Continuing on the previous post: When you Order MTM, the fifth point to consider is the process. What exactly happens in the MTM shop, behind the scenes?
A MTM shop is a factory. It may be turning out several thousand garments a month, or only a few, but it is a factory. That means that cutting and stitching are programmed into machines, managed of course by humans. But it does mean that once an order has been received, accepted and committed to the system, it cannot be changed.
MTM Trousers, Inspected and Ready to Package for Shipping
Your MTM order is made to a pattern. The cloth is cut and fed into the production run to be lined up and stitched. Into the process, besides the cloth, go the padding, basting and canvas.Some MTM shops provide a fully canvased jacket and lined trousers – others do not. This is something to consider, which we forgot to mention earlier. In a good factory, the process replicates what happens in any tailoring shop, but it is faster and of course standardised to an extent not possible with bespoke (and not desirable in bespoke, either).
Sixth, you will not have a fitting, so the final product depends entirely on the accuracy of the measurements that went in at the start. There will be a quality control inspection during the process and at the end, and in a good shop, the output will be exactly as ordered. Go on Reddit and clothing forums to read horror stories about trousers received with the pleats backwards, lapels twice the size that they should be, and so on. This happens when a factory is working at full or over capacity and / or when quality control is lazy.
You receive your garment and try it on. Assuming that you gave the shop accurate measurements and that the factory’s process is well managed, what you receive should be very, very close to what you had in mind. There will probably be some minor alterations that you could make, but these should be minor, and cosmetic in nature.
So be prepared: MTM is a great option, particularly if you have very long arms, very wide shoulders, or other unique physical features that make RTW difficult or impossible. It is not bespoke, but it is a workable intermediate. Once you have found a shop that does what you like, stick with it as you build your wardrobe.