Seize sur Vingt Spring 2013
The menswear scene is firmly centered in New York, though upon closer inspection, the biggest names in the game are all transplants. Billy Reid is known for his Southern charm — he’s from Florence, Alabama — and Band of Outsider’s Scott Sternberg (who hails from our own fair city) takes great efforts to separate himself from the East Coast scene. But some brands focus on the Big Apple, including New York favorite Seize sur Vingt, which provides custom suits and shirts to some of the most discerning clients in the world. But they’re about to double their footprint with a new store opening up on Melrose Avenue on September 3rd, where they’ll bring their brand of custom cool to the men of the West Coast.
Andy Cohen wears Seize sur Vingt
Joining the new wave of menswear shops that are calling Los Angeles home base (Mattison, MRKT and Mohawk Man have all popped up recently to hawk high-end goods to the city’s dapper dudes), Seize sur Vingt — which translates to 16 out of 20 — is hoping that their brand of business casual strikes a chord in the mixed menswear market of California. While New Yorkers (and menswear bloggers) don suits on a regular basis, California guys, like the California girls the love, have a decidedly casual take on even the most formal affairs. Menswear trends come and go, but no matter what his style, every guy has got to have a suit.
“We’ve had this New York, modern, tailored, downtown vibe,” founders James and Gwendolyn Jurney tells WWD. “Lightweight construction is our background. “It is the southern Italian way, and that works for L.A.”
Andy Cohen is often seen wearing the brand on his talk show, Watch What Happens Live!, and his cheeky but still classic style is everything that Seize stands for. Loyal customers have been flocking to the store’s New York location for the past 15 years and preciously, L.A. guys had to shop the brand’s shop-in-shop at Fred Segal. The lightweight suiting is what the label hopes will catch on in the Southern California heat, not only because it’s a more casual take on suiting up, but because it’s more comfortable, too.
Seize sur Vingt Spring 2013
The 1,100-square foot space will offer the brand’s ready-to-wear as well as Seize sur Vingt’s full service made-to-measure program. Guys can come in and choose every detail from lapel width to button style on their suits as well as make custom shirts from scratch. Seize sur Vingt uses Egyptian cotton blended with silk, cashmere or linen that is sourced from family-run workshops and mills in Italy, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain to give their suits an attention to detail you won’t find anywhere else. The store will also feature 3-D cameras to film fittings so that master tailors in Italy can get a real feel for each client’s individual details. Choose from splashy Cohen-style brights or opt for more conservative fare. Jurney came from the world of finance, so he know just how guys want to dress when they actually have to wear a suit and how they want to look when they’re wearing a suit because the want to wear one.
Custom shirts start at $210 and suits at $3,500 with ready-to-wear running slightly lower. The store will also carry a tightly edited selection of accessories ranging from shoes and bags to pocket squares.
Seize sur Vingt will be located at 8618 Melrose Avenue, in West Hollywood. For more information, visit www.16sur20.com.
