Bespoke atelier · Warszawa
Cut for
presence.
TOLEA is a bespoke atelier in Warsaw.
Suits, jackets, coats, dresses, blouses — made to measure for women who already know what suits them and want it made properly. Each piece is cut for one body.
Evening and occasion pieces are made by arrangement. Ask.
— I —
A good piece does not draw attention. It moves it — to the woman wearing it.
Upstairs in a
pre-war kamienica.
Wooden floors, high windows.
There is usually music. There is tea, or a glass of wine, and enough time to talk first.
The fitting room has a long mirror and daylight. Everything is decided there.
Five steps.
Nothing hurried.
You notice it later — in the wearing.
i.
Conversation
I want to know how you live — what you reach for, and what hangs unworn. Nothing is committed and nothing is charged.
ii.
Cloth
We choose it together. Italian cloth. Held to the light, draped, felt in the hand.
iii.
First fitting
The piece in toile. This is where it learns your shoulders.
iv.
Second fitting
In the real cloth. Buttons, lining, the small decisions.
v.
Collection
Timing depends on the piece. We agree it before we begin, and we keep to it.
Cloth.
Line.
Fit.
What is within, worn outwardly.
Italian cloth. Machine where the machine is better — by hand where it is not. Hems, linings, the inside of a jacket.
A piece made here should be worn for fifteen years and altered rather than replaced. That is the whole intention.
TOLEA works
by introduction.
Before anything is made, I would like to know you. Your name, and a line about what you have in mind.
— Alina