You’ve decided that it’s time to upgrade your wardrobe and learned that going custom or bespoke is the only way to do it. So, what comes next? Most men have, in their lifetime, made the trek to a box store to buy a suit off the rack and have stood on the block while a customer service associate measured and pinned the clothing around their shape (generally at the waist, sleeves, inseam and chest). A week or two later, the call came to pick it up and with one quick try-on (most likely, with a different customer service associate), the suit was ready to go. The problem is, that suit looked like every other suit that they sold and the fitting was a process of taking in already existing fabric so the suit looked just “ok”. The suit, it’s fabric, it’s coloring, it’s shape and most of all, it’s actual fit, may not flatter you at all.
Which brings you to Britches Bespoke. Your time here is spent with one expert clothier – Mark Rykken – who will create a suit to your specific measurements and specifications. He will take into account your skin tone, build, hair and eye color and other factors and advise you on the best look for you. Here, in his own words, is what happens next:
“The first step in the process of making a bespoke suit for a new client is taking the proper measurements. Depending on the client’s own individual physical architecture and particular fitting needs, there are on average between 25 to 31 separate measurements that are needed to be taken in order to construct a true bespoke suit. For a bespoke shirt the average is around 12 separate measurements. It’s too involved to get into the specifics of all the individual measurements that are taken, so for this exercise I’m only going to go over what I consider to be the most important measurements needed in order to deliver a successful fitting suit. Two critical measurements, and the ones that are generally taken first, are the client’s overarm measurement and the chest measurement. The overarm measurement is taken with the client’s arms at his sides with the tape circling over the client’s chest, biceps, and upper part of the back, whereas the chest measurement is taken with the tape under the arms. These two measurements are vital in getting the fit of the jacket right in the most important area of the coat, the shoulder, chest, and upper arm area. The client’s posture and shoulder slope measurements, along with whether the clients shoulders are normal, pitched forward or back, is also critical information needed in order to get the jacket to fit properly. If the jacket doesn’t fit correctly in this area, it will never fit or drape correctly in the other areas of the coat. Simply put – the shoulder, chest, and upper arm area of a suit is what the foundation is to a house. If the foundation is faulty, then the house will never settle in correctly.”
Other measurements will be taken – including the stomach, waist, hips, inseam, and more. Once your measurements are secured, Mark Rykken will spend some time learning about your needs and discussing colors, fabric types and other important details. By the time you leave your first appointment, you will know exactly what your first bespoke or made to measure suit will look like and can look forward to the first time you put on a garment made especially for you.
Britches Bespoke offers three levels of custom suits:
Our first level is a Made to Measure suit which starts at $1,000. Your measurements will be expertly taken and applied to an existing block pattern, including adjustments such as posture and shoulder slope. At this price point, you will choose from a variety of fabrics and details and your full canvas suit will be created to your specifications in a modest amount of time.
The Made to Measure Suit – With Hand Finishing is our second tier of quality full canvas suits, crafted to your measurements with more hand work and a larger selection of fabrics and detail choices. Quality starting at $2,750.
Our full Bespoke suit is a work of individual art – impeccably measured to an individual paper pattern and then made by master tailors in our workroom in New York City. This full canvas suit requires 3 fittings to ensure proper fit. A quality product and experience starting at $4,500.
