Union made in Brooklyn, NY at Martin Greenfield Clothiers, each suit is a study in what a suit should be. Design, fit and vintage English dead-stock wools are sourced first based on an initial consultation with the client. Once fit is decided and fabric is chosen, a series of twenty five measurements are taken and sent to Martin Greenfield where a basic construction is made. Baste stitched and left without collar, lining or buttons, a “raw” try on is next.
With inches left in each seam, the jacket is fit and fine tuned as needed. With the essential silhouette in place, one of our two F.S.C. tailors on site cuts the jacket and again, it’s sent to Greenfield for further finishing.
Every stitch done by hand, each suit is built on the foundation of a natural horse/camel hair canvas, its parts left fully floating to allow the suit, over years of wear, to better keep its shape and durability while forming to the wearer’s body. Constructed with a two-part lining, the upper of Bemberg cotton, the lower of a Gossamer Swiss cotton. This gauze like fabric allows the suit to breathe in addition to providing a view of the internal intricacies of the stitch work.
The jacket returns to us from Brooklyn nearly completed, less buttons and buttonholes. A final fitting is conducted with our tailors upstairs, at which point the finishing touches are made. Pants are hemmed and the Jacket’s basting stitches are removed. Hand-cut, polished oxhorn buttons, from old school New England manufacturer Shantz, are affixed and buttonholes are hand stitched in silk. Once everything is satisfactory, the client leaves with a suit surely to become an heirloom.
Having worked with Martin Greenfield since the inception of the F.S.C. Made to Measure service, both companies remain dedicated to the swiftly vanishing craft and expertise of things made, with care, by hand. Among only a few remaining major suit factories left in the U.S.A., it is the same factory where Martin Greenfield began sweeping floors in 1947 and came to purchase some twenty three years later. Each suit contains over sixty years of quality and history, a story told in each stitch, creating a suit in which perhaps sixty years of history has yet to be written.
MTM: Patterns/Fits
Made to Measure is all about vintage dead-stock English wools, old-school construction and fit. A man’s suit should be comfortable, functional and well made. F.S.C. offers four patterns, each subtly different and expertly cut to meet the needs of varying body types.
The Standard is born of classic Savile Row tailoring. Featuring a semi-constructed yet unpronounced shoulder, the Standard is a double vented, dual lined, completely hand-stitched jacket paired with a ¾ slant pocket, button fly trouser. Two polished oxhorn buttons with a 3½" notch lapel, the Standard is available in three piece for Fall and two piece for Spring but is the suit you will return to year after year.
F.S.C. also offers the Standard suit fit and construction in a double-breasted, 3½" peak lapel side vented jacket. Trousers are similar to the higher rise, wide straight leg of the Baggy.
In addition, a Sports Coat is available in a similar cut to the Standard, with a single vent, a two part lining and 3½" notch lapel, it is an inch shorter.
The Slim suit shares the same hand construction as the Standard with slight changes in its proportions. A narrower 2½" notch lapel and ½" higher armholes, the jacket is cut ½" narrower in the body and up to an inch shorter in length. The same two-part Bemberg/gossamer Swiss cotton hand-stitched lining, the Slim, as every F.C.S. suit, will hold steadfast in strength and durability due to its fully floating, un-fused construction. The Slim is also available in three piece and two piece.
The Baggy is the two piece work horse of this distinguished bunch. With the same 3½" notch lapel and armhole as the Standard, the Baggy is a three button, single vent, patch pocket jacket with a less constructed shoulder than the rest. Based on the working man’s suit of the 40’s, it’s cut shorter and ½" wider across the back panel to allow for broader shoulders and a better ease of movement. The jacket is made using the same two-part lining and hand stitching throughout. The trousers are cut with a higher rise and a wide, straight leg on which a cuff is generally encouraged.
The Fourth Style is the F.S.C. made to measure suit boiled down to its essential and straight forward parts. While keeping a keen eye for both detail and construction, F.S.C. offers a suit both durable and cost-conscious without sacrificing much by way of quality. Constructed from the same deadstock English wools as the rest, the (blank style) is lined in full Bemberg cotton, with a fit that stays close to that of the Slim. The jacket has a single vent and 2" notch lapel, while the trousers feature a zip fly, ¾ pocket and a low, slightly narrower leg. This suit is all the F.S.C. bang for less buck.
All F.S.C. clothing goods are made by hand in the U.S.A., a common thread that illuminates the ethos on which FSC is based. From the sourcing of the fabric to the final stitch, the benchmark for each and every suit is to provide a quality and detail oriented service in which every aspect of the process is a comfortable and pleasurable one. A process in which the first bit of history of your F.S.C. suit is written.
