The bespoke suit is often proclaimed as the greatest possible exemplar of the art of tailoring. And, coming with it, a hefty price tag. But the alternative is not just to make do with ready-to-wear. There’s a middle ground: the made-to-measure suit. This allows a suit to fit you better, and for a degree of customisation – just not on the scale of full bespoke.

Of course, you may have one of those rare mannequin-shaped bodies that allows ready-to-wear to fit just fine. But, for everyone else, the more manageable investment in made-to-measure could be well worth it.

What Is A Made-To-Measure Suit?

“In short, made-to-measure offers the quickest and most efficient way to have a beautifully fitting suit made to your own specifications. Personal style meets efficiency with made-to-measure,” explains Toby Lamb, brand director at Richard James. It’s a blunt, simple definition because, in truth, made-to-measure is a term that is widely interpreted.

Richard James

Today’s made-to-measure suit may show more signs of being finished by hand – traditionally a sign of bespoke tailoring – but, by the same token, elements of bespoke tailoring, such as the main seam in the seat of a pair of trousers, are likely to be machine-finished. Lines, in other words, are blurred. Add in a lot of marketing – ‘personal tailoring’, ‘customizable suiting’, ‘custom made’ – and the fact that tailoring houses are quick to dismiss the efforts of other tailoring houses as being ‘real’ made-to-measure and the waters are muddied further.

“Unfortunately some companies deliberately distort understanding to meet their marketing requirements,” argues Tony Lutwyche, of Lutwyche. “Admittedly it’s difficult to draw hard lines along the ready-to-wear, made-to-measure, bespoke continuum. It really comes down to a matter of authenticity. As much as anything it’s about the quality of experience.”