(Photo: Brad Paris)

Your store specializes in bespoke—that’s such a gentlemanly word.
It’s an old English word meaning “for someone.” With bespoke, you can have anything you like. If you wanted to have a gold spangly suit, you could do that.

Can you smell bespoke from a mile off?
If I’m talking to someone at a party, I look at the buttonhole and I see if it’s been hand-stitched or not. You can tell because it’s slightly irregular. It’s a bit nerdy.

How long should a suit last?
If you’re getting three years out of a suit, wearing it once a week, you’re doing all right. You know, you can’t play football or soccer in a suit.

Are dry cleaners your friends?
No. You should only dry-clean when you have to. The chemical process is quite damaging. I brush mine down with a horsehair brush and take it into the shower to steam. It reconditions the wool and gets lots of the creases out.

How much does a suit cost?
Bespoke starts at $3,500 and takes about eight weeks. You can also buy suits off the rack starting at $2,250. In the summer, we’re introducing a new Core Line suit, which will be slightly cheaper. Around $1,650.

How long do you spend with a customer?
I’ve had customers occupy up to five hours of my time. It’s not like buying a packet of crisps—or chips, as you might say.

Related:

• Archive: “Ask Shop Clerk”
• Articles by Emma Pearse
• Table of Contents: Apr 2, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!