Made to Measure Suits. School me

I do not have the opportunity to wear a suit often, but am gong to be in my sisters wedding this summer, and am facing the reality that I have many relatives in their 80's and 90's who aren't going to be around forever so now seams to be the best time to spring for a new suit. I had two MTM suits made for me by a "tailor" in Itaewon when I was in Seoul 10 years ago, and love they way they fit, but they are looking dated.

If anyone has any experience with companies I can send my measurements to I would love to hear about them.

Well I have my upcoming nuptials in 4 days, and i got me and my groomsmen suits from https://www.combatgent.com/made-to-measure. I picked them because they are local to us. So I was able to go to their shop and get measured up and look at fabric swatches and pick.

My only over the mail made to measure stuff is with proper cloth as i got my shirts through them for the wedding. To be honest, getting the sizing right was a PITA. started with their "smart size" sizing. Basically you answer a bunch of questions and they spit out your own shirt size. It was WAY off. Then to try and fix it i took all the pictures they asked for and then sent it back to them to try and get the right size. This took 3 tries and the fit still isn't perfect. Also let me remind you that you have to pay to ship it back to them. Other than having to pay for the shipping and the taking too many tries to get it right, their customer service was really good about responding and trying to figure it out and help.

If your going to do anything made to measure. I would recommend actually taking your measurements or having someone take them for you. Those "smart size" fits are really not very smart at all.

They will fit better than any off the rack suit you can ever own, IF the person measuring knows what they are doing!
I only buy made to measure!
It is better to have a live person measure you.
They can make the adjustments you want immediately before any alteration has to be done.

I would be concerned about any made to measure suit with mail in measurements.

My son has had suits made in Korea when he was there, and was told he could others by mail if needed. If you are lucky enough to still be the same size, why not contact the tailor who made your others, to see if he would make one in a more up to date style.

Spier and Mackay or Suit Supply is who I'd look at for online MTM. Or at least that's who I'm currently looking at.

strop said:

If you are lucky enough to still be the same size, why not contact the tailor who made your others, to see if he would make one in a more up to date style.

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This would be ideal, but it's been so long ago I honestly have no idea what the place was called or how to find them.

paintflinger said:

Spier and Mackay or Suit Supply is who I'd look at for online MTM. Or at least that's who I'm currently looking at.

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Thanks I'll check it out.

No specific experience, but if you find a competent shop, and can get really good measurements, you should t have any problems.

Commander Quan said:

If anyone has any experience with companies I can send my measurements to I would love to hear about them.

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Definitely try to find a shop local to you or at least close enough that you can go in person to get measured and for adjustments, etc.

paintflinger said:

Spier and Mackay or Suit Supply is who I'd look at for online MTM. Or at least that's who I'm currently looking at.

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+1 for either of these suggestions. Also, do you really need to go MTM or is OTR okay? If you have a huge drop or work out a lot, I can see where MTM makes sense. Typically, OTR + tailoring looks just 95% as good as MTM with a few cost savings.

You can always looks at Brooks Brothers or any haberdashery that has Southwick or H. Freeman options.

Thanks for the tips guys. I don't need a MTM suit, but wanted to look into it. Unfortunately I don't have a tailor near me (that I can find) that does full custom work.

Commander Quan said:

Unfortunately I don't have a tailor near me (that I can find) that does full custom work.

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There are generally three options ...

"Bespoke": highly skilled & specialised tailor(s) measure you all over, and then create an unique pattern for a suit designed for your individual body.

"Made to measure": certain key measurements of your body are taken by the tailor, and then those measurements are used on a pre-existing pattern to create an expression of that pre-existing pattern designed to fit your body. "MTM"

"Off the rack": the suits are made in advance to a pre-set generic pattern, at specific measurement intervals; you find the one that fits closest to you, and have minor alterations done. "OTR"



OTR is what most guys wear nowadays. Whether it's Men's Wearhouse or Brooks Brothers or Armani (or whatever) ... you walk into the store, the clerk says "you look like a 42R" and pulls a jacket off the rack ... you try it on and if it fits you buy it or if not you try a 44R or whatever and keep trying until you find the one you like. This is NOT a "cheap" option per se, as lots of high-end suits are made this way too. This option does tend to be less expensive at any given quality level, as the factory can just churn the suits out by the hundreds without any worry about fitting a specific guy with a specific suit. If you find one that fits you well, you are indeed lucky, and have no need to buy something more expensive; if the suit requires extensive alterations to fit you, however, the result will be far less satisfying than a MTM suit; OTR only do well with minimal alterations.

MTM can help fit you better if you are not quite the shape of an OTR suit. Maybe a 44 jacket is too big and a 42 jacket is too small ... so you get a MTM suit where they make ONE SUIT with a 43 jacket instead of 42 or 44; they make it tapered in (or out) a bit more at the waist ... they make the sleeves the exact proper length you need, and ditto the pants. (And I don't mean you choose between a 32" pants hem and a 34" hem, they make them the exact length required ... 32.5" on the left and 32.75" on the right or whatever. You pay more than you would for an OTR suit of similar quality, but the suit is better designed to fit your body specifically, so if your body is not "like" the OTR suits (not made to fit a "perfect" human, but made to fit as many men as possible with as little alteration as possible) then this can help get a better fit.

Bespoke ... the most expensive option. The tailor starts from scratch to make something exactly as you like it, and to fit you exactly. These take a long time, multiple fittings during the process, and only work well with truly specialised and trained tailors ... and so there are very few places in the world where you can get them ... and sometimes you need to have a tailor make a couple suits for you before you and he really are in sync and the suit really fits you superbly. A lot of MTM suits are marketed as "bespoke" ... there is no hard and fast, legally binding set of rules for the use of the terms, so you need to be careful.

Commander Quan said:

Thanks for the tips guys. I don't need a MTM suit, but wanted to look into it. Unfortunately I don't have a tailor near me (that I can find) that does full custom work.

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Look for a Tom James rep. Not the cheapest MTM suit, but I've had good luck with them. No B&M store, but they will come to your home for the fitting. They used to arrive with big cases full of fabric swatches, but most of it now is on a tablet.

I would be leary of sending in measurements for a MTM suit. Also, for not much more, I would at least consider getting a bespoke suit instead.

thomasrhee said:

I would be leary of sending in measurements for a MTM suit. Also, for not much more, I would at least consider getting a bespoke suit instead.

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There's a big difference between $400-$800 for a MTM and $2500-$10,000 for a Bespoke suit. As far as sending in measurements, most of these places like Suitsupply offer a fairly good return/exchange policy and try to make sure that the measurements will work the way they need to. I buy most of my clothes online and find it fairly easy to figure out if something will fit (footwear is probably the most difficult).

A MTM suit here in Korea can cost anywhere between $400-1000 USD depending on fabric choice and tailor. Bespoke suits here typically start at around $1500 USD and go up from there. My reasoning was based on the upper end of MTM suits with better wool fabrics whereas on the lower end of MTM, you'll be dealing with polyester blends and lower grade fabrics. The OP mentioned having had suits made in Seoul (Itaewon) so I was basing pricing of MTM and bespoke here in Seoul.

thomasrhee said:

A MTM suit here in Korea can cost anywhere between $400-1000 USD depending on fabric choice and tailor. Bespoke suits here typically start at around $1500 USD and go up from there. My reasoning was based on the upper end of MTM suits with better wool fabrics whereas on the lower end of MTM, you'll be dealing with polyester blends and lower grade fabrics. The OP mentioned having had suits made in Seoul (Itaewon) so I was basing pricing of MTM and bespoke here in Seoul.

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Fair enough. I am a bit surprised (in a good way) that a true Bespoke suit is only $1500 when the MTM goes up to $1000 in Korea.

I find this discussion boils down to this; if a suit is not an everyday necessity, and your suiting is not part of the success equation, a decent suit for $500 is the way to go.

The only people who should be trying to decide between an MTM and bespoke suit are what is, in reality, a select few for whom an expensive wardrobe is a prerequisite, or, at the very least, a major part of their daily success with peers. It's ridiculous for someone to need an MTM suit for occasional wear.

I'm not throwing shade here, but the reality is that a decent suit should not be looked at as inferior to an MTM or above. There is just no justification for an even better suit if you are not one of the 5%. And if you are, the point is moot because you already have four of them.

Ordering on line should be for shave soap, not suits. They need to be fitted.

As times have changed I'm in need of a suit less than I used to be. I fell into that category of wearing a suit for most of the day. I could not get a suit to be comfortable without going the MTM route. If it isn't comfortable you won't wear it and it won't look as good. I still want my suits to be comfortable so MTM is about the only way I can go. Fortunately my needs are less now than they used to be.

I remember my father going to the department store men's department and getting his HSM or HF suits. The in house tailor would come out and spend 30 minutes with him marking and measuring and then take the suit. My dad would later go back and try it on, and maybe get something else altered. But this was a real tailor, not just someone doing alterations. IN MY OPINION, one of the reasons for the gradual departure from suits and ties was the lack of comfort in the majority of suits that eventually were purchased because the fit was always a compromise and they didn't really feel comfortable.

I'm not sure I agree with this sentiment. A suit is not part of my daily wear by any means, but I do wear them for occasions that require it (i.e. weddings, funerals, official events, formal gatherings). As such, I own 3 suits (black, dark charcoal and dark navy) which covers all the bases I need for any occasion and yes, they are all bespoke. Saying that it's "ridiculous for someone to need an MTM suit for occasional wear" is like saying that same person has no right to wear a nice watch or a nice pair of shoes. Owning an MTM or bespoke suit has nothing to with whether their wardrobe is a "major part of their daily success with peers". Wearing nice clothes, or a nice watch or a nice pair of shoes has everything to do with how it makes you feel and how you want to present yourself to others. For some, an OTR is good enough while for others, it's worth spending the extra $1000 to get something that fits your body precisely with the exact fabric and materials you and your tailor chooses. Same thing with watches. Some people are fine with a $100 Seiko quartz while others prefer a watch with an in-house movement and meticulous attention to detail that the average person would never notice. Both watches tell time, but for the person who loves watches, spending thousands on a watch is worth every penny.

Even with razors, I could shave with a disposable Bic and nobody would care other than myself. I prefer shaving with my Feather ASD2 not only because it gives me a close shave, but it just makes me feel good instead of being a mundane morning task.

Material possessions, especially in the luxury range, is rarely about practicality or utility.

NastyPirate said:

I find this discussion boils down to this; if a suit is not an everyday necessity, and your suiting is not part of the success equation, a decent suit for $500 is the way to go.

The only people who should be trying to decide between an MTM and bespoke suit are what is, in reality, a select few for whom an expensive wardrobe is a prerequisite, or, at the very least, a major part of their daily success with peers. It's ridiculous for someone to need an MTM suit for occasional wear.

I'm not throwing shade here, but the reality is that a decent suit should not be looked at as inferior to an MTM or above. There is just no justification for an even better suit if you are not one of the 5%. And if you are, the point is moot because you already have four of them.

Ordering on line should be for shave soap, not suits. They need to be fitted.

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The thread is kind of going off topic.


Derrick, did you figure out what direction you're going in?