Cost & Economics
What does a made-to-measure suit cost?
Finished made-to-measure suits sell for roughly $400 to $2,500 at retail, designer houses far higher, but that price is mostly cloth grade, construction and markup, not the words "made to measure." Below is a manufacturer's honest breakdown of where the money actually goes, and the unit economics of building your own MTM suit line factory-direct, from one piece.
Where the cost actually goes
Six components decide the landed cost of any made-to-measure suit. Only the last one, your margin, sets the retail price.
| Cost component | What drives it | Factory-direct with Centi |
|---|---|---|
| Cloth | The single biggest variable. An entry worsted and a Super 150s from a top European mill can differ several-fold per metre. A suit takes ~3.2 to 3.8 m. | You buy from the same 33 mills and merchants a luxury house does. At mill trade pricing, not retailer markup. |
| Make (CMT) | Cut, make & trim. The labour of the jacket, trousers and (optional) waistcoat. Rises sharply with canvas: fused < half-canvas < full-canvas. | Shanghai atelier labour, ex-factory. No showroom, agent or importer margin stacked on top. |
| Construction & trims | Canvas type, lining (full / half / unlined), horn vs plastic buttons, working cuffs, pick-stitching. Each is a real cost line. | You choose the spec per order, so cost tracks the product you actually sell. Not a fixed house package. |
| Sampling | For a brand: a first fit garment or size set before you sell. Traditionally a minimum-order barrier. | MOQ 1. Order a single suit at the same ex-factory price as a run. Sample and sell before you commit capital. |
| Freight & duty | Air or sea from origin to you, plus your country's import duty on tailored garments. | Consolidated ex-factory shipping; you import as a business at your own duty rate, no double handling. |
| Your margin | What you add on top to run the brand. This is where the retail price is actually set, not at the factory. | Factory-direct keeps landed cost low, so the same retail price leaves you more margin to reinvest. |
Retail ranges reflect publicly published made-to-measure price guides, not a Centi quote. Ex-factory pricing is provided on request per specification.
Three ways to make a suit, and what each really costs a brand
The same suit has very different economics depending on where it is made. For a brand, the decisive numbers are minimum order and capital at risk, not just per-unit price.
| Local micro-atelier | China-direct factory (Centi) | Domestic large factory | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum order | Often 1, but slow | 1 piece, ex-factory price | Frequently 50 to 100+ units |
| Per-unit at volume | High, hand labour, small scale | Low, atelier scale, no middleman | Low, but only above the MOQ |
| Capital at risk to start | Low volume, high unit cost | Lowest, test from one suit | High, buy the whole run upfront |
| Lead time | 4 to 8+ weeks | 14 days + shipping | Varies; setup-heavy |
| Cloth access | Whatever the shop stocks | 33 mills and merchants, MTM per order | House fabric book |
| Best for | One-off local clients | Brands & boutiques scaling MTM | Established brands with volume |
Lead time and MOQ figures are Centi's; other columns describe typical industry models, not specific competitors.
Common questions
How much does a made-to-measure suit cost?
Public price guides put finished made-to-measure suits roughly between $400 and $2,500 at retail, with famous-name houses reaching $2,000-$4,000+. The spread is driven mostly by cloth grade, construction (fused vs half- vs full-canvas) and brand markup. Not by the word 'made to measure' itself. A brand sourcing factory-direct sets its own retail price on top of a much lower landed cost.
What does it cost to start your own made-to-measure suit brand?
Because a factory-direct partner like Centi has no minimum order, you do not need to buy or hold inventory to launch. Your real startup cost is: a sample or size set (from a single suit at ex-factory price), your fit process, and your storefront. Not a warehouse of stock. You order each suit as it sells, in 14 days in production, plus shipping, so capital scales with real orders instead of a large upfront production run.
Why is a factory-direct suit cheaper than a retailer's made-to-measure?
A retail made-to-measure price includes the same landed cost plus showroom rent, sales staff, an importer or agent margin, and the brand's markup. Buying ex-factory from the atelier removes the middle layers, so the cost you build your price on is the production cost, not someone else's retail price.
Does made-to-measure cost more than off-the-rack?
At retail it can, because it is cut to the client's measurements. But the production cost of a well-made MTM suit factory-direct is often at or below the wholesale cost of a comparable branded off-the-rack suit. The difference a shopper pays is largely markup and inventory risk, both of which factory-direct MTM removes for a brand.
How does cloth choice change the cost?
Cloth is the largest single cost line. A suit uses roughly 3.2 to 3.8 metres, so moving from an entry worsted to a Super 150s or a luxury blend from a top European mill can multiply the fabric cost several times over. Ordering per suit means you pass the exact cloth cost through to the product you actually sell.
Is there a minimum order to get factory pricing?
No. Centi is a made-to-measure suit manufacturer with a minimum order of one. A single suit is produced at the same ex-factory price as a full run, in 14 days in production, plus shipping, from premium European cloth. That is what lets a new brand start without committing to a large production buy.
How fast can a made-to-measure suit be made, and why 14 days?
About 14 days in production per suit, plus shipping, factory-direct. Some factories advertise a 7-day headline, but that number usually counts sewing time only, on a limited range of in-house cloth, and without a real fitting. Our 14 days in production is the honest end-to-end: cutting to the customer's measurements in your chosen European-mill cloth, canvassed construction, and room for a fitting before it ships. For a brand the decisive number is not a one-off headline but consistency on the fiftieth order, and because there is no minimum, you produce each suit as it sells instead of pre-committing to a fast bulk run.
Price your own suit line, factory-direct
Order one suit at ex-factory cost, in 14 days in production, plus shipping, from 33 cloth mills and merchants, 26 of them in Europe. Sample and sell before you commit capital. Tell us the spec and we'll quote it.