What’s the difference between off the rack, made to measure and bespoke? Which type of suit is right for you?

When you need a new suit, you have lots of different options these days. There are more brands to choose from than ever before.

This is great, but it can be a little overwhelming. I want to help you choose the best option for your needs and budget.

The good news is, all suit makers fall into three overarching categories:

1. Ready to wear (a.k.a., off the rack)

2. Made-to-measure

3. Bespoke

To avoid confusion, let’s talk about the word “custom” real quick.

What does “custom” mean?

Custom is used to describe anything that isn’t ready to wear. If you buy a suit off the rack and get it tailored, that’s not a custom suit. It’s just a tailored suit.

Custom means made-to-measure, fully bespoke or anything in between.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that “custom” and “bespoke” are the same thing. The word bespoke is so widely misused that its meaning has almost been lost.

A bespoke suit is way different than a made-to-measure suit that you might buy online from a company like Indochino, Oliver Wicks or Black Lapel.

A bespoke suit is made from scratch, just for you. In other words, no fabric is cut until you’ve been measured.

MTM suits, on there other hand, start from a pattern – multiple pieces of fabric that have already been cut, and are ready to be customized according to your measurements and preferences.

Bespoke is much more time intensive. It requires more fabric and more skill. It also requires a lot more money.

Just like all bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon: all bespoke suits are custom, but not all custom suits are bespoke.

Now that we’ve got that cleared up, we’ll take a look at our options using three suits from my own closet:

1. Ready-to-wear (plus tailoring) – Suitsupply

2. Made-to-measure – Oliver Wicks

3. Bespoke – Alan David

Let’s take a closer look at each suit…