NY Times Style on Bespoke Clothes
Finally. It used to be that gentlemen knew the value of hand-sewn lapels and boots made from a model of your foot. No longer:
Sometimes the designer item can be a safer bet. The very growth of customization has eroded several terms crucial to knowing what you are getting. “Customized” and “made to order” refer to a stock item ordered in a different color or with, say, a different finish. “Made to measure” means making something new from a stock pattern in a stock fabric, but altered to a man’s measurements; a “custom-made” item is designed to one’s measurements and specifications from the ground up. But the terms are often used indiscriminately, leading to confusion.
No mention of Vogel, sadly.
But nods to Langlitz, John Lobb, and Michael Andrews. Ostensibly sensible, these choices belie their expertise: men who wear bespoke clothing know the best suits can be made in South Korea or Hong Kong just as well as they can be in New York (leather, admittedly, cannot: Langlitz is indeed very good at what they do) and for a fraction of the price — enough to cover the airfare and hotel. Can’t make the trip? There’s a fine tailor in Chinatown, just off the Bowery, that makes beautiful suits using fine Italian cloth — cheap — but you need to know what you’re talking about to have known that.