Department of Engineering / News / A Suit That Fits

Department of Engineering

A Suit That Fits

A Suit That Fits

Warren Bennett

A Suit That Fits, the world's first online tailoring company, was founded in 2006 by engineering alumnus Warren Bennett and his school friend David Hathiramani. Warren spent time working in Nepal and whilst volunteering at a school in Kathmandu he met a family of tailors who made him a woolen tailored suit.

"I enjoyed the idea and the experience of having tailored suits made around the world, although often with mixed results. On my second gap year travelling, I met a family of tailors in Nepal who made me a fine woollen suit. When I returned to the UK, I met up with old school friend David Hathiramani and we decided to start the business. It seemed more fun than anything else and we knew we could offer great value and improve the customer experience."

Warren and David felt there was a gap in the market for affordable, good quality, hand tailored suits and wanted to use their technical backgrounds to simplify the ordering process. It was then that they started A Suit That Fits the world’s first on-line, hand tailored, suit making company.

"We started the day we took one of my suits to Hampstead market in London. We had sold two suits within 20 minutes of opening. Over the next 24-hours, we set up the website using David's computer skills and we started selling suits on a daily basis through online visitors to the site."

Using unique web technology, the service gives customers the flexibility to design and completely customise their individually hand-tailored suit at an affordable ‘off-the-peg’ price, starting at £200.

"Before we started, the tailoring industry was shrouded in mystery as to how a tailor makes a great bespoke suit. From an engineer's perspective, the tailoring can be broken down into a series of relatively simple measurements and processes."

"Studying Engineering at Cambridge prepared me well for the challenges of starting my own company. The analytical skills I learnt and the logical approach to problem solving is something that I use on a daily basis to tackle the challenges of a growing business where demand is often pushing our tailors to their limits. I was also lucky enough to be selected for the Department's MIT exchange programme which really opened my eyes to the possibility of making my own path and creating a company of my own. The entrepreneurial spirit is very strong in the USA and in Boston in particular."

"The business has been self-funded and in profit every year, since the start of the business in 2006. We started as the world's first online tailoring company and have since developed 30 locations nationwide. In the first year, we had one studio in London and opened a second studio in the second year. By the third year, we had a third studio in the West End of London and 15 nationwide 'TailorStops' whereby customers could come and visit one of our Style Advisors. We also had a head office in South London. Last year, we opened a studio in Bristol, our first permanent studio outside of London. We have five new permanent studios opening this year, one of them being in Cambridge at 71a Lensfield Road just opposite the Engineering Department!"

Multi-award winning tailoring company, A Suit That Fits, offers individually hand tailored garments to perfectly fit your frame, budget and personal style starting from £200.

A Suit That Fits has an exclusive offer for the Department of Engineering alumni and staff; when you visit one of our 30 locations nationwide, you’ll receive a complimentary measurement and style consultation, worth £25*.

With over 40 billion style combinations available, our expert Style Advisors will help you choose the right fabric, cut and style for you at one of our 30 locations nationwide. Alternatively, why not design and order your suit, shirt or overcoat completely online at the click of a button? To book an appointment please visit our website: www.aSuitThatFits.com or call us on 0203 006 7999.

*Terms & Conditions apply: Offer must be used in an A Suit That Fits ’TailorStop or studio; offer cannot be used retrospectively; please quote ‘Engineering Cambridge Offer’ to your style advisor in branch; there is no cash alternative to the offer in whole or in part; measurement and style consultation appointments usually cost £25; offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion or offer and can only be used once; offer ends 31.12.2011; A Suit That Fits reserves the right to modify or vary the offer and/or these terms and conditions at any time.

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright ©University of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.  All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.