Throughout the life of this blog, I will no doubt mention over and over the benefits of bespoke and why it is superior to factory-made, fast fashion garments. I talk a lot about posture and fit and how they relate. Achieving a proper fit is one cornerstone of why bespoke garments are superior. In this post, I will briefly discuss posture and why it is essential to establishing a good fit.
First, we should have a brief look at ready-to-wear (RTW). The vast majority of clothing bought is quite obviously RTW. It's intended to be quick, easy and accessible. RTW garments are made to standard measurements determined from large population samples. Generally speaking, most people fall within these average ranges. Men have fewer size ranges or deviations within the typical range than women. This is primarily due to a lack of curves and varied shapes in the male form. Broader size ranges for women can be much more challenging in the RTW market because of greater diversity in size and shape. Size and shape are two very different things. Two bodies may measure the same size but vary significantly in shape. Shape, instead, is the distribution of size.
RTW works wonderfully for those people who fit proportionately within standard size ranges. What RTW cannot accommodate is posture and stance. Every RTW garment is perfectly symmetrical and balanced based on these standardized measurements. Essentially they are made for the Vesuvius man or woman. If one wanted to start the debate on how the fashion industry promotes unrealistic body image standards, one could argue it begins right in the pattern drafting. Unfortunately, most people could be more perfectly symmetrical and balanced than they are. Instead, most of us have a lopsided disposition. The most common imbalance I encounter is a drop right shoulder, where the right shoulder is lower than the left. In our modern age, with almost everyone looking down at cell phones and devices, head forward and forward thrust shoulders are also very common. Head forward posture is often accompanied by forward hips and a slightly rounded back. In the case of jackets, the neck and shoulder position has enormous implications on balance and fit because the foundation of the entire garment rests upon the neck and shoulders.
I wouldn't recommend running off to the mirror to examine your posture. The reality is that practically everyone has something out of balance. There's no need to worry about it unless it's causing discomfort and pain in your life. Chances are you've lived happily thus far, not thinking or worrying about it, so why start now? Finding someone with a perfectly proportionate and balanced body is surprisingly rare. Since almost no one has this ideal body shape, what about made-to-measure (MTM)? Can that help achieve a better fit?
The answer to that is partly yes and mostly no. MTM is more often a game of smoke and mirrors. Now we enter the world of "custom" suits. Marketing strategies would give the impression of a superior garment. Still, the benefits one receives from the higher price tag are primarily superficial. The benefits of MTM over RTW are that one can choose cloth and style details and have some alterations done in the factory before being delivered to the store. There are, of course, certain situations where MTM may have real improvements over RTW. These are primarily for overweight figures or individuals who vary widely from standard-size ranges.
In most cases, the harsh reality is that MTM is no different than RTW garments, except that you can pick your cloth and various style details. As far as construction techniques and what's inside the garment, they are practically identical. Differences in construction techniques in MTM will vary as they do in RTW, depending on the brand and the manufacturer of the garments. MTM cannot adjust for your posture or balance, so you will still likely suffer from the same faults in fit as before. Moreover, the patterns used for MTM are the same as those used for RTW, except perhaps they've already shortened the sleeves or nipped in the waist at the factory. You might get a fancy label inside your coat that says, "Tailored exclusively for 'your name.'"
I'm so passionate about bespoke because what cannot be done in RTW or MTM can be done in bespoke. I will no doubt mention the importance of posture repeatedly and how it affects fit. Let us use my posture and stance to understand how this works a little better. I have a forward carriage of the head, slightly rounded back, forward thrust shoulders, drop right shoulder and hips forward. It may sound bad, but with all that said, I don't think I look like some deformed monster. If you were to stand straight with proper posture and then move your head and shoulders forward, you might find that moving forward causes a small round in the back which also lengthens your back and shortens your front. This forward movement of the head and shoulders causes a contraction of your chest and an expansion of your back across the blades. If I put on an RTW suit, the collar stands away at the back neck because my head forward position and round back require extra length in the back piece for the jacket to sit correctly at the base of my neck. As a result, the balance of the jacket will be off because the back of the coat is too short and the front too long. The opposite of this scenario is true for individuals who may stand overly erect, which elongates their front and shortens the back. I won't go any further into it at the risk of boring you into never rereading one of my posts. Hopefully, you get the idea.
Applying these irregularities in posture and stance to a garment produces asymmetrical results. It puts it out of balance from the "standard position." Interestingly bespoke clothes may have a different hanger appeal than RTW garments. This is due to the lopsided nature of tailored garments and the bodies for which they are made. The truth is that most of the garments I make are indeed lopsided. However, the garments are balanced to match the client's posture. The beauty behind it all is that this lopsidedness is imperceptible with a correctly fitted garment. This is part of what makes bespoke so very personal. The clothes are made for you and you alone.
- Allan David