroidery look different at a larger or smaller size?
The embroidery itself stays the same size — it's worked by hand at a fixed scale, so it sits in the same place on the garment rather than stretching with it.
Can I order more than one custom piece at once?
Yes. You'll only need to send your measurements once, and both pieces will arrive together.
What if my body changes before it arrives?
Tell us as soon as you know. If we haven't cut yet we'll simply use the new measurements, at no extra cost. If we have already cut, write to us anyway and we'll tell you honestly what's possible.
Not sure whether it's worth it?
Write to us at hello@ishaandishana.com and tell us what usually doesn't fit. We'll tell you honestly whether custom will solve it — sometimes the answer is that a standard size will do the job perfectly well.
— [Isha] and [Ishana]