Bespoke vs MTM, some musings.

[Vizard]

Over the past few years I have developed an expensive clothing habit. Suits mainly.

Last year, I bought one bespoke suit from Henry Poole on Savile Row, a bespoke from another tailor on the Row plus several MTM from another. Of these, some were handmade MTM, some machine made.

I am getting good use from all my suits and love wearing them. However, I have changed shape slightly since I had them made. Not much, but slightly. This has been as a result of changing my exercise regime - basically I have shed some muscle. This has meant that I now need to get some alterations done. No I don't NEED to, but to keep the fit perfect I should or could do - in the coat anyway.

Which is fine. Obviously a quality suit can be adjusted almost endlessly. But, when you've gone to the trouble and expense of buying bespoke you don't really WANT to.

I have formed a relationship with one of my tailors where I don't need to even see him. He is not one of the bespoke ones (though he can offer that service). My suit will show up at the tailor's shop, made in cloth that I've approved by post, and it will usually fit perfectly. I struggle to pick out anything to alter. This is particularly true of the machine made MTM. The handmade ones usually need a tweak.

There is also the quality of the finish. The machine made ones are more accurate and "sharper".

In years gone by, a chap would have a tailor. He would tend to use that one tailor faithfully. I am not sure that the rule applies today quite so much and, speaking personally, I am somewhat promiscuous.

I quite fancy an Anderson and Sheppard DB flannel suit for the autumn. But, at the moment, I am struggling with the concept of forming yet another relationship and paying £5000.00 per suit. Yes, the experience will be enjoyable. Each suit will be a joy to own. But it won't look any better than some of my MTM suits, and in fact probably won't look as precise. Then, I'll lose or gain weight and I'll need to have alterations carried out.

I am not physically unusual. I am average height, but stocky, I have good posture and level shoulders. My shape falls comfortably within a standard block. It's not easy for a bespoke tailor to add value in terms of fit therefore.

If I buy MTM I still have the full choice of cloths, I can alter any detail. But it doesn't have my name on the label. What is the value of having my name and the date on the label inside my jacket pocket?.

I think about which of my suits I wear most and least. I wear one of my cheapest MTM suits most, I wear my most expensive bespoke least. Not only because I tend to keep it for "best", but because it has a very traditional look to it, which isn't how I want to look every day.

I think where I am going is that I am going to take some persuading to buy bespoke again in the near future; unless the requirement is for something tricky. If I were to become fabulously rich I might also change my mind. But at present it seems to me that the best bang for my sartorial buck is afforded by the MTM tailor I use. Handmade for the soft tailoring, machine made for the crisper items.

I think this has gone beyond musings into the realms of rambling, and I'm not dressed for that, so I'll stop now.

 

[jefferyd]

There is also the quality of the finish. The machine made ones are more accurate and "sharper".

Though the machines may have something to do with this, in reality it is more to do with the precision that is borne of repetition. Let's say a benchmade suit takes 70 hours of work. A single tailor can therefore make about one suit per week. He will make one set of pockets per week, set one collar per week, etc. In a decent-sized factory, an operator will do only one job all day, every day. Instead of setting one collar per week, he or she may do a hundred or more per day, so they get VERY good at it.

Having said that, what often draws people to handmade, and less perfect, clothing is that it is less perfect. One is more aware of the hands that made it, of the artisanship behind it. My oft-repeated analogy about a reproduction of the Mona Lisa, a masterpiece of painting. One could have an absolutely perfect, machine-made replica (a giclee, perhaps), or less-perfect hand-painted replica. I personally would probably opt for the hand-painted one.

You make some good points about details being unimportant if the garment generally brings you less joy. One last thing, though, if you aren't getting your name sewn in to your MTM garments, you are using the wrong vendor. Just saying.

 

[Vizard]

Though the machines may have something to do with this, in reality it is more to do with the precision that is borne of repetition. Let's say a benchmade suit takes 70 hours of work. A single tailor can therefore make about one suit per week. He will make one set of pockets per week, set one collar per week, etc. In a decent-sized factory, an operator will do only one job all day, every day. Instead of setting one collar per week, he or she may do a hundred or more per day, so they get VERY good at it.

Having said that, what often draws people to handmade, and less perfect, clothing is that it is less perfect. One is more aware of the hands that made it, of the artisanship behind it. My oft-repeated analogy about a reproduction of the Mona Lisa, a masterpiece of painting. One could have an absolutely perfect, machine-made replica (a giclee, perhaps), or less-perfect hand-painted replica. I personally would probably opt for the hand-painted one.

You make some good points about details being unimportant if the garment generally brings you less joy. One last thing, though, if you aren't getting your name sewn in to your MTM garments, you are using the wrong vendor. Just saying.

Jeffery

Thank you for your comments.

No, the MTMs haven't got my name in. I suppose I could ask!

But having been through a few tailors in my time I am happy to use one that does the basics well, name label or not. I am not sure how things are your side of the pond, but it's my experience in the UK that standards are pretty poor.

 

[C Scott & Company]

Thank you Jeffrey and Vizard for you discussion on bespoke vs MTM. This was a debate that I had with myself when going on my own. As a couture designer, with 30 plus years of bespoke and custom fitted experience, I wanted to bridge that gap. We have no set house style. I start with a conversation. I like to get to know my clients’ personal style and needs. Then all of my clients clothing is hand tailored on their individual pattern. The biggest difference is where we begin the follow up fittings. They can begin at a basted fitting or the garment can be brought in at the finish-bar-finish, the step just before a garment is completed. At the end of the day a proper fitting garment is the best garment.