The suiting world can be a bit confusing, thanks in part to its lingo. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, or what the terminology is, how are you going to find the one that works best for you?
Let’s take a look at the three main options you have when it comes to finding your dream suit: off the rack, made to measure, and bespoke.
Off The Rack
This one might be self-explanatory, as “off the rack” implies just that. Taking a suit right from a shop’s rack to your closet is not always a bad thing. If you know your measurements and you are a standard fit size, you could potentially find a suit that fits you well enough and only requires minimal tailoring. Of course, it’s certainly possible to find quality items off the rack, if you search for them. However, this can be labor intensive and frustrating, and it doesn’t allow for much individuality.
It is necessary to query the sales assistant on the construction of the garment, as the majority of high street brand will fuse the canvasing of thier suits. This means that the canvassing is glued and not stitched. This is a cheap an effective form of construction for mass production.
Made-To-Measure
If you’re seeking the full tailoring experience, have a regular body shape and are relatively price sensitive, then made-to-measure is the option for you.
What to expect with made-to-measure suiting. At Kale & Co Bespoke Tailors, buying a made-to-measure suit means it’s stitched from scratch to your individual measurements, body configuration and styling options. The made-to-measure process means your garment will be laser cut and machine stitched with the finishings done by hand, i.e Milanese button holes, etc. With this, your garment can be fully canvassed or half canvassed, allowing you to choose the fit and comfort you please.
Your canvas chest piece will be floating, meaning that it will be stitched and not fused (as mentioned above).
A floating canvas chest piece is one of the quintessential construction components of an authentic Made-To-Measure/Bespoke garment.
The final touch is the styling options, and there are plenty to choose from - whether is be, pocket styles, jacket linings, monograms, or shirt collars. We will guide you through, what can sometimes be an overwhelming process.
Bespoke
Bespoke is essentially the male counterpart to haute couture, which means the suit is made for scratch, by hand, from start to finish. The fully bespoke experience is the pinnacle of bespoke tailoring. We recommend the fully bespoke experience to those clients who have time on their hands, are an unusual body shape or want the creme de la creme experience.
A bespoke garment will also have a full/ half canvassed floating chest piece, to which the full construction is done by hand.
Don't Be Fooled
To avoid receiving an inferior quality of construction and experience, we highly recommend you query your tailor on the following.
Is my suit pattern adjusted from a sample pattern or is it made specifically to my measurements? Will my chest piece be fused or stitched? Will I be able to choose from a full canvas or half canvas chest piece? Will the finishings be done by hand, if so, will my garments have authentic Milanese button holes?
