The value of hand guided work, even in the case of using a machine, has gone up drastically over the last 100 years. Say, in the 18th century, when garments were made entirely by hand all other jobs were done in the same manner. A tailors hand-work was no more valued than anyone else's. In fact, with the low cost of supplies tailors earned only a moderate amount compared to other tradesmen. Forward to the late 19th century when sewing machines and mass produced, pre-made fitted clothing come on to the scene and other jobs are being mechanized in the same way. So, the value of a tailor stays consistent with other trades people. The unskilled laborers below them don't earn enough for a tailored suit to be comfortably within budget, but their work is not valued the same and nor do they have need of a suit for their job.

This does not change in the 20th century, a suit is still not a working garment nor is it really affordable by those who are employed in that manner. However, what begins to change is that tradesmen are no longer considered a part of the middle class, now mostly made up of business men. Their training is not considered comparable to something like a college education. They are not being paid so little as to be poor or at the level of unskilled machine operators, but limited by the amount they are able to produce they cannot reach to higher income like you can in the business world where your mind is valued and not your hands.

The trade gradually fades out of popularity as a job and is outsourced to other countries or mass-production warehouses to keep it cheap for the consumer who requires a suit as a work uniform. This, interestingly enough, creates a smaller group of surviving tailors whose skill is still required by those looking for a better option than a poorly altered suit fit and willing to pay for it. Value of the skill rises and today's tailors are worth far more than their early-century counterparts. It took the near death of the trade for supply and demand to swing the opposite way. For this early-century consumer they would have paid a decent price for a tailored suit, so they wouldn't have necessarily had a great many, but it was far closer in price to our mass-produced suits than a bespoke suit is today.

hi! there's always more room for the fashion historians on this topic, but you may be interested in a few previous related posts

• Did Men REALLY dress as well as portrayed in European and US cinema, '40-'60s? If so, how did this work, what coping mechanisms did they use and how different were mens' clothing budgets/usage compared to today's? (one of my favourite old threads for some reason.. nice to see it again)

• How were men in pre-war America and Europe able to afford to wear suits exclusively?

• A few questions about the clothes people wore.

They only had 1 or 2 suits.

Source: My grandpa would talk about the day he could afford a second suit.