But there is absolutely no way I would pay even remotely this much for a coat. Now, if I could find a knock off for a couple of hundred bucks I might be all over that, LOL.

http://us.burberry.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3606528&cp=3146777.3771324.3771332&parentPage=family

I’d call the stand alone store on the bespoke….

My understanding at the time of my purchase (early 2008) was that only New York and Washington, D.C. offered the program. I have heard that the program has been discontinued in DC, but it may be going on still in New York. I also have heard that the New York program only is available a few times a year. At any rate, call your favorite store and speak with the staff, because your mileage may vary.

The process required two visits to the store, which worked out for me with some travel I had scheduled. Before my first visit, I called ahead to make an appointment. I must give kudos to the fabulous Suzi Yim who took my call, explained the process, set up a time, and told me allot at least an hour to 90 minutes for the initial meeting.

Because this was made to order (not made to measure, i.e., bespoke from an original design), when I got the store, we started out by trying on the various stock models to figure out what would be the “pattern” for my coat in terms of standard size and design. I chose a double breasted raglan sleeve trench because it had plenty of room to put a suit jacket and sweater under the coat (I intentionally wore a cashmere turtleneck and a wool double breasted jacket to the appointment for testing purposes). The on-site tailor marked out adjustments in terms of sleeve and length shortening and details to order. For example, I did not want epaulettes because I use a shoulder briefcase and have had bad experiences with the bag beheading the epaulettes. I wanted slightly longer sleeves than is usual in order to cover the hems of my suit coat sleeves. I also wanted the length to be a little above mid-calf and specified a buckle belt without the D rings (too masculine for me).

Then we moved to fabric. They had an entire book of exterior fabrics, ranging from the traditional gab, to waxed cotton, to what they called “technical” fabrics, which involved blends. Most of the fabrics came in multiple colors. I went for one of the “technical” fabrics in a matte finish that had a microfiber component so that it would be softer and have more drape than the traditional gab, but also would be waterproof. I chose black over khaki in the fabric.
Next came linings. There only were three linings available with my exterior fabric, which all were variants of the characteristic plaid. I chose the updated Nova plaid with the white background and the red, black and khaki plaid (but would have preferred the black on black that only lines the ultra-lightweight fabrics).

I had a choice of several warmer styles for the collar and went for black wool. For the lining, I chose the red wool with the “multipocket” format that has zippered interior pockets for gloves, glasses and a phone. (I still crave the cashmere liner and plan to get it someday!).

Once everything was chosen, we tallied up the price and we paid half down. It took about ten weeks for the coat to come in from England, which was perfect timing. I went in and had a second fitting with the tailor. He had done such a good job at the first fitting that we did not need to do any further alterations. We paid the rest upon pickup.

I love my coat and find that it is perfect any time of year other than high summer and deep winter. But if I had that cashmere lining . . .