Best of Utah Wedding Vendors: Beckett & Robb
[intro]Utah has so many wonderful wedding vendors. Each Wednesday we try to feature one of them. Today we have one of the most talented mens clothing companies, Beckett & Robb! They agreed to share their best tips and advice with our wedding couples. Check out what they had to say[/intro]
Tell us a little about your business.
Beckett & Robb is a men’s clothing company, headquartered here in Salt Lake. Our goal is to make luxury menswear available at affordable prices. Our specialty is custom-made suits, sport coats, and dress shirts. In addition we offer everything from shoes and neckties to sweaters and scarfs. We operate a small chain of company-owned shops, including 3 here in Utah. Everything we make is built in Europe and the USA using the finest materials and tailoring techniques available.
How far in advance should a groom start shopping for a suit and when should he order it by?
If the groom is purchasing a custom suit he should commission the suit about 2 months before he’ll need it. Sometimes grooms don’t consider that they want the suit weeks before the actual wedding for photography, so they need to plan for that too. If the groom is purchasing an off-the-rack suit I’d suggest 2 weeks before it’s needed, so there is sufficient time for alterations.
What is the starting price of your suits?
Our two-piece custom suits start at $695. This is for 100% Italian wool, cut & sewn in Europe, built specifically for the grooms body, with all of the customizations he chose.
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What’s the most important thing to remember when selecting apparel?
Unless the purchase is for a very specific need, I think the most important thing to consider is versatility. Most of the men we work with are interested in quality not quantity, so they need to maximize the usefulness of every purchase they make. The more versatile an item is, the more use it’s likely to get. This is one of the main things we discuss when consulting with a client – how to design the clothing around their life in a way that will be versatile. This often means making sure that the design, colors, and patterns will compliment other items in their wardrobe so that it can be mixed and matched in a variety of ways. For example, if a suit cloth is chosen thoughtfully and the details are chosen with an eye toward versatility, a suit jacket can double as a sport coat, a vest can be worn with jeans, and the trousers can be worn independent of the rest of the suit.
What are the latest trends you’ve seen for suits and mens accessories?
The biggest trend of the moment is sport coats. Suit fashion swings back and forth like a pendulum every few years, and sport coats are having a moment. The trend will swing back toward two and three piece suits, of course. For now, guys are having a lot of fun experimenting with the mixing of patterns, textures, and colors between a jacket and an odd trouser. It’s a fun time to be a guy and feel like you really can dress up and people won’t look at you funny. This renaissance in menswear has made that possible. We always encourage our clients to get a little more daring and try to show some personality through their wardrobe. A related topic that often comes up is how to transition from formal to casual. So many guys wear a suit to work but want to dress down a bit later in the day. It’s not hard to do if you follow a few rules. The #1 rule is to wear a suit/jacket with texture and pattern. This will allow the wearer to break up the suit and wear the jacket on its own with a more casual pant like chinos or denim. Do that and shed the necktie and suddenly you are dressed “smart casual.” It’s an easy transition that can effectively double a man’s wardrobe while also giving them a sudden upgrade since this look is so much better and grown up than, say, jeans and a polo.
Do you have on-premise alterations with a seamstresses, or do you have recommendations on where to go?
We don’t do enough alterations to justify an in-house alterations team. However we have a close alliance with D’Antii on Pierpont in downtown Salt Lake. Diana is the best and we highly recommend her.
What’s the best way to take care of a suit after the wedding?
First of all, only dry clean it if absolutely necessary. Dry cleaning seems like the easy route but the chemicals they use are horrible for natural fibers like wool and cotton. A suit that’s worn frequently can be stored on a nice, thick hanger and brushed after each use. A suit that isn’t used too often should be hung on a wide hanger, inside a garment bag. Generally you should find ways to air out your suits to rid them of sweat and odor, avoiding dry cleaning if at all possible. Same thing applies to spills and stains. Try to resolve those things carefully at home using spot cleaning. If that fails, get it dry cleaned by a reputable place that will lightly steam it and not press it. Those auto-press machines are murder to nice suits and shirts.
Who’s your favorite designer lately and why?
You mean besides Derek and I? I really appreciate what I see from Sciamat, a relatively young Italian tailoring house run by two brothers. Their designs are a really unique and fresh approach to very old silhouettes. And the handwork and attention to detail is the finest I’ve seen anywhere.
Photos taken: Provo, UT
Moxie Photography, a Utah wedding photographer, photographs a men’s custom clothing company based our of Salt Lake City in the summertime in Utah.
