Suitsupply and Demand

Behind the seams at Newbury’s newest men’s style spot

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Newbury Street recently got a whole lot more stylish with June opening of Suitsupply, a 9,000-square-foot store with a focus on crisp men’s suits and old-school tailoring from the European purveyor of men’s fashions. Located in the former home of Ciao Bella restaurant and the famed Daisy Buchanan’s, Suitsupply’s Boston spot marks the 100th international store for the brand and their latest haute-spot features an outdoor patio and ground-floor cafe—a first for the Amsterdam-based company.

Named Café Susu, the cafe will open in early July and serve coffee from La Colombe alongside beer, wine, fresh juices and light eats. Guests can people-watch on the patio or unwind with an espresso in the cafe with its vivid green seating and custom tropical wallpaper while they wait for tailors in the adjoining glass-walled workroom to work their magic on same-day basic alterations.

Upstairs, three floors of retail space beckon, with mannequins showcasing navy starter suits as well as more daring options like summer suits with shorts for the pants-averse. Though you’ll find everything from casual knits to jeans within the bold, geometric wallpapered walls, suits are the brand’s strongest, well, suit.

“The main focus is tailoring with a lot of traditional heritage details,” says Nish de Gruiter, vice president at Suitsupply. Think cuffs with functioning buttonholes, boat-shaped dress pockets that flow with the body and pants with “after-dinner” splits in the waistband for added flex when you sit down. “All of the fabrics we are using are from Italian high-end mills of the Biella region,” he continues. Instead of jackets made of synthetic blends and with glued linings that result in rigid, boxy forms, Suitsupply’s treasures are made of natural fibers and boast fully stitched canvas interiors.

For those who prefer the personalized route, the third floor is home to made-to-measure suites where you can design a custom suit or sip Scotch with your wedding party while you pour over samples for personalized tuxedos. “There are around 3,000 fabrics,” de Gruiter says. “You can go as crazy as you want for every occasion. You can pick your lining, buttons. You can have your wedding date embroidered in the collar. There are a lot of beautiful things we can do in the custom department.”

As for his current favorite off-the-rack option, de Gruiter swears by the lightweight traveler suits—made of Cerruti wool yarn woven so tightly that the garments resist wrinkles and bounce back to shape even after you cram them into your carry-on. And with the temperatures on the climb, he recommends the unlined Havana jacket with its airy and wide Giro Inglese weave for those looking to banish the back-sweats this summer.


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