Pick your build, your height and what you are having made. What comes back is what I would actually put you in — the silhouette, the alterations to ask for by name, the cloth to choose, and the houses I trust to cut it.
01 — Your build
02 — Height
03 — What you are having made
Broad / Muscular · Agbada
The silhouette
Stiff, heavy cloth stacks volume straight onto shoulders you already have. Choose soft-drape wool, silk-cotton or polished cotton so the garment falls rather than sits.
What that looks like — Broad / Muscular, 5'9" – 6'1"
Reference shots of the silhouette described above — the shape to point your tailor at, not a rendering of you. You can wear most of these proportions as drawn.
Soft cloth falling from the shoulder instead of stacking on it.Seated: deepened armholes let the arms move.Light-to-medium polished cotton — no stiff aso-oke.
Tell your tailor
Deepen the armholes on the inner tunic by an inch or so for real movement.
Set the outer sleeve fold at the wrist bone — any longer and the arms read heavier.
Taper the inner top gently toward the waist so it does not box out.
Light-to-medium polished cotton or a soft silk brocade. Skip stiff aso-oke.
At your height
You can wear most of these proportions as drawn. Trust the shoulder, get the sleeve length exact, and leave the rest of the tailoring alone.
What it costs — Agbada
Indicative UK market ranges for 2026, gathered from published house pricing and quotes I have been given. A bracket to plan around, not a quote.
Entry
£350 – £700
Ready-to-wear or a Lagos workshop making to your measurements in polished cotton. Expect a good shape, simple embroidery, and a longer wait.
Considered
£700 – £1,800
A named house cutting for you, better cloth, embroidery scaled to your frame, and one fitting. This is where most of my wardrobe sits.
Ceremonial
£1,800 – £5,000+
Hand-woven aso-oke or heavy cording, hand embroidery, multiple fittings. For the wedding you are the reason for.
Where you are wearing it
British winter, heated hall
A heated marquee or hotel ballroom runs hotter than Lagos by ten o'clock. Choose a mid-weight cloth with an unlined inner tunic and carry the outer folded until you arrive.
British summer, marquee or garden
Silk-cotton or a fine polished cotton. Nothing with a synthetic lining — it will show at the back before the speeches.
Lagos, any month
Structured cloth is fine; the lining is what defeats you. Ask for an unlined tunic and a shorter sleeve fold.
Six curated options in the garment you asked for — the strongest overall first, then the ones I would put beside it for proportion, presence and a different cut.
Aubergine gives depth in photographs where navy goes flat.
On your frame — Soft cloth, deep armholes, and keep the placket embroidery narrow.
Every cell, written out
The whole matrix
Four builds, six garments, three heights — twenty-four written outcomes plus three height corrections, all of it below in plain text so you can read the depth without clicking through every combination.
Broad / Muscular
Wide shoulders, athletic through the chest
Agbada
Stiff, heavy cloth stacks volume straight onto shoulders you already have. Choose soft-drape wool, silk-cotton or polished cotton so the garment falls rather than sits.
Deepen the armholes on the inner tunic by an inch or so for real movement.
Set the outer sleeve fold at the wrist bone — any longer and the arms read heavier.
Taper the inner top gently toward the waist so it does not box out.
Cloth: Light-to-medium polished cotton or a soft silk brocade. Skip stiff aso-oke.
A peak lapel cut slightly wider than standard reads as intent rather than bulk on a broad chest. One button, closed, with a clean chest and no ripple across the blade.
Peak lapel taken out to the shoulder line — a narrow lapel makes the chest look inflated.
Extra room across the back blades, taken out of the centre seam, not the sides.
Trousers with side adjusters and a single braid stripe; no belt loops on black tie.
Cloth: Matte midnight barathea or a mohair-wool blend. Nothing with sheen across the chest.
You do not choose the cloth, so the only lever you have is the cut. Take the family lace or aso-oke and have it made as a straight, softly shaped top with no shoulder structure at all — stiff cloth plus a broad shoulder is where aso-ebi goes wrong.
No shoulder pad and no interlining across the chest — let the cloth sit flat on your own shoulder line.
Deepen the armhole and finish it in plain cotton so lace does not saw at your arm all day.
Gentle waist shaping through the back seam only, so the top does not box out over the hips.
Cloth: You are given the cloth. Control the lining: cotton, not acetate, and unlined through the body wherever the family will accept it.
Drop all the structure. A short-sleeve kaftan or an unstructured overshirt in one tone, cut with room across the back so you can move — the second change should look easier than the first, not smaller.
Unlined body, side seams left generous through the chest and blades.
Sleeve finished at the wrist bone or rolled cleanly above the elbow — nothing in between.
Straight-leg trouser with a soft waistband and side adjusters.
Cloth: Irish linen, linen-cotton or a high-twist wool in a single quiet tone.
Family cloth suits you: texture and pattern give your frame the horizontal weight it wants. Ask for the fuller version of whatever the family has agreed — the longer top, the wider sleeve, the four-piece rather than the two.
Top cut long, to mid-thigh, so the vertical is broken once rather than never.
Wider sleeve or a proper sleeve drop if the cloth allows it.
A visible waist — a wrapped or belted detail if the family style permits, or a shaped back seam if not.
Cloth: The cloth is given. Where you have a say, choose the heavier of the two options offered; weight hangs better on you.
A relaxed set with weight at the hem, or a soft double-breasted overshirt. Avoid the slim single-tone kaftan — on your frame it reads as a column in a photograph taken across a room.
Wider leg opening, eight inches or more, with a turn-up or a weighted hem.
Patch pockets and a chest pocket to give the front something to read.
Top or overshirt cut long enough to cover the seat.
Cloth: Textured linen, a slubby linen-silk, or a light cotton damask — texture over sheen.
One tone from collar to shoe, a shorter jacket, and a higher trouser waist. Black tie is the easiest place to buy height, as long as nothing cuts across you.
Jacket shortened to just cover the seat — no longer.
Trousers cut at the natural waist so the leg starts higher; no break over the shoe.
Shawl collar rather than a wide peak, kept narrow enough not to crowd the chest.
Cloth: Matte black or midnight barathea, single tone throughout, patent or highly polished shoes.
Scale is the whole battle. The family cloth will have a pattern repeat sized for nobody in particular — have the tailor place it so the largest motif does not land across your middle, and keep the top shorter than the group standard.
Top hemmed two to three inches shorter than the tailor's default, sat above the widest part of the hip.
Pattern placement agreed before cutting — motif off the waistline, running vertically where possible.
Trouser at the natural waist, no break over the shoe, in the closest tone to the top.
Cloth: The cloth is given. If there is a choice of colourway, take the quieter, smaller-patterned one; large repeats shorten you.
One tone, top to shoe, in a light cloth — the reception is the easiest place on the day to buy height. A short kaftan or a trim overshirt worn out, nothing layered across the chest.
Top cut to the hip bone, no lower.
Higher trouser waist so the leg starts sooner; no break at the shoe.
Slim sleeve, finished at the wrist bone, no cuff bulk.
Cloth: Matte linen-cotton or a fine cotton in a single tone, no contrast trim or panelling.
Single-breasted, one button, lower stance, with a long shawl or peak lapel running a deep V down the chest. A cummerbund does more for you than a waistcoat.
Button stance dropped so the lapel line runs long and open.
A cummerbund rather than a low waistcoat — it covers the waistband without adding a horizontal.
Pleated evening trousers on a soft waistband, sat at the natural waist.
Cloth: Matte midnight or black barathea, fully matte facings. Avoid satin panels across the front.
Ask for the longer, straighter version of the family set. A curved hem and a full, straight-cut body take the cloth past the midsection instead of gripping it — and buy extra yardage, because corrections on supplied cloth are otherwise impossible.
Curved front hem on the top so it sits cleanly over the stomach.
Full straight body with deep side slits, cut for a long day seated.
Extra yardage ordered with the family purchase so the tailor has room to correct.
Cloth: The cloth is given. Where you can influence it, firmer cloth holds a shape past the midsection; soft clinging lace does not.
A long, straight kaftan or overshirt with a central placket, worn out over a soft trouser. Nothing tucked, nothing belted at the waist — the aim is one uninterrupted plane in a light cloth.
Central vertical placket, curved hem, cut straight through the body.
Pleated or forward-pleated trouser on a soft waistband at the natural waist.
Deep side slits and an unlined body so you can sit and eat comfortably.
Cloth: Matte linen-cotton or a fine polished cotton in a mid-to-dark tone. No sheen, no clinging silk.
Keep the vertical line unbroken — one tone from shoulder to shoe, the waist sat slightly higher, and no break over the shoe. Sleeve folds on an agbada go higher on the arm than the tailor will suggest.
5'9" – 6'1"
You can wear most of these proportions as drawn. Trust the shoulder, get the sleeve length exact, and leave the rest of the tailoring alone.
6'2"+
You need horizontal interest or the silhouette reads stretched — a longer tunic, a wider sleeve drop, a visible waist, and a trouser with weight at the hem.
