Beau Custom Clothing
A membership service for personally-crafted suits, shirts and jackets at cost
Why buy clothes off the rack when you can have them custom made for the same price? And why pay what most others are for custom when you can get it at an even lower price? Beau, based out of a retail space on the ground floor of NYC’s SoHo Grand Hotel, offers something other custom clothiers don’t—membership and unbeatable prices. Companies make their money on the mark up of each item you buy, but Beau decided to try something different by creating a custom clothing company for members. They earn money on the membership fees instead of marking up every item. $290 a year buys you unlimited manufacturing pricing on custom made suits, shirts, jackets, even tuxedos, many of which are made with Holland & Sherry fabrics. From a day at work to a wedding or black tie event, you can look your best for less than off the rack.
Each item is created to your specifications and custom made by hand for you. Fabric, suit lining, buttons, stitching, pockets, labels—as classic or as dandy as you like. Once you become a member you stop by the NYC location to get measured. If you don’t live in NYC you simply take the measuring instructions to a tailor near you and send your measurements to the team at Beau. After this one-time measurement (and a follow-up for potential tweaking), clothing is produced directly for you upon order.
We sat down with the incredibly knowledgeable and stylish Greg Willybiro from Beau, who shared the company’s perspective. “Beau has been doing custom suits since 2012, but the shift to a membership platform is recent. We want people to understand the real value of the suit,” Willybiro continues. “That’s why we are making this big bet and going with the membership model.” In a competitive sector that’s based mostly on price, Beau has charted their own path.
If you order just one suit a year at their starting price of $390 every additional purchase—each shirt, suit or jacket—increases the value of the membership and your savings. There are more than a handful of stand-out products, including suit options and jackets, with thousands of fabric options and styling that can be dressed up or down, and shirts in more than 500 cotton solid, striped and patterned fabrics, created with the styling you prefer. While there are many styles online there are even more options in the store. Whether you’re shopping in person or online, the Beau team will guide you to help create your vision.
“We’ve learned how to optimize fit and reduce any further tailoring. We’ve established a very good system,” Willybiro says. For those who cannot make it to the NYC shop for a fitting “we have a measurement guide that people can print out and have filled out by their local tailor.” You provide the Beau team your measurements and they will walk through the customization process with you, sending you fabric swatches.
Suits take four weeks to make, shirts three. Final touches can be made when you pick up your items, and if you need to have something adjusted Beau will reimburse any costs. Subscribe to Beau’s membership service online for $290 per year. If you have two friends sign up you save $100, reducing the membership fee to only $190. Suits start at only $390 ($590 with Sherry & Holland fabric), and shirts at $69.
Images courtesy of Jose Quintana
