The Details Behind The Perfect Bespoke Suit
When you are looking for an exceptional bespoke suit, you have few options; You can hop a plane to Savil Row in London to work with an expert tailor, or you can head off into made-to-measure territory with the luxury menswear brands we all know. But what if you could have both–A bespoke fit with elegant design.
A fine garment should be defined by its balance, construction and finish. Not one detail should be overlooked; the suit is no exception, it should be designed with the same intention. It should express the thoughtful dialogue about your style with the maker. Not only does the garment walk with purpose, but you walk with purpose. A bespoke suit embodies confidence and power to those who wear them. What does your bespoke suit say about you? Find out the details that go into making the best suit you will ever wear.
Suits designed by Mark Pomerantz combine the art and science of a great fit, and he creates a luxury product to be admired. Mark comes from a rich history of education with a degree in Menswear Design & Tailoring from the Fashion Institute of Technology, as well as a degree in International Trade and Fashion Marketing from the American University in Rome. He has worked with iconic reputable European fashion houses, and needless to say is an authoritative figure in suit design.
We sat down with Mark Pomerantz to find out more about the process of what exactly goes into creating a bespoke suit, and what makes the Mark Pomerantz experience so unique.
Q: What process can the client expect when customizing the perfect suit?
Mark Pomerantz: We do things very differently here. People can make an appointment to meet with a menswear designer, one on one. You’re not only getting an expert consultation with advice on the direction of the clothing, but you’re getting a product that’s 100 percent, designed by the house of Mark Pomerantz. Everything down to the lapel shapes, collars and even textiles are designed in-house. We design from scratch an entire collection every season. It’s a very authentic and organic process, like couture for menswear. It’s design that has been thought about for nine months, for that one season, to be perfect. What makes us unique is that people come here to identify with the designer aspect, yet meeting the bespoke aspect of that process. You get that exquisite fit of bespoke clothing and the feeling of something that’s custom made, but you have a designer creating the custom parts of the design.
Q: What’s your favorite fabric to work with?
MP: I enjoy working with English woven fabrics because they are all identified as being woven on a two-by-two ply woven structure. English fabrics have two yarns running to each ply in both directions. Technology has caught up to this fabric so that it can still be very lightweight and appealing to touch on the body but benefits from the balance characteristics of the English goods. The other reason I enjoy English goods is because of the water in Yorkshire. More than anywhere else in the world, their water finishes natural wool fibers the best. It’s all about the water, and it makes everything have a special feel and polish to it. This type of fabric is in very limited quantity because you can’t put all of the fabric in the world there. When it comes to fabric, it’s about finding that balance of things you know perform well, and have a beautiful hand, but are also going to make the client look great.
Q: How long will it take to create a custom suit?
MP: To start, a typical consultation appointment takes about an hour. You can come to our showroom, or I can come to you; whether that’s at your home, your office, or while you are staying at the Resort at Pelican Hill. We talk about what the client’s goal is for their wardrobe and we inspire them. This dialogue creates a consensus for what they want and where we can help them. That first appointment covers the consultation, the selection, and the measurements. It takes about 6 – 8 weeks for the suit to come in. We’re very well known for, if not most notably known for the results of our fit. It’s our expectation that every client can walk in the door for their first fitting, and walk out the door wearing their suit. That’s equal part art and equal part science of our system, and our philosophy, and our execution to create that. I think it’s a huge misnomer and antiquated idea that a custom suit needs multiple fittings throughout the process. We have such mastery of our product, from our block patterns to our measurements, to understanding how to fit clients. There’s really not a nuance we can’t account for from the beginning to the end. The suits themselves take about 40 – 50 hours to construct, their virtually all handmade, and the shirts take about 12 – 15 hours to make.
Q: Do you encourage your clients to mix components of their bespoke suit with other pieces of their wardrobe?
MP: Absolutely! We want to work with the client to build them pieces that work with what they have, if that’s what they want, or build them an entire wardrobe of Mark Pomerantz. Everybody has different needs. I myself only wear suits seven days a week, and we have clients that are that way. Then we have clients where we are just one element to their wardrobe, and we help them integrate what we’re making them to other things they can wear.
Q: How should one look after their suit once they’ve taken it home?
MP: Do not dry clean it. So many people dry clean their suits far too frequently, even if they wear that one suit once a week. The best way to care for it is to never wear the same suit twice in a row, give it at least two days of rest. The yarns and the fibers actually require it to cover better and relax better. Hang it on a high-quality hanger. Ideally, keep it in the closet in a breathable garment bag. If your suit does need a little cleaning, steam, and a suit brush actually removes most everything. Depending on the frequency of wear and use, you don’t need to clean your suits more than 2 – 4 times per year. When you do clean it, no matter how high quality the dry cleaner, tell them not to press it, because there is so much construction built into the suit to give it memory. If it’s a Mark Pomerantz suit, it doesn’t need to be pressed at all. Or, you can bring it us and get a tailor’s press, but never have your cleaners press your jacket.
Q: Are there any additional costs for alterations after you’ve taken your suit home?
MP: We stand behind our work and offer complimentary alterations for any of our customers on their Mark Pomerantz garments. Frankly, if a guy comes in two years later and has lost or gained some weight, we won’t let them pay for alterations.
Q: How fitted should a suit be?
MP: I have a proprietary concept of the proportions of a suit, and regardless of your body type, it works on everyone. It’s meant to flatter every man in the same way; suppress the waist and bring the eye up and out to the shoulders. We offer a true fit garment. We cut to the natural shoulders, and provide a tailored but draped chest, and we cut a proportional fit in the waist that compliments. Everything should have a fine balance. It should be tailored looking, but not tight feeling.
Q: What style of suit will suit?
MP: An elegant silhouette will always be an elegant silhouette. We spend a lot of time developing our coat models and lapel shapes, proportions, button stance, with a very specific Mark Pomerantz vision, but it’s not to be exclusionary. It’s inclusionary, with everyone in mind. Everything balances a little bit differently on each customer because everybody has a slightly different shape, but it’s based on a theory and formula that all harmonizes together. We have a large library of models that we’ve developed. It’s more about finding the right look for the client. We want clients to be able to enjoy the variety of the designs that we offer. I think that’s why clients are drawn to us. They want to wear the inspiration, and we balance the artistic with the pragmatic.
Q: How much should the client expect to spend to get a complete outfit?
MP: An average price from our collection would be 5K, which includes; a suit, shirt, tie, jacket, pants and pocket square.
For more information on Mark Pomerantz, you can visit their website at www.markpomerantz.com
