(A jacket by Henry Poole and Co. “The Founders of Savile Row.”)

Urban Junkies is reporting the somewhat shocking ruling (at least to me) by the Advertising Standards Authority in London that will allow makers of machine-made suits to call their product “bespoke.”

No, it is not. It may be “custom,” “Made-to-Measure,” “Demi-mesure,” “Personal tailoring” or any one of a dozen other terms. And the product, when produced by a reputable and caring company will be a very good one.

(My made-to-measure tailors, Leviner Wood here in town, are doing a fine job. My clothing has a lot of handwork in it and my relationship with Larry Wood is one of trust and commitment. He knows what to expect with me and I know what his people are capable of producing. We learn from each other.)

Savile Row, in a bit of a marketing quandary itself, has fired back with its own association: Savile Row Bespoke. Made up of Anderson and Sheppard, Davies and Sons, Dege and Skinner, Gieves and Hawkes, H. Huntsman and Sons, Hardy Amies, Henry Poole and Co., Meyer and Mortimer, Norton and Sons, Ozwald Boateng, Richard Anderson and Richard James, the new association lays down the ground rules for what is bespoke. And they should know, Gieves and Hawkes dates from 1771. About three years before the street was renamed “Savile Row.”

The agreed upon standards are:

An individually cut pattern for each client produced by the Master Cutter.

Personal supervision of the production of the garment by the Master Cutter.

Cutters and Tailors trained to the Savile Row standard.

At least 50 hours of work in a typical 2 piece garment that is produced almost entirely by hand.

Provide expert cloth consultation services on premises.

Offer at least 2000 fabrics, some of which may be exclusive.

Retain full customer records and invoices. (Ad infinitum, if you look at the published lists of clients!)

Provide first class after care including sponging, pressing, repairs and button matching.

Find The Savile Row Bespoke garment specifications in the handy interactive page here.

Caveat Emptor. Get what you are paying for.

Yup, it’s official; I’m part corkscrew. The right shoulder is a little off. Of course, I should have caught this, but my tailor shop doesn’t have a 3-way mirror and the first time I saw the back (where I can really see the difference) was with these shots. The shoulder is a little snug. Attila — that’s he with me and Larry Wood, co-owner of Leviner-Wood, in the third photo– is building it up with a small shoulder pad to see if it can be corrected. He will also be making up my matching vest.

The bandaged chin is my fault; I was too twitchy to try and shave and I was out of “liquid bandage.” Highly recommeded

Last week I had my first fitting of the dinner suit that is being made up by my tailors, Leviner Wood. (The one above isn’t it.)

Sure things weren’t perfect. To begin with, this wasn’t a basted fitting as requested. The single button closure had already been cut. The lapels were a hair too wide. The pleats were reverse, not forward. The sleeves a bit too full. The right shoulder set incorrectly. And a couple of other details to tedious and small to mention were a bit off.

I’m sorry that I couldn’t get someone to take pictures…

It was wonderful.

As a matter of fact, they got really close. Especially considering that this is a made-to-measure garment. 95% of my emailed list of 30 demands had been completed and done very nicely, too. There was the grosgrain covered button, the high fishtail waist in back, the button fly, handcanvassing in the chest and a beautiful belly to the lapels. Somewhere an actual live tailor got his hands on this garment and got to work.

And he’s going to get to have another go at it. This sort of garment seems like it takes a lifetime to complete. But it will last a lifetime and look even better with age. That’s the beauty of handstitching and good fabric. And the fun of working with someone who understands what you want and even more so, what you expect.