A macho boutique might sound like a contradiction in terms, but one new shop in New York is trying to do just that. Part haberdasher, part barbershop, Freemans Sporting Club aims to be all things masculine. Whether they’re able to achieve that, Izzy doesn’t yet know, but he is definitely excited by the fact that they are offering suits tailored by the illustrious Martin Greenfield out of deadstock. According to this article about one of the store’s owners:
Durability of material and shape underpins his decision to use vintage deadstock, most of which dates to the ’40s and ’50s. Unlike Super 180s and other popular high-twist wools, FSC’s vintage stock is often only 70 or 90 twist, and, therefore, much stronger. Greenfield’s son, Jay, explains that “most suits today are designed to be made by machine and glued together,” and the fabric is therefore very light. “Because we make it by hand,” he says, “we can use fabric with more body and shape.”
FSC’s emphasis on durability translates into a crisp, structured suit body that will soften with age, but will always maintain its form. The suits are built around Swiss cotton and black horsehair canvas with black gossamer linings that reveal the basting and other remnants of construction.
Izzy hopes to stop by the shop for a look and feel on his next trip to Gotham.
I thought this http://www.kingropes.com/ was a macho boutique.
Comment by Cris — March 5, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
OOOh! La BellaDonna, she will have to travel to New York to pat the jackets!
La BellaDonna, although she loves the new wools for their own sweet sake, she does not often care for them in men’s suits; oh, for the days of superfine Bath coating! La BellaDonna, she understands that even the gentlemen still willing to wear suits in the summer, they prefer something summer weight; but she cannot like the suit put together with the glue. The only man’s coat tailored by La BellaDonna was made of a vintage silk-and-wool blend, and it took forty hours to padstitch the high rolling collar alone – not the kind of work most people want or are willing to pay for these days. (It was most entertaining to lift the edge of the collar, and then watch it snap! back into position.)
Comment by La BellaDonna — March 13, 2007 @ 4:32 pm