Buy Buy, Baby: The $50,000 Men's Suit

"Buy Buy, Baby" is a new Friday feature that explores unique luxury goods and what makes them special. Check back every week for more items to put on your wish list.

That's a nice $2,500 suit you're wearing. Was the Gap(GPS Quote) having a sale?

Giorgio Armani, Prada, Burberry or Dolce & Gabbana? For paupers. You didn't get your MBA and claw your way up the ladder to wear getup that was name-checked in a Fergie song. You didn't become a captain of industry and fortify your reputation to stand in front of your board dressed like a pit boss at the Sands(LVS Quote).

A tailor for Jon Green Custom Clothing makes a pattern for a suit.

You're building a legacy unlike anyone who came before you, one that can't be plucked off the rack or "made-to-measure." Your story isn't "customized"; it's "bespoke" -- much as your suit should be.

"Guys who have their clothes made, they enjoy it," says Jon Green, owner and founder of Jon Green Custom Clothing on Madison Avenue in New York. "It's self-expression, it's creative, and the relationship is a big part of it."

Green is part of the obscure but revered circle of "bespoke," an English term handed down from London's Savile Row tailors that means "has been ordered." It's a specialized form of tailoring with costs ranging from Green's low-end $7,500 suit, which he calls a "concession to the times," to Italian designer Kiton's $30,000 to $50,000 K50 merino wool suit -- only 50 variations of which are produced each year by Kiton master tailor Enzo D'Orsi, whose travel expenses from Italy to wherever you'd like to be fitted are included in the final tally.

William Fioravanti has swaddled theatrical stars and Washington spinners in his worsted, gabardine and silk creations, which can run to nearly $20,000. His wife and business partner, Olga, says five-figure creations that leave Fioravanti's 57th Street shop in New York help draw an important distinction.