Still, I kept thinking that if people spent the time to learn about suits, they’d value Frew’s work so much more. But not everyone is willing to wait. Bespoke suits commonly require three fittings, and that’s after a long consultation. Even the richest customer simply has to wait — sometimes months — before the new suit is finished. No wonder so many pass up a $4,000 bespoke suit for a ready-to-wear Kiton version at twice the price.

When I spoke to Frew, Rowland and the Greenfields, they talked about how there is now a large difference between what is monetizable and what is actually valuable. One of the defining attributes of capitalism is that the market determines what succeeds even if it means that the Kardashian Kollection might bring in more money than all the bespoke suits in the world.

So our economy contains two types of people:

1. People who are willing to pay any price, but want it immediately.

2. People who are price-sensitive.

Group number 1 won't buy the $4000 suit because it takes too long.

Group number 2 won't buy the $4000 suit because it costs too much.

So this business will get squeezed from both ends.

Sad.