Bespoke tailoring

The word bespoke derives from the verb bespeak, to speak for something, in the specialised meaning of "to give order for it to be made.

"[1] Fashion terminology reserves bespoke for individually patterned and crafted men's clothing, analogous to women's haute couture,[2] as opposed to mass-manufactured ready-to-wear (off-the-peg or off-the-rack).

[5] The Savile Row Bespoke Association, a trade group of traditional tailors, disagrees,[n 3][6] but it has taken no formal step to challenge ASA's ruling.

A grey area has existed between the extremes of bespoke and ready-to-wear since the end of the 19th century[n 4] in which a tailor measures the customer, but the garment is then made to the closest standard size, sometimes in a factory.

[citation needed] In addition, new technologies have allowed for bespoke garments to be made with lean manufacturing practices and digital patterning, making new patterns within minutes and fully bespoke garments in hours, at a price point similar to made to measure or even mass production.

The ruling was significant in formalising a less traditional definition of bespoke clothing, even though the older distinction with made-to-measure was recognised.