How much does a bespoke suit cost?

Go straight to the bottom if you want to skip to the figures on bespoke suit cost, but before that it might be helpful for you to get a bit of context.

The saying goes ‘you get what you pay for’ and we can apply this well known phrase to so many different areas, but when buying a bespoke, custom made suit – this statement is so very true!

If you look at what determines the value of any product or service, the price is derived from the cost of raw materials, labour, service provision etc.

When we speak about men’s clothing, and specifically custom made/bespoke suits, the range in pricing can be quite wide. A bespoke suit cost anywhere between £300 to over £10,000!

Here at Lloyd Hall Bespoke we want to clear the confusion regarding pricing, and inform as much as possible why costs can vary.

The main component of the suit is the fabric – this is where costs can vary dramatically. Pricing of basic raw materials can massively fluctuate year on year (cotton and wool being the most variable) and then considering the weight of cloth, finish to the fabric and of course the fabric brand – these all have an impact on your overall price.

The next component to look at is the labour costs. Lower skilled workforces will result in a cheaper overall price, but working with experienced and talented tailors will obviously result in a higher cost and quality.

Similar to a car purchase, makes, models and accessories, determine the overall price – this is the same with bespoke suit cost.

Typically there are four rungs to the ladder. Rung 1 is budget off the rack at a supermarket. Rung 2 would be off the rack at a better quality high street retailer like Marks and Spencer. Rung 3 would be a ready to wear designer brand and then at the top of the ladder occupying rung 4 would be a bespoke suit.

You should expect to pay more for a bespoke suit, than you would for anything on any of the lower rungs. If you attempt to buy a bespoke suit for rung 2 or 3 money, you will end up with something not as good as it could be for a bespoke suit, and probably not as good as it would have been had you purchased off the rack.

What’s the reason for this?

Well, in bespoke suiting there is a lot of service provision and even more labour, these make up two of the four costs, the third is materials and the fourth overheads. Overheads are what they are, and assuming the tailor doesn’t want to take a pay cut on the labour, that just leaves two areas the company can cut costs in order to provide a cheaper price… service and materials. These are the two areas most important to the customer but are always the areas companies can cut costs in order to compete on price.

The central message is, if you can’t afford bespoke, go for something lower down the ladder, at least you’ll get what you’re paying for.

I’ve heard countless horror stories from clients who tried to do it on the cheap previously and I give them all the same analogy…

When buying something you can see and which is already made price comparisons work. However, when purchasing something not already made such as a new build house or meal or even a bespoke suit shopping on price alone will always leave you disappointed because the vendor will look to fit the product they ultimately deliver to the price you paid.

A typical bespoke suit away from all of the prestige of certain parts of London would set you back around £1000 – £3000. The massive variant is owing to the cloth choice, whether or not you want more or less hand construction, what type of canvas you have, whether there are any premium elements to the suit such as linings or special buttonholes, and also how difficult or straightforward the job is. These are just some of the variables that can alter bespoke suit cost.

The Figures

Lets take the lower estimate and break it down. This will vary from business to business quite a bit and this isn’t a reflection of our own set up. However it isn’t a million miles away…

£163.33 is all that’s left, but it isn’t over yet. The company still has to pay the overheads which includes the cost of getting the client (marketing), the rent or mortgage on their building, the heating, electric, gas, internet, phone, business rates, window cleaner etc.

Once you’ve taken out the overheads you’re probably left with half of that figure again… £81.67 which is the company profit to reinvest. Now ask yourself the question, how can this be done for £300 and if so, what has to give and at what ultimate cost to you the consumer will that be!

If you’re interested in chatting to us about how we can help you please click here, but first you might want to have a read through our many 5 star reviews which can be found here!