One of the first things I did when I got my first 'real' job was get a custom-made suit from a place in our neighborhood; it was $1000 and he did like 25 measurements and said it would be 2 weeks until it was ready.
Turns out he was sending the measurements to Korea where the suits are custom made then shipped back, and then they do final alterations in the US.
I've ordered 3 more since then by just sending an email & choosing a color - don't think I could ever go back to an off-the-shelf suit - custom fit is so much more comfortable.
I've thought about doing this too. The problem is my weight and body composition keeps changing a lot as I pick up different sports, so a thousand dollar suit I buy today may very well become too small or too big six months down the line.
If you get a custom suit (you don't necessarily need to spend 1k), usually they make it with enough fabric that you can adjust it in or out by at least an inch or so.
What I'd kill for isn't a suit, but a decent set of casual clothing that actually fits (see my post elsewhere on this post). I rarely-to-never wear suits. While not completely fashion-averse, I'm pretty pragmatic when it comes to clothing: it should cover my nakedness, not be uncomfortable, be easy to care for, and look reasonably well.
Jeans or khakis and button-downs work well for me, a washable wool could also work (dry cleaning really isn't an option). Contemporary clothing styles simply don't agree with me, and the made-to-measure and bespoke alternatives are still rather steep.
A legit ergonomic keyboard is also easily 10-15x the cost of a no-name USB keyboard that "works just as well". A MacBook Pro is easily 2x the cost of something that has the same specs on paper. A pro-grade DSLR is 4-5x the cost of a consumer-grade DSLR but in principle work the same.
I've gone from wearing random cheap jeans to wearing $150-200 fitted jeans, and the difference is immense. It's comfortable, almost scary comfortable, the fabric are very noticeably nicer, the fit feels great, and people around you think so too.
The question is: can I find something equivalent for less cost.
My experience has been, with sufficient searching (and yes, there's a time cost to that), yes, I can.
The upsides: I can see, feel, and fit the garment before buying it. When committing to tailored items, particularly online, no such luck. Clothing's pretty personal, I've never much been a fan of the online or mail-order experience. Their only advantage is that the in-store experience is rapidly getting to be as bad or worse.
The question is: can I find something equivalent for
less cost. My experience has been, with sufficient
searching (and yes, there's a time cost to that), yes,
I can.
As far as I'm aware, there is nothing equivalent to Outlier on the market today, much less anything at a lower price point. If you have information to the contrary, please do share.
I love Outlier, my first two pairs of their pants are almost clapped out with at least 5000 miles apeice in them, and I recently got another two pairs.
Surface Clothing is closest to being Outlier at a lower price point.
You're right that there's noone else in direct competition, but they do have siblings in converging verticals. You should definitely look at Rapha, nau, and Bonobos, each of which overlaps in a different way. You should also look for RRL shirts in boutique fashion stores, they've got some insanely great merino button-up shirts (they're never listed online).
I buy cheaper department store clothing and have it tailored. It fits me like a glove. The quality isn't quite the same, but the price come out in my favor.
That's the alternative I've generally taken, and it's cost effective.
The problem I'm running into these days is that clothing cuts are so constrained that there's simply not enough fabric present (shirts especially) to construct a fit. For slacks, it's that or that the alterations are sufficiently extreme that the results aren't appealing.
Most jeans cannot be tailored to any significant degree (other than inseam length).
If you're looking for a bespoke tailor in SF that does this, visit Spoon Tailor in Chinatown. Hong Kong tailors are some of the best in the world, and I believe suits start at $700+ depending on fabric.
I'm headed to a suit tailoring event that Indochino is doing in downtown San Francisco in a couple weeks. You can get measured for free and order right there it sounds like. Prices are decent ($400) and people here say the quality/fit is spot on. Glad to hear the industry is still alive for craftsmen like Frew.
http://www.indochino.com/traveling-tailor/display
I've had experience with both Spoon Tailor and Indochino. TL;DR: go with Spoon over Indochino if it's in your price range.
I've used Spoon for about 9 shirts and talked with them extensively about their MTM suiting. The quality is much higher on their suiting and the fabrics are nicer. Plus, as far as MTM goes their process is closer to bespoke. Multiple fittings are involved and they have a local tailor that does the pattern, if I recall.
Indochino's an affordable option out there, but they're definitely going the cheaper MTM route. Their suits are based off of ready-made patterns. They can't really do stuff like account for sloped shoulders or weird drops. Their details are also a lot more "fashion forward" (like skinny lapels) that will look dated in a few years. I went to their traveling tailor event in Chicago a few weeks ago and got a suit made up for me as a review unit for a blog I write and I can't say I'd highly recommend them over other MTM services that might charge more or ready-to-wear options that cost the same.
If you're looking for something at Indochino prices yet in "ready to wear", then I'd suggest checking out Suit Supply. Decent cuts, good fabric, good construction, affordable intro-level prices.
That's a made-to-measure (MTM) suit, which is a completely different animal than a bespoke. I get MTM suits for myself, but I have a cousin that buys bespoke. They're so nice...
Turns out he was sending the measurements to Korea where the suits are custom made then shipped back, and then they do final alterations in the US.
I've ordered 3 more since then by just sending an email & choosing a color - don't think I could ever go back to an off-the-shelf suit - custom fit is so much more comfortable.