Terms and conditions for a bespoke tailor

A bespoke tailor needs terms that survive the awkward moments: the client who cancels after the cloth is cut, the one who has changed shape between the first fitting and the wedding, the client who brings in his own length of cloth and blames you when it shrinks, and the company that orders suits for its staff and pays when it feels like it. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Bespoke and made-to-measure tailors, shirtmakers, alteration specialists and cutters working from a shop, a studio or by appointment in England and Wales. Most of your clients are private individuals, which means consumer law applies to them in full, but many tailors also take corporate orders for staff suiting, uniform and costume, and those are business contracts with different rules.

What matters in a bespoke tailor's terms

Made to measure and the fourteen-day cancellation right

An order taken at the client's home or office, at a hotel trunk show, or over the phone or by email falls within the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which give a consumer fourteen days to cancel. Goods made to the consumer's specification or clearly personalised are excepted, so a suit cut to the client's own pattern sits outside it, but a stock shirt in his collar size or an off-the-peg jacket you later alter may not. Your order form must record which it is, and give the pre-contract information, because where that information is missing the period can extend by up to twelve months.

Deposits, the moment of cutting and getting paid

Most tailors take a deposit when the cloth is ordered, a further payment at the first fitting and the balance before the garment leaves. The terms should explain what the deposit buys: cloth bought in from the mill, the pattern drafted, the cutting time already spent. That matters because the Consumer Rights Act 2015 treats terms that keep a consumer's prepayment on cancellation without a matching obligation on the trader, and disproportionate default charges, as terms that may be unfair, and an unfair term does not bind the consumer. A deposit tied to real committed cost stands a far better chance.

Cloth you supply and cloth the client brings in

Where you supply the cloth to a private client, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires the goods to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, so your terms should describe weight, composition and finish accurately and note that natural fibres vary between batches and that a repeat length may not match a sample exactly. Cut, make and trim work is the opposite problem. If the client brings his own cloth, the terms should say you do not warrant it, that flaws, shrinkage or a length that runs short are not your risk, that your making charge is still payable, and who keeps the remnants.

Fittings, alterations and the client who says it does not fit

State how many fittings the price includes, how long you will hold an order where the client stops attending, and when further alterations become chargeable. Changes in the client's build after measurement are the most common cause of a late argument, and the terms should put them on the client's side of the line. Record the agreed specification at the point of order, down to lapel, lining, buttons and pockets, because the Consumer Rights Act 2015 judges goods against their description and gives a consumer a short-term right to reject within thirty days, then repair or replacement. Terms that give you a proper chance to correct the fit protect the relationship and the garment.

Delivery dates, mill delays and weddings

Clients order for a specific event, and they will tell you so. The terms should make dates estimates that depend on cloth arriving and on the client attending fittings when asked, and should set out what happens if a mill is out of stock. Where you genuinely commit to a date, price the rush and say so up front: under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 a headline price shown to consumers must include all mandatory charges. Bear in mind that the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not allow you to limit liability for a service to less than the price, so controlling what you promise is worth more than a broad disclaimer.

Corporate, uniform and wholesale orders

Suiting a firm's staff, a hotel's front of house or a production's cast is a business contract, and it should be run on different wording. Deal with who supplies the measurement list and what a re-measure costs, approval of a pre-production sample, minimum quantities and what happens to garments for staff who leave. Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 you can keep title to finished garments until you are paid. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 lets you charge statutory interest at 8% over base rate plus fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100 depending on the size of the debt, and a limit on your liability to a business client is tested for reasonableness under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

A client insists the finished suit does not fit. What do my terms do for me?

They set the order of events. Good terms require him to come in so you can see the garment on, give you the opportunity to adjust it, and measure the complaint against the specification you both signed off. Most fit complaints are resolved on the stand. The ones that end badly are the ones where nothing was written down at the start.

Can I keep the deposit if the client walks away after the cloth is cut?

You can build for it, provided the sum reflects what you have actually committed: cloth bought in, pattern drafted, time at the board. Set it out in the terms and explain it at the order stage. A deposit presented as a penalty for changing one's mind is a much weaker position than one presented as the cost already incurred on his behalf.

I take made-to-measure orders through my website. Does one set of terms cover that?

One set can cover shop, appointment and online ordering if it is drafted for all three. Online selling brings in the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, which require you to explain the ordering steps, let the customer correct errors, acknowledge the order and make the terms available in a form the customer can keep. Incorporation at checkout is where most businesses slip.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Contract review, £495
• Terms and conditions for a mobile hairdresser or beautician
• Terms and conditions for a hairdressing salon

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.