Custom Tailored Suits and Headpieces

1. What "made-to-measure" means at Beetle Print

Most of the personalisation projects we handle start from a garment that already exists — a T-shirt, a hoodie, a cap — onto which we apply a design through embroidery, DTF or screen printing. Made-to-measure suits and costumes are a different service that goes one step further: instead of starting from a catalogue garment, we build the piece from the pattern up, with our own in-house cutting and sewing, designed specifically for the project you bring us.

This difference matters because it changes what's possible. On a ready-made garment you can only work with the surface: the design, the print colour, the embroidery. On a made-to-measure costume you can work with the shape of the garment itself: the cut, the volume, how it moves on the body, structural or decorative elements that don't exist in any factory pattern. It's the difference between dressing a design and building a garment around a specific need.

Not every project needs this level of work. If what you're looking for is a well-executed logo or design on a standard garment, personalising a ready-made garment is usually the more sensible option. A made-to-measure costume makes sense when the project demands something no catalogue garment can offer: a specific silhouette, stage-ready volume, a piece that doesn't exist anywhere off the shelf.

2. The process: from idea to pattern

Developing a made-to-measure costume follows a different logic to a merchandising order, with more stages and more back-and-forth before production starts. It isn't a "pick a size and colour" order: it's a product development that begins with a conversation and ends in a garment that didn't exist before.

3. Stage uniforms and wardrobe for film productions

Dance and theatre companies, dance schools, entertainment troupes and event agencies need wardrobe designed to move on stage: choreography, stage lights, distance from the audience. A costume designed from scratch lets us work the silhouette so it reads well from a distance and holds up to the repeated movement of a show, something an adapted wardrobe piece doesn't always solve well.

We also work on wardrobe for film and commercial productions: shoots, ads, photo sessions and projects where the costume has to respond to a specific visual concept set by art or wardrobe direction, not to a garment that already exists on the market. In these cases the pattern is developed alongside the project's visual references, and the physical fitting before the shoot is an especially important step to avoid last-minute surprises.

4. Custom costumes for events and associations

Associations, parade groups, clubs and cultural collectives taking part in parades, festivals or group events usually need a group costume with its own identity, not a generic shop-bought one. Starting from our own patternmaking lets the design grow out of the group's real concept — its theme, its colours, its history — instead of adapting a garment that was never meant for that use.

This kind of project usually involves several units of the same design for different members of the group, with sizes and sometimes individual variations within the same design line. It's important to treat it as a group project from the start, not as separate pieces, so the final result is coherent across every member.

5. Regional and themed costumes made to order

We also take on regional or themed costume commissions: pieces tied to a local tradition, a popular festival or a specific look the client wants to reproduce or reinterpret to measure. It's an area we work on a made-to-order basis, evaluating each project individually.

6. Custom headpieces and accessories

A made-to-measure costume rarely stands alone: headpieces and accessories complete the look and, in stage or costume pieces, are often just as important as the costume itself for the silhouette to work as a coherent whole. We design headpieces and accessories to match the costume, thought through from the same briefing and with the same use criteria: how they move, how they look from a distance or on camera, and how long they'll be worn.

We also make headpieces and accessories as a standalone piece, when the project doesn't include a full costume but still needs that final element of characterisation or group image.

7. Materials and finishes

The fabric and finishes of a made-to-measure costume are chosen based on how the piece will really be used, just as with the rest of our textile catalogue: a garment meant to move a lot on stage doesn't have the same requirements as a piece worn for a few hours at a one-off event or that will appear on camera under specific lighting.

We don't set a fixed list of materials here because the right fabric depends on the project: how the garment moves, what light it will be seen under, how many times it will be used and what upkeep it can get afterwards. We discuss this with you at the briefing stage, together with the finishes — seams, closures, decorative elements — that best support the design without compromising the comfort of the wearer.

8. Made-to-measure vs. customising a ready-made garment

The question we're asked most often is which of the two options your project actually needs. There's no single answer: it depends on whether what you're looking for already exists as a catalogue garment or not.

9. Real use cases

This list isn't closed: as a made-to-measure patternmaking and tailoring service, any project that needs a garment or headpiece that doesn't exist off the shelf can fit here. If your case isn't reflected above, tell us about your project on WhatsApp.

10. Common mistakes when ordering a tailored costume

• Not defining the garment's real use from the start: how much movement it will get, how many times it will be used and under what conditions completely changes the approach to the pattern and the fabric.
• Not leaving room for at least one physical fitting before final production: skipping this step is the most common reason the final fit isn't what was expected.
• Leaving headpieces or accessories for the end: if they're meant to match the costume, defining them at the same briefing stage avoids mismatches in colour, proportion or style between the pieces.
• Treating a made-to-measure costume like a standard merchandising order: it has more stages and more back-and-forth than personalising a catalogue garment, and it's worth planning it as such from the first contact.
• Not providing clear visual references in the briefing: photos, sketches or concrete examples speed up pattern development far more than a purely verbal description.
• Reaching out with no time margin before the event or shoot date: patternmaking development needs more time than a merchandising order; the sooner the conversation starts, the more room there is for fittings and adjustments.

11. Frequently asked questions