All You Need To Know About Getting A Bespoke Suit Made
First of all, what makes a suit truly bespoke?
THOM WIDDETT & LUKE SWEENEY, CO-FOUNDERS, THOMAS SWEENEY: True bespoke is a handmade, hand-cut garment, which is done from start to finish with a cutter and a team of makers in a tailoring house. Each piece is unique and, for me, it's the pinnacle of having something made.
Sometimes it's quite hard to articulate when you are with a client. But, I think the difference is that bespoke has a character to it. It's hand-cut and handcrafted in a way that produces an effect that a machine-made garment just can't achieve. Once you've tried bespoke, it's very hard to go back.
RICHARD ANDERSON, FOUNDER, RICHARD ANDERSON: Ready-to-wear is a machine-made garment with limited fabrics to choose from. Made-to-measure is a completely machine-made garment based on the ready-to-wear block, and the customer chooses the fabric, pockets, lining and block to be measured. With bespoke, about 70 to 80 man-hours go into making a unique suit that is individually hand-cut and altered after every fitting.
Tell us more about the bespoke process…
OLLI CROSS, HEAD CUTTER, RICHARD JAMES: With a handmade bespoke suit, you see the suit in its different forms throughout the process. Initially, a client will have a consultation where we take measurements, choose cloth, select a lining, and discuss lifestyle: Is it for cocktails? Weddings? Various events throughout the summer? Holiday? Do you travel a lot? Are you going to be overseas in hot climates? Do you need a hard-wearing suit? Do you sit down in your jacket? Is it for work?
Then we cut the paper pattern from the Manila card. That's the pattern that customers will file throughout their life with that tailor, almost like their documents with the doctor. As their body changes, the pattern evolves.
From the paper pattern, the cutter will lay the pattern on the cloth and strike around it with the tailor’s chalk. Then they trim and put all the trimmings in the bundles that are required to build that suit. Then you delegate to your coat maker and your trouser maker, and they prepare for a first baste, also known as the tailor’s fitting. Here, the suit is in its rawest state. The customer tries it on and any alterations with chalk are marked. We might even need to rip the jacket down on the client to physically change something. After that, the suit gets ripped down for any amendments that are made to the paper pattern you've cut.
If the first fitting went swimmingly, for the second fitting, you might be inclined to finish the suit except for the button holes. The suit's not complete, but you might only address a sleeve length or slightly nip in a jacket. Then, nine times out of 10 you'll finish the suit. For every fitting, you're getting a little bit more work carried out on that suit. So, with the customer coming in, collecting it, or maybe having a few tweaks, a customer can visit the tailor for one suit order up to five times. The more you order from your tailor, the more up-to-date the pattern and the fewer fittings required.
THOM & LUKE: The first stage is like a consultation. It’s for us to get to know the client, especially if they're new, and get inside their heads to find out how they wear clothes. It's a relaxed, informal way of getting to know the person we’re making the piece for. Then we take a full set of measures. We pick fabrics together and we’ll advise on the style that’s going to work best.
The next stage is a ‘basted fitting’, which happens about six weeks later. It's the fabric, but it's very loosely tacked together – often you'll see the cutter ripping the sleeve off halfway through just to get the armhole perfect. This is a good time for us to look at the garment and check the balance and all the technical aspects to make sure the fit is right. For new clients, we might do another fitting called a ‘forward’. Then it goes to the finished, final fitting. From start to finish, it’s about three months, usually with two or three fittings if it's a new client.
Spell out the advantages of going bespoke…
OLLI: When a customer puts the suit on, nine times out of 10, the response is, ‘Wow, that's comfortable.’ A suit is supposed to be comfortable. It isn't supposed to be restricting. You should feel as though you can fall asleep in your suit. That's what a bespoke suit is: it's you. It's been customised to the body’s contours: the way you move and stand, the alignment of your shoulders and arms, and the way your arms sit forwards or backwards. The whole posture.
Then there’s the hand-stitching. Even the buttonholes are hand-stitched. The quality is second to none. ‘Bespoke’ comes from how the cloth is bespoken for, i.e. bought by the cut length. Then you hand-cut the suit from that cloth with shears that have cut for decades. The shears that I use have probably been used by two or three cutters before me and made suits for various royals, politicians, celebrities and Hollywood stars. The shears alone are quite remarkable!
Once you've found your tailor, that’s when the fun can begin. It becomes a hobby. A guy recently texted me a photo of an off-the-peg suit saying, ‘I love this,’ but he knew, if he bought it, it wouldn’t feel great. So, I sourced a similar cloth using his pattern and made a suit, and now he knows it's going to be comfortable. That's cool and it saves a lot of energy.
RICHARD: The quality of the fabrics means the suit will stand the test of time. In many cases, it even gets better with time. I just had a customer bring me three or four jackets to be let out, which I made in 2001 and 2002. They still look brand new. Yes, bespoke suits are expensive, but I see them as good value for money.
So you can get suits adjusted as your body changes in the future?
RICHARD: Yes, we are flexible in that. We leave lots of ‘inlay’ in the garment to be able to adjust. If you put on weight, lose weight or change shape, you have that flexibility in-built, which you don't have with ready-to-wear or made-to-measure.
How much does creating the right atmosphere come into it?
THOM & LUKE: Oh, for sure. It's very important for a customer to feel at ease, comfortable and in a good space. When I was young and looking around at tailors I'd like to work for, I found it quite intimidating, stuffy and pretentious. The attitude we take towards bespoke tailoring is the opposite of that. It's fun. It's welcoming. So yeah, I think the atmosphere and the feel through the store is really important. I always say to our guys, we're not the only ones making beautiful clothes, but how we make people feel is important.
Where do you source the cloth from?
OLLI: It depends on the brief. One client specifically wanted a Sean Connery Goldfinger suit in the classic Prince of Wales check, so I found a 1960s/early-1970s cloth and it was pretty much bang on. But predominantly we use the bread-and-butter cloth merchants within Savile Row that have been used for centuries: the Huddersfield mills, Loro Piana, Holland & Sherry and Harrisons, for example.
Do customers swap tailors?
OLLI: Finding a good tailor is like finding the right pair of jeans. Customers will come in and say, ‘I've tried these guys for a few years but didn't ever quite like the feel of it. I tried you guys, and you've nailed it.’ And I've got no doubt in saying that maybe I didn't work for somebody else. It's about finding somebody you're comfortable with, somebody who understands you, and somebody who's not trying to sell you suits you don't need. It’s the personal service of somebody who truly cares that leads to customers wanting to wear the suits. You want a customer to come back in and say, ‘That last suit, mate, it's gone down a storm. I got so many compliments from it and I feel really good in it.’ That's the dream.
What kind of people are looking to get a bespoke suit?
RICHARD: We’re lucky here because we have a broad range of customers. They’re all successful in their spheres, but we’re lucky we have clients from all walks of life. That’s the great thing. I’m pushing on a little bit now and I’m making suits for the third or fourth generations of families. The relationships can be quite special over a few decades.
THOM & LUKE: It’s diverse, to be honest. We make bespoke suits for lawyers, club owners, jewellers and art curators. Or, they’re dealing with serious clients in top-level boardrooms, where they want to be comfortable and look the part. I guess a common thread for them is that they get the process, there’s a common appreciation and they’ve got good taste. They love particular wines or they're into art, they travel to beautiful places, or they're into going out to great restaurants. It fits into their lifestyle. It can start at guys in their 20s up to, I think, our oldest client is 93. That’s the fun of it – the characters you get to meet.
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Is there one particular bespoke suit you loved working on?
RICHARD: I believe it's about tailoring each suit to fit an individual's unique body shape. No suit necessarily stands out as more enjoyable to work on but the more challenging shapes and postures are especially rewarding when perfected.
THOM & LUKE: It’s really rewarding working on suits for a big occasion, like a wedding or awards ceremony. It's great to go through that journey with the client and be a part of a special day.
It’s a traditional industry, so is there anything you don't like customers asking for?
RICHARD: There are no strict limits with bespoke – we can create almost anything, which is the beauty of it. However, we work within the parameters of our house style and aim to create well-fitting garments, which is what our customers come to us for. On some occasions, we may decline certain fabrics if the weight isn't suitable, such as when a customer brought in an antique rug that was too heavy to make into a wearable garment.
THOM & LUKE: I’ve not had to give hard no yet! I guess if you’re investing money into making something special you won’t want to do anything too ridiculous. We’ve certainly advised or steered guys in a different direction if we think a certain fabric or cut isn't going to work for them.
Are there any trends in what your bespoke customers are going for?
THOM & LUKE: We've been doing it now for over 20 years. We’ve seen trends come and go a little bit, so we don't try and follow fashion. When you're investing this much time and money into a garment, you don’t want it to be in fashion. You want it to be timeless and to last forever. That said, I think people are wearing jackets slightly longer and a bit easier now. Same with trousers – it’s all a little bit more comfortable. Ten years ago, everything was skinny and short. So, yeah, you get subtle changes of style through the years, but we try and stay as consistent and timeless as possible.
How expensive is bespoke?
THOM & LUKE: Our ready-to-wear suits start around the £2k mark. Roughly, made-to-measure is around the £3k mark and bespoke starts at around £6k.
RICHARD: It depends on the fabric. For comparison, let's say a regular fabric for made-to-measure is about £4k. If you go the bespoke route with the same fabric, that will come in at around £7-8k.
How should someone prepare for a visit to a bespoke tailor?
RICHARD: Every house on Savile Row has a different look and a different way of cutting. Do your research first, because we're not all the same.
THOM & LUKE: Go into a few different houses, get a feel for them and see if you like the atmosphere and the garments. If you're new, speak to one of the cutters too. Or, go on Pinterest or Google to find certain people you like the style of. That also helps us.
You get the odd guy that will come in and just leave it to us to guide them. They completely trust what we do based on reputation and the people we've dressed over the years. And that’s part of our job and we're good at that.
OLLI: Do your homework. Look on Instagram. There are lots of good blogs out there. Read reviews. Send emails to the tailors. I get emails from people directly with very niche briefs. By the response you get, you'll be able to judge how you're going to be treated as a customer. If you’ve got time, go and visit the tailors individually, maybe ask to meet the cutter. That's always a good one.
Have a good idea of what you're after. If the brief is as clear as it can be, you're going to get more from the outset. Have a look at your wardrobe. You might have never thought, ‘What are my colours? What usually do I gravitate towards?’ Instead of trying to think outside the box for a first bespoke suit, stick to what you know, because then you're not going to regret it. Finally, have a preliminary budget and have a shop around to look at different prices.
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