Suits Focus

Top Cork-based menswear guru Tom Murphy has found that, despite the downturn, a significant number of men are on the lookout for high-quality made-to-measure suits.

Tom Murphy is a third-generation suit specialist who's store first bore his name over the door more than 70 years ago.

Among the range of services on offer is a made-to-measure service which is attracting more and more customers.

"When we talk about made-to-measure suits we're talking about suits where you can choose your cloth, the cut of the suit and details such as how big you want your lapels to be, how many pockets you want or how you want the buttons to look.

"The basic suit is cut from one of a number of template which is then adjusted to your individual measurements. It's not quite a bespoke suit, where the suit is created from scratch and which involves visiting a tailor for repeated fittings, but you get the benefits of getting a suit which fits you very very well and which has exactly the details that you want.

"Pricewise, you pay more than for a similar off-the-peg suit but only a fraction of the cost of a bespoke one.

"You’d think that the made-to-measure service would suffer during the current economic downturn, but we’ve noticed a significant increase in this part of our business over the last eighteen months or so.

"This is particularly the case when it comes to men looking for a suit for their wedding where there’s a definite trend in spending extra for a made-to-measure suit rather than hiring a suit for their big day.

"With the money being spent on weddings, it's more and more important that every detail is right, and that includes ensuring that the groom is wearing a well-fitting suit.

"Unlike with women and wedding dresses, which they only plan to wear the once, men want something special that is suitable for them to wear at other occasions in the future."

Tom Murphy is situated at 58 St Patrick's Street, Cork. Tel: 021 4272401 or visit www.tom-murphy.ie

Picture credit: flickr.com/JMRosenfeld