What is the Bespoke Difference?

If you want to dress your best, a well-tailored suit is key. A bespoke suit is a cut above the rest. Unlike off-the-rack suits, which are mass-produced in standard sizes, bespoke suits are made for the individual in more ways than one. Let's take a closer look at the major components of a bespoke suit and compare them to their off-the-rack counterparts.

Reeves specializes in creating handcrafted bespoke suits, offering bespoke tailoring services inspired by the Savile Row experience, in New York City. Their skilled tailors pay close attention to detail, ensuring a perfect fit for each client. Let's explore the bespoke difference in terms of design, fabric, fit, construction, customization, durability, and ethical considerations.

Design:

Bespoke suits and off-the-rack suits are vastly different in their design and construction. A bespoke suit is made specifically for an individual, while an off-the-rack suit is made in standard sizes for the mass market. With a bespoke suit, every aspect of the design can be tailored to the individual's preferences, including the fabric, buttons, pockets, and lining. In contrast, an off-the-rack suit offers limited customization options, with the design predetermined by the manufacturer. Naturally, working directly with David Reeves, a custom suit tailor in NYC, gives you access to your own fashion designer. David collaborates with his tailors and cutters to craft a suit that is not only technically excellent but also elegant and stylish.

Fabric:

A Bespoke suit is made from high-quality fabrics sourced from reputable suppliers such as Loro Piana, Dormeuil, H Lesser, and Holland and Sherry. Clients have a choice of the world's finest fabrics to choose from, including wools, silks, and cashmere, and state-of-the-art technical fabrics. At Reeves you can select amazing cloth like Winston Churchill's favorite flannel from Fox Brothers or "Escorial Wool'' sourced from sheep that can trace their pedigree back to the king of Spain's personal herd. In contrast, off-the-rack suits are generally made from lower quality fabrics to save costs.

Fit:

A bespoke suit is made for the individual, which means it fits perfectly. David Reeves will take precise measurements of the client's body and create a pattern based on those measurements. This ensures that the suit fits well in all the right places, such as the shoulders, waist, and sleeves. Off-the-rack suits are designed to fit a range of body types, which means they rarely fit anyone perfectly.

Construction:

Reeves Bespoke suits are constructed by hand with over 3000 hand stitches and over 40 hours of skilled labor, which allows for greater precision and attention to detail. Each component of the suit, from the lapels to the pockets, is carefully crafted and studied to ensure a perfect fit as well as a pleasing aesthetic. Reeves' tailors use techniques such as hand-padded canvassing, where the suit's chest is reinforced with horsehair canvas, to ensure that the suit retains its shape over time. In contrast, off-the-rack suits are often constructed using machines and "fused" or glued together, which can lead to inconsistencies in the fit and construction.

Customization:

With a bespoke suit, the client has the option to customize every aspect of the suit, from the fabric to the buttons. This allows the client to create a suit that is truly unique and tailored to their style. Off-the-rack suits, on the other hand, offer limited customization options, if any at all. Bespoke suits offer a range of customizable options to make a suit that is uniquely yours. These options include the choice of lapels, pick stitching, linings and ticket pockets.

Durability:

Bespoke suits are designed to last for decades if rotated in a wardrobe and properly cared for. Prince Phillp, the Duke of Edinburgh kept trim throughout his life and had bespoke suits that lasted over 40 years.  The high-quality materials that are subjected to laboratory-level testing by the U.K and Italian mills, along with the hand-crafted construction and durable components like heavy-duty brass zips and heel guards ensure that the suit will hold up well over time. Inseams are much larger than off-the-rack suits, meaning a suit can be scaled up by usually an entire size, even in the shoulder area. In contrast, inseams are kept to a minimum on off-the-rack suits to save fabric costs, which means there is very little room to let out an off-the-rack suit.

Ethical Considerations:

All of the men and women who work on my suits, I know them by name and I know them well., They are my colleagues and I also consider them my friends. Our tailors are based in London and New York and are paid a professional wage for the professional work they do. Our fabrics are sourced from reputable mills in England and Italy who pay their workers living wages and have a focus on sustainability and animal welfare.  Other alleged bespoke suits made in a sweatshop may cost you very little but it may have costs you cannot see. Bespoke clothing may seem frivolous to some but it's not just about luxury it's also luxury you can feel good about supporting. You are not just a customer, you are a patron.

The Bespoke Difference

A Bespoke suit at Reeves is a cut above the rest when it comes to design, quality and craftsmanship. From the high-quality fabrics to the clean fit and attention to detail a bespoke suit is an investment in style and durability.

While off-the-rack suits may be more affordable (or perhaps not?) they simply cannot match the level of customization and attention to detail that comes with a bespoke suit. A Reeves suit never makes compromises in what David calls the holy trinity of tailoring: fit, construction and materials. It is often said that the fit of a bespoke suit is the most important aspect, perhaps, but when you use the finest fabrics in the world and make the suits the best that they can be, you compromise on nothing.