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7 Distinctions Between Made to Measure & Bespoke Suits

MTM vs Bespoke Suits

7 Distinctions Between Made To Measure & Bespoke Suits

MTM vs Bespoke Suits

What's the difference between Made to Measure (MTM) and Bespoke?

With the resurgence in popularity of menswear in recent years, partly due to a combination of popular TV shows such as Mad Men and Suits,  innovative online menswear companies and social media influencers, men have never had so many options when it comes to their dress clothing.

Unfortunately, the words made to measure, custom and bespoke get used too ambiguously by large brands and crafty marketing campaigns it leads many men astray. These types of large menswear brands are best known for ready to wear (RTW) or off the rack suits, meaning they are mass produced. This article isn’t about ready to wear or off the rack suits, rather I just wanted to point out another distinction of true custom, made to measure and bespoke suits.

The true differences between made to measure (MTM) and bespoke come down to 7 key distinctions. Of these distinguishing points above all is quality and price. The quality of any men’s garments is heavily influenced by its material, style, and how it is crafted to fit the wearer. So let’s take a look at these 7 key distinctions.

1. Pattern Making

Made to Measure Suits: Your unique measurements are used to create a custom pattern within a computer aided design (CAD) program. This pattern is modified to produce a suit fit and style that you selected. Then this pattern is cut from your selected fabric and is ready for the next phase of suit construction.

Note: Not all made to measure (MTM) suits are created equally. Some MTM companies actually take your measurements and will adjust the closest fitting size to fit you. For example, if you normally wear a 44R they might tailor a 44R jacket to your measurements. You should avoid those types of MTM outfits. One way you can tell is by how many measurements they require. If they only run with 5-7 measurements … that’s not a good sign. For comparison, we need 18 measurements!

Bespoke Suits: A custom pattern is created from your unique measurements and body shape. This pattern is hand made and requires more measurements and notes than a made to measure suit. For example, the curvature of your back, slope of your shoulders, if one shoulder is lower than the other, this all gets taken into account here. The pattern is hand drawn and cut.

Note: Not all bespoke tailors go into the same depth of detail when creating a bespoke garment. Definitely do your research ahead of time. Being burned on a $400 MTM suit is easier to swallow than a $5,000 bespoke suit.

2. Fittings

Bespoke tailor fitting

Made to Measure Suits: Traditional brick and mortar made to measure outfits might have one initial fitting and set of measurements. Then a final fitting to see if you require alterations.

Online MTM companies don’t do fittings. We only require your measurements and body shape profile to craft the perfect suit for you.

Bespoke Suits: A bespoke fit requires multiple fittings while the garment is being made. Depending on your tailor and their level of detail you could require as few as 2 or as many as 5+ fittings. This is where bespoke has a leg up on made to measure, but is it worth the hefty premium? Only you can decide.

These generally start out with a baste fitting which is a very early stage of garment creation. Possibly a forward baste fitting. Then a Fin bar Fin fitting, basically the final fitting. Each fitting a revision of the previous getting closer to a more perfect fitting garment.

3. Fabric Selection

Made to Measure Suits: Most MTM tailors feature a hand picked selection of fabrics from 1-2 fabric mills. A mill refers to the textile factory / mill where the fabrics are created. Some more, some less. It really just depends on the MTM company you’re dealing with. This doesn’t matter a whole lot, except to offer a wide selection of fabrics and to offer multiple price and quality points.

Bespoke Suits: Bespoke tailors typically offer a large selection from 5-10+ different fabric mills. This is because bespoke is a more unique and custom experience that is catered to each individual customer. This comes at a hefty price though, more on this in point 7.

4. Design / Customization Options

Made to Measure Suits: A list of customizations / options that you can select or adjust for your suit build. Some MTM tailors offer more customization, some a lot less. We allow many customization that include: the type of jacket construction (fused, half canvas or full canvas), suit style/fit (slim, classic or loose), lapel type (notch or peak), pick stitching, pocket style (normal or slanted with optional ticket pocket), # of jacket buttons (single or double breasted), type of buttons used (plastic, horn or shell), # of jacket vents (none, 1 or 2),  sleeve button functionality, pant pleats (flat/none, 1 or 2), pant cuffs, and jacket liners.

Keep in mind that not all MTM tailors will offer this much customization. We believe in making this experience as custom as possible and offer you as much customization as possible.

Bespoke Suits: There is no defined list of what you can or can’t do. A true bespoke tailor will hand craft your bespoke suit. Customization is limitless, only your imagination can hinder you here. If you can think of it your tailor should be able to do it. Remember, just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. The more crazy your customizations, the more it’s going to cost you.

5. Facetime with Tailor

Made to Measure Suits: Minimal or none. At a brick and mortar store you may talk with a salesmen who will take your measurements. For online outfits (like us) you will need to take your own measurements following our easy measuring guide or go to your local tailor to have your measurements taken. 

Bespoke Suits: If it’s a true bespoke operation you should be meeting and talking directly with the tailor constructing your garment. Some bespoke outfits skip this step and relay information to a tailor. The tailor is the one crafting your garment, so you should really try to figure out if you’re talking with the tailor. If not, you should find another bespoke operation where you can meet with the actual tailor. We don’t see the point in paying extra for bespoke if the tailor isn’t actually present to ensure the greatest fit possible.

6. Time Commitment

Made to Measure Suits: It takes approximately 10 minutes to measure yourself. Then as much time as you take to decide on your suit customization options. After placing your order it takes on average 3-4 weeks to receive your custom suit.

  • 10-15+ minutes for initial order placement
  • 3-4 weeks for delivery

Bespoke Suits: This is where bespoke and MTM differ a lot. Your bespoke tailor will measure you the first time for a set of base measurements, this takes approximately 10-30 minutes. Then you’ll talk with your tailor about your needs and what options you want, another 30 minutes to an hour later to place your order. You’ll need to schedule an appointment for a baste fitting approximately 2-4 weeks after your initial order was placed. Another appointment for a forward baste fitting, 2-3 more weeks out. Then a final fitting 1-2 weeks out. Some bespoke outfits involve more fittings, some less. In total it’s a large time commitment to meet with your tailor multiple times during its construction. From start to finish a bespoke suit takes on average 4-8+ weeks for delivery.

  • 30-90+ minutes for initial order placement
  • Multiple fittings / adjustments
  • 4-8+ weeks for delivery

7. Price / Investment

A quality suit is an investment in yourself. You wear it to look professional, handsome and elegant. With advancements in technology you don’t have to spend a fortune for a quality suit. Many $500 MTM suits have a superb fit and high quality fabric that competes or outperforms a $2,000 bespoke suit.

Made to Measure Suits: MTM can be found for as little as $200, and as high as $1,000+. Quality varies wildly among MTM outfits as the internet has provided startups an easy route to market. Things to look for in a quality MTM outfit include: a large number of measurements (15+), large selection of fabrics, more customization options, and a price point that reflects this. For example, the $200 MTM suit is probably a gimmick where they’re altering existing garments to your measurements. We’ve found the sweet spot for quality and price is in the $350-700 range.

  • $200 to $1,000+ (varies wildly in price/quality)
  • Best quality/price point is $350-700

Bespoke Suits: Also varies wildly in price from as low as $1,500+ to as much as $10,000+. At the lower end of the spectrum you’ll receive less attention to detail and lower quality fabrics. On the contrary, anything over $5,000 is for brand name or reputation and crazy customization. The sweet spot for bespoke is in the $2,000-5,000 range.

  • $1,500 to $10,000+ (varies wildly in price and quality)
  • Best quality/price point is $2,000 to $5,000

Conclusion - Getting the Perfect Fit

Nothing is created equally. At the end of the day it’s our own responsibility to make sure we receive a perfect fit by doing our homework and due diligence before buying clothing.

In my personal opinion, made to measure is the best value for your money if you can wait 3-4 weeks for a suit. If you need a suit next week you’re stuck with an off the rack or ready to wear suit. Off the rack suits that cost more than $500 are a rip off, you’re better off purchasing a MTM garment. Any MTM garment over $1,000 is also a rip off, you’re almost in bespoke territory.

I hope these 7 distinctions between made to measure and bespoke were helpful to you. Again, as men it’s on us to be educated and responsible for how our clothing fits. I want to educate you first and foremost. I got into this business to stop my fraternity brothers from being ripped off by the Name Brand suit companies using misleading flashy jargon some marketing director came up with.

To wrap this up, here’s a quick summary of MTM and bespoke.

Made To Measure Suits
  • Made to your body measurements.
  • Customization options such as buttons, liners, etc…
  • Great fit – better than mass produced off-the-rack suits.
  • From $200-1,000+.
  • Delivery in 3-4 weeks.
Bespoke Suits
  • More precise custom fit suit. Several follow up fit adjustments while the garment is being constructed.
  • More customization, get your initials hand sewn in your cuffs.
  • From $1,500 to $10,000+
  • Delivery in 4-8 weeks.

While our name Fraternity Suits implies that we cater to fraternity men, we cater our custom menswear to all men. When you get measured, select all the different customization options that make your suit unique, and wear your custom suit for the first time you are really joining an elite group of men – welcome to our fraternity, Fraternity Suits.

Join the menswear revolution. Become a Fraternity Suits customer today!
Buy Suits Online

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How Menswear Should Fit – Importance of Properly Fitted Dress Clothes

What a properly fitted suit looks like

How Menswear Should Fit

The Importance of a Proper Fit in Menswear

What a properly fitted suit looks like
How a suit should properly fit a man. This is our Charcoal Melange suit.

Think back to the last time you wore a suit or tuxedo all day. 

How did you feel?

Were you comfortable?

Or were you saying this?

“I can’t wait to get home so I can get out of this suit and tie!” 

We’ve all been there. We know exactly how it feels to be constricted by a poorly fitted suit, shirt and tie. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we also know how much better it feels to wear a properly fitted suit, shirt and tie. A custom made to measure suit is incredibly more comfortable than anything off-the-rack, ready to wear (RTW) or poorly fitting. When we wear our made to measure suits we aren’t necessarily itching to get out of it the second we get home. 

Men's dress clothing should always be comfortable!

When I was being fitted for my first suit at a very specific local men’s wear (think warehouse) store I was told about how a suit should fit. They explained that a suit is meant to look good first and fit comes second. Apparently it’s normal to feel restricted when wearing a suit, you aren’t supposed to lift your arms higher than your chest or be able to cross your arms comfortably. I remember being okay with this because I was naive and didn’t know what I know today. Unfortunately, I was sold into a poorly fitting suit that was very restrictive and uncomfortable. 

Menswear, dress clothes, suits, tuxedos you name it, should all be comfortable! There is no reason to settle on fit in 2018 when technology allows you to order a made to measure suit for less than most off-the-rack suits. You will be able to lift your arms and feel less restricted than a mass produced, pile of sh**, suit.

First of all, all clothing should be comfortable. If they are not, it’s not the clothes that are bad it’s just a bad fit. For example, the fitting at a retail store is very simple and only involves 2 measurements, your chest and waist size. That alone should be alarming when there’s more than 2 measurements that go into creating these types of garments. What this should tell you is that these off-the-rack garments are mass produced for average people. They don’t fit anyone well. Most people require tailoring and alteration services immediately after purchasing a brand new off-the-rack suit – I know I did, and it ran me another $60!

You don’t have to suffer in uncomfortable dress clothing just to look good. If you’re not comfortable you won’t look your best, period. When your clothing fits correctly and you are comfortable you will forget you’re dressed up.

How a dress shirt should fit

How a Dress Shirt Should Properly Fit

If your dress shirt is too tight you will feel restricted, your movement confined and you will feel like you’re being pulled and chocked with every movement. Conversely, a dress shirt that is too loose will look like you never bought new clothes after losing 100 lbs, you’ll be drowning in extra fabric. Both extremes don’t look good. Right in the middle between too tight and too loose is the perfect fit where you will look and feel your best.

The most important aspects to look at in a dress shirt are the chest, shoulder and neck areas. First make sure that you’re wearing the correct size and then try on other shirts that fit better based on your chest, shoulder and neck. Pro tip, you should be able to button the top button on the collar of the dress shirt and easily slip two fingers into the collar area. Refer to the picture above for what a proper fitting dress shirt should look like. It shouldn’t be tight or loose.

How a suit jacket should fit

How a Suit Should Properly Fit

Fun Fact: A suit is called a suit because both the jacket and the trousers (pants) are made from the same roll of fabric. The word suit originates from the French suite, which means “following” also derived from Latin meaning “I follow”. This is because the garments all “follow” each other, overlapping and are made from the exact same fabric to be of the exact same color, shade, pattern, etc… Matching a jacket and pants that are made from different rolls of fabric that look similar would NOT qualify it as being a suit.

In general, a suit should always be comfortable to wear. Depending on the style of suit you choose to wear your comfort level can vary. Slim fit suits naturally hug the body and have considerably less room to move around in, but they provide a very styled look. On the opposite end of the spectrum are loose fit suits, they have plenty of room and provide tons of comfort at the expense of looking sleek and stylish, but you will still look professional and dressed up. Right in the middle is the perfect compromise that we call a classic fit. Classic fit suits feature characteristics from both slim fit and loose fit suit styles. Classic fit suits look good and provide ample comfort to the majority of people.

You will look your best in a properly fitted suit. Our made to measure garments are hand made using over 18 different measurements and body types to provide you the perfect fit. The fit of a suit depends on a few key points. The most important of them being your chest size, shoulder length, pant waist and pant length. Taking these measurements at the part of your body where you desire to wear them. For instance, some people prefer to wear their pants higher than others around their stomach, and measure from this point. Conversely, some people prefer to wear their pants at a lower level around their hips underneath the belly button, and they should measure from this point.

Proper fit in menswear

Knowing how you intend to wear your suit we can go over some basic fit characteristics. 

Jackets should be comfortable, not loose or tight.

The shoulder pads of the jacket should end where your natural shoulder ends, if they overhand your shoulders they will crease and appear noticeably too large. Conversely, too small of shoulders will end early and your arms will feel very tight and restrained in the jacket. 

The lapels should lie flat against your chest down to the first jacket button while your jacket is buttoned and arms resting at your sides. If they are bending, folding, or being pulled in unnatural directions your jacket may be too small.

The buttons on the front of your jacket should be easy to button. While buttoned, the jacket should remain flat and draping over your body. If you see an “X” forming in your stomach area from the button your jacket is too tight and small for you. You should be able to fit your hand into your jacket while it is flat against your body for the perfect fit. If your whole fist fits then your jacket is too big.

With your arms at your side your knuckles should be even with the bottom of your jacket. If the jacket is longer it is too big, and if it is shorter it’s too small.

The arm sleeves of your jacket should rest at the base of where your thumb and wrist meet. This is more of a general rule of thumb (ha, see what I did there?) You can always go a tad shorter, it’s personal preference how much shirt cuff you want to show off.

Pro tip: If you have a two button suit, you only button the top button. If you have a single button suit you can button the single button. If you have a 3 button suit you can choose to button just the middle or the top and the middle, but never the bottom. This is the style modern suits have adopted to over the centuries and are crafted with this in mind even though you can physically button the bottom one. If you choose to button the bottom button the flow of the jacket will be off. The story as to how this started goes something like this. A King ate too much food and had to unbutton the bottom button because he needed more room in his jacket. Overtime his people noticed this and started doing the same.

Trousers / Pants should fit perfectly without a belt.

The waistline of your trousers should be the natural level where you intend to wear your pants at. This is your waist size and your pants should be able to be worn without a belt. The belt is an accessory in proper fitting menswear, not for holding your pants up.

The length of your pants depends on you wearing them at the proper waistline height. Your pants should rest just above the floor while you’re not wearing shoes and standing straight. When you are wearing shoes the pants should just barely touch your shoes but never extend beyond your shoes to touch the floor.

Your Clothing Choices Speak For You

Subconsciously our minds notice things all around us. Noticing what people wear gives us a picture of what to think about that person. For instance, you walk into a meeting with a prospective client and before you shake hands or say anything you’ve both already sized each other up and made subconscious decisions about one another. Good or bad we all do it, and how you appear plays a large part in how you’ll be perceived. If you wear good fitting clothing then you’ll look look great while making a good first impression.

The problem is that most men today wear ill-fitted clothing on a regular basis. It’s no surprise when all stores sell clothing designed and built for the masses. The clothing in America is designed to fit as many people as possible, remember obesity rates are at an all time high so clothing sizes are trending larger too!

So what are you supposed to do when retailers are making clothes that don’t fit anyone well?

You have two choices. Try on a lot of clothes and spend hours trying to find the right fit and learn how different brands fit and feel. You could also just save yourself time and hassle by going direct to the made to measure clothing segment. We aren’t the first and we won’t be the last custom menswear company to offer affordable custom clothing. However, we believe that we offer the best price and quality out there.

The made to measure suit experience is relatively new to most people. It’s different than bespoke, but many people consider them to be one in the same and they are not. The largest difference is price and then fit. In our opinion the 10x or more increase in price is not worth the slightly better fit.

Made To Measure Suits
  • Made to your body measurements.
  • Customization options such as buttons, liners, etc…
  • Great fit – better than mass produced off-the-rack suits.
  • From $350-1000.
Bespoke Suits
  • More precise custom fit suit. Several follow up fit adjustments while the garment is being constructed.
  • More customization, get your initials hand sewn in your cuffs.
  • From low $2,000s up to $10,000!!!

It really is a night and day difference between ready to wear or off-the-rack garments and custom made ones. Sure, there may be an off the rack suit out there that fits somewhat perfectly, but your odds of finding that needle in a haystack is slim. That’s just one suit too. Try building an entire wardrobe of excellent fitting suits. You will spend so many hours searching the racks of your local stores for the perfect fit. 

Fortunately for you, custom made clothing is very affordable now. In fact, it can even be more affordable than most name brands. When you don’t require alterations because your garments are made to your body measurements you end up saving more money in the long run. Not to mention that a custom made suit feels magnificent to wear, especially knowing it was tailored just for you. 

Wearing something that fits right will give you the confidence to go out and win the day. 

Are you ready to win? Think of Fraternity Suits the next time you need a suit or tuxedo. Our custom made menswear will fit better, be of higher quality and cost less than the traditional off-the-rack suit.

While our name Fraternity Suits implies that we cater to fraternity men, we cater our custom menswear to all men. When you get measured, select all the different customization options that make your suit unique, and wear your custom suit for the first time you are really joining an elite group of men – welcome to our fraternity, Fraternity Suits.

Join the menswear revolution. Become a Fraternity Suits customer today!
Buy Suits Online
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Suit Quality – Fused vs. Half Canvas vs. Full Canvas Construction

Fully Canvassed Suit

Suit Quality - Fused vs. Half Canvas vs. Full Canvas Construction

Fully Canvassed Suit

Fused, Half Canvas or Full Canvas Suit construction? Learn the pros and cons of each as they pertain to making the perfect high quality suit for you.

The perfect suit for you is different than the perfect suit for me. That’s why we offer so many different options when it comes to building your suit exactly the way you want. Among these options are fused, half and full canvas construction. The construction of a suit plays a large role in its quality, how it looks, how long it’s going to last and how it will age with time.

Most of the Name Brands and Large Retailers don’t focus on the construction of their suits. They don’t spend time marketing a high quality build or explaining the construction of their suits to their customers because they are using the absolute cheapest methods of construction, rather they focus on selling you a Brand.

Big Name Brand Suit Companies aren’t fooling you, that’s why you’re here to actually learn about the best suit construction for your money. So let’s jump straight into explaining the pros and cons of each and why one type of construction is better than another. 

You may be wondering why the first infographic is of a fully canvassed suit. We’ll get to that in just a moment. We’re going to start off with the type of construction that everyone should be familiar with, fused or glued construction.

Fused Suit Jacket

Fused Suit Construction (also referred to as Glued Construction)

If you own an off-the-rack suit or are familiar with the discount superstore suit specials then you should be familiar with these types of suits. These are the cheapest suits available and for good reason, they are literally held together with glue. Yeah, they’re cheap, but that doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with owning or wearing a fused suit. A fused suit means that the outside fabric layer is fused (glued) to the inside lining and other construction pieces. The fusing is what provides the jacket its shape. Fused suits however, don’t conform well to the wearer like canvassed suits. The suit may look nice, really nice even, but it won’t feel or drape over your body the same as a high quality canvassed suit would.

So why would anyone buy a fused suit? If you need a suit on a tight budget this is exactly why you would buy a fused suit. Fused suits were created to fill two needs of the market: mass production and low price per unit. Fused suits require less materials, are easy to assemble and therefore cost less to produce. With anything in life there are gives and takes, this lower priced product comes with one disadvantage-quality. Fused suits don’t feel or look as good as a canvassed suit on the same person. If you built the same suit with the same fabric, lining, buttons etc… with the only difference being fused and canvassed, the canvassed suit is noticeably of better quality in fit and feel to the wearer as well as appearance to others. This is because fused suits maintain their shape very well from when they were made, they don’t conform to the wearer.

Other disadvantages to fused suits make themselves known with time. Over time glue is more susceptible to failure than stitching. Ever seen someone wearing a suit that looked like it had air bubbles in it? This is because they were wearing a fused suit that has delaminated in areas. Dry cleaning a fused suit can also cause delamination. Fused suits weren’t designed to last a long time.

Pros:

  • Inexpensive when compared to canvassed suit jackets.
  • Can have a whole wardrobe of fused suits for the price of one fully canvassed suit.

Cons:

  • Look stiff – they don’t conform to your body like canvassed suit jackets.
  • Risk of delamination or bubbling in the chest/lapels of your jacket.

So if you’re tight on cash and can accept the downfalls of a fused suit then go ahead and buy one – I own a few and they’ve performed very well for the purposes I bought them for. If you wear a suit less than 10 times a year go ahead and save money with a fused suit.

This infographic shows the layers of a half canvas suit and how it is constructed. This layer by layer breakdown provides a great visual for how a suit jacket is built.

Half Canvas Suit Construction (Best of Both Worlds, A Good Compromise)

A half canvassed suit features elements of both a fused and fully canvassed suit – The Best of Both Worlds. In terms of price and quality this is the best bargain you’ll find when it comes to suits, a compromise we can get behind. A half canvassed suit jacket has a thin layer of fusing on the front of the jacket and a layer of canvassing from the shoulder down through the chest. The thin layer of fusing provides just enough structure to look good and hold the suit together. While the canvas layer provides all the quality in feel and appearance unique to canvassed suit jackets. 

This means that you’re getting the quality of a canvassed suit at a price point between fused and fully canvassed. The canvassing provides a more natural drape and shape on your body where it counts the most-the chest and lapel. The fusing is thinner so it is less stiff and provides a good cost savings. If you want the best bang for your dollar, a half canvassed suit is the way to go.

Pros:

  • Better drape and shape in the chest and lapel compared to a fused suit.
  • Less expensive than a fully canvassed suit.

Cons:

  • More expensive than a fused suit.
  • Slightly more stiff than a full canvas suit.
Full Canvassed Suit Jacket
Full Canvas Suit Construction (Crème De La Crème of Suits)

The Best. The crème de la crème of suits. There is no better way to put it, fully canvassed suits are the best of the best. Every custom menswear line likes to toss this fully canvassed term around. A properly hand constructed full-canvassed suit jacket means business, you will be hard pressed to find a better quality suit jacket.

Our full-canvassed suit jackets are hand constructed with canvas fabric that spans the entire inside of the front panel and lapels of the jacket. The canvas acts as the middle layer, the structural layer of the jacket and is sewn in loosely so that it can float freely inside the jacket while you wear it. This results in a high quality suit jacket that drapes over your body shape naturally, adjusting and conforming to your every move. Full-canvassed suits continue to conform to your body every time you wear it and continue to look better each time you wear it. 

Full-canvassed suit jackets are the most expensive because they require the most labor and time from a highly skilled tailor to create. In return for the higher price, you’ll get a world-class suit that molds to you and will last a very long time if you take care of it.

Pros:

  • Conforms to your body and continues to fit better with time.
  • The best jacket structure and body drape available in a suit.
  • No delamination or bubbling issues – ever!

Cons: 

  • Generally the most expensive suit you can buy, but damn it’s worth feeling and looking your best.

You should now understand a little about each type of suit construction, how they differ in material, quality, and price. Armed with this basic knowledge you’ll be ready the next time you need to purchase a new suit.

How Can I Tell if my Suit is Fused, Half or Full Canvas?

We’re glad you asked! First you need to be ready to destroy your suit, are you? Okay, we’ll wait a minute while you go get the scissors… Perfect, you’ve got them! Lift up your jacket so that you can see the inside lining of the front of the jacket. With the scissors in your dominant hand make a small cut at the bottom of the front inside of the jacket and cut to the top of the jacket on the inside trying to keep your cut as clean as possible, don’t cut through to the outside of the front of the jacket. Now you can peek inside and to see if you can find the canvas material layer. Did you find it? Oh well, now you can sew or throw out the jacket you just ruined. PLEASE for the sake of God do not destroy a perfectly good suit just to see if your jacket is canvassed or not – does it really matter that much to you?

There’s no way to know for certain if your jacket is canvassed without cutting it open. However, there is one method called the “pinch test”, but it is in no way definitive or accurate. Pinch your jacket between the button holes with a finger on each side and try to feel for a layer in the middle. If you can feel a distinct third layer “floating” in the middle then your jacket may be canvassed. Even if you don’t feel it you could have a half-canvassed jacket where the canvas material was cut shorter. It really all just depends on how your jacket was made. And then there’s different thickness canvassing materials, thinner canvas can be hard to feel. With all of this we hope that you realize it doesn’t really matter if your current suit jackets are canvassed or not. Wear and enjoy them for what they are. If you want a half-canvas or full-canvas suit then you can always order from us knowing that what you’re receiving is genuine.

So before you buy your next suit, think about these three suit construction options. Remember to ask your menswear store or tailor what the construction is. If they don’t know, can’t tell you, or seem like they’re trying to hide something from you, they shouldn’t be in this business.

How Are Your Made to Measure Custom Suits Constructed?

With the highest attention to detail and quality in mind. All of our men’s garments are custom made to your exact body and order specifications. We offer all three levels of suit construction types so that you can choose what fits your budget and level of quality the best. We hand craft fused, half-canvas and full-canvas custom made to measure suits. With years of testing and honing our quality custom menswear we know you’ll love us – so think of us the next time you need a suit or tuxedo.

How Are Your Fused, Half Canvas and Full Canvas Suits So Inexpensive Compared to Brand Name Ones?

We’re able to provide a higher quality product at a lower price than our traditional retail store competitors because we have very little overhead. We don’t have a storefront or traditional inventory to maintain since every garment is hand made on a per order basis. This allows us to focus solely on the production and quality of each and every garment we make. It’s time you ditched the retail stores and saved up to 70%!

While our name Fraternity Suits implies that we cater to fraternity men, we cater our custom menswear to all men. When you get measured, select all the different customization options that make your suit unique, and wear your custom suit for the first time you are really joining an elite group of men – welcome to our fraternity, Fraternity Suits.

Join the menswear revolution. Become a Fraternity Suits customer today!
Buy Suits Online
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Fraternity Suits Business Launch at Acacia Fraternity’s 60th Biennial Conclave in New Orleans

Acacia Fraternity Conclave - Fraternity Suits Made To Measure Business Launch

Fraternity Suits Launch at Acacia Fraternity’s 60th Biennial Conclave in New Orleans

Acacia Fraternity Conclave - Fraternity Suits Made To Measure Business Launch
Fraternity Suits business launched at Acacia Fraternity’s 60th Biennial Conclave in New Orleans. Pictured from left to right are brothers Kodjo Awadjie (WSU Chapter), Joseph Welsbacher (ASU Chapter), Graham Pedregosa (Carleton Chapter), Samuel and Jacob Strayer (ASU Chapter).

We’re Live BABY! Today is Tuesday, August 7th, 2018 and marks 2 days since we’ve been back from New Orleans. It also marks 1 week that our website has been live and fully functional!

The Fraternity Suits team traveled to New Orleans, LA, last Tuesday to visit our beloved fraternity’s 60th biennial conclave. The conclave is a meeting every 2 years where our fraternity’s members from all over the US & Canada congregate in a cool new city. So, there really was no better place than New Orleans to launch our company, we got to pitch all of our fraternity brothers!

The week was filled with meetings, measuring brothers, taking donations for our fraternity’s non-profit side, and hitting Bourbon street in the evenings. This was perhaps the most fun filled business week one could have. I’ve only been on maybe 3 or 4 business trips in my life, yet I have a feeling normal business trips will never measure up to this.

Anyways… we launched! We can take orders online for custom made to measure suits and we believe every man deserves to own at least one custom suit! We know you’ll love the fit, finish and feel just as much as we did the very first time we wore our custom made to measure suit. To make your first step into a custom suit a little easier, here’s a discount code valid on all suits and tuxedos. Valid for a limited time only, so hurry before the code expires!

Take 20% off with code "launch"

Order today before it expires! Valid only on suits and tuxedos. Cannot be combined with other promos.

While our name Fraternity Suits implies that we cater to fraternity men, we cater our custom menswear to all men. When you get measured, select all the different customization options that make your suit unique, and wear your custom suit for the first time you are really joining an elite group of men – welcome to our fraternity, Fraternity Suits.

Join the menswear revolution. Become a Fraternity Suits customer today!

Buy Suits Online
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Custom Made To Measure Suit Company – Fraternity Suits Launching Summer 2018

Custom Made Suits

Made To Measure Custom Suits From Brothers at Arizona State University

Custom Made Suits

Fraternity Suits is the creation of Jacob and Samuel Strayer — their attempt to bring affordable custom suits to the masses. First conceptualized over 2 years ago on one of Jacob’s trips to Asia, the brothers are finally ready to launch their business in time for fall semester 2018!

Jacob is a senior, studying Chemical Engineering at ASU, with a minor in Chinese. His Chinese minor has allowed him to travel to China every year for the past 4 years without the language barrier that deters most. These trips often included sightseeing, trying new foods, and having custom clothing made for him at the fabric markets. His trips to the fabric markets is where the idea to bring the same experience back home originated. Jacob’s mandarin skills are the reason these brothers have a great manufacturing partner that can deliver the same and better quality suits and tuxedos than department stores and men’s retail suit stores, but at a fraction of the price.

Samuel is a graduate of ASU with a B.S. in Biochemistry. He’s worked in the family’s other businesses (Slide-Lok Garage Interiors and Mirabel Coatings) for over 8 years now and is self taught in photography, graphic design and web design. Ironically, on one of Jacob’s first trips to China, Samuel was quick to make fun of Jacob for getting custom suits made, but Samuel quickly changed his mind when Jacob came home wearing a custom charcoal tuxedo for a price that made Samuel realize the two could sell first class quality Tuxedo’s at a price that made renting a Tux a forgone conclusion. That’s when he knew there was a business here and he and Jacob began planning the launch of their haberdashery business.

For the last 2 years the idea of bringing custom made suits to the masses has mostly been on a trial basis with friends and family. The brothers have ordered and delivered over 50 different combinations of suits and tuxedos in the last 2 years to friends and family. Customers have all had good things to say about the custom made suits and have been impressed that the suits are of such a high quality and the cost is so low – much better than any equivalent department store suit and so-called Men’s suit retail outlets. They’ve tested the manufacturer at every turn and believe their supply chain is ready to handle the market.

You’ll be able purchase a suit or tuxedo later this summer — August 1st, 2018 is the official launch date. Keep your tape measure close, the Strayer brothers are ready to help you get into a custom made suit or tuxedo.

Join the menswear revolution. Become a Fraternity Suits customer today!

Buy Suits Online