The Suede Overshirt in tobacco has recently been restocked on PS, having sold out quickly back in the spring. But we’re also going to try a made-to-order programme, as the makers Rifugio are happy to make in small numbers. 

The idea is that readers will be able to pick the size they want, but then specify the sleeve length and body length. This gets round the biggest issue with RTW sizing, of assuming that a person with a smaller chest is shorter, and one with a larger chest is necessarily taller. 

We’re only offering these two options because we want to make it simple enough for people to be able to order remotely, and we want to keep the costs down. Once you start adding options for waist, shoulders etc, the factory has to make a bespoke pattern and the price goes up steeply.

A lot of readers already know their size in the overshirts, because it’s the same as the popular Linen Overshirts. But during the upcoming pop-ups in New York and London we’ll be bring a size run of the Suede Overshirts, so everyone can try them and make sure. We are also happy to give advice on how much longer the sleeve and body should be. 

Made-to-order will also be available remotely, via email with Lucas on the support team – [email protected].

We are offering four colours in the overshirt, which we have made up into samples for people to try. I thought it was important to pay to do this because, again for a pretty expensive product, we didn’t want decisions to be made off just a swatch. 

The four colours are shown above, and we will later add images of finished shirts. The shirts themselves will be available in the pop-up to see. (Pictured below: Manish and myself trying to whittle down the range to just four.)

The colours are, from top to bottom: 

• Navy (dark, a classic menswear navy)
• Sand (not as pale as the swatch above suggests – look at the top image in this post)
• Dark brown (my favourite)
• Tobacco (a very muted shade, very versatile – the original colour here)

Delivery of the overshirts will be in February next year, the idea being that they will be available for spring onwards. The price is £1860 plus VAT, a 20% uplift on RTW. 

I know this is an expensive product, but the only thing I can say is that this is what it costs. If you want the finest suede in the world, it’s going to cost around this – the comparative products are a Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Brioni or Loro Piana, whose prices are higher. I have a Purple Label overshirt and love it, but I prefer the design of ours and it’s better value for money in that sense. 

Hopefully this is something readers can appreciate when they see the shirt in person. It really is, as one friend put it, ‘a spenny product that really looks a spenny product’. 

I’ll be interested to see how the pre-order goes too. It’s something we’ve done in recent years for autumn products – the Donegal coats, the cashmere knits – but this is the first one for spring. Pre-orders have proved to be an effective way to offer greater range: more sizes, old products, unusual colours. But it’s not possible to do with all makers (for some the minimums are too high) and not everyone wants to wait that long. We’ll add more options in the future where we can, if the reaction is good.

On the subject of pre-orders, please do note that these are always non-refundable and non-exchangeable. We’re specifically ordering a single piece that we wouldn’t buy otherwise, so it can’t just be placed back into stock. 

I think people understand this point for different colours, but don’t always for the same colour as something in stock. We still have to make these non-exchangeable, because otherwise the amount we buy would be unbalanced and we’d end up with lots unsold in different sizes. 

In fact, perhaps we should call this something else in the future to make it clearer – special orders or something. Let me know what you think.

There’s a full description of the Suede Overshirt and how it was designed on the launch article. As with everything we do, if you want to understand it and would like to appreciate it, that’s the place to go.

But here’s a brief summary, followed by one for the pre-order process.

The Suede Overshirt:

• An outer layer that can be worn over a T-shirt or a sweater
• Larger chest pockets than most, plus an internal patch pocket
• Hip pockets that are concealed in the seam, maintaining the look of a shirt
• Made in Naples by Rifugio, one of the best in the world
• Made from the finest suede, unlined, with horn buttons
• Same pattern and sizing as the existing Linen Overshirt
• Tobacco colour works with jeans and tailored trousers, warm and cold colours

On the last point, in the launch article I showed the tobacco with many things, but not with black. The images here were specifically included to show how good it looks with black and white (being a more muted shade).

The Pre-Order:

• Cost £1860 plus VAT
• Delivery in February 2025, ready for spring
• Available in the pop-ups, and online until end of November
• For online orders, email Lucas at [email protected]
• Four colours available: tobacco, sand, navy, dark brown (see images)
• Six sizes available: XS to XXL (see size chart below)
• Body length and sleeve length to order, please specify cm
• All orders are non-refundable and non-exchangeable

As always it’s also useful to compare the measurements of the size chart to an item you already own. Simon is six foot (183cm) with a 39 inch (99cm) chest, a 34 inch (86cm) waist and weighs 12.5 stone (79kg). He is wearing a medium.

Below, three outfits with the overshirt showing its range by season and formality: knitwear and jeans, shirt and high-twist trousers, T-shirt and linen.