NY made-to-measure: LS Men's Clothing

[knittieguy]

@Despos those were just some of the tailoring shops. 85 Fifth ave was filled with menswear companies. In the "golden age" of AAAC I talked about all of the shops I knew. You had to know where to go. One small shop made for both Dunhill tailors and Murray Bittman. Same suits were miles apart in price. By the end of the 1980's shops started to close due to off-shore competition and aging out of the Italian tailors. I do miss those days.

I am always very glad to hear that you have not succumbed to some of the same factors

 

[comrade]

Street level there were discounters, which I do not recall offering
"custom", eg Harry Rothman, and the old Barneys.

 

[Shirtmaven]

Street level there were discounters, which I do not recall offering
"custom", eg Harry Rothman, and the old Barneys.

The old Rothmans on 5th Ave was not a good store. Bitter old salesmen. Barney's offered custom or special order through their vendors.
The tailors could not afford storefronts. Part of the allure was finding these somewhat hidden gems

 

[comrade]

My Dad, who shopped at Rogers Peet, would take me to Barney's
to buy me "husky" boys clothes. He called the sales staff there
the "Lindy's Waiters" of menswear salesmen.((You may not be
old enough to get the comparison.I'd be happy to explain.)

 

[knittieguy]

For those who don't know, Lindy's was famous for having waiters that insulted the customers. It's supposed to be the origin of the "Waiter, there's a fly in my soup" line of jokes, with the indifferent waiter who couldn't care less about the customer's complaints. I never understood why anyone would want to go there. I was taken there once when I was a kid in the '70s or '80s and by then it was a total tourist trap. They had framed supposedly humorous waiter insults and put them on the walls, and the waiters would make a point of insulting you so you got the "true Lindy's experience." The last incarnation shut down a few years back.