Molly Bloom knows style

August 19th, 2008

Online Custom Clothes: Style Shake

Penned by molly in Uncategorized

StyleShake is a site that let’s you customize made to order clothes. I’ve written about Dress Monkey, a site where guys can plug in measurements, choose style features and order a suit. These type of “custom” garments are not the same as bespoke, because you’re not working directly with a tailor. Measurements cannot be as precise and nips and tucks can’t be made in a final fitting because there isn’t one. What you receive in the mail is what you get, a made-to-order garment.

Measuring yourself is unreliable so ask a friend to help. Re-measure a few times to make sure you got the right lengths. Something I find tricky about Style Shake is their how-to measure guide; there are no depth of measurements, meaning the waist measurement falls at the same place regardless of size. For example, if you have a long-torso and need extra length up top, there is no consideration made. They seem to be working off a size system and you match your measurements with the closest size. The garments are one-of-a-kind but not tailored to your figure.

I do think this type of service undermines true custom clothiers. Most people can’t afford true bespoke clothes. But in a time when people are bemoaning the state of the world, keep in mind that the cheapest clothes are probably not fairly produced. I hope this made-to-order trend takes off but that additions are made for the tailoring of the clothes.

2 Responses to 'Online Custom Clothes: Style Shake'

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  1. Ted R. on August 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pm said,

    What was the name of that men’s shirt making service we saw on the show about new entrepreneurs in China? Their site looked good when I went to it. Might be good to add to entry.

  2. molly on August 19th, 2008 at 7:17 pm said,

    The show was on KQED… an Independent Lens… hmm

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