|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Excerpt from "Style and the Man: How and Where to Buy Fine Men's
Clothes" by Alan Flusser, author of "Clothes and the Man"
Page 131
"How're ya doin', babe?" So greets Syd Jerome, sone of a tailor, who
calims to have held a piece of chalk in his hand long before he held a
baseball. Syd opened his first shop in 1958-south of the Magnificent
Mile and deep in the heart of the business section-and filled it with
shirts, ties, and salesmen's samples. Today's store, wrapped around a
major corner of downtown, is another home to the Chicago power suite.
From established labels such as Zegna, Armani, and Hugo Boss to the
latest European corners, there are three thousand ready-made Italian
designer suits on the floor. Syd sells so much tailored clothing, he
employs ten tailors on the premises to alter or recut as necessary,
using the matching threads he requests the manufacturer to include for
such eventualities. He makes Van Lack dress shirts to the suits and
stocks Thierry Mugler, Romeo Gigli, Iceberg, and New Man for
sportswear.
This is not the place for the button-down set, but for people who want
to look anything other than American or conservative. Like Bigsby &
Kruthers, Syd chartered its alternative course a long time ago. He
decided that the traditional look of Chicago-as epitomized by the
Brooks
Brothers and the late Brittany Ltd.-was well represented, and if he was
going to develop his own niche it should be European (at that time it
was Cardin and Saint Laurent fitting clothing; today it's Armani and
Boss). It was a good decision.
Syd is one of those shopkeepers who is always on hand, doing the
fitting
and the buying while teaching his son, Scott, the ropes. It is due to
his passion for the business that he's been able to thrive and retain
the surprising number of Fortune 500 loyalists who are made to feel
comfortable by his attentions. Outsiders might be put off by the floral
ties, leopard cummerbund-and-tie sets, black lizard belts trimmed in
silver. It seems that this is an element in every Chicago emporium that
positions itself as a contemporary clothier. But one shouldn't be
confused about the business at hand.
Pg. 132
Like Bigsby & Kruthers, whose downtown shop sits directly across the
street, Syd Jerome is a player in this arena of Chicago power dressing.
And like Bigsby, he's helped define his customer's taste and edge.
|
|
| |
|