When commissioning your very first tailored suit, the last thing you want is to feel like you're making decisions on a whim. Acting solely on the advice from the person across the counter is an okay way to order a sandwich, but investing in a garment you'll wear for years should be more intentional than that. A little preparation goes a long way.
Published at: Jun 22, 2024Last updated: May 31, 2026
Kristoffer Lund
When you talk about clothing like shirts, suits and coats, there are three categories that describe the process of how these garments were made.
Off-the-rack: Also known as ready-to-wear. Clothes that are pre-manufactured to standard sizes so that you can simply pick them off the rack from the store and wear instantly. You can’t expect the garment to fit you exactly, but you can ask for alterations from the store or from your favorite tailor to do adjustment to certain parts.
Made-to-measure: Often named custom-made. Uses an existing pattern that gets adjusted according to the measurements and design choices. Design choices will be limited to what the store offers. The production process often takes place elsewhere, which makes this option both faster and more affordable – a great option for your first experience with getting a tailored suit. The process involves a measuring and a design sessions, and final fitting for smaller alterations.
Bespoke: The most exclusive process. Involves 3-5 fittings and has no restriction on design choices (unless your tailor decides to veto some choices). Everything is created from scratch and the fabric will be cut and stretched to fit you perfectly. The craft of your tailor will translate heavily here, so make sure you have an understanding of their style!
For me, going to MTM came as a solution to OTR just not cutting it for my body size. As a man who is relatively tall, has wide shoulders and a bit narrow waist, I always had to decide if I wanted something that looked too short or too wide for me. MTM became the solution.
There are many choices to make when making a suit, and the first thing you have to decide is what fabric you want. Be intentional here – think about how you will use the suit. For example, if you are designing a suit to be worn at a wedding in Italy during summer, you should consider the temperature and go for a breathable material.
The fabric you choose will affect how the suit looks, feels, and holds up over time. Here's how the main options compare.
A popular fabric that stands out from this list is polyester. It’s synthetic fabric that doesn't breathe well, meaning it will trap moisture and heat. It is made from the same materials we use to make plastic, which has a large impact on the environment. While useful in clothing like sportswear, it is not a fabric I recommend for a suit.
Inside of your suit there is also a lining, which is the fabric that will be closest to your body when wearing it. Linings are often made of viscose, or the more luxurious cupro. Viscose works fine, but can feel a bit clammier and be rougher against the skin than cupro. The most affordable suits will use polyester, which, as you now know, doesn't work well.
To best prepare for your design session in the store, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the different parts of a suit.
The reason you should know some of this terminology, is because these are often the details you will be asked about when designing your own suit. It's important to be aware what options are out there, and what options your tailor is able to provide.
I’m not going to go through all of the parts you can change, but I suggest you look at some of the biggest visually altering ones:
Jackets
Trousers
Sometimes I think out designs I want to wear, but it can be difficult to properly visualize the full context of your design choices unless you have a talent for drawing. Luckily there are some great web-based tools for putting together design, like the interactive suit designer from SuitSupply. Seeing the design choices combined with the fabric and color palette can be very helpful, and hopefully give you some confidence in your choices – or maybe save you from an awkward situation where you don’t like your new garment.
The most important piece of advice I can give you is to prepare. Have some thought and opinions about what you are looking for instead of fully leaning on the tailor doing it for you. Bring some photos of what you like and don’t like, and try to point to the details and specific parts that makes you feel that way about it. Think about how you will wear this suit and ask the tailor for their expertise where you’re uncertain. In the end, you know your own style and preference best.
You don't have to start with a full suit. If it’s your very first time going to a tailor, an easier entry point could be to start with just a shirt – especially from an investment point of view. You will go through a measurement and design process, but I think design choices on a shirt are simpler and usually fewer if you are looking for a classic dress shirt.
Above all things, fit is what makes or breaks your outfit – which is why one might want to go to a tailor in the first place. A well-fitted suit changes how you carry yourself, and it’s worth doing properly. Personally I struggle to find a good fit with off-the-rack clothing, and after I got my first tailored suit I knew that my life had changed forever. I suspect yours will too.
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