My favorite house was built in 1732. One of the reasons it is so dear to me is its pristine and harmonious aspect. Though regular maintenance has been done on the house over the centuries, its original structure, style and layout has remained in tact. Have you ever walked into an older home where rooms seem out of balance, styles seem to clash, and the traces of its alteration and remodeling can be seen and felt? Have you ever taken what seemed to be an interesting piece of antique furniture or a snazzy automobile to an expert only to have its alterations revealed? Have you ever seen a person who looked quite young, but upon closer inspection the nips and tucks of cosmetic alterations can be seen?
I can vividly recall a day over a decade ago sitting in the atelier of a Neapolitan tailor, when a customer walked in wearing what seemed to be a fine new suit. The tailor’s scowl turned inquisitive as he opened the clothes up for closer inspection and said, “This is not a bespoke coat, it has been altered! Either a stock pattern was used or simply a bad one.” It really didn’t require a magnifying glass to see the offending stitches, but “the real problem lies in how the alterations affect other parts of the coat. You can’t touch one part of a coat without leaving traces elsewhere”, continued the tailor as he went on to show how the coat pulled here and there leaving unattractive pleats. The tempestuous sarto offered as a summation, “The only way to produce an elegant and harmonious form is to begin with a well drawn pattern, one that produces pieces of cloth that merely need to be sewn together to work, period!”
The tailor was right and the coats he had made for the same client were altogether different, they draped effortlessly, the offending pulling and pleating were no where to be found. The result was more harmonious and pleasing to the eye. The client left the workshop that day sad to know his not so perfect MTM had been found out, but wiser for the knowledge that the time and expense invested with a true artisan had tangible elegance dividends.
Don’t be taken in by the “well, it’s the result that counts” argument until you have the eye to recognize the work of an ambitious architect, the traces of the accident that ruined the old Jag or the pleats of skin under the ears from a bad tuck. You cannot start with an error and rectify it through alterations in the MTM manner and have the same result as true bespoke.
The only exception to this fundamental rule concerns the (lucky) man who has a figure that fits a stock RTW pattern easily. And this man should buy RTW and focus his investment of time and money on the more important challenges life offers.
Cheers
M Alden