Made-to-measure

For the record label of the same name, see Crammed Discs.

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.

Overview

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.

Advertising Standards Authority ruling

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.

The ruling established that a "made-to-measure suit would be cut, usually by machine, from an existing pattern, and adjusted according to the customer's measurements," while "a bespoke suit would be fully hand-made and the pattern cut from scratch, with an intermediary baste stage which involved a first fitting so that adjustments could be made to a half-made suit." The ruling concluded, however, that a "majority of people... would not expect that bespoke suit to be fully hand-made with the pattern cut from scratch," effectively equalizing the terms bespoke and made-to-measure.

While etymologist Michael Quinion observed that by definition "it was legitimate for a tailor offering clothes cut and sewn by machine to refer to them as bespoke, provided that they were made to the customer's measurements", since the traditional use of bespoke inside the tailoring community has been more nuanced than the Oxford definition, others concluded that the ASA "took a rather ignorant decision to declare that there is no difference between bespoke and made-to-measure.".

Modernization In Made-To-Measure

Twenty-first-century technologies are defining a new era of customized and mass-customized clothing. The 3D body scanner is a fast and reliable tool for collecting measurements. Once a scan is taken (a 12-second process), it is transferred to the computer and visualized on the screen (about 45 seconds). In the next step, the software automatically locates body landmarks and generates measurements (about one minute depending on the number of measurements desired).

This method is highly computerized. In this process standard sized base patterns are pre-programmed. The body for which garment is to be made is scanned, and according to body measurements relative alterations are made on the base pattern and a new pattern is produced.

The main benefit of this technique is we can observe the 3D & 2D simulations of the final garment along with different colors, texture, and fabric according to desired choices.

As this technique is totally computerized, the time required to generate a preview pattern is reduced to a considerably less amount. As customers have the freedom of choosing exact desired specifications with a friendly interface, this technique provides a customer-friendly approach. Measurements are recorded using programmed body scan, final garment produced has the ability to fulfill exact demand of the consumer.

See also

• Ready-to-wear
• Mass Customization
• Bespoke tailoring