Unless you are 6’0” tall and weigh 165lbs, I recommend getting custom clothes.   Just to be clear I am talking about custom dress shirts, suits, sport coats and slacks.   Great reasons to buy custom:

1. The clothes fit right
2. The choices are unlimited
3. The quality is great
4. It is a lot fun
5. Free alterations for life of the garment
6. It is CHEAPER!!! Yes in the long run it is cheaper; your cost per wear will be less.

If you are like me, someone who loves to dress, but is blessed with being under 5’ 10” and over 200lbs, you know that shopping for clothes can be a pain.  How it used to go for me.  When I needed (or wanted) a new suit I would go to SAKS, Nordstrom, or Bloomingdales and go to the Men’s Department and look around and leave because they didn’t have my size.  So I would end up at Jos A Bank and they would have two or three suits/sport jackets in my size.  I am also blessed with a 19” neck so shirt selection wasn’t so great either.  I would buy my suit and two shirts and spend about $650 for the suit and $100 per shirt; my alterations for the suit and shirt were about $250 and $40 respectively (NOTE TO REMEMBER FIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING).  So my total cost for 1 suit and 2 shirts were about $1,280.  I never thought of buying custom because I always thought it would cost me $2,500 – $3,500 for a custom made suit so I never bothered.  A friend introduced once to a custom suit maker and it was less expensive than I thought and I haven’t bought a suit in a department store since.   Besides getting great clothes the best part of buying custom is the experience.

So when I need (I always want) to get a new suit.  The first thing I do now is take a trip to J Lucas Clothiers at 347 Fifth Avenue Suite 307 (between 33^rd & 34^th Streets) and see my friend Neil.  I walk into the nice studio and sit down on a comfortable couch and Neil will ask me what I am looking for.  After I explain what is want and the price range I want to spend (you can also call a head so Neil is ready for you), Neil will bring me the books, I will look through hundreds of fabrics and pick one, or two.  Then we pick the lining and discuss other aspects of the suit.  Neil has some very creative ideas and neat stylish things that he does.  You then have hundreds of fabrics for shirts.  You select the fabric, collar style, cuff (Always get French) and monogram.   When you are done you have created a unique suit that is just your style.  For your first visit you will need to be measured which takes about a half hour after that it just pick the fabrics and discuss some details and you are on your way.   In about four weeks you go back to Neil for a fitting.  After that in about a week you walk out with a suit fit for you and your style and people will take notice.   Neil also has a great selection of accessories such as Pocket Squares or Rounds, Cuff Links, and Ties.  The best part is the cost; depending on the fabrics the cost is not ridiculous.  My last purchase at J Lucas for a fully custom made suit and two dress shirts that fit me PERFECTLY costs about $1,350.  That’s less than $100 more than the crap I used to get at the department store.   Even if its still a little pricey for you, most custom shops can and will work with you on fabric selection and limits on lining and other areas.  But I highly recommend checking a J Lucas at www.jlucasclothiers.com

Welcome to The Art of Livin!  Over the past few months people have been telling me to put my thoughts and philosophy down on paper.  So the Blog/Site will be my attempt of doing so.  The Art for Livin “A Gentleman’s Guide to The Lost Art of Livin” will discuss my views and opinions and my opinions are neither right or wrong, they are just my opinions.  Throughout my life people have described me as “an old soul”, “born in the wrong time”, even “wake up its the 21st century”.  While people chuckle,  I truly believe that over the years we (our country) have lost its way, we do not hold true the things that have made us great.  I have not accepted this.  I attempt to live my life as I have been taught.  The four greatest influences in my life are (1) My Mother, (2) My Father, (3) Mr Vito “Dutch” Carlucci, and (4) Francis Albert Sinatra.  Over time you will learn of all four. Many of you that know me know that I have NOT changed over the years and I have no plan of doing so in the future.  An old friend of my for nearly 30 years (God that hurts to say I have a friend for 30 years) told me “I met you at 15 and you were listening to Frank Sinatra and you still are, you know they have made music since the 1960s” .  My response was simple “It was the best music then and it still is today” .   So this is my first ever blog post, over time I will be discussing my philosophy on various topics such as (A) Permanent Fashion, (B) My Vices (a) Booze, (b) Smoking, (c ) Gambling, (C ) Entertainment, (a) Music, (b) Movies, (c ) Books,  (D) On being a “Pally”, (E) What it means to be a Gentlemen, (F) and unfortunately a little bit of Politics.  So sit back and enjoy and hopefully many of you will agree with me, because I believe that there are millions out there that miss the “Old Way of Doing Things”  I know I do. I will end today’s post with one of my favorite quotes from Frank Sinatra:

” YOU GOTTA LOVE LIVIN’, BECAUSE DYIN IS A PAIN IN THE ASS”

FRANK SINATRA