Off-the-Rack vs Made to Measure vs Bespoke Suits

There are three types of suits: off-the-rack, made to measure and bespoke. Although the finished products look the same, there is a world of difference between them. Suits are either for formal occasions or everyday work wear. If you are short on cash but desperately need a suit, you can buy off the rack or have a made to measure suit. But if you have to money to splurge on an outfit or two, then bespoke is the only way to go. A tailor makes a bespoke suit for you, with your taste and preference in mind.

Off-the-rack

Off-the-rack suits are the most common type of suits. You can buy them from stores ready made in generic sizes and measurements. They are also much cheaper than made to measure and bespoke suits, although there are expensive varieties of off-the-rack suits. Their prices depend on the quality of the materials and the brand of the suit. The sizes of off-the-rack suits are predetermined and are machine-made. This type of suit seldom uses sewing machines and hand sewing because they require more working hours.

Suit manufacturers fuse the pieces together by glueing the interlining to the wool shell. Fusing uses heat. This technique uses fewer financial and time resources, and suits made of fusing are usually cheaper than the rest. There is another technique, canvassing. Canvased suits are more expensive than fused ones. Canvassing uses more support and structure. If you buy an off-the-rack suit, expect to get it altered, usually the sleeve and pants length. Find a good tailor that can do the alterations to your suit, so it fits your body the way you want it.

Made to measure

Made to measure suits are quite like off-the-rack ones, except that you can ask the tailor to alter it according to your size. But a made to measure suit differs from a bespoke suit in that you cannot choose the fabric or material of the former. When it comes to the quality of the material used in a made to measure suit, it is of a lesser quality than a bespoke but better than an off-the-rack suit. Hand and machine sewing are the techniques used in producing this type of suit.

Bespoke

A bespoke tailor makes a bespoke suit, and it is the most expensive type, as the client gets to choose the material, and the construction and the suit are hand-sewn. The quality of this suit far exceeds those of the other two types. It is because of the quality of the material used, the working hours consumed to tailor the suit, the four different fittings to make the suit fit you perfectly and the other methods used to make your silhouette look perfect, even if you have imperfections in your body that can make your shape a little crooked.

In this day and age where fashion is mainstream, you must invest in some beautiful pieces that you can mix and match with different dress shirts and shoes. A good suit, be it off-the-rack, made to measure or bespoke can last you for years to come if you take good care of it.