Made to Measure

Christian Garcia is despondent. “I should give up this business and open a porn movie theater,” he says. He has his hands on a jacket that carries one of the most prestigious labels in men’s clothing, one that boasts artisanal handiwork and has a price tag to match. He takes a razor and opens the lining to reveal the jacket’s innards. “There isn’t a single hand-stitch here. It’s all machine made.,” he declares. What depresses the Miami man that Robb Report has named one of the top 10 tailors in the U.S. is that he could never bring himself to such flim-flammery as the prestigious house whose claims of quality he has just sliced with a straight razor.

For Garcia, the quality and precision that go into a well-made suit are a matter of honor and family tradition. “My father would stay up all night agonizing over narrowing or widening a lapel 1/8 of an inch,” he recalls. That would’ve been Pepe Garcia, the tops in tailoring during the bad/good old days of pre-Castro Havana, the days when the most dapper American gangsters wore Pepe-tailored suits to the opening of the Capri Hotel.

In his Miami exile, Pepe dressed high profile Cubans who kept up the elegant tradition of the country’s capital, as well as wealthy Miamians who learned that he could satisfy their sartorial needs. Christian was in art school; his family had been friends with Cuba’s top artists, including Wifredo Lam. But like many exile kids, he had to go work for his dad and learn the trade. He inherited Pepe’s obsession with making the perfect suit.

Christian Garcia’s suits take no less than 70 hours of work and at least 18 different kinds of material to end up on a man’s frame.

“You think you need a shrink?” he says. “Just wear my clothes for a while and you’ll see just how much better you feel.”

Indeed, a man in true bespoke clothes will not be caught glancing nervously at the mirror, or fidgeting with his lapel, or pulling down the jacket so it does not hike up on the shoulders. Trouble is, most men don’t even know what bespoke means. Terms like custom-made or made-to-measure have lost their currency as brand-name designers have applied them loosely, Garcia says.

“The measurements are taken by the same staff that sells you off-the-rack clothes, and, with few exceptions, they know very little about tailoring,” Garcia explains. “The measurements are applied to pre-made patterns or computer generated patterns. The suit is put together in a factory, not a tailor shop.”

By contrast, a suit from Christian Garcia involves first a conversation about cloth samples and style. He will follow a client’s wishes—and some are downright eccentric—or will make suggestions based on his assessment of the client’s physique and lifestyle. Talking to Garcia is a delight, for this is no craftsman with measuring tape around his neck—he’d rather die than be seen like that. The 66-year-old Garcia is an eminently cultured man, of elegant manners and reassuring demeanor. He’s a true gentleman of the old school, yet avant-garde in his tastes (he knows revolutionary artists like Picasso, Dalí and Cocteau wore only the best bespoke clothes.)

Garcia himself cuts the patterns in his atelier. His tailors, who number seven, will fashion a prototype made of inexpensive fabric. Once the coat front is adjusted to fit, it is hand-sewn to the actual jacket. Specialized tailors take at least 20 hours to make the trousers—absolutely everything is done in the shop. When the entire suit is finished, but only basted together—a loose sewing that can be easily changed— it is worn for fit. More adjustments. The suit is sewn. Then a final fitting.

Christian Garcia can spot even the most minor imperfection where none appears apparent, and he will not deliver a garment until he is completely satisfied. Though he will work to satisfy a client’s wishes, Garcia has a style. It’s a constructed jacket, with a two- or three-button closure, side vents, and a ticket pocket seen in English suits.

Christian Garcia’s suits cost more than $5,000. Top-of-the-rack labels at the best stores cost no less, sometimes more, and they are basically factory-made. A Christian Garcia suit will last a lifetime if properly cared for, which means brushing it or taking it back to the shop where all the buttons will be removed before the garment is sent for dry-cleaning. All this fuss cuts into profits.

If you sneak into Christian Garcia’s shop when no clients are around, you can catch him bent over a suit jacket, pressing it into shape with a hot iron. In the end, an artist, no matter how important, must take matters into his own hands.

* Christian Garcia Bespoke Tailors & Shirtmakers
147 Alhambra Cir Ste 215, Coral Gables, FL  33134
Phone: (305) 567-1324