Dress like it’s 1899

Businessmen are dressing sharper in the recession — that is according to men’s tailor Larry Wood, one of the founders of Leviner Wood Customer Clothier.

“We’ve had an increase in people who had normally been not as cautious with their clothing, more relaxed with their apparel, now considering interview suits and looking for something more professional,” said Wood.

“Things are tougher, and they are being careful to bring their A-game.”

Wood and his partner-in-tailoring, Jeff Begin, run a studio on Monument Avenue. Wood founded the firm 20 years ago with Tom Leviner, who has since died.

The company takes measurements from clients and sews a garment from scratch.

Begin echoes Wood’s observation on their customers’ recent choices.

“If you are a guy unfortunate enough to have a job change, those people need to differentiate themselves from the pack with their clothing,” Begin said. “Personal presentation is 95 percent of how people make decisions about you.”

Everything the tailors do is custom. Wood said suits run from $795 up to $2,700 and custom shirts run from $95 up to $300. The tailors spend a great deal of their time out of the studio working for clients at their homes or offices here and around the state, sometimes even flying out to Chicago, New York or Boston to work for clients who have moved from Richmond.

The duo recently revamped their website to serve as a blog for men’s fashion, and postings cover such topics as to how to choose an undershirt, how to dress for a cocktail party and the evolution of the men’s suit since 1900.

Begin said the blog is a great way to communicate with clients.

“What we are trying to do is create a tool for our clients to not only read about what we might be doing, but what others are doing in the fashion business, and other areas we think go with the lifestyle,” said Begin.

Like most high-end business, Begin said they took a hit when the economy took a turn for the worse last fall.

“It got very slow,” Begin said, “You had to work hard and talk to people.”

He said because many customers have held off for so long and need to update their wardrobe — as well the realization that the sky is no longer falling — business is starting to pick up.

Wood said with the weather-changing business has picked up in the last three weeks.

“I knew we would survive because we operate very lean,” said Wood. “And we have some loyal clients who continued to buy.”

While business was slow, Wood found another way to bring in money by launching a side business called Reweaving of Richmond.

“If you get a moth hole or a tear, you can reweave the fibers back together,” said Wood. “Because of the demand we found several people with the skills to do it. It’s actually a dying art.”

Al Harris covers retail for BizSense. Please send news tips to Al@richmondbizsense.com.