When Raja Ratan brought his Dallas-based men’s clothing store Q Custom Clothier and brand new retail concept Rye 51 to Houston, he did it because he saw a void in men’s small retail to be filled and he wanted to be the one to fill it! So he set out to take care of the total man, from the workplace to weekend wear and boldly made the move to open, not one but, two men’s stores in H-town!
Q Clothier:
Raja is quickly earning a reputation as one of the country’s leading purveyors of custom menswear. First, as someone who knows from what he says and sells in Men’s Custom Clothing, coming from a family of tailors and having a successful following in Dallas, the move into Houston’s affluent West Ave complex was a natural one for him. In fact, tailoring was such a part of his life that when I asked him how he derived at the name “Q” for his Custom Clothing store, he said it was named after the master-tailor that taught he and his brother the craft of tailoring years ago.
So how does the system all work for the man who walks into Q Clothier. They begin with a lifestyle assessment and based on that they decide his look and then turn to the most important choice and the driving force behind any suit and/or sport coat, the fabric decision. The fabrics are the finest in the world, mostly Italian. Q Custom Clothier has an increasing focus on offering lux products, including but not limited to, Kiton, Marol, as well as being the sole provider in Houston to offer the Scarpe Di Bianco shoe program. BTW, he does, in fact, make his garments all across the U. S. and around the globe.
Then, very precise measurements are taken and all of the pertinent info is put on file and then your garment is added to the line-up of approximately 1,000 custom suits being made at any given time. Total time from start to finish averages four weeks. Starting pricing ranges from $1095 for Suits, $795 for Blazers, $140 for shirts. Their goal in a purchase is to outfit the man completely.
These guys are busy, for not only are they selling and making for their locations, they also do by appointment meetings to customers as well. Raja mentioned that he has a large professional athlete clientele and currently has a roster of approximately 250 active professional athlete clients.
Rye 51:
For the man who wants casual wear that is classically hip in Jeanswear, casual shirtings, cool jackets, shoes and leather goods and accessories, he created Rye 51, the sportswear side of his men’s apparel duo stores.
Here he is less about custom but carries many of the newest, hippest, contemporary sportswear designers around. In Jeans, there’s AG, Seven, Hudson, Diesel, Levi Made & Crafted and one of the hottest around these days, Earnest Sewn.
In Sport Shirts, he carries such cool names as Steven Allen’s pre-washed, John Varvados, Riviera Club and of course, Earnest Sewn again. He has unique leather jackets hand-picked from Italy. Also within his very hip shoe collection, the big name there, I was told by Raja and Jeff, is Hudson From London…new to me, but very cool, so I’m a believer!
Men’s Trends:
So, while I had all of these male fashionistos in one place, I picked their brains for Men’s Trends.
Here is what they told me was the newest…..
*Two Button Suits
*Two vents now, but center vent is on its way back
*Lapels are still notched or peaked
*Spread collars on dress shirts are the way to go
*French cuffs are a fashion look; this is a fashion store and they do about 50/50!?
*Neckwear/ties, lots of color in solids and prints, regular widths (not too wide or too narrow)
*Pocket Squares are back! Novelty fabrics; with button in corner
So for all of the men out there, I’ve found a place for you. Most importantly for the woman out there, like myself, who is a significant purchaser or influencer of men…..husbands, boyfriends, sons and sons-in-law…and a maybe even a brother or two, I’m giving you a go-to place to shop in, not one but, two men’s boutiques that can give you everything you need or want for your man! Enjoy!
More info on these shops visit www.qcustomclothier.com.