Why made-to-measure clothing?
What sets a made-to-measure piece apart from off-the-peg clothing: the fit, your own choice of fabric and cut – and the option of reworking what you already own.
Off-the-peg clothing is made for an average. That works surprisingly often – and then again it doesn’t: the sleeves are too long, the shoulders too wide, the waistband fits but the hips don’t. A made-to-measure piece takes the opposite route. It starts with you, not with a size chart.
Fit starts with the body, not with the size
At CICIPEEL®, every piece is made or altered to your measurements. For the bespoke suit, we work with a 21-point measuring system. More measurements alone do not make a good garment – but they make it possible to respond to things a standard size knows nothing about: a shoulder that sits slightly lower, an upright or slightly forward-leaning posture, arms of different lengths.
The aim is easy to describe: a piece that fits without you having to think about it. No tugging at the hem, no pulling across the button.
You have a say: fabric, cut, details
With a made-to-measure piece, you are not choosing from whatever happens to be hanging in the shop. We discuss fabric, cut and details together – with an eye to what you will wear the piece for: at the office, at a celebration or every day. The result is clothing that suits your style, rather than you adapting to a cut.
Restyle: something new from what you already own
Not every good piece has to be made from scratch. Often there is a blazer, a coat or a dress in the wardrobe that you like but no longer wear – because the shape is no longer right, or because it never quite fitted. CICIPEEL® stands for restyle, for women and for men: favourite pieces you already own are reworked in the atelier and brought back into shape. What is possible depends on the piece; that is best decided once we have it in front of us.
Fewer pieces, but ones that fit
A made-to-measure piece takes more time than a shopping trip. It is worthwhile above all for clothes you wear often, or that need to be exactly right for a special occasion. Our view: better to have fewer pieces in the wardrobe that really fit and that you enjoy wearing.
How a made-to-measure piece comes about with us, step by step, is described in the article From the first conversation to the finished piece. Everything about the men’s suit is in The bespoke suit.
Revised version of two articles published in German on 3 October 2023 («Warum Massgeschneiderte Kleidung die Zukunft der Mode ist» and «Die Bedeutung von Massgeschneiderter Kleidung»), whose content largely overlapped. Merged and edited; claims that could not be substantiated – for example about environmental impact and the future of the fashion industry – were removed. Translated from the German.
