Made to measure

Made to measure (MTM or M2M) typically refers to clothing that is sewn from a standard-sized base pattern. A tailored suit is a common example of a made-to-measure garment. The fit of a made-to-measure garment is expected to be superior to that of a ready-to-wear garment, because ready-to-wear garments are constructed to fit the manufacturer's definition of an average customer, while made-to-measure garments are constructed to fit each customer individually. However, made-to-measure items are seen by many to involve less workmanship than bespoke or "custom made" garments, as made-to-measure garments always involve some form of standardization in the patterning and manufacturing processes, whereas a bespoke garment is made entirely from scratch based on a customer's specifications. Typically, a made-to-measure garment will be more expensive than ready-to-wear garment but cheaper than a bespoke one.

To order a made-to-measure garment, the customer's measurements are first taken by a made-to-measure retailer. Then a base pattern is selected that most closely corresponds with the customer’s measurements. This base pattern is altered to match the customer’s measurements. The garment is constructed from this altered pattern.

The primary benefits to the customer of made-to-measure clothing are that the garments will be well-fitted to the customer's body and the customer may have the opportunity to customize the fabric and detailing. The primary disadvantage of made-to-measure is that the customer must wait up to several weeks for the garment to be sewn and delivered. A typical price markup for a made-to-measure item is 15% over the price of its ready-to-wear counterpart.

Made-to-measure retailers often travel internationally meeting clients in cities, providing samples of the latest materials and styles.

Unlike bespoke garments, which traditionally involves hand sewing, made-to-measure manufacturers use both machine- and hand-sewing. Made-to-measure also requires fewer fittings than bespoke, resulting in a shorter wait between customer measurement and garment delivery.

Made-to-measure is sometimes also referred to as personal tailoring.

The definition of made-to-measure has been somewhat blurred by a ruling of the British Advertising Standards Authority. The ruling is based on the Oxford English Dictionary definition of bespoke as "made to order". While this ruling clarified the difference between bespoke and ready-to-wear, it had the effect of blurring the line between bespoke and made-to-measure.

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Wikipedia