From Ready-to-Wear to Couture: VINTA Gallery’s Glossary of Terms 2023

Ready-to-Wear vs Made to Measure. Made to Order vs Pre-order. What does it all mean? Don’t worry — we’ll walk you through it with VINTA Gallery’s ultimate production glossary. 

It may seem overwhelming at first, but trust us, these options are all available for you to make your shopping experience as personalized as possible. And in keeping with our Slow Fashion mission since day one, we want to keep a tight ship and focus on quality, detail and craftsmanship — the things you all love about VINTA.

Here are a few terms you need to know.

Pre-order: Basically what it means — order before the piece is available for sale. This is a full run and size and quantities are pre-determined.

Ready-to-Wear (RTW): This is a majority of what you already see on the online shop (a.k.a. ‘Off the Rack’) — ready-made garments made in a set number of sizes. These pieces are completely finished and ready to be shipped. Quantities of sizes are pre-determined and price is as is on the website.

Made to Order: You’ll see a Made to Order piece on the online shop, as if it’s an RTW item — except it’s slightly different. Like an RTW piece, the design and patterns for all sizes are already determined, but the piece is only produced once ordered. So there are no set quantities, but we only offer our standard Ready-to-Wear sizing only and no fabric changing allowed (unless the existing fabric is unavailable). There is a minimum 2-month production lead time — any order requests less than 2 months will require an extra fee (and is only feasible with our existing production schedule). For any other custom measurements, there will be an additional fee, which will be determined on a case by case basis for now.

Made to Measure: Similar to Made to Order, but Made to Measure orders allow for custom measurements (as opposed to a predetermined set of measurements) and are also only produced once ordered. Fabric changes are subject to additional fees. Minimum 4-month production lead time for a Made to Measure order.

Special Order: When an RTW size is out of stock, they may special order for an additional fee of $75 USD. No fabric changes unless existing fabric is unavailable (any fabric changes are subject to additional fees). Minimum 2-month production lead time.

Custom Order: With a Custom Order, you can choose an RTW style with one or more of the following: custom fabrics, custom measurements, minor style tweaks (shorter or longer length, different neckline, etc.) Additional fees depend on customizations with a limit of 3 customizations. Anything above 3 customizations will be categorized as a Couture Order.

Couture/Wedding Order: The big one — a unique one of one design/ensemble. A Couture Order requires a $7,000 USD deposit to start the design process, which goes towards the final cost of the garment. Final cost of the garment will depend on the style, fabrics and other details. A one year lead time is needed — any less will require a rush fee. For more information, book your consultation here.
There you have it! Tailor your VINTA Gallery experience to suit your needs, style, occasion and budget. If you have any other questions or to place a Made to Measure, Special Order, Custom Order or Couture/Wedding Order, email us directly at customerservice@vintagallery.com. Happy Shopping!