Larry Rosen on Bespoke and Made to Measure
Interview with CEO of Harry Rosen Menswear on Men's Fashion & Style!
Mar 8, 2009
S101 : First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on Harry Rosen's Bloor Street expansion. I was doing some research and saw that you had expanded recently.
Larry: Yes, we renovated the entire store, we've added two floors to the existing building which was quite an engineering feat, then we renovated all five floors and it was a capital investment of over 20 million. We have 48 thousand square feet of retail, that's five floors. So it's quite a show piece for us.
S101 : Excellent, I can imagine with such a large investment that it would certainly pay off as well, I guess that's your flagship location, is it?
Larry : It is, it's our biggest store. It will pay off, we are confident in that . I mean, all things being equal we believe it'll be a very successful venture for us. So far, client reviews have been very positive.
S101 : Speaking a little more on Harry Rosen Menswear, I noted that you guys offer a bespoke tailoring service. So could you tell me a little more about bespoke tailoring and the service that you offer.
Larry : A lot of people don't really understand what bespoke tailoring entails. Bespoke tailoring comes from an old English term, to have your clothing, cloth, spoken for and what it means is that you truly design a suit from the ground up for a client, that is you cut the pattern from the cloth for them. Most made to measure suits, you are working off existing patterns and adjusting those to a person's measurements.
But with bespoke you actually cut it and design it to the persons shape. It's a very expensive, hand-intensive process. It's a completely handmade suit and they sell from about $2500 to about $7000. It's quite popular and we have a team of really skilled artisans that work in the store and it's under the guidance of our master tailor, Nello Sansone.
S101 : Oh wow, excellent! Can you tell me a little more about made to measure. Assuming someone couldn't afford the luxury of bespoke, what does made to measure have to offer?
Larry : Yes, bespoke is rarified; it's not for everybody and made to measure is an important part of our clothing business. Actually, it's an option that a great many men go for. There are two reasons why a man chooses made to measure suit versus a ready to wear suit. One reason is that he doesn't fit the conventional criteria of a ready to wear suit. His chest to his waist measurement may be too great of a difference and he can't find a suit off the rack to wear; he may have low shoulders or there may be some physical anomaly.
However, the main reason why people choose made to measure is they like to design and express their own statement with a suit. They want to choose their own linings, their own fabric, their own styling. So if you like double-breasted and you want side vents or center vents you can have that, or you might want a special liner or a special style on the trouser. All of those things are possible in made to measure and a lot of people really like expressing themselves.
It's a little bit like spoiling yourself, and a luxury to have it cut and formed specifically to you.
S101 : Absolutely, I agree entirely. I mean my body measurements are somewhat unique as well. I worked in menswear for 5 years and I can say that off the rack suits can be very difficult if you do have, as you stated, a larger chest measurement. So bespoke and made to measure are certainly excellent services to offer.
Larry : Yes, it accounts for about 25% of our clothing business, bespoke and made to measure.
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