This isn't the end of my break. But I saw something that I feel I need to write about. I know this probably won't appeal to a lot of people out there, but it's something I feel strongly about. So here it is.
The Savile Row bespoke suit is an institute in tailoring. Forget designer labels, the Savile Row bespoke suit is the absolute height of mens clothing. A suit from here will go for £3000 and up. It takes 50 man-hours of skilled craftwork to create one of these suits. As well as being the best possible looking suit available, it is also the best quality suit available. It is a case where you most definitely get what you pay for.
Savile Row is a shopping street in Central London's Mayfair. A Savile Row bespoke suit is traditionally made entirely in Savile Row and a some of the surrounding streets. But there are now firms entering Savile Row, and not only illegitimately calling their suits Savile Row bespoke suits, but also selling them for a great deal cheaper.
Now, you may be asking how they can illegitimately call their suit Savile Row bespoke, when they are located in Savile Row? (I would like to point out here I'm using the usage of illegitimate as 'not in accordance with accepted standards', rather than it being illegal.) The suits these firms are selling are being made mostly outside of Savile Row. They are not truly bespoke, but are rather made-to-measure.
Made-to-measure is where a store will take a customer's measurements. A base pattern which is closest to the customers measurements will be chosen, then altered to match them. A made-to-measure garment will be partially machine and partially hand sewn.
A true bespoke garment, however, will be sewn entirely by hand, and will be made from a pattern created from scratch based on a customers measurements. A bespoke garment will be entirely unique, and entirely customised to the customer. It also involves fittings during the construction of the garment, to ensure a correct fit.
The problem with these new firms calling their suits 'Savile Row bespoke', is that they draw upon the esteem of a true Savile Row bespoke suit, without being one. It is comparable to a white sparkling wine being called champagne when it does not come from the Champagne region of France. They also cause potential customers to question why they should buy the £3000 suit when they can get an also bespoke suit for a fraction of that price.
To me, this is unfair business practice and unfair competition by means of misrepresentation.
Okay, thanks for putting up with my little rant. Oh, and the song title is my favourite from Imogen Heap's latest album Ellipse.
Laters,
Joshua.
5 comments:
Bastards!
Oh and one of my dreams in life is to be on Seville Row making Bespoke suits, never will happen but I can dream.
I can't even sew... haha
Cheddar cheese and Melton Mowbray port pies have been there before, although I doubt if the law would protect an individual business, but rather the whole shooting match which is Savile Row.
Other then very careful scrutiny by the original company's lawyers of all advertising and representations by these companies, it's not at all clear that they can be protected, is it?
as rude and irresponsible as this seems, it's a prime example of free enterprise. if a company has a supremely well made and expensive product, you can bet someone will rip it off, bastardise the thing and sell it for cheap. and as long as the market is there, as long as cheap people will buy it because they are too cheap to buy a real one, this will continue. it's the same with bootleg movies and music. it's the same with software. i think there is an unnamed software company which set a very dangerous precedent in this field by doing exactly that, and having enough money to buy lawyers and judges so they could continue this process. and if they can get away with it, why not everyone else. what it comes down to though, is a case of the buyer being aware of what they're getting. if you buy a rolex on the streets of new york for $150, you can pretty well guarantee that it is not a real one. but it looks real from a distance, so who cares. if you want to waste your money by doing that, it's your problem. same with the suits. quality is the key here. a cheap rolex will scream out after a few months, so will a cheap suit. you basically get what you've paid for. the other thing though, is that the people who normally would buy these real bespoke suits know quality, and they know how much they cost, and they would not think of buying a second rate suit. this is why the guys that make these will still be around when the cheap guys are gone. this is why rolex is still around, despite all the cheap lookalikes.
it's tragic, yes, but unavoidable in business. that, and the fact that even though it might seem that the guys with the premium high quality stuff would lose business, they won't because the business that goes to the cheap guys would never come their way in the first place. make sense?
btw, i'm setting a dangerous precedent here also. see us.
Victor you forgot your paragraphs again. :P
I agree with what you said in your post. ^_^ <3
ooops.
that was a paragraph, wasn't it?
Post a Comment