The cost, margin and value of (British) bespoke

[bond_and_beyond]

Interesting article on the cost etc:

http://www.permanentstyle.co.uk/2014/10 ... ml#respond

BB

[C.Lee]

A high-level glimpse into the numbers. It entertains me that we drop our pants for our tailors, and yet their business is so elusive to us. What do we know, and do we care to know?

My tailor is a one-man show working out of his home. He sets his price, and that's really all there is to it. Never considered it, never discussed it. Transparency is a powerful thing.


Regards.

[Luca]

it was an interesting post. That said, I was a bit surprised by 100 GBP for buttons and lining, etc. Really? At wholesale?

I find that blog is very mixed. The writer has a real talent for evoking the loveliness of fine clothes but at the same time seems transparently to be shilling for the businesses, which comes across as distasteful in a way that, for isntance, various testimonials on this site never seem to.

[andreyb]

It is a good try from Mr Compton's part, but those who the author asked knew he is going to publish the information publicly. I'm not suggesting they lied to him, but... probably quoted highest possible figures -- say, for silk linings.

Andrey

[DFR]

it was an interesting post. That said, I was a bit surprised by 100 GBP for buttons and lining, etc. Really? At wholesale?

I find that blog is very mixed. The writer has a real talent for evoking the loveliness of fine clothes but at the same time seems transparently to be shilling for the businesses, which comes across as distasteful in a way that, for isntance, various testimonials on this site never seem to.

I would agree with this, linings, canvases and buttons are easy to price from the internet and certainly don't come to £100 quoted.

[Frederic Leighton]

I would agree with this, linings, canvases and buttons are easy to price from the internet and certainly don't come to £100 quoted.

I usually buy linings and buttons by myself and they don't come cheap. For a three piece suit, I pay £25 for buttons and £40-50 for linings. Pocketing, canvas and other trimmings are on top of that as I use those my tailor has in stock. He would get a 10-20% discount on some of the linings, but not on the buttons. Altogether, we are not far from £100.

[Kayak81]

Here's a different perspective on the economics of making a bespoke suit: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/magaz ... d=all&_r=0.

[Frans]

it was an interesting post. That said, I was a bit surprised by 100 GBP for buttons and lining, etc. Really? At wholesale?

I would agree with this, linings, canvases and buttons are easy to price from the internet and certainly don't come to £100 quoted.

Canvas of Irish linen is not cheap, it can be 40 GBP per m and more. Also, there was a periodical shortage of the "best" kind of linen for canvas last year, a cutter on SR told me, so prices have gone up.

Some houses on the row still wash the linen before it is used, which adds to the price. Of course, other tailors (like the city tailors) may use cheaper canvas and not wash the linen etc. in order to cut costs at this stage of the process as well.

[uppercase]

Why does everyone want to know what the tailors make?
That's foolish and a waste of time.
That would drive me crazy if everyday I tried to calculate what the farmers make who grow my food.

Let them make what they make for gods sake.

[Rob O]

I find that blog is very mixed. The writer has a real talent for evoking the loveliness of fine clothes but at the same time seems transparently to be shilling for the businesses, which comes across as distasteful in a way that, for isntance, various testimonials on this site never seem to.

Is that the way you see it Luca? As a daily reader of Simon's blog I have to say at times I have suspected his review subjects are driven by tailors most willing to subsidise his prolific output, however I don't think his opinions are so easily influenced. He seems quite comfortable in putting the boot in when he believes the make, fit or style to be in question. His recent review on shoes seems to be a case in point. But maybe I'm just naïve.

[Melcombe]

Here's a different perspective on the economics of making a bespoke suit: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/magaz ... d=all&_r=0.

A very interesting piece - thanks for that link.

In terms of earnings per hour after overheads, tailoring must be one of the most poorly paid of the long-apprenticeship trades. Yet we, here in the LL, value that skill very highly indeed.

Would you - could you - regularly buy bespoke clothing if your tailor were paid the same hourly rate as, say, an electrician or a plumber ? general builders earn upwards of £20 per hour - qualified specialists much more.

I think the problem is that of perceived value among the wider market. There are some very impressive off the peg suits available to buy (from such as Marks & Spencer) in the low hundreds - and for many, indeed, most, thats all they ever want, so the mental calculation is not "how many man hours went into making this suit?..." plus property overheads etc, rather it's "is this bespoke suit really worth 7 times more than a good one from M&S?".

Long may we continue to appreciate the correct answer to that one!

[ballmouse]

If a suit takes ~75 hours as mentioned in the NYTimes article and customers paid $40 per hour (approx 25 GBP), a suit would be $3000 (1865 GBP). Adding in cloth to the cost might make it closer to $3750 or 2330 GBP, but that is a bit less than what bespoke tailoring costs these days.

You might argue for additional costs on top of the wage per hour, but as far as I know, I only pay contractors such as plumbers and carpenters a per hour rate plus necessary materials.

[Frans]

... Adding in cloth to the cost might make it closer to $3750 or 2330 GBP, but that is a bit less than what bespoke tailoring costs these days.

You will have to add rent, insurances etc. And you will have to add 20% VAT. And you're almost there.

[ballmouse]

... Adding in cloth to the cost might make it closer to $3750 or 2330 GBP, but that is a bit less than what bespoke tailoring costs these days.

You will have to add rent, insurances etc. And you will have to add 20% VAT. And you're almost there.

I also forgot the internet marketing expense. Tumblrs don't just grow on trees.

[hectorm]

My tailor is a one-man show working out of his home. He sets his price, and that's really all there is to it. Never considered it, never discussed it. Transparency is a powerful thing.

The moment you begin to haggle the price of a bespoke suit with your tailor something is irreversibly broken.