A truly well-made and fitting (wedding) suit starts with personally taken measurements.
Measuring can be seen as a dialogue between the tailor and client.
This way you ensure that the suit fits well, looks good and is comfortable to wear. The personal measurements really make the big difference between a (wedding) suit off the rack and a tailor-made suit.
Measuring is a profession because you are not just concerned with centimeters. You need to understand how these measurements relate to the customer's body, how they move and the relationship to the model/style and fabric used.
When it concerns tailor-made women's suits or more business casual suits/jackets with fabrics and models that are much more specific in terms of fit and drape, measuring becomes increasingly important.
In this video we show you how measurements are taken and why for a new tailor-made 3-piece suit.
When it concerns a bespoke shirt, the sizes actually work the same, only the addition for the freedom of movement is different.
Read moreA good suit, what are its features?
A well-made suit has a number of features that, apart from the fit, make it easy to distinguish it from less well-made suits such as Made-to-Measure suits. The details of a handmade bespoke suit are easy to recognise and quite obvious when you know what to look for. So let's see what are the points to recognise a well-made suit.
Knowledge, skills and love for tailoring are the recipe for a good suit
Did you know that it takes at least 5 years to become a tailor, we are not talking about 8-hour working days but 16 hours?
It takes another 10 years to become a master tailor.
It takes 40/50 hours to make a 3-piece suit.
It takes 30 hours to make a jacket/jacket.
It takes 8 hours to make a pair of pants or vest.
So there is a difference in quality, wearing comfort and price.
And that is reflected and radiated when you wear a well-made bespoke suit.
Easy to recognise, hard to describe.
Pattern
A well-made suit starts with the individual pattern. These are your specific measurements that are then converted onto paper or directly onto the fabric. You then cut this out and then assemble all the loose parts of the suit by hand. If a pattern is not made for you, you are not making but adapting and that has many limitations. This is the difference between a bespoke suit and an MTM suit. Your own pattern means a suit designed specifically for you, the way you want it. A custom pattern is a standard house with a red or green door where the wearer is often told that this is custom work. I would say do your homework and avoid 'tailors' with coffee machines and beers. So always ask for the patterns and you will know whether your suit is really made by a tailor or whether it is simply ordered with nice marketing around it.
Canvas / Interior
A traditional bespoke suit has a canvas (haircloth) that is inserted by hand between the fabric and the lining. Such a suit is also called full canvas or a suit with a loose interior. The role of the canvas is multi-fold:
1. Provides a better fit on the body and especially at the lapels and neck.
2. This also makes the jacket/jacket more flexible and therefore offers more wearing comfort.
3. The suit is made entirely with natural materials.
4. Suit lasts much longer and can be adjusted over the years.
Read moreFull Canvas - Half Canvas - Unlined - Fused - Video (Dutch)
Full Canvas, Half Canvas, Unlined and Fused. The construction and make of your suit
There are several construction methods to make a suit, jacket or overcoat. In order to create added value to your suits and jackets, I would like to address the function of canvas in the construction of a suit or jacket. The use and the correct processing of canvas makes the difference in comfort and appearance.
What is canvas, and how does this relate to the construction of a suit?
Canvas is often a mixture of wool, cotton and primarily, camel and horse hair. The benefit of animal hair is that they can be formed by using moisture, heat and pressure. Think of the way a lady styles her hair by using a heated curling iron in order to give shape to her haircut. Next to that, camel and horse hairs are light weight and strong. The hairs of the mane are the most soft while the hairs of the tail ore more stiff and rugged. The real connoisseur even orders the canvas bespoke, tuned to the specific garment, the fabric the fit and the drape. Several types of fibres are woven in combination with wool and cotton to create different canvasses with different qualities. This in combination with the hair canvas forms the foundation for the construction of your suit.
The woollen canvas makes the most important layer while the hair canvas or rolled hairs bring shape and structure to the breast and shoulder. So has every tailor his tricks of the trade to add his own signature to the garments he makes. The next step is to cover the layer with felt, domette or flannel in order to keep the rugged hairs from chafing.
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