Guttersnipe
One Too Many
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Well, according to the article, RTW suit makers make NO attempt to match patterns, but use all of the fabric(including cutoffs and bits and pieces, of course, making pattern matching impossible). Upper middle and higher end( with bespoke being the highest) makers will "waste" alot of fabric making sure the patterns line up(expensive, but surely a minimum for a suit). IMO, in order for a bespoke suit to truly be a bespoke suit, a master tailor should be able to pull that off.
Several points.
First, you cannot blindly accept that an article written in the late '40s could possible speak accurately and informatively about the RTW practices of the 21st century. You must use some critical thinking.
In context, ready-to-wear / off-the-rack men's wear largely supplanted made-to-measure / bespoke men's wear by the 1960s. As such, the modern men's wear market has a very different character than it did in times past. For example, I own a blazer made by Oxxford, which is by far a much higher quality garment than the bespoke suits I have made by a transplanted Hong Kong tailor in San Francisco.
You see, before the 1950s or so, the majority of ready made suits and sport coats were aimed at economical, price conscious consumers. In today's fast paced world, lots of men don't have the patience for custom tailoring, hence the rise in very well made, high end ready-to-wear suits and sport coats.
Second, before forming an opinion about what constitutes a "truly bespoke" suit, you should probably do a bit more research. The generally accepted definition of a bespoke suit is that (a) the cutter* (not a "master tailor") drafts a unique pattern, from scratch, based on the measurements of the customer, and (b) one or more fitting occurs before the suit is finished.
* a point about terminology: a "master tailor" is a tailor that employs other tailors (i.e., a business owner/proprietor); a "cutter" is tailor trained in pattern drafting. Many master tailors are also cutters, but not necessarily, and the two terms mean different things. The term master tailor does not necessarily imply a certain level of skill.
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