Clothing forum members write of many things, one of them being the possibility of online bespoke. There seems to be a consensus that bespoke cannot be done except in a B&M shop, and one does have to wonder why nowadays, and in fact since about 1995 this question should arise at all.
What is bespoke tailoring? It is a process by which a tailor makes a garment for a customer from an original pattern, so that when admiring friends say “Wow, where did you get that?” the answer is “It was bespoke”, meaning “Someone made it for me”. The unspoken remainder of the sentence is “and that is why you have not seen it before, and will not see its like again”. Where the tailor was, physically, where you were, how you communicated, how the tailor made the pattern, etc., are all separate issues.
The priests and their congregations in the online forums stress several points that they believe are critical to bespoke work: the measurements, the pattern, the fitting. First, measurements can be taken in different ways – by the tailor who will make the garment, by someone else, by the customer, or by AI. If the tailor who will make the garment measures you, there is a good chance that the resulting garment will fit right, but this is not guaranteed. The pattern is next – whether you employ a B&M shop or someone else, the pattern is made by a pattern maker (cutter); this may be the man or woman who measure you, or it may be someone else. You very seldom see your own pattern, and most of us would not know what to make of it if we did see it. As long as there is a pattern (and you would have to have measurements for a pattern), you are in the bespoke world.
The importance of multiple fittings: fittings are part of the process, but they are not the process itself. In a sense, the need for fittings indicates that the tailor did not get it right the first time. But, humans being what they are, at least one fitting is probably necessary to catch the odd defect, but fittings are not actually the sine qua non of the bespoke process. Now, you can have fittings in the tailor’s shop, or you can do them yourself with pictures. The cutter and tailor will work on correcting any defects before making up the final garment. In this writer’s experience, fittings in a B&M shop do not always result in a successful final garment. Quite often, the various chalk marks and pins that go into the fitting seem to make no difference. Keep in mind that the man who does your fitting may not be the same man as the one who corrects the defects. So something (or quite a lot) can be lost in translation.
So there we have it: measurements, pattern, fittings. Yet, for several years now, people out there are saying that outside of B&M tailors, you cannot buy bespoke. Let’s look at some other aspects of the bespoke process: fabric choice, style and options. First, in a B&M shop you can see and feel the fabric, that is if the tailor stocks the fabric. If you order a swatch from an online tailor, you can feel the fabric. Some customers order books from the mills and merchants – it costs a bit but gives you the chance to feel the fabric as well as look at it. In the B&M shop, the tailor or salesman may recommend a colour, weave or pattern – but so can an online salesman, in a consultation. Next, style options: you can choose buttons, jacket style, pleats / no pleats in a B&M shop, just as you can online. Similarly, you can discuss style (e.g, double or single breasted) online or face to face.
Having dealt with the similarities between a face-to-face bespoke purchase and one online, we could look at the question of risk. If the garment that you bought in a B&M tailor is a disaster, you can storm into the shop and ask for your money back – good luck with that. You accepted it, at which point you de-risked the tailor. If the garment that you ordered online is a disaster, ask the tailor to take it back and fix it. As an online customer, you have a great deal of leverage over the tailor – your complaints could reach millions within minutes.
In summary, there is no difference between the two channels. Assuming that both the B&M and online tailor are both actually tailors, you will receive exactly the same product. The fit, style, cut and finishing do not depend on the channel.