Bespoke vs made to measure: what Savile Row's own rules say counts as bespoke

Bespoke means a suit cut from an individual paper pattern made for one customer, with several fittings and a lot of hand sewing. Made to measure adjusts a standard base pattern to your measurements. The Savile Row Bespoke Association says its members typically put at least 50 hours of hand work into a two-piece suit, but in the United Kingdom the law around the word is looser than that.

What Savile Row means by bespoke

The Savile Row Bespoke Association (SRBA) defines the word on its Tailoring Terms page: "a suit made on or around Savile Row, bespoken to the customer's specifications." It adds that the pattern is made specifically for the customer and that the finished suit takes "a minimum of 50 hours of hand work and require a series of fittings."

The membership rules go further. Full members must:

• headquarter their bespoke business on or within 100 yards of Savile Row
• create all, and make the majority of, their bespoke garments on Savile Row and within the UK
• make every garment from an individually cut paper pattern by a Master Cutter trained to the SRBA's standard
• have a Master Cutter supervise production
• employ at least one salaried apprentice cutter or tailor
• offer a choice of at least 2,000 fabrics
• keep full customer records and offer aftercare such as sponging, pressing and repairs

The SRBA's page says "typically create a two-piece suit with at least 50 hours of hand work," while its Tailoring Terms page says "minimum of 50 hours." We treat that as one benchmark described two ways. The association also says it was founded in 2004, and that in 2006 its members agreed a Savile Row Bespoke label to mark genuine garments. The mark is a collective mark owned by Savile Row Bespoke Ltd.

What the hand work looks like

The SRBA's bespoke process page lists the construction. The jacket foreparts are fully hand canvassed, the lining is felled by hand, the front edge and vent are hand prick-stitched, the sleeves are set in by hand, and the buttonholes are cut and sewn by hand. The body seams carry inlays that let the tailor adjust the garment later. Trousers have hand-stitched flies and seat seams, and buttons are sewn on by hand in a cross stitch.

That is the standard the association sets for its members, in its own words. We did not inspect any garment, so we cannot say how any single tailor meets it.

What made to measure means

Wikipedia describes made to measure (MTM) as custom clothing cut and sewn from a standard-sized base pattern, adjusted using a few body measurements. The entry says MTM uses both machine and hand sewing, needs fewer fittings than bespoke and delivers sooner, and that it is expected to cost more than ready to wear but less than bespoke. The SRBA's own glossary gives its view of the category: a garment made to a customer's requirements "to some extent, but not necessarily by hand."

Ready to wear sits below that on the ladder. Our explainer on couture versus ready to wear covers the same split for womenswear, where the legal and trade definitions are tighter.

Where the words blur

Savile Row tailors argue that "bespoke" in tailoring means a suit cut and made by hand. Wikipedia reports, though, that after a 2008 ruling by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority the term may now also be applied to machine-sewn garments, provided they are made to measure. We did not open the ruling itself, so treat that as a secondhand summary. The practical result is that two shops can both say bespoke while meaning very different things.

The SRBA says its collective mark is meant to prevent that: the aim is to ensure the mark "Savile Row Bespoke" is neither abused nor devalued. A label outside that scheme has no such guarantee.

Where Savile Row's reputation comes from

Wikipedia traces tailors on the street from the late eighteenth century, with Henry Poole opening an entrance to Savile Row in 1846. The SRBA's history page records a 1733 Daily Post report of new buildings to be named Savile Street. In 1969, Nutters of Savile Row modernized the style, and the 1990s "New Bespoke Movement" followed. The SRBA's objectives page says the Row is home to more than a dozen bespoke tailoring businesses employing over 100 craftsmen. Wikipedia adds that Gieves & Hawkes, formed in 1974, introduced ready-to-wear clothes on the Row, so even there the offer is not only bespoke.

What to ask before you pay

We found no sourced price list for bespoke or made to measure, so we give no prices. A buyer can instead ask the questions the SRBA's standards imply:

• Who cuts the pattern, and is it a new paper pattern for me or an adjusted block?
• How many fittings are included?
• How many hours of hand work go into the jacket, and which parts are hand sewn?
• Where is the garment made?
• What aftercare is offered?

Our atelier explainer covers what that word means for a workshop.

Our take

Bespoke is a useful word only when someone defines it. Savile Row's definition is specific and checkable: a paper pattern for you, a Master Cutter, about 50 hours of hand work, a series of fittings. Made to measure is a legitimate, cheaper option that fits better than off the rack. We would buy either, but we would skip any shop that says bespoke and cannot answer the five questions above.