Nobody thought it would work. Offering high-end suits cut from fabrics from the very best cloth mills in the world, and at a fraction of the price of Savile Row. Surely there’s a catch?

Twenty-four years later, entrepreneur Fokke de Jong has proved everyone wrong, having created a global empire out of Suitsupply, catering to men who appreciate fine tailoring, and custom alterations, without the need to remortgage. But more than that, Suitsupply has remained a leader in style destination – tailoring, being an early uptaker of the trend du jour, ‘quiet luxury’.

Assurance underscores the Suitsupply service – assurance that you are getting the best fabrics from the likes of Vitale Barberis Canonico; assurance that you leave the store with a suit that fits you perfectly; and assurance that you have scored the best possible price in the market.

While its in-house alterations are still a game-changer, Suitsupply has also launched a custom suit service which takes personalisation to the next level. It’s by no means a bespoke service, but the level of customisation and the quality of the finished product is not far behind. As far as value for money is concerned, we don’t think there’s a better deal in smart menswear.

The Key Elements

Besides the super competitive pricing that has always been an alluring draw to Suitsupply’s collections, there are a number of different factors that make its custom suit offering a compelling buy.

Personal Design

While Suitsupply offers an array of off-the-peg styles, both classic and contemporary, its Custom Made program allows you to hand-pick details that are specific to your taste and preference. The appeal of a custom suit is the ability to add stylish details and points of difference to make the suit that much more individual.

For Suitsupply’s custom offering, this ranges from the type of buttons and their placement, to pocket styles, waistband features, linings and many more customisable options, no matter if you’re freestyling a sport coat, tuxedo, full suit or jacket for any style preference and occasion.

The service also gives you the all-important option of choosing between a full horsehair and cotton canvas structure for a rich drape and elegant silhouette, or half-canvassed for a lighter and more fluid feel.

World-Renowned Fabrics

Besides the elegant luxury aesthetic that Suitsupply has espoused over the years, one of its biggest coups has been its ability to procure top-class fabrics from the world’s finest mills. When using the custom service, you can choose from some 360 fine fabrics sourced from mills hailing from Biella, the wool-weaving Mecca in Italy. These will then be carefully crafted into a suit after you’ve had your measurements taken, and delivered to you in 3-4 weeks.

Wool is, of course, not the only option: linen, cotton, alpaca, cashmere, and silk, as well as textural finishes such as corduroy and seersucker, are all available to you. So whether you’re in the market for a cashmere blend tuxedo jacket or a tropical wool summer blazer, the custom service will be your best route to sartorial excellence.

A Perfect Fit

Suitsupply’s in-house alterations have always ensured that a tailored garment purchased from one of their stores will fit you as well as can be.

Available in-store or online, you can use Suitsupply’s Size Passport to create a fully personalised profile based on your exact measurements for easier, more streamlined shopping and alterations.

3 Custom Suits You Should Consider

The Office Suit

If you want to elevate your Monday-to-Friday work wardrobe, then opting for Sutisupply’s custom service is the perfect way to incorporate fine tailoring with a personalised spec. In a sea of anodyne navy and charcoal suits, you can stand out thanks to a huge choice of fabrics and customisable details.

For the summer months, you might want to choose a lightweight fabric that wicks away moisture well – something like a lightweight tropical wool, or a loose weave cloth such as a hopsack. You may even want to consider something in a herringbone or a subtle check to add an element of pattern, too.

While a fully canvassed style would be great for the cooler months of the year, you’d be better off opting for a half-canvassed option for greater versatility, or if you only plan on wearing the suit in the summer, plump for an unstructured style for a relaxed drape. A butterfly lining will be the best bet to keep you cool in the hottest months of the year, allowing air to circulate through the weave of the jacket.

Single- or double-breasted is a personal choice, but the former is always more versatile so you should consider that if planning on splitting the suit to wear as separates.

The Casual Suit

Whereas the office suit had some uniformity and structure to it, the casual suit can be a much more relaxed affair, and that transition starts with the fabric. Wool is still a perfectly acceptable choice, but for a more casual aesthetic, you might want to think about cotton and linen cloths, especially in the summer months.

Linen, in particular, is beautiful in an unstructured format, especially in tones such as cream, tobacco and olive green, as well as the whole gamut of pastel tones. Opt for a wide peak lapel for some sartorial flair.

Seersucker is another brilliant option thanks to its wonderfully tactile ‘dimpled’ handle which allows air to more easily circulate. It has a nice nostalgia to it too, harking back to suits worn by the likes of jazz impresario Miles Davis. Suitsupply offers eight different seersucker fabrics to choose from in its custom service, from a stunning pale blue pinstripe to a more contemporary mid-green tone, all coming with a slight stretch in the fabric for optimum comfort.

The Tuxedo

Anywhere else, a custom-made tuxedo would mean remortgaging but by using Suitsupply’s custom service, you can create a stunning example of modern formalwear at a fraction of the cost.

You may think there’s little room to customise black tie since the sartorial rules are quite rigid, but you’d be wrong, especially since the trend of wearing alternative black tie for weddings has soared in recent years.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a classic black tuxedo, and Suitsupply certainly has no shortage of stunning black fabrics to choose from (the Pure S110’s Wool by Vitale Barberis Canonico being one of our favourites), but why stick to the rules when you can bend them? At a summer wedding, for example, you could opt for an off-white wool silk linen with a matching off-white shawl lapel and contrast cotton lining. For autumn and winter evening engagements meanwhile, a dark green stretch cotton velvet jacket with contrast black silk peak lapels, paired with classic satin stripe dress trousers, might just be the thing you’re looking for.

Either way, the eveningwear permutations are many, so you’ll be able to craft something unique and personal for those special events.

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