Occasionally I will receive emails from online custom suit companies asking for “partnerships” with our storefront. It sounds exciting at first. A well-known company that wants to engrave with our small business to promote sartorial goodness throughout the world! After a few sentences in, however, it’s evident it’s not a partnership they want. They want you to do the work.

There’s a reason you see online custom suit companies like Indochino set up shop inside Nordstroms across the country. A few measurements and a template program don’t quite cut it from a custom standpoint. They recognized the need for fitters and tailors to alter garments that will almost always need adjusting post-delivery.Anyway, back to the email. In this well-worded email, the gentleman seeks to offer us “profitable synergies” and “new possibilities of collaboration.”

What Does This Collaboration Consist of?
1) Alterations to their imperfect garments
2) Delivery using our store as a pick up point .
3) Measurements for the client to use on subsequent purchases with their company.

What is Collaboration?
Not only do we lose money with this collaboration, we use some of our most valued skill sets in order to make another company succeed. At the same time, we encourage people to continue using online custom suit companies rather than going through the proper stages of custom.

Wait, I thought you were an online custom suit company? But you want me to take measurements, fit, alter, press, and deliver your garment? Okay, so let’s clarify this. You want us to do all of the complexities associated with delivering a properly fitted custom suit and then you take all the credit. Got it.

There’s a reason companies like Indochino have opted to put pop ups within department stores. AI still hasn’t mastered the art of online custom suitings.

If you plug in six measurements and select between classic modern and slim fit you didn’t make a custom suit. Essentially, you worked within the company’s template based system to pre alter an existing suit to you. That may work well for your needs, but it isn’t a custom suit.

Our industry has unfortunately denigrated bespoke and custom made suitings and clothing in general by using luxury verbiage to describe products that are quite different.

What makes a suit a custom suit then? Stop by Manno and we’ll show you.