The Quiet Renaissance of Southern Menswear
From bespoke tailors in Raleigh to heritage shirtmakers in the Piedmont, Carolina men are rediscovering the pleasures of clothing made to last.
The Southern gentleman has always cared about clothes, whatever he might claim to the contrary. A new generation of Carolina tailors is giving that instinct somewhere to go.
Made to measure
Bespoke and made-to-measure tailoring is enjoying a revival across the state, from Raleigh cutting rooms to Piedmont shirtmakers working with heritage fabrics.
The appeal is partly a reaction against disposable fashion — a desire for garments that fit properly and last for decades.
Craft as counterculture
Younger clients, in particular, treat tailoring as a form of connoisseurship, learning the vocabulary of canvas and drape the way an earlier generation learned wine.
The renaissance is modest in scale but rich in conviction. In a throwaway age, a well-made jacket has become a quiet statement of values.
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