The Details

The final part of the consultation process – which is likely to take at least an hour and will need to be booked in advance – is where you choose all the extra details that make the suit right for you. Options range from lapel style; number of buttons in the fastening; belt loops, side adjusters or brace buttons; cuffs or plain finish; type of pockets; pocket flaps or none; and so on.

“If you want something very particular – a hidden pocket, for example – you’ll need to go bespoke,” warns Blatch. “There are limits as to what can be altered for made-to-measure too, but the parameters in which we can work allows for most things. When it comes to it, made-to-measure really does suit most men’s needs.”

Reiss

Once these are all decided on, your part in this process is more or less done. You will most likely be asked to pay a deposit and then you’ll be leaving matters to the people who will actually make your suit. This is not an overnight process – so plan well in advance if you need the suit for a specific date. To make your suit might take anywhere between a month and three months, depending both on the tailor and their workload at that time.

However, some weeks later you will be asked in for another fitting for final adjustments (you may well put on or lose an inch in your waist over this time frame, for example) and to decide on sleeve and leg length, which might be determined by the type of shoes you’re likely to wear with your suit, so if possible take these along.

You need to be available for this fitting – your suit will not be finished until you undergo this fitting, which should last not much more than 15 minutes. Once this is done – final payment is likely due then too – your suit can be finished, which might take another two weeks.

Is Made-To-Measure Worth It?

“The reality is that more and more of the things we buy are customizable in some way – and that’s what people want, to be able to have some input, to make it their own,” argues Alex McCard, senior menswear buyer for Reiss. “The whole idea of made-to-measure is that the customer becomes the designer.”