By Sean Helligso

– This is part one of three in our breakdown of the Three major suiting categories; ready to wear, made to measure, and bespoke. To start we will cover ‘off the rack’ or ‘ready to wear’ –

Has this Ever Happened to You?

You’re sifting through your mail; an internet bill, Burger King coupons, another birthday card for the former tenant, and then you see it… The wedding invitation.

You read the date, September 20th, definitely too far in advance to say you already have plans. You never make plans more than a week ahead, at best. Dress code: formal. You gulp. The time has come. You have to get a suit.

Introducing… The Ready to Wear Suit

The Ready to Wear (RtW) process for suits is like any other clothing in the same category; bulk orders of suits are manufactured in standard sizes and those items fill store shelves / online inventory which you can then instantly take home (or wait to be shipped to your door). RTW has the widest ranging prices, from inexpensive fast fashion brands like H&M to high-end luxury brands like Kiton and Brioni. Is a RtW suit right for you? What are the positives of buying a suit in this category, and where does it fail to compete with custom suiting options?

What are the pros. of buying a Ready to Wear Suit?

Speed

Ready to wear is speed. Speed ties all of RTW together, a factor custom suits cannot compete with. You can wrap yourself in a sticky synthetic suit-burrito just as quickly as donning a masterly crafted wool-silk garb. There is no faster way to suit up, unless an item is out of stock or there’s a shipping delay. Off the rack is probably for you If you’re on a needle thin deadline, about three weeks or less.

Cheap

Ready to Wear can be the cheapest option. Cost is reduced through economies of scale, automation, and a slough of other factors that aren’t always positive (or exclusive to RTW) like not paying employees fair wages and/or poor construction methods. In our blog post The $400 Suit, we cover that not every manufacturer is creating equally.

Off the rack isn’t limited to being cheap. High end brands utilize varying forms of mass or small scale production – from state of the art factories to highly skilled sartorial makers. However, there are diminishing returns as the price climbs when compared to custom alternatives. You can find a made to measure alternative that offers better fabric, fit and construction at $800 and beyond.

Lastly, Made to Measure (MtM) companies almost always include alterations in the cost of their suits. RtW brands usually do not, making alterations an additional cost.

You Know What You’re Getting

*Unless you are buying online, then you only kinda know.* When you visit a store and try a suit on you instantly have the ability to know if it feels right without any form of commitment. For people that are just beginning their suiting / fashion journey I believe this is the greatest strength of RtW. You can see and feel the fabric on your body, move in it and examine the fit in person.

You can judge the potential alterations the suit will require as long as you are armed with a keen eye and a bit of suiting construction knowledge. Even better if the shop offers alterations! However, trying on a suit from the rack has less of a draw as you become familiar with suiting, or if you are able to work with a knowledgeable custom suit maker.

Easy Decision Making

The fashion industry has done your homework for you. It can be a simple experience to snag a designer piece off the sales floor and not fret about looking out of style. Large brands invest millions into trend research and they know what’s going to look good for the current trend cycle. Can you get something equally fashionable from a custom suiting house? Yes, however the process is usually more interactive, but a good custom suiting process makes choosing part of the joy (we will dive into this in Part 2). It should be stated, there are times when designers add something truly unique to their clothing lines.

As previously mentioned, luxury and designer brands can work very closely with skilled small scale manufacturers, giving them the ability to introduce truly special elements through cut, construction, shaping methods, and details. Most designers won’t take many risks with suits though, due to the traditional nature of the garment. They err on the side of subtlety. Sometimes the most unique aspect of a designer suit is the name on the tag.

The Downside of Ready to Wear Suits

Fit

At its best, we like to think standardized sizing is predictable. We can confidently say standardized sizing is never at its best. Suit sizes are based on shoulder and chest measurements, which should get you close to a good fit. But suits aren’t stretchy 50% spandex t-shirts (usually), and getting a properly fitted suit is massively more nuanced. Yes, the chest and and shoulder measurements are the most important, in part due to the difficulty of altering those parts of the suit. However, you’ll still look like a goober if your coat is too short or you can’t move your arms. Fit is the top drawback throughout all ready to wear, from a a $200 suit from Men’s Wearhouse to this $12,420 Kiton suit.

That being said, not all fit in the ready wear sector is… cut from the same cloth. A few factors impact fit such as construction quality, the company’s investment into fit development, patterning skill, and size inclusivity. 

Companies will often work with fit models to hone in their sizing. A fit model is a person that has body measurements that meet industry standards for a particular size. Fit model John Gallagher states in this Inside Hook article that while a garment is being developed a fit model will try it on throughout the process, sometimes meeting designers multiple times a week. Manufacturing at a higher standard and including a wider range of sizes can make this process expensive.

Some companies, on the other hand, might not work with a fit model at all, which reduces cost while sacrificing better fit. If fit is your primary concern, off the rack won’t be best for you.

Material Variety

The holy trinity of defining a good suit lies within the fit, fabric, & construction. Sadly RtW is less than holy. The fabric selection pales in comparison to MtM and bespoke, even at the pinnacle of off the rack retail. Manufacturing bulk orders of suits with higher end fabric from mills like Dormeuil, Scabal, and Loro Piana would add massive up front costs for companies. Offering a variety suits in extravagant patterns or unique cloth can also be risky. It is dangerous to stray far from the traditional grey, black, and navy color palette.

To truly grasp the void of fabric variety in ready to wear, as of writing Kiton has 12 suits available for purchase; 7 gray, 1 brown, 1 black, 2 blue, and 1 green. The suits range from $7k – $12k, while suits in that price range at our shop give you access to over 5,000 fabrics – many at a higher quality. Concerning ready to wear, if you’re looking for a large variety of higher quality & unique fabrics, it’s best to look elsewhere.

Limited Styling Options

Ready to wear is not for you if you desire a greater degree of control over design choices. You can do a lot with how you wear a suit to make it your own, but nothing beats choosing each detail yourself. At Sew Generously, you choose all the design elements of your suit. You select lapel style and width, internal & external pockets, shoulder construction, cuff style, buttons, lining construction, and a plethora of other details.

Are You a Good Fit for Off the Rack?

You can get a good suit off the rack. Will you get the best suit for you? No, especially regarding fit. RtW is a good option for People who are similar to standardized sizes. Most people will still need to pay an additional amount for alterations. Alterations cost might even negate the reduced cost of the suit, making MtM a better decision. Find yourself a trusty tailor and learn what to look for when buying a RtW suit – a topic we will be writing about at a later date.

You will also be limited on fabric variety, but there are decent fabrics out there. At the very least, try not to buy a fully synthetic suit or one that advertises multi-dimensional stretch and 100% stain and flame resistance as key selling points. Those are qualities you want in sports wear and baby clothes.

The name ready to wear is misleading because a suit will almost always require alterations before truly being ready to wear. You can still get a suit faster than MtM, but suit alterations take time. I recommend having the suit in your hands at least three weeks beforehand, if you have a hard date for being present in a suit. That should allow enough time to get alterations, but allowing more time is encouraged.