How to Get the Best Custom-made Men’s Suits
Men are increasingly buying custom made suits instead of buying their suits from traditional men’s retail stores or specialty clothing shops. The prudent shopper will come to understand that they don’t get the quality, the selection, or the fit they want unless they find a Master Tailor that knows how to measure them and provide the ideal combination of fabric, accessories, and fit.
The other key thing these men are finding is that it doesn’t cost a premium to have suits custom-made. If you compare suits of similar design, fabric, finishing and fit from a retail outlet and from the right Master or Custom Tailor, the cost will be about the same. The difference will be in the overall appearance, fit, and quality you receive from a custom-made suit.
So, how do you find a Master Tailor you can engage and trust without paying a premium to do so? It is unlikely you will find this resource from a retail outlet or specialty clothing store. Their tailors do alterations but generally don’t have the expertise or experience in making true bespoke clothing items. These tailoring resources can make adjustments to what you choose off the rack but they usually don’t have enough demand for custom-made suit design and most certainly can’t do it for a price you want to pay. If you find a true bespoke tailor that has Custom/Master Tailor expertise and experience, you will likely pay at least twice as much for a custom-made suit, compared to what is available off-the-rack.
To reinforce an understanding of what any tailor knows about custom-tailoring pick up a shirt that fits you poorly from a retail store and take it to store tailor to ask him what alterations he thinks are needed. If he/she says something like, “It’s up to you,” or “What do you want,” then this isn’t a tailor that understands the importance of focusing on individual fit details. He/she is not likely to invest the comprehensive effort required to give you a high-quality custom made suit.
You can do the same thing with a suit. Take a suit from there rack and ask the tailor how it should be tailored. If he offers to shorten the sleeves and the pants, and take in the waist, you are not dealing with a resource that will serve you well. Tailors that serve retail stores are good at making alterations but generally are not tasked with making custom suits for clients. Their training and experience is far different than a Master Tailor.
If you take the same shirt or suit to a tailor that starts pointing out how the shirt has to be adjusted to fit your physique and body shape, then you know you have someone that will pay attention to details in designing and assembling a custom-made suit for you. It may not always be that simple because personality and engagement style is critical to choosing a Master Tailor but at least you are talking about the right things.
Finding the Right Tailor for Custom Made Men’s Suits
My Custom Tailor is a third-generation custom clothing manufacturer that serves men and women all over the world. They are affectionately known as Travelling Master Tailors, and they conduct road shows in major cities on a regular basis to educate new clients on the benefits and value of buying custom-made clothes. These are true tailoring and fabric cutting artisans with extensive expertise and years of experience making custom suits that range in price from a few hundred dollars to $4000+. They have access to a wide range of fabrics from sources developed and nurtured over many years. They are design experts. Most importantly, they are trained to conduct extensive discovery on the needs, preferences and desires of their clients. They are consultants and seek perfection in making suits that uniquely fit the client.
During these Travelling Master Tailor Roadshows, they bring samples of their work a variety of fabrics they have access to, design concepts, and an understanding of how they typically engage their clients. They seek individual relationships in communicating how to create a wardrobe of men’s clothes that will fit every occasion and every budget. Look at the My Custom Tailor Web Site to see various collections of men’s clothes. Your awareness of how these resources can serve you is enhanced by asking a series of questions about how the process evolves and outlining exactly what you want. The tailor will provide more than enough feedback to confirm this is a great alternative to buying off-the-rack suits. Finally, you will give the tailor a price range within he must operate to fit your budget.
Finding an Experienced Tailor that Keeps Up with Current Fashions
My Custom Tailor are true Bespoke Tailors, artisans from a past generation of clothiers that made hand-made suits for privileged members of society. Bespoke Tailors today are better known as Master Tailors or Custom Tailors. While you may occasionally find one of these tailors in the US or Europe, most now work in the design studios and clothing mills situated around Singapore or Bangkok where custom-made suits are still made for individual clients.
These Tailoring Artisans are mostly men that are older with years of experience. They may be older, some are in their eighties, but they know how to make clothes that are of the highest quality with workmanship that can’t possibly be replicated within the large scale manufacturing factories that dominate suit making and distribution today. When you meet one of these tailors you know within 10 minutes that you are dealing with a Master Tailor.
What further differentiates My Custom Tailor Master Tailors is their constantly evolving knowledge of modern fashion and design trends. Not only will they make you a custom-made suit that fits you perfectly, they will advise you on the type of styling, design, accessorizing, and finishing that will meet your stated range of quality and budget parameters. They will show you fabric samples and explain the differences in quality and performance you can expect.
The other thing that happens during your visit to a Travelling Master Tailor Roadshow is the tailor will do an extensive measurements profile. Multiple measurements are taken which will become the foundation for your custom-made suit. The tailor will highlight certain dimensions that require special attention and seek input on certain elements of additional space or shaping you prefer in your clothes. This profile provides additional reinforcement that your custom-made suit will fit you perfectly, after all it is made to your unique specifications. Click this link to further review the quality standards to which our Tailors and Cutters operate to.
Here are just a few design elements you will want to specify as you engage the Master Tailor:
Is your preference a double breasted versus a single-breasted suit jacket? A single-breasted option will reduce the size of your frame, while a double-breasted option will add volume to your frame. Make a choice that will either accentuate or camouflage your physique. Your height is a factor in this decision.
How many buttons do you prefer and what kind of button materials? The most common option for custom-made suits is two or three buttons. This option provides variety in that you can choose to either button only the middle button or opt for the bottom two buttons. You will want a design that allows you to leave the coat unbuttoned in a way that doesn’t look awkward or ill fitting.
What kind of lapel do you favor? You can choose a wide or thin lapel depending on your style preference, or what is currently fashionable. Lapel sizes change with the fashion trends; over time lapels that are between three and four inches will always be appropriate.
Pant design is also a variable. Pleats are now optional but traditional design favors them. Plain front suit pants are certainly in vogue with no cuffs. If you want pleats, how large do you want them to be? What style and size pockets do you prefer? Your Master Tailor will work with you to make sure all these design elements are synched in a way that complements the overall look.
Fabric selection. Your fabric choice will be based on the climate you live in and personal preference. If you live in a warm climate, cotton, silk, and linen are popular choices. The most popular choice is wool because wool can be worn year-round in any climate. There are many wool fabrics to choose from that will provide the degree of comfort, wear, and appearance you seek. There are other fabric choices that mays be best for you.
Based on the level of quality you specify, there are multiple options for stitching, hemming, basting, and padding that you can incorporate.
Take the first step by attending a Travelling Master Tailor Roadshow scheduled for your city in the coming year. This is the best way to experience the interactions described above. An interesting opportunity when attending a roadshow event is to bring one of your existing suits as a sample of what you want duplicated in terms of fit and styling. You know what you paid for it; the tailor will tell you what it would cost to make something similar or enhanced. This allows you to make a direct comparison. You will be newly empowered to order custom-made clothes at the same price you have been buying imperfect clothes at retail outlets. Or, you can upgrade your design to enjoy greater quality or fabric integrity.
If you don’t see a roadshow location in your city, you can still engage My Custom Tailor over the internet and then ask any questions you have by calling our customer service resources. Here’s how you get started.
Visit the My Custom Tailor Website and review one of the online collection catalogs to review style options. Choose the one that suits you best.
Click on the form or the ‘order’ button to select the style, color, and fabric as shown in the image
When confirming the style, review the many fabric and color choices. Choose the fabric and color that suits you best.
Select the measurements profile for this item. If this is your first order, you can add a measurements profile on this page and submit your measurements any time after you have submitted the order. My Custom Tailor provides a special Measurements Kit, sent through the mail that allows you to create your own measurements profile the same way the Custom Tailor would do in person. With the help of a friend or partner, you can capture every measurement he would take were he with you.
You may wonder whether doing this profile yourself gives you the same level of specificity you would get from the Master Tailor. The answer is yes; the methodology is the key and our kit gives you everything you need to capture the perfect profile. When your measurements are received, a Master Tailor reviews them to make sure proportions are correct. He will point out areas where you need extra space and work with you over the phone or the internet to answer any questions you may have.
Next, you will see a series of tabs for further customizing your suit. Here, various finishing accessories can be specified such as buttons, sleeve cuffs, collars, monograms, etc. Again, help or consultation is just a phone call away.
After completing your selections, proceed to the check-out page. Your order total will be visible at all times at the top right-hand side of every page next to the shopping cart.
My Custom Tailor customer support personnel are available to answers any questions you have or help you make final decisions. Their contact information is provided as part of the order entry details.
Provide billing and shipping information at checkout
When you receive your newly constructed, custom-made suit you will feel empowered. When you first put it on, you will see that it fits perfectly. Quality and finishing will be very evident; the fabric and color combination will stand out as a very distinguishing feature. Compare it to what you have in your closet.
In the event the fit isn’t right, something that happens less than 5% of the time, send it back and My Custom Tailor will make the necessary changes to make it exactly as it was specified. There is never any charge for this type of modification.
So, there you go. You will quickly see that you have a vastly superior alternative to buying off-the-rack suits from a retail outlet. Join the thousands of My Custom Tailor clients all over the world that order custom-made suits designed uniquely for them.