Journal
Before any number comes honesty, and honesty is what this question rarely receives. Tailors circle it, soften it, bury it in the hush of the fitting room. We would rather lay it on the table beside the cloth, where a man can feel the weight of both.
So here's the straight answer. As a rough guide, a full handmade bespoke suit costs about $5,000 to $9,700 to make, before the house behind it is paid for. What you pay depends on the margin each tailor sets: at 50%, that's roughly $10,870 to $21,285 including GST, and a house could charge less or much more. All prices here are in Australian dollars. They're wide ranges, because the cloth, the hours and the hands all move them.
Let me walk you through what moves the price, and what you get for it.
Bespoke means "spoken for": made for you, to your measurements. A full handmade suit takes that as far as it goes, with no machine involved. First comes a baste fitting: a partly built suit, there only to be tried on. Once it's marked, it's taken apart and rebuilt, stitch by stitch.
What you get: About 60 to 75 hours all up, from first fitting to hand off. Each seam is shaped to your posture, your stance, your body. A single buttonhole takes 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the artisan, and the quality varies with the hand that sews it. Milanese lapel holes need 30 to 60. Nobody is rushing this one, and you'll see that.
The fabric. This is often the biggest variable. A standard Super 110s wool costs less than rare cashmere or a high-count Super 180s, and your final price depends on the cloth you choose and how much of it your garment needs.
The handwork. More of it takes more hours, and those hours cost more. You also get higher quality, a longer life and a different relationship with the garment.
The details. Working buttonholes on the sleeve, contrast linings, surgeon's cuffs, hand-picked stitching: each one adds craft.
With proper care, a suit can last forever. You do need a collection, so no single suit carries all the wear, and you must keep it free of mould and moths. It fits better with age as the canvas moulds to you. And it can't go out of style, because it was never in style: it was designed for you, not for a season.
Divide the cost by the years you'll wear it, and it often works out cheaper per wear than something off the rack you replace every two years.
But arithmetic was never the reason. What matters is the moment a man meets himself in the mirror, wearing something true, when the exterior finally agrees with the interior. No ledger has a column for that.
Come in. See the fabrics. Ask anything. No pressure.
Book your private fitting. By appointment only.
For more on what separates bespoke from made to measure, see our complete guide to the distinction.
And if you'd like to see what goes into a handmade suit, read Where the Money Goes in a Handmade Bespoke Suit.
ZIMMA TAILORS, Sydney's bespoke tailor since 2010.As a rough guide, in Australian dollars, a full handmade bespoke suit costs about $5,000 to $9,700 to make, before the cost of running the house. At an example 50% margin, that's roughly $10,870 to $21,285 including GST. Each house sets its own, so prices vary.
A bespoke suit is built from scratch to your measurements. The pattern, the cut and the construction are all yours. Off-the-rack suits are mass-produced from standard patterns and adjusted minimally. You feel the difference in the fit, the quality and how long it lasts.
With proper care, a suit can last forever, as long as you have a collection to rotate and keep it free of mould and moths. Full canvas construction moulds to your body over time, so the fit improves with age.