Today I had my first appointment for a Martin Greenfield suit at their office/factory in Brooklyn, New York.
The Greenfield factory is on Varet Street in "East Williamsburg" or Bushwhick (depends who you talk to) close to the Morgan Avenue 'L' train stop on Bogart Street. The area has become rather gentrified in the past few years and only a few steps away from the Greenfield factory is an organic cafe and a "Loft Hostel." I have gone out on Bogart Street for drinks and sushi (@ MoMos) so I am familiar with the area; I knew people who lived in the infamous McKibbin Lofts which are close by.
So I arrived early for my appointment and there is little to no fanfare when entering. The factory is on the third floor of an old loft building. The office area when you enter is what you would expect in a factory... no frills and looks like it hasn't been changed in 50 years (which I appreciate). I just walked right in and told the first person I saw that I had an appointment and they said to head into the workshop area; it was a large room with racks of suits and about 3-4 tailors working on garments. Here I met with the head tailor Joesph and started the process of building the suit.
The first step was picking the fabric. Joe immediately went to "Q Project" QZ Cloth Collection - Super 150s (Australian Merino Wool) due to my muscular build and the fact I am very tall. I trusted his judgement and selected the color; I went with a medium gray. Next, he starts taking all my measurements at the mirror. Next to the mirror was a picture of Martin Greenfield and Michael Bloomberg (former NYC Mayor) being fitted for a suit right where I was being measured. Very cool. This is when Martin himself came in the room and we exchanged hellos; I was glad to see he was still at work and was hands on.
Joe and a helper continued taking my measurements and had me put on a jacket and trousers for certain measurements. In all I would say they took about 15-20 measurements. It was interesting changing into the trousers because they simply had me go into a back area which had no door. Granted I have no issue with this but i found it funny; there was a framed picture of Martin with Bill Clinton on the wall. Lots of history in this place...
After all the measurements were taken we went back to the table and sorted through the details including the color of the lining, pockets, vents, buttons, etc. I ended up going with a gray/blue stripped lining, ticket pocket, two button, side vents, notch lapel. Pretty standard. They had lining patterns which are familiar Brooks Brothers repp tie designs which I found funny; I asked about them and we chatted about how Brooks does not have Greenfield make their suits anymore which I found sad. They still make suits for Paul Stuart and Alan Flusser, among many others.
In all it took about one hour to go through everything with the suit. I then decided I wanted a tweed sport coat (why not?) so Joe grabbed the book of Harris Tweed swatches. I went all out with this one and decided to get a 3/2 roll, patch pockets, elbow pads, and horn buttons. The lining is a dark rust color which complements the swatch. Here is the fabric: http://ift.tt/1O4bpqW
In all, the suit (three piece) plus sport coat came out to $3,200 with tax. Half the payment was due now and the second half was due after the first fitting. Joe said they would contact me in 5 weeks to come in for my fitting and then the garments would be finished 2 weeks thereafter.
In all, I was very pleased with the overall experience and was very glad I could support a local business which still makes their garments in-house. The staff I interacted with were very courteous and helpful. It was very laid back and not stuffy or fancy like other shops in NYC. If anybody is the market for a suit in the NYC area, I would highly recommend setting up an appointment with Greenfield and making the trip.
I will update this post after my next appointment in 5 weeks.
Experience @ Martin Greenfield Clothiers
The Greenfield factory is on Varet Street in "East Williamsburg" or Bushwhick (depends who you talk to) close to the Morgan Avenue 'L' train stop on Bogart Street. The area has become rather gentrified in the past few years and only a few steps away from the Greenfield factory is an organic cafe and a "Loft Hostel." I have gone out on Bogart Street for drinks and sushi (@ MoMos) so I am familiar with the area; I knew people who lived in the infamous McKibbin Lofts which are close by.
So I arrived early for my appointment and there is little to no fanfare when entering. The factory is on the third floor of an old loft building. The office area when you enter is what you would expect in a factory... no frills and looks like it hasn't been changed in 50 years (which I appreciate). I just walked right in and told the first person I saw that I had an appointment and they said to head into the workshop area; it was a large room with racks of suits and about 3-4 tailors working on garments. Here I met with the head tailor Joesph and started the process of building the suit.
The first step was picking the fabric. Joe immediately went to "Q Project" QZ Cloth Collection - Super 150s (Australian Merino Wool) due to my muscular build and the fact I am very tall. I trusted his judgement and selected the color; I went with a medium gray. Next, he starts taking all my measurements at the mirror. Next to the mirror was a picture of Martin Greenfield and Michael Bloomberg (former NYC Mayor) being fitted for a suit right where I was being measured. Very cool. This is when Martin himself came in the room and we exchanged hellos; I was glad to see he was still at work and was hands on.
Joe and a helper continued taking my measurements and had me put on a jacket and trousers for certain measurements. In all I would say they took about 15-20 measurements. It was interesting changing into the trousers because they simply had me go into a back area which had no door. Granted I have no issue with this but i found it funny; there was a framed picture of Martin with Bill Clinton on the wall. Lots of history in this place...
After all the measurements were taken we went back to the table and sorted through the details including the color of the lining, pockets, vents, buttons, etc. I ended up going with a gray/blue stripped lining, ticket pocket, two button, side vents, notch lapel. Pretty standard. They had lining patterns which are familiar Brooks Brothers repp tie designs which I found funny; I asked about them and we chatted about how Brooks does not have Greenfield make their suits anymore which I found sad. They still make suits for Paul Stuart and Alan Flusser, among many others.
In all it took about one hour to go through everything with the suit. I then decided I wanted a tweed sport coat (why not?) so Joe grabbed the book of Harris Tweed swatches. I went all out with this one and decided to get a 3/2 roll, patch pockets, elbow pads, and horn buttons. The lining is a dark rust color which complements the swatch. Here is the fabric: http://ift.tt/1O4bpqW
In all, the suit (three piece) plus sport coat came out to $3,200 with tax. Half the payment was due now and the second half was due after the first fitting. Joe said they would contact me in 5 weeks to come in for my fitting and then the garments would be finished 2 weeks thereafter.
In all, I was very pleased with the overall experience and was very glad I could support a local business which still makes their garments in-house. The staff I interacted with were very courteous and helpful. It was very laid back and not stuffy or fancy like other shops in NYC. If anybody is the market for a suit in the NYC area, I would highly recommend setting up an appointment with Greenfield and making the trip.
I will update this post after my next appointment in 5 weeks.
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