I met Mark Levinson one day during a group volunteer effort he was leading which my wife asked me to help with. I didn't know what Mark did for a living nor was I particularly interested. At one point there was a conversation about clothes and this guy recounts an experience of being on a plane at the end of a long work week returning home when another passenger comments about the suit he was wearing and how "incredible" he looked in it. Evidently Mark had made the suit.
I recall thinking, I know exactly what that sort of on-the-road experience is like. But I know nothing about looking "incredible" even under the best of circumstances. And then somewhat peevishly I thought, of course this guy would look "incredible". He's one of those types who's fit and athletic and just plain handsome. Why wouldn't he look good, so how much more would a custom suit add? At the time I believe I said something socially positive and that I would follow up with Levison. But in reality I regarded a custom suit as something which would not help me and eventually forgot about it.
Months later I noticed that among my many off-the-rack suits it was time to get some replacements. I never relish this periodic need to overhaul my wardrobe. In fact, I detest it for one simple reason: nothing ever fits to my general satisfaction and even after spending good sums for decent brand names like Joseph Abboud, Hugo Boss, etc. Note, this too with the aid of a "personal" fashion adviser at a reasonably high end retail store. While grousing about this, my wife suggested I go see Mark. I kicked the idea around for several weeks and finally figured, OK, why not at least go talk to him?
I can't be sure if maybe Mark sensed my hesitation when we met. He started out by trying to get a feel for what I understood of real custom suit making as well as my likes and dislikes ranging from style of fabrics to my needs. As I began to relax I came to understand Mark was someone at ease with himself and the business of suit making and had years of experience.
I had no knowledge of the history of cloth manufacture, how it has evolved or how styles have changed over time and where manufacturers are today, who the best are or for that matter the incredible variability in quality worldwide. Mark took me through this and showed me the different fabric types for suits, jackets, overcoats, linings and differentiated sources (Italian, British, etc.), weights, colors, textures, how one fabric drapes vs another and on. There's an incredible world in just this facet of suit making alone. I had no clue there could be such history and depth to simply cloth production.
Mark explained the fitting process, initial measurements, cutting of the patterns and the fabric, the fitting of shoulders, chest area, collar, the sleeve pitch, pants, the creases and breaks, the proper set on the waist, drape and so on. I was impressed, I had no idea so much attention to detail would be involved in making a suit.
We settled on fabrics for the suit and its linings as well as well as the jacket and pant style. Mark took extensive measurements of me and I left.
At the first fitting the suit had been basted together with some interior elements in place like the shoulder padding, breast canvas, etc., enough so that I could put it on. My first impression was I'd look a bit different compared to the off the rack suits I'd been accustomed to. Mark and Han, his master tailor, spent time making initial adjustments, taking more measurements, marking some things here and there, re-pining bits. I was struck by the dialog between the two of them and how focused they were on the smallest details.
At the seconding fitting most of the jacket's structural components were in place for the shoulders, the chest, the sleeves along with the pants and the linings cut in. Slipping the suit on and looking in the mirror, it was immediately clear I was going to look very different. Even so, Mark and Han spent time discussing minutiae I couldn't follow, marking off and pinning in more adjustments, some of which appeared to me so small and minor I wondered why: the suit felt wonderful and looked great as it was.
On the day of the final fitting, Mark and Han looked me over in detail, tugging this sleeve or that, smoothing a shoulder, examining things silently, pretty much in their own world. Mark then asked me what I thought, how the suit felt and looked.
These days we toss around superlatives to emphasize just about anything. But this was in fact amazing. In retrospect, I can't believe I've spent so much money for off the rack suits. I could go on about the details in the meticulous and beautiful hand stitching, the pocket design and construction, the belt loops, fly catches, how it feels when I sit, stand and walk around. I'll just leave you with this. Go talk with Mark Levinson and let him make you a suit. You won't regret it. read more