Replicating a suit

[codtrawler87]

So I have a dilemma and I hope someone here can help! Long story short:
My friend's getting married and his best friends (including me) are wearing matching suits. The suit that was chosen is pretty low-end. I don't see a point in buying a low-end suit because I wear a suit to work every day so when I buy a new suit, I prefer to have it tailor made and from quality cloth. So my question is : is it possible to ''replicate'' a suit's color? Is there some ''color codes'' or something that I could give to my tailor and ask to find a cloth with the exact same color/tone/texture?
Thanks a lot!

 

[Quesjac]

Just take the item you want to match to your tailor and you can see how close a match is available, and decide whether you're happy.

 

[codtrawler87]

Just take the item you want to match to your tailor and you can see how close a match is available, and decide whether you're happy.

Sorry, should've been clearer. The issue is that the suit is in Europe and I'm in USA.

 

[Quesjac]

Ok, that's tricky. Most big, low-end manufacturers are buying cloth in bulk which will be hard to source privately. Your best bet if you really want to match it is to ask one of your friends to mail a scrap of fabric (eg. from shortened trousers) I think. Or maybe you could buy and then return the same suit as your friends?

That said, if you don't get it 100% right I doubt many people are going to notice, so maybe you can get away with taking photos and bringing them to a tailor.

 

[breakaway01]

Have you discussed your plan with your friend? If not I would 100% ask them first. After all it is their wedding, not yours. It will be virtually impossible to match the fabric, even with a sample. Even if you can get the shade of grey right, other aspects such as sheen and surface texture will be very hard to match.

I disagree with the opinion that a mismatched fabric will not be noticed. IMO chances are high that a semi observant guest will be able to tell that your suit does not match the others. If your friend doesn’t care then go for it.

 

[Thin White Duke]

Am I alone in thinking it a bit cheeky that you’re invited to be in your friend’s wedding party but you have to fork out for your own suit? He should be paying for this. If you don’t like the suit you can sell it or give it to goodwill after the day.

The times I’ve been in a ‘top table’ wedding party were always rentals, paid for by the bride (or groom).

 

[dieworkwear]

Depending on your budget, you might want to note that a good custom suit will start around $1,000 and even then, the fit and styling may not come out to your liking. Most good custom suits will start closer to $3,000 to $4,000.

A tailor can try to match the fabric, but it's true that it'll never be exact. Whether people will notice seems like anyone's guess. Sometimes a fabric will have characteristics that you don't easily detect when it's just a small swatch, but it's very noticeable when it's made into a garment.

My feeling is that, if you go into this, there will be a lot of risks. Custom tailoring already comes with a lot of risks in that the garment doesn't always turn out the way you want in the end. Add to this the risk of the fabrics not matching as well as you hoped, and maybe upsetting your friends, and it just seems like a bad idea. Maybe ask your friends how they feel about the project. If they would prefer everyone to have perfectly matching suits, I would just suck it up and wear the suit. Friendships are more important than a few hundred bucks.