For the first time since Rye’s Joseph A. Bank outlet closed about four years ago, a men’s clothing store will be gracing Purchase Street.
Its offerings, however, will be radically different from what was on the racks at the mass market haberdashery.
Everything at Tweeds Custom Suits, scheduled to arrive in Rye this fall, will be bespoke. The entry-level price of a custom-tailored suit at the shop at 80 Purchase Street will be $1,950.
The Rye location will be the 13th brick-and-mortar store and the first in the Northeast for the Florida-based, family-owned chain, which was founded in 2019.
Style consultant Seth Stahlmann is relocating from Tweeds’ Tampa, Fla., location to set up shop in Rye. He hopes to open the doors by the end of October. There he’ll work with customers to select the look and fine fabrics that are right for them and take detailed measurements. That data will be sent to Tweeds’ “suit house” in Thailand to be made to the customer’s specifications.
About six-to-eight weeks later, on average, the customer will be able to try on the garment in Rye, Stahlmann explained. If alterations are needed, they’ll be done by a local staff tailor, he said.
The company’s rapid growth in Florida and Tennessee has largely been fueled by two types of customers, according to Stahlmann.
One is “the wedding client” who wants the perfect outfit for that special day. The largest part of Tweeds’ business, however, is driven by “the return customer” — someone who feels he must look his best for work or who just feels strongly about looking his absolute best in many different settings.
“It’s not always the usual suspects, like lawyers,” said Stahlmann. “My best client in Tampa owns a construction company” and has bought suits for everything from important business meetings to living it up on a trip to Las Vegas, he said.
Rye’s upscale demographics and location made it an attractive locale for Tweeds, Stahlmann explained. “We tend to do best when we are in affluent downtown areas near, but not in big cities” so company founder Donald Carlson seized the opportunity to take over space being vacated by The Reveal Collection, he said.
Tweeds Custom Suits in Rye is to be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and by appointment on Sundays and Mondays.
