It is the question I am asked most often, usually in the first five minutes of a first appointment. The honest answer is that both are good, and the right one depends on what you want the garment to do and how you like to buy.
Made to measure starts from a block, a proven pattern, which I adjust to your measurements and posture. You choose the cloth, the style and the details, and there are two fittings before the garment is finished. It takes seven to eight weeks, or four in selected English cloths, and a suit is £1,750. It suits a man who knows what he likes, wants a very good fit, and would rather not spend three afternoons at the tailor.
Bespoke starts with a blank sheet of paper. I draft a pattern for you alone, cut the cloth by hand, and the suit is built up through three fittings, with much of the work done by hand. It takes ten to fifteen weeks, or six to eight on the express service, and a suit is from £4,000. It is for the man who wants a garment shaped around him in every respect, who has a particular posture or build that a block will never quite answer, or who simply enjoys the process.
A few things are the same whichever you choose. I measure you myself and I am at every fitting. The cloth comes from the same English and Italian mills. And we are happy to give you time to understand what is involved and to reflect before you decide to go ahead.
If you are still unsure, come and see me at King’s Road, or I can come to you at home or at work across London, Kent and Sussex. An hour with a few cloths on the table usually settles it.