Overview of made to measure shirt options

A key difference between Hong Kong tailors and Vietnam tailors is that Hong Kong tailors tend to travel much more. Hong Kong tailors regularly organize trunk shows in major cities around the globe such as in the United States, the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Canada among others. They way trunk shows work is they book a hotel room or a space at a store and announce in advance they will be visiting. They will broadcast the announcement to their mailing list and on relevant social media letting patrons book a slot to get measured. They keep your measurements on file and you can order shirts, suits, and pants anytime.

Vietnam tailors on the other hand don’t seem to travel as much nor organize trunk shows. The likeliest explanation for this is that Vietnam is a major tourism destination. As a result, many westerners make their way to Vietnam and while there, visit a local tailor to have a garment made. Their measurements are stored and then when they need to place an order they can do so with ease. Essentially Vietnam tailors don’t need to carry out trunk shows because their clientele comes to them. Other tourist destinations with a textile base can leverage this in order to boost their garment industry and become more export oriented.

Another made to measure business model is when a firm is based and has showrooms in the same city as their target audience. Within a metropolitan rea such as New York City, they will have a show room where you can book an appointment to take measurements, view samples and fabric swatches. Ateliers are usually on a higher floor rather than the ground floor. This means cheaper rent and less overhead. The upside to show rooms being on a higher floor is that they can offer more competitive pricing than if they were on the ground floor. The downside is that they don’t benefit from foot traffic and organic discovery of their product by those walking by. Thus, show rooms need to rely on other distribution channels. Show rooms have a major advantage over trunk shows. They are there all year round often six or seven days a week. As a result, you can go and get measured when it is convenient for you instead of relying on when a particular trunk show will be in town. Fitting rooms require a lot less foresight on the customer’s part and therefore are much more convenient.

Certain established shirtmakers with a retail presence will have a bespoke component to their stores, usually in the form of a tailor on site. This is increasingly rare and, in many cases, comes at a significant premium to made to measure services. Often there is a minimum order requirement such as purchasing four or six shirts if you are a new customer which can be a big commitment if you haven’t tried them out before. Apart from the expense the fabric stitches either don’t vary much from their ready to wear product, are very plain or if they have an extensive fabric collection it’s hard to preview those fabrics in order to see if there’s something you like without going through the trouble of booking an appointment. Not having a colorful selection of patters in the bespoke context is inexcusable since many textile manufacturers offer a bespoke partnership whereby modest quantities can be ordered for a particular cloth as orders come in without needing to commit to a bulk production amount of thirty meters. For those for whom the standard sizes work just fine the main incentive to go bespoke is because you want some sort of unique fabric pattern that would be unrealistic to mass produce as a shirt. Most shirtmakers don’t have an ecommerce presence that caters to this. They’ll say they offer a rich selection of the finest fabric and yet leave you guessing as to the specifics. This can be frustrating when you are trying to make a decision. Visiting a dozen shirtmakers to inspect their fabric stitches is unrealistic and would take too long.

For those not living in metropolitan area accessing made to measure services can be a challenge. Trunk shows cover major conurbations while lower density areas are unlikely to be able to sustain a fulltime show room. Some services let you take measurements at home and submit them. If taking the measurements yourself apart from being time consuming it is a very error prone process. There are apps that will let you take a photo or video from which they will estimate your shirt size. This is far more convenient that showing up in person but comes at the expense of accuracy. They will approximate your shirt size rather than supplying you with a cloth that truly fits.

There is therefore a need to be able to order shirts manufactured to your collar and sleeve specifications without having to come in person to a fitting room or attend a truck show. If we look at the evolution of the bespoke section at major retailers such as Brooks Brothers, part of why this was phased out was that they introduced a large enough number of sizing gradations and combinations to the extent that for most consumers it negated the need for custom sizing. This is in contrast to the model of shirt companies carrying a more limited number of sizes in order to minimize stock risk and then leveraging alterations and custom tailoring to bridge the gap between their general measurement tiers and the customer’s specific needs. At the same time, the reason so many merchants are unwilling to carry sizes at the tail end of the distribution is precisely because it does magnify inventory exposure. One reason a range of sizes obviates the need for made to measure is that unlike shoes, shirt sizing is very standard. Once you know your collar dimension, sleeve length and general fit, you can order a new shirt without having to try it on first and be fairly confident that it will fit. With shoes even if you know your size it doesn’t not translate across brands or even product lines within the same brand. With shirts it’s often the case that you know your size, they just don’t carry your size which has you looking for workarounds. The antidote to this is a made to order service that allows any collar and sleeve length combination, letting the wearer specify their size. A sustainable shirtmaker that can offer both the required size increments while voiding any merchandise risk by shipping to order.