Guidance24 April 20263 min read
How long does a made-to-measure suit take?
Between the first measurement and the last alteration, a suit needs several weeks and three appointments. What actually takes time, and what does not.
By Gilles Masson, Atelier Mesure, Paris 7ᵉ
The question comes up at almost every first appointment, usually with a date already in mind: a wedding, a new post, a trip. The honest answer has two parts: the usual lead time is comfortable, and the margin you allow yourself matters more than the lead time itself.
What actually takes time
Three things, in this order. The cloth first: if it is not in stock it comes from the mill, and a supply delay is added. Then the making, counted in hours of work rather than days of waiting. Then the alterations, which are quick but assume you are available.
The rest takes no time at all. The fitting lasts an hour, choosing the cloth about as long, and the baste fitting is settled in half an hour. The timetable is made of waiting windows, not of long appointments.
The three appointments
The first is the fitting and the choice of cloth. The second is the baste fitting: the suit is assembled but unfinished, and this is where length, armhole and shoulder line are corrected. The third is delivery, with any light alterations.
Between the second and the third, a margin is needed. It is what absorbs the unexpected: a correction larger than foreseen, a length of cloth to be recut, a work trip that pushes everything back a week.
The margin to allow, by occasion
For a working suit, ordering when the need appears is enough. For a ceremony the rule is different: you count backwards from the date, and you add a margin of at least three weeks after the planned delivery.
That margin is not fussiness. A silhouette changes within a few months, particularly before a wedding, and it is better to have the time to take a waist in slightly than to receive a perfect garment a fortnight too early. The detail of making times is available, and the groom's guide gives a full countdown.
« Nothing great was ever achieved without patience. »
Key points
The timetable of a suit.
- Three appointments: fitting, baste fitting, delivery
- A cloth out of stock adds a supply delay
- The baste fitting takes half an hour, not half a day
- For a ceremony, allow at least three weeks after delivery
- A silhouette moves: better time to alter than a garment delivered early
- The second suit is faster: your measurements are kept
- Naming the date at the first appointment changes the order of decisions
The lead time is not a constraint to endure, it is information to give at the first appointment: depending on the date, neither the cloth nor the construction would be chosen the same way. Saying when you need it is the first decision of the project.
