The Difference between Made-to-Measure Suits and Full Custom Suits

Whether you are in the market for a business suit, wedding day tuxedo or custom shirt, here’s what you need to know for before heading to the tailor – “made-to-measure or custom?” The bespoke tailoring experts at Alan David Custom, a New York City based company backed by four generations of expertise, weigh in on the conversation.

Made-to-Measure:

· For a made-to-measure garment, the tailor will take an existing pattern (like 42 regular or 44 regular etc.) and modify the pattern to your own measurements.

· Made-to-measure is effective if your proportions are somewhat normal, however there is only so much you can modify an existing pattern before it loses its balance.

· A made-to-measure pattern is made for an average build and then modified to your measurements.

· If you are not such a difficult fit and are just using a tailor for style and fabric, this process should be less expensive and faster.

Full Custom Suits

·  For a full custom suit, the tailor will make a specific pattern just for you.

· A full custom garment leaves nothing to chance, it takes into account things that a made-to-measure garment cannot like a muscular upper body (called a prominent chest), large biceps, forward shoulders, body posture, larger or smaller thighs, large or small differences between the chest and the stomach and so much more.

· Full custom essentially deals more with fit. If you have any fit issues, this is the direction you should take.

So how do you really know if a tailor does full custom or just made-to-measure?

Every tailor will tell you they do full custom, that’s just the nature of the industry.

There are two basic ways to tell.

· First look at the price. A full custom garment requires making a special pattern and is time consuming. If the price seems too good to be true then chances are it is a made-to-measure garment. Anything less than $1,000 will surely be a made-to-measure garment.

· Second and most importantly, ask your custom tailor to show you patterns he has made for other clients. This is the ultimate test. If he cannot show you a pattern, then he does not do real custom.