How much does a custom suit cost?

“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.” It is one of the most famous quotes by Mr. Warren Edward Buffett, the famous American tycoon and also the third richest person in the world. Even so that the sentence was quoted for a completely different context, it is not difficult to imply it to the shopping world. If the price of a product can range widely, the real value of the product depends on transitory factors.

What determines the value of a product? Does it depend on the quality of raw materials, the value of labour or the brand image? Do value and price match? In recent times, finding an answer to these questions has become increasingly difficult, also because it is not always easy to know the costs of the various components comprising the product.

Speaking of men’s clothing, and specifically custom-made suits, certainly, that the price range is quite wide: a custom-made suit can cost from € 189 up to over € 4,000.

What makes the difference are a series of details that represent the quality of the garment and therefore its true value. To choose the right garment, it is therefore important to take into consideration different aspects such as the type of fabric and its origin, the construction of the garment, the labour used and the image and respect of the brand in the industry brand.

At the end of the day: how much a custom made-to-measure suit should really cost and what determines its precise price? Let’s understand it in detail together.

What determines the price of a made-to-measure suit

Fabric

One of the primary elements of a garment, especially a suit is certainly the fabric used to create it. The price of this depends on the raw material (for example, usually cotton and wool have lower prices than cashmere and alpaca), the value and fineness of the fibers (ranging from 100’s to 220’s the latter being the most exclusive), the type of finish ( the final texture of fabric production that determines characteristics such as water repellency etc.) and the value of the textile brand (if it is a reputed brand which only uses the best quality etc.).

Each of these small elements helps to determine the value and quality of a good custom suit. Fabrics of excellence, entirely produced in Italy, made with full respect for the environment, will obviously have a greater value, durability and cost.

Labour and raw materials

Some custom-made clothes, in general, are made of quality fabrics, but then the labour is often poor. In this case, you can also boast of using a good raw material, but the processing (often poorly paid and hasty) it will leave the result unsatisfactory.

A highly specialized workforce, with work rhythms adapted to the times of valuable workmanship, undoubtedly has a cost that affects the final price, but which also allows us to obtain a custom-made quality garment, that will last for a long time.

The way to make a custom made-to-measure suit varies from brand to brand and from country to country. For example, the Italian sartorial tradition is unravelled among small sartorial ateliers and craft workshops scattered around traditional cities, each with its own specific know-how handed down for generations and evolving with time.

Every detail, even the most meticulous, affects the final quality of the suit and makes it possible to distinguish it from a garment of the ready-to-wear industry. The artisans working in the best Italian workshops are real experienced tailors, often coming from small families, with great ability and able to divide the process of garment making into the various detail oriented stages.

To give an idea of the necessary work, suffice it to say that up to 200 steps may be necessary to create a single jacket. Among these steps are the application of the pockets, the lining, the stitching, the basting of the shoulder straps, the construction of the lapels, the ironing of each element, the attaching and the assembly of each piece together.

When you buy an Italian suit, you become aware of the long tradition and strong ambition to reach perfection, preserved in the hands of Italian artisans. An index of excellence and pride that is Made in Italy.

In addition to the cost of skilled labour, there are the costs of raw materials (buttons, threads, linings, loops, specific customisations, etc.), and all the other possible production costs.

Brand name

If production and labour costs are tangible, defining the impact of a brand’s value on the cost of a product is quite complex. It is not a mystery that while purchasing a custom-made suit, you also pay for the name of the brand that created your garment. As mentioned in the introduction to this article, it is important to maintain a correct proportion between the actual cost of the product and the marginality of the brand.

How much does a custom-made suit cost?

A custom suit that costs € 189 and another suit that costs € 790 certainly can not be the same product. But then, how much does a custom suit cost? The answer depends on the needs and expectations of each client.

Custom clothes under € 200

If you want a custom suit and you have no expectations in terms of fabric quality and workmanship, it will not be very difficult for you to find what you are looking for online for less than € 200. The online men’s garment industry is full of services that offer to offer ready-to-wear service at very low prices. What you will get, however, will most likely be a garment of dubious durability and quality, manufactured without attention to detail, and which will be part of your wardrobe for just a couple of seasons at the most.

Custom suits between € 300 and € 1500

If what you are looking for is a product with a good quality/price ratio, that between € 300 and € 1500 is definitely the best reference price range. A custom-made suit of around € 600, will, in fact, be a better investment than that for any garment in ready-made garments and, if fabrics and manpower are certified, you can enjoy wearing a quality custom-made product.

If you are looking for a product entirely Made in Italy, created with quality Italian fabrics and with full respect of the environment and tradition, on lanieri.com you will find a range of custom garments that can be customised entirely starting from € 590, to reach a maximum of € 1090 (the price varies only depending on the quality of the chosen fabric).

Online for around 1500 € you can find a good quality and price ratio, but that are positioned quite close to the cost of a bespoke garment, entirely handmade from an experienced tailor (we explained the difference between tailor-made and tailored suits in a dedicated article). Is it really worth spending that much on it?

Custom suits above 1500 €

The price range above € 1500 is the most “at risk” if we consider the effective value/cost criteria. A custom-made suit with a price close to € 2,000 risks all the above-mentioned criteria of cost vs quality and value. In short: you could run the risk of spending too much for a product, but actually, you will be paying more for the brand name not just your garment.

If you have decided to take a first step in the world of custom clothing, you are looking for a nice garment to give to someone or if you simply want to pamper yourself with a new wardrobe of best quality, the first choice is definitely that of a tailored custom suit whose price is included between € 500 and € 1200. Verified labour and durable of fabrics, you will be surely buying a garment with an excellent quality/price ratio