THE COST OF MEN'S SUITS.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 September 1919, Page 6

THE COST OF MEN'S SUITS.

niGH PRICES RULING. The high prices ruling in Christchurch for men's suits, are also in force in Auckland (says the Herald). Some of the factors governing the situation were discussed yesterday by a leading tailor. "There is more difficulty now in obtaining tweeds than there has been during the last five years," he said. "One reaspn is ttie abnormal demand at Home, owing to the demobilisation of so many men, all of whpm have to be put into mufti. There is also a large demand from the Continent, where the British mills can sell at much higher rates than they could obtain by shipping 1 'out here. The scarcity of material on the Home market makes the demund on the local mills greater."

At present it was impossible for the local mills to cope with the demand, the speaker said, orders being on the books for from six to twelve months unfulfilled. That applied in particular to the better clas? stuffs, the lower grades being still in Miort supply, both from Hoihe and from the Dominion mills, but not to such an extent as the better class goods It was ascertained that a tailor.made suit to-day costs anything from 8 to 12 guineas in Auckland, as against £5 10s to £6 10s before the war, while some of special quality are selling for 15 guineas. No. difficulty is experienced in obtaining these higher prices, though customers are naturally prone to grumble. They* must have suits, however, and tailors are so busy at present that most of them cannot take orders for execution under five weeks.

A good class of ready-made suit is costing in Auckland to-day as much as £0 os, whereas the same suit before the war was retailed at 755. It is thought in the trade quite possible that the price may have to be raised still further though, in the absence »f definite knowledge as to the Home market, it is difficult to say at present. There is not thought to be any chance of a fall on th» other hand, for the next 12 months The public, it is stated, would have had to pay the present prices for suits 12 or IS months ago if the tailors had not ordered well ahead. As a result there have been reserve stocks to work upon, thus obbefore 8 the ne '' essity of raisi "8 P rie «

As was assumed by a Christchureh tailor, tiie recent acquisition by a local firm of mills at Oamaru and Timaru is expected to result in Northern tailors receiving a fair percentage of the products ot the nulls which was formerly kept in the South. " 1