Suitsupply: The 60-Minute Makeover

“I tell my guys, you get three chances to find the right fit for someone,” says Nishantha de Gruiter, head of U.S. operations for Suitsupply, a Dutch company whose name pretty much sums up what it does. “If it takes longer than that, you lose their trust.” We’re standing in Suitsupply’s Downtown Manhattan branch, a high-ceilinged, light-filled former SoHo loft. It’s a mix of men’s club and extravagant walk-in closet: The floors are dark wood; the furniture and wall art are candy-colored. The languid sounds of Nu-Soul waft through the air. Mannequins in naturalistic poses and professionally debonair salesmen populate the space. A few times, turning a corner, I mistake one for the other. There’s a wall of ties, a wall of shirts, a sprinkling of shoes and accessories and outerwear, and walls and walls of suits.

Suitsupply makes and sells suits for a discerning but price-conscious customer—law firm associates and junior equity analysts, young management consultants and fashion magazine editors. The guys who know Super 150s from Super 110s, full canvas construction from half, but can’t afford Ermenegildo Zegna or Kiton and spring for Paul Smith only when it’s on sale. The company works to attract those with neither the time nor the inclination to spend an hour perusing the swatch book at a traditional custom suit shop. Suitsupply stores have on-site tailors, often positioned in the middle of the store where customers can watch them work. Basic alterations are done while you wait. Founded in Amsterdam in 2000 by a law student named Fokke de Jong, Suitsupply now has 46 stores worldwide. It’s expanding fast, and by the end of next year there will be 14 more in Asia, Europe, the U.S., and Canada. Its off-the-rack suits start below $500 and stay below $1,000—with made-to-measure running as much as $2,000—and style arbiters such as Esquire and GQ have praised the fit, materials, and detailing.