Made-to-measure suits: €500 at a tailor or €299 online
Made-to-measure suits: €420-500 at a traditional tailor versus €299 online. The debate over quality, price and whether it's worth saving on a suit.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Made-to-measure suits: €500 at a tailor or €299 online
Renewing your wardrobe every year and walking away feeling you overpaid. That's the starting point of a discussion that has been dragging on for years among men who need a suit for work and don't want to look like a scarecrow with a tie. The author of the original post puts it bluntly: for his build — broad shoulders, slight frame — a made-to-measure suit is almost a necessity, not a luxury. And yet, every time he has tried to save money, the result has been pilling on the fabric or a tonalidad that fades after the first dry clean.
His budget is €420 to €500 per suit at firms like Mangas in Madrid. He has tried Knack Men, Q-ellos, Doble M, the tailoring service at El Corte Inglés and neighborhood tailors. None has fully convinced him. His question is simple: has anyone found the combination of quality and price that actually works?
Made-to-measure suits online: is it possible?
The majority answer in the trade is no. A truly made-to-measure suit, the experts explain, requires several fittings with the client present. Taking measurements is not enough: you have to correct, adjust and hide flaws. The cut, the linings, the way the fabric drapes — none of that can be done remotely. "Online you won't get a made-to-measure suit," declares one participant who knows the trade.
Yet some defend the opposite. Several buyers claim to have used platforms like iTailor or Tailor4less with acceptable results. One specific experience: made-to-measure shirts that fit well as long as the measurements are taken with millimeter precision. Another: suits made by Clickandsuit which, according to the buyer, fit "like a glove" because the tailors correct the measurements as they go.
The debate is on: is it the future or a lottery?
Traditional tailoring: prices and alternatives
Against the vertigo of the internet, traditional tailoring still has its defenders. In Madrid, names like Mister Tailor or Tomblack (in the Bernabéu area) come highly rated. In Valencia, a tailor who "measures you at a glance and the suit is ready to wear the next." In Zaragoza, people head to Mazaleón, a village in Teruel where, apparently, there is a brand-name company that also sells to individuals.
Prices vary. One specific case: €280 per suit at Toni Barceló, with three suits bought four years ago still "like new." Another: a home tailoring service in Madrid that makes you a suit for €480 in four weeks, with a measurement visit and a fitting.
The question is whether those low prices hide a quality problem. The answer is not unanimous.
The size-mixing trick and alterations
An intermediate solution that comes up in the conversation: buy a jacket in one size and trousers in another, and have a tailor do the alterations. One participant did it at Zara: "mixed them on the hanger and went to the till." Another tried the same at a Cortefiel outlet and the cashier stopped him: you can't mix sizes.
The alternative is to buy off the rack and have it altered. "It can work out cheaper to buy just the jacket and have the trousers made," suggests one commenter. The problem is when a ready-made suit can't be fixed even with alterations: "I gave up the day a Cortefiel employee snapped at me: go get one made to measure, because this is impossible."
The lure of deals and the skepticism
Discount platforms have also tempted buyers. A made-to-measure suit for €299 at Suitailor (Argüelles, Madrid) through LetsBonus. The majority reaction: run. "I'd run like the plague from this kind of product on LetsBonus, Groupalia and the like," says one participant. Distrust of aggressive deals is high.
The underlying problem is that a made-to-measure suit has an irreducible cost: fabric, labor, fittings. When the price drops too low, someone is cutting corners. The question is who, and where.
Is it worth paying €500 for a suit?
The answer depends on use. For someone who wears a suit twice a year, no. For someone who wears it daily, drives, hauls boxes and drops the jacket on the floor, the math changes. A cheap suit that lasts a year costs more than a good one that lasts five.
The problem is that nobody has found the magic formula yet. Neighborhood tailors have the craft but not always the price. The internet has the price but not the craft. And the big chains have the price and only half the craft.
The discussion remains open. As one participant puts it: "Old-school tailors aren't as expensive as people think — the older the tailor looks, the better."
Key facts from the debate:
Renewing your wardrobe every year and walking away feeling you overpaid. That's the starting point of a discussion that has been dragging on for years among men who need a suit for work and don't want to look like a scarecrow with a tie. The author of the original post puts it bluntly: for his build — broad shoulders, slight frame — a made-to-measure suit is almost a necessity, not a luxury. And yet, every time he has tried to save money, the result has been pilling on the fabric or a tonalidad that fades after the first dry clean.
His budget is €420 to €500 per suit at firms like Mangas in Madrid. He has tried Knack Men, Q-ellos, Doble M, the tailoring service at El Corte Inglés and neighborhood tailors. None has fully convinced him. His question is simple: has anyone found the combination of quality and price that actually works?
Made-to-measure suits online: is it possible?
The majority answer in the trade is no. A truly made-to-measure suit, the experts explain, requires several fittings with the client present. Taking measurements is not enough: you have to correct, adjust and hide flaws. The cut, the linings, the way the fabric drapes — none of that can be done remotely. "Online you won't get a made-to-measure suit," declares one participant who knows the trade.
Yet some defend the opposite. Several buyers claim to have used platforms like iTailor or Tailor4less with acceptable results. One specific experience: made-to-measure shirts that fit well as long as the measurements are taken with millimeter precision. Another: suits made by Clickandsuit which, according to the buyer, fit "like a glove" because the tailors correct the measurements as they go.
The debate is on: is it the future or a lottery?
Traditional tailoring: prices and alternatives
Against the vertigo of the internet, traditional tailoring still has its defenders. In Madrid, names like Mister Tailor or Tomblack (in the Bernabéu area) come highly rated. In Valencia, a tailor who "measures you at a glance and the suit is ready to wear the next." In Zaragoza, people head to Mazaleón, a village in Teruel where, apparently, there is a brand-name company that also sells to individuals.
Prices vary. One specific case: €280 per suit at Toni Barceló, with three suits bought four years ago still "like new." Another: a home tailoring service in Madrid that makes you a suit for €480 in four weeks, with a measurement visit and a fitting.
The question is whether those low prices hide a quality problem. The answer is not unanimous.
The size-mixing trick and alterations
An intermediate solution that comes up in the conversation: buy a jacket in one size and trousers in another, and have a tailor do the alterations. One participant did it at Zara: "mixed them on the hanger and went to the till." Another tried the same at a Cortefiel outlet and the cashier stopped him: you can't mix sizes.
The alternative is to buy off the rack and have it altered. "It can work out cheaper to buy just the jacket and have the trousers made," suggests one commenter. The problem is when a ready-made suit can't be fixed even with alterations: "I gave up the day a Cortefiel employee snapped at me: go get one made to measure, because this is impossible."
The lure of deals and the skepticism
Discount platforms have also tempted buyers. A made-to-measure suit for €299 at Suitailor (Argüelles, Madrid) through LetsBonus. The majority reaction: run. "I'd run like the plague from this kind of product on LetsBonus, Groupalia and the like," says one participant. Distrust of aggressive deals is high.
The underlying problem is that a made-to-measure suit has an irreducible cost: fabric, labor, fittings. When the price drops too low, someone is cutting corners. The question is who, and where.
Is it worth paying €500 for a suit?
The answer depends on use. For someone who wears a suit twice a year, no. For someone who wears it daily, drives, hauls boxes and drops the jacket on the floor, the math changes. A cheap suit that lasts a year costs more than a good one that lasts five.
The problem is that nobody has found the magic formula yet. Neighborhood tailors have the craft but not always the price. The internet has the price but not the craft. And the big chains have the price and only half the craft.
The discussion remains open. As one participant puts it: "Old-school tailors aren't as expensive as people think — the older the tailor looks, the better."
Key facts from the debate:
- Price of made-to-measure suits at Mangas (Madrid): €420-500
- Price of suits at Toni Barceló: €280 (4 years ago)
- Price of a made-to-measure suit at Suitailor (LetsBonus): €299
- Price of a home tailoring service in Madrid: €480
- Price of suits at Knack Men: €500-750
Also available in: Deutsch
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (29 replies).
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