Why Does Online Made to Measure Fail So Often?

Before tight fitting clothes loose fitting wasn't much better. Wrong measurements, wrong posture, and a number of other fitting problems. Even a little little bit off can make a huge difference. Sure many of these cheap clothes don't have all the pressing they need. So, how can they come out right?

 

Look, if you're trying to avoid collecting 'likes', stop saying funny stuff

 

For me, this is really my only option. I have a 49 inch chest, 36 waist, 18.5 inch neck, and arms from a T-Rex. As much as I would love to have bespoke clothes, it really is not in the budget. Finding a shirt or suit off the rack is impossible. I have recently ordered and received a shirt from Original Stitch that fits perfectly. Same with an all wool suit from modern tailor. I decided to order two shirts from Deo Veritas the other day and give them a shot. In my experience, as long as the measurements are accurate, you should normally not have any problems. I had one nightmare experience with a company but all in all, this has worked out well for me.

 

I agree that perhaps even a majority of folks who order online MTM are ultimately satisfied (and don't go posting their mistakes on the Forum), but I think the reasons for failure are likely multifactorial (aside from gross mismeasurements, etc...). From the looks of what people post when they've ordered from places like "SS", I think there's a "house style" (if that isn't too much a stretch, pun intended) that's intended to be extremely fashion forward (short jackets, waist suppression regardless of if it's warranted), and not surprisingly, for many people that doesn't quite work. Age-related bias here, but in popular culture, social media and otherwise, celebrities, athletes, reality TV stars are all costumed in similar garb (the short jacket, body-conscious look), but the "average" guy doesn't have either the time, inclination, genetics, or personal trainers to have the same underlying physique. So they get their tight online MTM suit and are left wondering why it doesn't look like the Instagram posts of their celebrity stars.

 

In essence, I think you're spot on concerning differences in physique. But if you examine even celebrities, don't they look OK despite the clothes they're wearing, not because of them? And wouldn't they look a lot better in clothing that fulfilled the intent of its essential aesthetic?

This -



Instead of this?

 

Can't remember which tabloid mag, but there used to be a photo section called, "celebrities, they're just like us!" that had pictures of said celebs out at the market, pumping gas, etc... Yes, by and large celebrities/athletes for the most part are slim, attractive, and have very nice teeth. But under the surface of winning the genetic lottery, I wouldn't be surprised if many/most of them have fashion tastes that are much more pedestrian than their appearances suggest, and that insecurity puts them at risk of relying on "style advisors" who in turn put them in clothes promoted more by advertising dollars rather than something that is objectively attractive.

If I were in product placement, I couldn't argue with the logic. Find people others think are attractive, pay them to wear your clothes. Make money. It's a tried and true formula, lemmings aren't an endangered species.

I will make one exception. High fashion models (I happen to know one, so it's a limited sample size). They simply wear whatever the hell they want, and it's like the old "new stock day" at Filene's Basement. The world that watches them goes crazy over every odd bit of clothing, with little regard for the fact that nature didn't make more than a handful of people who can pull off tall, uber-skinny, and beautiful.

 

^what? It’s never over! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Seriously though, have you even thought about off the rack. Or perhaps made to measure with a real life person actually measuring.

You’re in the Philadelphia area. I’m sure there are plenty of places where you can go and be properly fitted.

 

I recently received my first shirt from Luxire. I used the measurements from my best fitting shirt. The fit is spot-on and I couldn't be more pleased. I don't see myself ever buying another shirt elsewhere. Go figure.