American Bespoke In The Heartland

Classic American tailoring is often discussed in the past tense. At Tailored Society in Carmel, Indiana, it is practiced in the present — at a master level.

Co-founders Wade Forman and Zachary Reeder both entered menswear at sixteen and went on to earn certification through the Custom Tailors & Designers Association, which was founded in 1880.

Today, Tailored Society is an accredited Master Bespoke Clothier, one of only fifteen in the United States.

Here is an interview with Wade Forman.

Matthew Longcore: What does “bespoke” mean at Tailored Society — as opposed to everything sold as “custom”?

Wade Forman: It means a unique pattern, drafted for one client, from scratch. Nothing pre-exists the commission — no block being lightly adjusted, no rack, no inventory. We sit with a client, usually over a cocktail, and talk about how he lives before we ever talk about cloth. Then the pattern is drafted for his body and his life. Made-to-measure alters something that already exists. Bespoke begins with nothing but the man.

Matthew Longcore: What did the master credential require?

Wade Forman: Years, honestly. Both of us started in menswear at sixteen, and the Custom Tailors & Designers Association certification came through years of dedication to the craft — pattern work, cut, construction, cloth. The Master Bespoke Clothier distinction is currently held by only fifteen houses in this country. We take it as a standard to be defended every day rather than a trophy.

Matthew Longcore: Why Indiana — and not New York?

Wade Forman: We believe that the quality of our work is more important than the zip code. What we found is that if the work is at full level, geography inverts: instead of Hoosiers flying to New York or Savile Row, clients fly here. The Carmel studio is about half an hour north of Indianapolis. It’s furnished with 18th-century French country antiques and curated art, fittings happen over a cocktail, and a man has our full attention for as long as the commission takes.

Matthew Longcore: Do you think that bespoke tailoring can appeal to a younger generation unfamiliar with it?

Wade Forman: The grail above every grail is the thing made once, for you, that no one else can ever have. And practically: a properly built garment is the opposite of fast fashion garment. It’s fitted to your life, repairable, and made to be passed down. The tradition Ivy Style chronicles survived because it was never really about fashion. It was about permanence.

Every time a man chooses a drafted pattern over a rack, the craft gets another year. We intend to give it a great many more.