Bespoke

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Bespoke is usually a British English term for tailored clothing made at a customer's behest, and exactly to the customer's specification. Bespoke clothing is created without use of a pre-existing pattern, differentiating it from made to measure, which alters a standard-sized pattern to fit the customer.

Today, it is also frequently used for technical components specifically developed for a certain application (e.g. bespoke software), as well as in the automotive and cake decorating industries, when customers get a chance to have an automobile equipped or cake decorated to their specification.

Etymology

Bespoke derives from the word bespeak, meaning 'to ask for' some thing. It comes from Savile Row, where a customer would bespeak a measure of cloth. The bespoke bolt of cloth was unavailable to any other client until the entire suit had been cut, assembled, and sewn.

Other uses

The term can also refer to

Furniture.
Elements of interior design (e.g. closets).
Computer software, in which it refers to software designed and written for a single company and/or task.
Telecommunications refers to non-standard solution tailored for specific customer solution.
Customisation of a particular product or service (e.g. envelopes).
Structured finance products (e.g. collateralized debt obligations).
Custom specifications in ordering a luxury automobile such as a Rolls-Royce or a Bentley.
Shoemaking - generally this category exists in small manufactures, working by hand.

There are shoemakers who are specialised mainly for bespoke orders.

References

Norton, Kate "Savile Row Never Goes Out of Style". BusinessWeek. Retrieved on 2007-05-22.

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Last updated on Friday January 25, 2008 at 07:57:28 PST (GMT -0800)
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