Let us introduce you to Black Lapel Custom Clothiers
Pinstripe Magazine would like to introduce you to Black Lapel Custom Clothiers. Black Lapel makes some of the finest custom suits available today. Their custom suits achieve a smooth sexy style, resonating clean contemporary lines, while retaining that touch of class we all want to project. Using their hand selected imported materials, Black Lapel understands how you want to look and what it takes to achieve the perfect fit and even offer their “Flawless Fit Promise”!
“To ensure complete satisfaction with your product, Black Lapel offers up to $75 in alterations credit per suit and $50 in alterations credit for all other made to measure items. Black Lapel offers these credits on a per product basis, not on a per order basis. If a garment is deemed unalterable, Black Lapel will remake it at no additional charge. Black Lapel accepts full refunds / returns for any reason on unworn and unaltered clothing.”
~Black Lapel
Black Lapel has recently launched their new website, go and check it out at www.blacklapel.com. The process is detailed and simplified so anyone can do it from their own home and feel confident that the guys over at Black Lapel will make their custom suit fit right and make you shine!
In the upcoming weeks, we are excited to bring you, Derek Tian and Warren Liao over at Black Lapel who will be providing some feedback to answer questions from our readers about custom clothing, measurements, the body, materials and fabrics, style, as well as provide some great informative articles about fashion trends and more! Stay tuned.
Pinstripe Magazine had a chance to sit down with
the guys at Black Lapel for an interview:
PM: What were you doing before you started designing suits and how did the concept of Black Lapel originated?
Black Lapel: Before starting Black Lapel, we were just three guys working in finance. Two things were always certain in finance: 1) we would be working long hours…very long hours and 2) we would be wearing suits on a daily basis. We were living in our suits 80 – 100+ hours a week.
When you’ve literally lived and breathed in something like we did (in our suits and shirts), you come to really understand what you want in those things. For us, we wanted what we couldn’t find – i.e., luxury quality, well-fitting clothes that were accessible both in terms of price and ease of purchase. We knew our friends and co-workers wanted the same thing and couldn’t find it either. So, we decided to go out and solve the problem ourselves. Black Lapel was the solution.
PM: Who is or makes up Black Lapel?
Black Lapel: Black Lapel is made up of young, energetic people who believe that style can be a true form of authentic, individual expression. We are individuals who believe that personal style is a way for us to better understand and connect with one another. We are individuals with vastly different interests and personalities but who collectively believe that dressing better can be used as a bridge toward aspiration and self-improvement.
PM: So what makes up a perfect suit and how is Black Lapel different from other custom men’s shops?
Black Lapel: The “perfect” suit is one that a) fits and flatters YOUR body type and b) is well-constructed with quality fabric.
What makes Black Lapel different is that we are able to make you a fully custom suit that a) fits and flatters YOUR body type b) is well-constructed with quality fabric AND c) obtainable via a simple, straightforward purchase process at very reasonable prices. We take pride in offering the highest ROSI or “Return on Style Investment”.
But there’s one more thing. We are different because we believe in our company as an integral supplement to personal lifestyle. We plan on creating content that is relevant to your lifestyle – everything from style and product education to individual profiles and journalistic pieces.
PM: What is the best way to pick out a suit?
Black Lapel: The best way to pick a suit is by utility. The first question you should always ask yourself is: “What will I be wearing this suit for?” That makes things much easier. For example, if your answer to the preceding questions was, “Everything”, then you know you should start with a versatile classic like Solid Navy or Solid Charcoal.
PM: What is something wrong most guys do when picking out a suit?
Black Lapel: While this relates to off-the-rack clothing in general, not just suits, most guys are buying the wrong size suit or buying the “right” size suit without getting it tailored. Off-the-rack suits aren’t meant to fit you (even if they are the “right” size). They are meant to fit an “average person” whose body represents the retail industry’s ideal customer (i.e., someone who won’t complain about a poor fit). This is why the Bad Fit Disease epidemic exists and why we created Black Lapel as a potential cure.
PM: What would you say is your favorite moment when designing a custom suit for someone?
Black Lapel: The best part about Black Lapel is letting someone know that he can design his OWN suit. Black Lapel is about putting sartorial power back in the hands of the customer. It’s all about self-empowerment every step along the way. You can design YOUR OWN luxury suit. You can get something made just for you according to YOUR OWN measurements and YOUR OWN preferences. You can put YOUR OWN money to good use and not waste it on something that you’re not completely happy with.
PM: Why Black Lapel?
Black Lapel: Because we’re all about helping you find what you’re looking for. If you’re goal is to find the right fit, we’ll do everything in our power to make sure that you get perfectly fitting, luxury-quality clothes. If you’re goal is to learn how to develop your style, you can tune in to our style blog. If you’re goal is a better shopping experience, our concierge is working 24/7 to make sure you’re fully satisfied. If you’re goal is to be inspired, we’ll be putting out inspirational content.
At the end of the day, our goal is to create a true sartorial destination on the broader lifestyle journey. We hope you’ll join us.
PM: What’s the process someone goes through when getting any custom work done from Black Lapel?
Black Lapel: The process is simple. A customer goes to www.blacklapel.com and:
- Picks a product and customizes it.
- Engages a friend to help record measurements using our easy-to-follow videos (a one-time process).
- Purchases and receives his clothes via free shipping 3 weeks later.
The best part? We back all of our products with a Flawless Fit Promise. Need alterations? We’ll cover it. Need a remake? No problem. Want a refund? You’ll get 100% of your money back.
PM: Is there a popular fabric, design or look that the average male usually gets or you would recommend?
Black Lapel: Our Charcoal Herringbone suit and our Solid Gray suit are two of our more popular products. We haven’t noticed a pattern in terms of a particularly popular design, which speaks volumes about the creativity and individual sense of style from each of our customers.
PM: We noticed the new website and love it. Please tell us more about it.
Black Lapel: The Black Lapel website is still in its infancy. So while it’s still a work in progress, you can expect us to keep a minimalist aesthetic and easy purchase process in place. We wanted to eliminate a lot of the clutter you see on other sites and instead focus on simplicity, which will allow our customers to feel comfortable while they browse, design, measure, etc. We also have some new features that are in the works and will be rolling them out over time.
PM: How can someone from another state get a custom suit from Black Lapel or is Black Lapel only for NY consumers?
Black Lapel: Now that our website has launched, Black Lapel is accessible to customers worldwide. However, since we’re based in New York and two of our founders are life-long New Yorkers, we still provide in-person consultations for those who want to visit and meet us in person. Shoot us an email at concierge@blacklapel.com to get started.
PM: How would you describe what is in your closet?
Black Lapel: A mixture of skeletons ranging from humans to all sorts of small animals. Kidding. It would be an ever changing array of colors, textures and patterns with a large section devoted to Black Lapel threads (both current, past, and future).
PM: Besides suits what else is available at Black Lapel?
Black Lapel: We have some of the best made-to-measure dress shirts on the market starting at $99. Our shirts feature premium 100% cotton and just like our other custom made products, are fully customizable at no additional charge. We make formal wear (tuxedos), trousers and blazers and also offer a limited selection of ties, bowties, pocket squares and cufflinks. Finally, as previously plugged, our style blog features original, educational and humorous content created just for our discerning customers.
PM: What do you suggest are some occasions where men should wear a Black Lapel suit?
Black Lapel: The question should be, “What are some occasions where men should not wear a Black Lapel suit?” Off the top of our head, sleeping, showering, volunteering at your local homeless shelter, swimming (though we’ve tried this and have the pictures to prove it) and tackle football (and this – not a good idea this one) come to mind. Everything else is fair game.
PM: So what’s next for Black Lapel?
Black Lapel: You mean aside from attempting to achieve our goal of helping all men, regardless of size, shape and color, improve the way they dress? We want our fans to name a couple of puppies after us. If puppies don’t work out, newborns will suffice. Yeah, we’re ambitious like that.
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