The story of our Made to Measure dresses

Paris currently enjoys six degrees Celsius, and the entire city is dressed in holiday splendor. Cafés, shops, streets, and squares are adorned with lights and festive decorations. Here and there, Christmas markets pop up, with people sipping mulled wine and strolling gracefully through the streets, just like in a French movie. Even without snow, with trees still sporting yellow leaves, if you’ve never been to Paris, you can almost hear Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en rose” playing in your ears without actually hearing it.

Amidst this Parisian enchantment is none other than Lilli Jahilo, the fashion designer who just the day before spent her workday at a trade fair selecting the finest fabrics for the upcoming collection. Anyone who has ever worked with Lilli knows that high-quality fabrics are her top priority—the foundation of everything!

It’s eight in the morning, and the first thing Lilli cheerfully exclaims over the phone is "Bonjour!" She reveals that, thanks to the fabric trade show, her mind is already in 2025. Having trained at Chanel’s embroidery atelier, Lesage, in France, Lilli has absorbed the local style, mastering precise cuts and working with luxurious fabrics—traits that now run in her veins. Though it’s early, Lilli speaks with sparkling enthusiasm about her fashion brand’s made-to-measure dresses, a sentiment echoed by the women who wear them. 

The concept of made-to-measure clothing, however, was launched in Stockholm, as Lilli notes that no one offered such a service there at the time. The event in Sweden added a personal dimension to the brand and brought attention to the updated website, designed with international markets in mind. In recent years, Sweden has become one of the designer’s most successful markets, with Lilli’s dresses worn by Princess Sofia and several Scandinavian influencers. Her work has been featured in the pages of Vogue Scandinavia. Through her dedication and presence, Lilli has won the trust and admiration of the typically reserved Swedes.

“For Swedes, it’s important to see that there’s a real person behind the brand, that Lilli Jahilo isn’t just a label but a team actively involved in the dressmaking process,” she explains. While Estonian women have the advantage of meeting Lilli in person, the rise of online shopping necessitated offering tailored clothing through the online store for Swedes and customers worldwide. This embodies the essence of made-to-measure dresses—you take your measurements at home, enter them on the website, and order a dress made precisely to fit your body.

Lilli prefers calm and carefully considered decisions to achieve the best outcome. “I’m glad that women come to us with a relatively clear idea in mind. Our clothes are not impulse buys,” she says, sharing a story about a client who communicated with the fashion house for several years before placing an order.

A core principle of the Lilli Jahilo brand is to create perfectly fitting garments for women of all sizes and shapes. According to Lilli, women should not have to adjust themselves to fit into clothes; rather, the clothes should be tailored to fit their bodies. Custom-tailored clothing should fit flawlessly, enhance the wearer’s appearance, and boost confidence.

Lilli Jahilo’s Classic Collection consists of time-proven and beloved garments like jumpsuits and dresses that can be tailored to your body. The most popular styles are 'Amal' (named by Amal Clooney who also owns one!), 'Adele' and the 'Iris' dress, amongst others. Although made-to-measure clothing has always been offered throughout the Maison’s nearly 15-year history, it is now also available through the online store.

“We used to ask online shoppers for their measurements for sizing confirmation, and we noticed that sometimes the size ordered didn’t match their actual figure at all,” says Lilli. “So we adjusted a large portion of the orders to fit the measurements, which led to the idea of offering custom-sized dresses online.”

“For me, it’s important to offer well-fitting clothing for every body shape. Fashion should be inclusive of everyone. Very few women have so-called classic proportions; everyone has their unique body shape. That’s why it’s important for me to design dress styles for every body type and create custom-sized options from there,” the designer explains.

Fashion designer Lilli, who was awarded the Order of the White Star by the Estonian president in 2021, says her dresses represent a lifelong dedication to creating beauty and harmony while boosting women's confidence. 

“I believe in clothing that, in addition to quality and great design, is made with heart and soul—that X-factor, which we sew into the dress with invisible stitches, should be felt. I hope that somehow this shines through even in our online presence,” the designer adds.

Article written by Annelis Rum for Säde Magazine in 2024.