When you decide to tailor a suit (or many Vietnamese still call it a vest) for the important work events or become the groom of your great wedding ceremony, the very first information that you want to research is a quality and high reputation bespoke suit tailoring house. But when you hear the price for tailoring a suit, you don’t have enough information to evaluate whether it is reasonable and quality or not, because there are many hidden factors that you may not have thought about in the very beginning.
This guide will provide the detail to verify whether the pricing you are informed is reasonable and value for money or not as you may tailor your own in 2023.
Table of Contents
1. KEY FACTORS AFFECTING THE BESPOKE TAILORING SUIT QUALITY AND PRICE
Each tailoring house will probably have different pricing for tailoring men’s suits, but the determining factor in the price and quality of a bespoke suit usually depends on six key factors.
FABRIC QUALITY
Currently, many brands provide suit fabrics around the world, even at The Sages Bespoke, we have over 8,000 fabric choices from global fabric brands. Fabric fineness and fabric composition are the two main criteria for determining fabric quality.
FABRIC FINENESS
Fabric quality will often be categorized based on a term called ‘Super’ – indicating the fineness of the fabric. In general, the higher the Super index, the better the quality of the fabric, the higher the price will be.
Luxury fabric from Dormeuil with Super 160s
- Low-cost fabrics from local Vietnam fabric manufacturers CTP Textile and TP Textile, as well as unbranded fabrics from local fabric markets. These fabrics will occasionally have a super index. However, be cautious: low-end, or unbranded, is untrustworthy because it has not been verified by quality control organizations.
- Mid-range fabrics are sourced from traditional fabric-producing countries such as India and Korea, as well as lesser-known European brands such as Lord & Taylor, Daewon Procantex, Nobility, Cavani, Dolce & Taylor, Stefano Bonazzi, Marling & Evans… The super index typically ranges from 100s to 130s in the popular segment.
- Middle and high-end fabrics are typically produced by well-known textile brands such as Holland & Sherry, Drago, Paladino Huddersfield, and Ermenegildo Zegna. The Super number will be in the 140-150s.
- Loro Piana, Dormeuil, Scabal, and other luxury fabrics have a long history and extremely high fabric quality with Super from the 160s or higher. These fabric brands also have limited edition fabrics that are woven with gold thread or diamond fragments.
Due to the fineness and durability of high-quality fabrics, the possibility of ruffles and color fading when users wear them frequently is reduced when compared to low-quality fabrics.
Scabal’s luxury fabric with diamon fragments
FABRIC ELEMENT
The composition of the fabric also influences the quality of the fabric and the tailoring price of the suit. Most high-end fabrics are made of 100% sheep fleece, and the price of fabric will be higher due to limited quantities. Lower segment fabrics will have a higher proportion of man-made fibers because this group of materials can be mass-produced in larger quantities more easily.
SUIT STRUCTURE
One thing that many first-timers don’t realize is that the construction of a bespoke suit jacket is an important factor that greatly influences the price of a men’s suit.
There are three common types of suit jacket construction: fused interlining, half-canvas, and full canvas, each with its own set of benefits and drawbacks.
Fused interlining: is a common structure commonly found in ready-to-wear suits or 6-hour, 24-hour or 48-hour tailoring services because of the quick processing factor due to the adhesive glue heat-pressing on the fabric surface.
- Aside from the speed advantage, the price is also very cheap, making it suitable for mass production.
- The more you wear it, however, the easier it is to get glue dried, resulting in air bubbles in the front of the jacket, and gradually losing its shape.
Fusible interlining material
Half-canvas: Canvas is made from horse hair or camel hair and is entirely hand-sewing from shoulder to waist of the front part by experienced suit tailors. As a result, suits with canvas inside will be more expensive, but the quality will be far superior to those with fused-interlining structure.
- This segment has a higher quality because of its durability and form retention than fused one. The price is higher, but it is less expensive than the full canvas structure, which stretches the entire body in front of the jacket.
- The half-canvas sewing time is quick compared to full-canvas, but it still requires 3-4 working days.
A suit jacket with half-canvas structure
Full-canvas: This is the highest quality suit construction and is typically found only in high-end bespoke tailored suits.
- This construction requires a skilled seamstress and time to hand sew on the full front of the jacket, so the first fitting normally needs 5-7 days.
- Full canvas construction type is the most expensive and are usually reserved for those who value quality and shape as well as affordability for a high-value suit.
A suit jacket with full-canvas structure (*illustrative purpose only)
SUIT DETAIL
Suit details will also influence the price of men’s suits that you may not have thought about.
- Is it cheap plastic buttons, or horn buttons or brass buttons or mother-of-pearl buttons?
- Is the lining you want a low-cost polyester fabric or a high-end silk?
- Do you want the usual lapel buttonhole style or the Milanese one?
- Do you want to personalize your jacket with embroidery?
- Do you want to have more fabric for backup if your weight fluctuates a lot?
The better option in details you choose will add up the cost for customizing your suit.
Gold ornamented buttons
TAILORING HOUSES’ EXPERIENCE
Everyone wants to find a place where they can tailor a high quality bespoke suit. It is necessary to rely on the skillful and experienced tailors to create such beautiful suits. Tailors must take numerous steps to perfect the suit for you, such as balancing the structure of the jacket, assembling the sleeves and shoulders, fine-tuning the details, and so on.
Many tailor-made products for customers with difficult-to-handle body flaws, such as large bellies, lopsided shoulders, knock-knee legs, and so on, have undoubtedly been experienced by a tailor with many years of experience. As a result, the garment price may be higher, but the product will be of higher guaranteed quality.
CUSTOMER POLICY
Few people learn about customer policy prior to tailoring. However, this can make a tailored suit appear cheap when it is actually expensive.
- Will the tailor support free alteration within the allowed weight limit if your weight fluctuates (gaining or losing weight)?
- Will the tailor support free repair if the button is broken and the thread is chipped?
- Does the tailor support free dry laundry?
- Does the tailor have installment payment options?
- Does the tailor have a Perfect Fit policy when tailoring a premium suit?
Be aware of this from the start, because hidden costs can cause the actual price of the suit to be higher than what you hear in the quote.
PRODUCT DELIVERY TIME
The time it takes to tailor is another factor that can influence the price of a product. If you need to tailor quickly for an upcoming event, you may have to pay an urgent tailoring fee so that the tailor can give you the priority. Remember that a good quality suit will usually take 2 or 3 weeks to tailor, so plan ahead of time. If you have to rush to tailor during peak season, which is usually the last few months of the year, the extra cost can be very high.
BESPOKE TAILORING PRICE LIST FOR MEN’S SUIT IN 2023 BY SEGMENT
With the six factors mentioned above, you can determine whether the price of a men’s suit is reasonable with high quality. Tailoring costs vary depending on tailoring houses, but they can be divided into four main categories.
SUIT TAILORING COSTS IN THE LOW-END RANGE
In the low-end segment, the cost of tailoring a men’s suit including a shirt and a pair of pants ranges from 1,000,000 to 7,000,000 VND. As previously stated, this segment typically features fused construction (sometimes can be half canvas construction but with low-end fabric) and unbranded or low-fine fabrics.
- Pros: Quick tailoring time and low cost
- Cons: On the contrary, the fabric normally has poor quality, prone to ruffles and fading when worn frequently. Furthermore, the fusible interlining can be dried and has air bubbles in hot, dry conditions as well as wet rain.
A jacket with fusible interlining may get air bubbly wrinkles after a time
SUIT TAILORING COSTS IN THE STANDARD RANGE
In the standard segment, the cost of tailoring a man suit including a suit jacket and trousers ranges from VND 8,000,000 to VND 20,000,000. The standard segment has a half-canvas structure and mid-range fabrics like Lord & Taylor, Nobility, Cavani… with smoothness ranging from Super 100s to 130s.
- Pros: the garment prices are within most people’s budgets while the quality is good.
- Cons: The price is obviously higher than in the low-end segment, and the wait time will be longer as well.
SUIT TAILORING COSTS IN THE HIGH-END SEGMENT
In the high-end segment, tailoring a man suit costs between VND 20,000,000 and VND 90,000,000. With high-end fabric brands, you can choose between a half-canvas structure or a full-canvas structure.
- The half-canvas or full-canvas construction aids in making a great silhouette, and the quality of this segment is excellent.
- Although the price is high, the suit will last a long time because it takes a long time to ruffle or fade when worn frequently.
A premium suit by The Sages Bespoke
At The Sages Bespoke, from the high-end segment upwards, The Sages will apply the Perfect Fit policy. The Sages will tailor a suit in the standard fabric segment for you, with colors and small details chosen by your own, but the jacket structure will be similar to the high-end segment to increase the accuracy. Following that, you will be able to try on and alter this suit. When this suit has a perfect fit to your body, The Sages Bespoke begins tailoring the high-end suit that you had previously chosen based on the measurements of the standard suit. Finally, you will receive both suits.
SUIT TAILORING COSTS IN THE LUXURY SEGMENT
In the luxury segment, tailoring a man’s bespoke suit costs more than VND 100,000,000. A full-canvas structure is typically used in the luxury segment using the Loro Piana, Scabal, and Dormeuil fabric brands with at least Super 160s and above quality. There will also be mentions of ultra-luxurious fabrics woven with gold thread or diamond fragments around the world. These are the best limited-edition men’s bespoke suits available only to the ultra-rich.
A Dourmeuil’s suit with 18K gold thread woven fabric at USD 113,000
The Sages hope that by reading this guide, you have gained more knowledge to check if the cost of tailoring men’s suits in 2023 is reasonable with high quality or not. Please contact us if you require any additional assistance. For assistance, call +84 886 219 608 or chat through the Facebook fanpage.
