Local fashion publicist and stylist Lionnel Lim, who's in his 50s, for example, has taken to visiting Shenzhen, China, annually to get his clothes tailored. Each time he flies there, he spends a few hundred dollars, mostly on trousers.

Of this practice which began eight years ago, he says: 'I used to get my pants tailored here but I found the cut too traditional.

'In China, I go to this tailor who's very open to ideas and helps materialise these ideas that I have and can't find in stores.'

Local tailors and seamstresses have fallen off the cutting edge, and are now often perceived to be the fashion solution for those of size XXL or are old-fashioned.

Other than that, most people just prefer the ease of picking clothes off the shelves.

Most of the tailoring craftsmen whom Urban spoke to say business has dipped over the years.

'Twenty years ago, there were only a few brands around and everyone went for tailors. Now you can get anything you want off the shelves,' says Josie Lee, manager of made-to-measure women's wear store Joy's Boutique.

But for those who have been pricked by the bespoke bug, getting measured remains a cut above buying off-the-rack.

For one, it saves you from committing what's possibly the ultimate fashion faux pas - being caught wearing the same outfit as another.

Socialite Shabnam Melwani, 39, says: 'It can become quite a sticky situation in this circle. With a bespoke dress, you'll never have to worry about bumping into someone in the same dress as you.'

The stylish director of fashion and lifestyle company Jay Gee Melwani Group has been getting her evening gowns made at made-to-measure women's wear boutique Mode-O-Day since she was 16.

Then, there's the fact that a made-to-measure outfit is all about you.

'When I go to a tailor, I get a one-off piece,' Lim says. 'Even if it's made with a fabric that's commonly available, I get it done in a silhouette that I like and it's still special.'

Want to look sew fine?

With tips from 30 fashion industry insiders such as Melwani, Urban hunts down the top four men's tailoring, women's made-to-measure and alteration services in town.