Tailored for you: Why it makes better style sense than readymade clothing

The neigbourhood tailor or a designer's team will dress you the way you like and what suits your shape

Anshika Arora is marketing executive for a multinational company in Gurugram. At work and in private life, she wears tailored clothes. 

“I feel tailor-made is especially important for casual clothing, as ill-fitting clothing can appear sloppy and unkempt. A bespoke tailor will also take into account any unique body features, such as a sloping shoulder or a larger hip, to ensure that the clothing flatters your figure,” she says.

“You might choose the most expensive and exclusive fabric but if it is not sewn well and doesn’t fit your body right, then it is not going to work for you at all. Instead, the simplest of fabrics if tailored well can make you look and feel good. It does not mean that you’ll have to pay an exorbitant amount to get it done, but there is always a price and it is always worth going that extra mile to get it custom fit,” says Amritha Ram, creative director at KH House of Khaddar, actor Kamal Haasan's sustainable fashion label for promoting khadi.

Bespoke tailoring is customising what you wear: From the colour of a garment to how it fits you. “Bespoke is nothing else but something that's just created for you,” says designer Rahul Mishra. 

“When you buy fast fashion, millions of clothes are created of the same kind. Machines are creating a collar and multiple operators are working on those machines. On other hand, when you think of a bespoke thing, it's like one particular fabric which is taken for you, it's dyed for you, it has been hand embroidered for your requirements. It is the way you want it,” he says.

Women use bespoke fitting for salwar sets, blouses, dresses, evening gowns and lehngas. Men do it for blazers, shirts, suits and tuxedos.

There are four options to get customised clothes. One is to get a tailor recommended by friends and neighbours. The tailor is popularly called master ji and is typically self-taught and comes from generations of karigars. 

The second option is to subscribe to digital tailoring startups which combine traditional craftsmanship and technology to offer personalised, made-to-measure garments picked up and delivered at a customer’s doorstep. 

Herringbone and Sui, a Mumbai-based company, offer personalised tailoring for suits, jackets and formalwear. Bengaluru-based Tailorman specialises in bespoke tailoring for men and Delhi’s Darzi Group does the same for men and women. “It is a proven fact that clothes made from custom tailoring last four times as much longer as industry machine-made clothes. Due to the precision in fabric, quality of handiwork and the care that goes into making every piece of clothing, you get more value for your buck and your clothes last much longer,” said a spokesperson for YourTailor.in, which provides tailoring for women in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai. 

Retail stores of clothing brands like Study by Janak, Bombay Shirt Company and Raymond offer bespoke tailoring services. According to a spokesperson for Mohan Lal & Sons, a men’s clothing store that was established in Delhi in 1881, “If you come to us for bespoke tailoring, you need not rely only on your inspiration or what you have in mind. We have our catalogue of fashion designs…and can suggest many options. So, the first step would be choosing from the many options. Then our master ji takes your body measurements, in a span of 7-10 days your piece is stitched, you are called for trials and if some alterations are required, those adjustments are made and the final piece is then kept ready.”

Raymond’s ‘Made to Measure’ is a tailoring service for the fabrics it sells. Says a spokesperson from Raymond outlet in Central Delhi, “A shirt has counts, while pant fabric has grade. So as per the count and grade of the fabric the expense is decided. The minimum price range for a pant shirt is Rs 3,000-4,000 and if the fabric is expensive, then just a pant may cost Rs 12,000. You can get a two-piece men’s suit stitched for Rs 15,000-25,000,” says a spokesperson for a Raymond outlet in Central Delhi.

A pricey option is to engage a fashion designer and their team of tailors to stitch clothes for you. People typically engage designers for weddings. Neeta Lulla, a designer known for her bridal lehengas, says: “Our purpose is to make the bride feel her most beautiful and confident through the comfort and fit of her ensemble. It is a cumulative process of design research, use of premium fabrics, diversity of cuts, impeccable finish and a fit that makes it special. We believe in enhancing a bride’s identity through this garment which should be stylish, elegant and innovative.”

A designer’s team has a tailor for cutting, stitching, embroidery and embellishments. Says Ram, “The cutting master is the key to everything. He’s the one who understands the pattern that puts together the vision of a designer, and sometimes this is the person who brings out the unseen cut or silhouette to life.”

A designer will need you to visit them at least three times. “The first step is to have a chat with the designer in order to explain your needs and personal expectations. The next step is to select the style; one or two-button front, single or double breasted, the number of buttons on the cuff, the width and style of lapel; there are certain subtleties. This is where bespoke makes all the difference as there is no limit to what we can do for you,” says Ram.

Bespoke tailoring costs more than readymade clothes and it needs time. Those who find a good tailor may never wear readymade clothes again. 

Cloth	Regular tailor’s bill in Rs	Premium tailor	Fashion designer
Women’s suit	700+	2,500+	20,000+
Lehenga	2,000	5,000	120,000
Saree	2,000	5,000	5,000
Saree + blouse	700 each	1,500	5,000+
Men’s blazer, tuxedo	5,000	14,000	60,000-2,00,000
Men’s shirt	600	3,000	15,000-25,000
Men’s trouser	800	4,000	15,000
Men’s Indian ethnic	5,500	15,000	30,000-80,000

Source: Market research