How about something made in the USA this American Independence Day weekend? Some weeks ago, I arrived at my apartment door to a hotly anticipated Fedex box. It was my first custom shirt from online made-to-measure shirtmaker, Ratio Clothing.

I hate getting things altered. The effort usually involves toting clothes to work, making an extra subway stop on the way home, getting sized up and dropping the clothes off, and returning in a week with your fingers crossed that a second round of alterations won’t be needed. And that’s making the huge assumption that the off-the-rack clothes were salvageable to begin with — an expensive rarity for my skinny, 5′ 2″ frame.

Fortunately, the rise of online made-to-measure promises to make alterations the expensive rarity. Here’s my thoughts on my first made-to-measure experience — Hong Kong-based MyTailor.com — and why made-to-measure is a must for XS and down.

Been yearning to do neckwear outside of the usual business, formal, and Halloween situations, and I finally decided to give it an earnest shot this Spring starting with my very first silk knit ties. I bought two from one of my favorite sources for accessory experimentation: stores.com">Century 21 in the Financial District.

Seemingly always overrun by tourists, Century 21 can be overwhelming and is often hit-or-miss. But it’s great for cheap experiments in accessorizing, such as for ties and pocket squares. The one I’m trying here is by a company I’d never heard of before called Burma Bibas, and costed around $10. I also got a black and purple (goth colors, my fiancee notes) horizontal striped Ralph Lauren for around $17.

Since this was during one of the more precipitous days in recent weeks (April flowers brought May showers in NYC), I’m also donning a Uniqlo mac coat and my favorite rain boots from L.L. Bean: