How Made to Measure and Bespoke are Different
The online menswear universe has its galaxies and not a few black holes. One instance of what might be called interstellar combat is the argument that bespoke clothes cannot be ordered online, and that they are essentially made to measure (MTM). What exactly is this heated debate, which flares up and dies down with predictable regularity about?
Bespoke, as we all know (or think we know), is the process whereby you visit a shop, in which a man (preferably English, Italian or French), bowed by years of bespoking, emerges from between bolts of cloth with a tape hanging over his shoulders, rubs his hands and asks “What are you after today sir?” Or words to that effect. He then proceeds to take measurements, show you some cloth, and you place an order for a suit, jacket or combo, and come back a few weeks later for a fitting. And so it goes: you eventually collect a garment which has been made by hand, and is reputed to fit you exactly. It may do just that, or it may not.
During the process, you exchange views on trouser rise and leg opening diameter, the merits of double and single breasted (“not so common as they once were sir” the man is likely to say) as you go through a time honoured ritual of customer and tailor. The stitching is clearly hand done, the fabric is excellent, and all together you have a great piece of work (and you pay handsomely for the privilege).
Fine, as far as it goes: the shop, the man, the bolts of cloth, the fabric selection, and so forth. All fine. Whether you can replicate it online is moot, because there are places that do so with some success (enough said, lest we launch a shameless bit of self puffery). In fact, the only difference between doing it online and going to a shop is the order process and initial measurement (in other words, the point of delivery). But does this make any virtual or remote process MTM?
Let’s think about what MTM is, and to what extent it approximates bespoke. First, if you visit a MTM shop you will be greeted by a man, just like what happens when you visit the bespoke shop. And, you will be measured, though possibly not quite so many measurements will be taken. You will choose your fabric, and you will be able to talk about preferences such as wide legs, high rise, high armholes, and so forth. The first difference is that the tailor will not make you a pattern. He will look through his pattern books (when you have left the shop) and find one that suits what you have asked for. He will then tweak the pattern to suit your measurements, probably getting about 85% of the way there (whereas bespoke should reach 100% in terms of capturing your various bodily idiosyncrasies.
Second: the cut and style options that you might have with bespoke are limited with MTM. You get the tailor’s house style, though you will have some options, such as trouser width, sleeve buttons, pockets and the exterior features. Similarly, you may not have such a wide range of fabric choices – likely navy and grey worsteds and a couple of fairly dull flannels, with glen checks for variety and gun clubs for jackets. You can probably ask the tailor to order something from another mill, but if he does not deal regularly with that mill, it is likely to take a while.
The third big difference is that you will not have a fitting (at least probably not), so there is no chance to catch and correct any little features that might bother you (waist a bit narrow, more room needed in the chest, etc). You may need to alter it a little after you receive it.
Finally, the interiors of the garments will be different: not a lot of hand stitching with MTM, though you can ask for and should probably receive a full canvas and a well-fitting jacket and trousers, in the style that you like (or you should not have gone to this particular MTM house in the first place).
At the end of the process, you have a decent garment, well made; it fits you and the fabric is of good quality. And that is what you are paying for – about 70% of what a bespoke tailor could make for you, at probably half the bespoke price, or less than that. Sounds like a deal? It is.
Back to our original question: is online bespoke more or less MTM? Let’s go through a few questions to see if the answer is Yes or No:
- Did he measure you?
- Did he make a personal pattern for you?
- Did you choose the fabric?
- Did you have the chance to discuss and choose the style and features?
- Did you have at least one fitting?
- Is the final garment handmade (mostly, particularly where you need it, such as collar and chest)?
- Does the jacket have a full canvas?
If the tailor did all seven of these, you have a bespoke garment. If he only did 1, 3 and 4, you have a MTM garment. Now you could get handmade MTM, but it would cost you, and it would probably not be worth it, because you would not get the fitting, which is really where you start to see the benefits of bespoke (and of paying all that money).
To conclude: bespoke is not MTM. MTM is its own thing, with its own rules, costs and benefits. As long as you know what you are going to get, and are happy with what you did get, the question does not really matter.