“For sewing accessories, buttons and the rest, Windsor Button (windsorbutton.com) in Downtown Crossing is a great local resource,” say Jeff Lahens and Shawn Harris of ECC Life and Style.

“We have many notable independent Master Tailors in our Boston network,” say Jeff Lahens and Shawn Harris of ECC Life and Style. “Here’s a list.”

1. Master Tailor: Camille Beauge at Beauge’s Tailoring

15 Court Sq, # Ll-4
Boston
(617) 722-4194

2. Master Tailor John Huynh at John the Tailor

211 Cochituate Rd,
Framingham 
(508) 872-9527

3. Master Tailor: Lyudmila Sletkova at Best Fit

268 Newbury St # 2
Boston
(617) 266-4490
www.bestfitinc.com

4. Master Tailor: Dick Robasson at Le Couturier
550 Mass Ave
Cambridge
(617) 267-8696
 

Though Jeff Lahens and Shawn Harris have a hard time not wearing their own ECC Life and Style every day, they do break out occasionally. For those days they head to I Boutique, a men’s fine clothing shop.

I Boutique
251 Newbury St
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 266-1988
www.iboutiqueboston.com

 

For nightlife: Solid Gray two-piece suit, black shirt, black or gray tie, or no tie depending on the occasion and your attitude. Keep it simple with a black pair of shoes. Your socks should really match your trousers. But we say feel free to have a fun with your socks. Who cares if you like Flintstones’ print on your socks? Be you!

For daytime/business: Again, keep it simple with a solid gray two-piece 2-button suit and either a white or light blue shirt. To give the ensemble a little bit of POP, wear a bold colored and fun design silk woven tie. For sophistication, go with a light brown belt with coordinating light brown shoes.
 

“A person’s style is defined by his/her personality, taste, attitude, and experiences,” ECC Life and Style’s Jeff Lahens and Shawn Harris tell us. Here are their tips:

1. Being true to himself. We don’t believe in changing a man’s style to something that is opposite to who he is. We believe in simply help him evolve.  
2. Wearing colors and patterns he likes and that he is comfortable wearing.
3. Being confident. Walk and talk like you own the joint.

Through our work with men from different walks of life, we have found that there is a lot misconception about what made-to-measure, custom, and bespoke actually is. We think it's important.

ECC Life and Style owners Jeff Lahens and Shawn Harris have studied hard to learn about good tailoring for their men’s custom clothing line, so when we asked them for a crash course, they came up with an all out dictionary!

Made-to-Measure: This approach takes an existing stock pattern and stock models (styles), and attempts to modify the fit based on an individual’s measurements. Example: A man that's close to a 42 Regular will get an off-the-rack 42 regular stock pattern. The stock pattern is then adjusted as required, if a guy's chest is 2" less than the pattern chest, the order processor will stipulate -2" chest. A finished suit is created, often requiring the same amount of alterations as an off-the-rack suit. This approach can be very inaccurate, and offers very limited design flexibility.

Custom: This approach insists that a paper pattern is made based on an individual’s measurements, and not a stock pattern; often stock models (styles) are used. This paper pattern is used to mark and cut the fabric, and to create the finished suit. This approach is more accurate than made-to-measure, but it still offers limited styling and fitting gaps.

Bespoke: This approach is completely individualized, resulting in the perfect fit and ultimate in styling options. Patterns are cut directly on to the body fabric, based on an individual’s measurements. At a minimum, a basted (intermediate) fitting should be conducted, prior to garment completion; often two or more fittings can take place. Perfection is the tone in this process,