OTC is honored to welcome guest contributor Jon Green. Jon is best known as one of the finest bespoke clothiers to be found anywhere. Jon is also a remarkable teacher, formally trained musician and a stellar arbiter of sartorial wisdom. We are more than happy to call him a friend.

There are those who believe that to be a credible custom clothier one must actually be a tailor and make the clothing. It recently occurred to me that what I do with my bespoke clothing business is much like what I did, and sometimes still do, as a conductor.

Although the vast majority of conductors play at least one orchestral instrument and/or compose music, (I am a pianist, a singer, a percussionist, and an orchestrator and arranger by training and experience), the conductor usually does not compose the piece or make the sound.

The conductor’s responsibility is for those who do produce the sound. In the aforementioned assessment the fact that I am not a tailor misses the point. My understanding of patterns, pattern making, how garments should be made, fit, and look, offers benefits for my clients that complement and enhance the efforts of the person who actually cuts and makes the garment.

To me it is impossible to be a great craftsman responsible for making the clothes and a ‘front’ man responsible for sales, marketing, and administration. Artisan craftsmen have very special skills, but they are not all encompassing. However, there persists a tradition in New York of custom tailors who “do it all.”

A Jon Green Suit in Process

That tradition, it would seem, developed after WWII following the immigration to the U.S., specifically to New York, of European tailors, many of them Italians. At that time in Europe, most men wore suits every day (there was no sportswear) and young men in Italian villages apprenticed to a tailor at age 8 or 9, as one told me, to keep him off the street and out of trouble after school. (He understood then that his choices were to be a tailor, a butcher, a barber, or a mobster.)

Nino Corvato, an Italian-American New York tailor featured in the documentary film “Men of the Cloth” said, “It is impossible to train young tailors in the States. When young people come to me to learn tailoring after they have completed their basic education at 18, they have adult responsibilities and expenses and cannot make enough money to live on in NY as an apprentice.” I would add that, like an instrumentalist, if it is “not in the fingers” at age 14 it is too late for a major career.

In the global economy of today many of my clients require an international look that functions well wherever they go around the world; others want something more personal, or both. The background of an artisan tailor does not usually provide the breadth of expertise to be of use to these clients. My clients depend on me to coach them and to make for them what they want and need.

The Finished Lapel

In a recent advertisement for a museum show in New York featuring the work of Leonardo da Vinci, the headline “Genius is Timeless” reminded me of what many call the ‘timelessness’ of our look.

If there is genius in what we do, it shows up in our clothes. We respect what our clients want their clothing to be for them. In distinguishing what they have not distinguished for themselves, we collaborate in the creation a personal expression that functions so well that it does not become dated. Fashion is fleeting, but (individual) style is for life.

Whatever happened to the barber shop? The kind of place guys went to – not a salon, not a day spa, just a good old barber. Instinctively, men do know about these things, because real barber shops are guy places.

They have a certain smell, a certain feel; other guys hanging out before or after a shave and a haircut. Ultimately, they are a sort of a grown up clubhouse. It’s not home, not the office – it’s the “third place.”

Think of Al Capone in the opening of the classic movie “Untouchables.” He was not getting an avocado and pear facial; he was getting the hot towel treatment prior to a straight edge shave. And he was wearing a tie. That’s what guys do.

Kennedy’s All-American Barber Club is all about that. It’s a place for guys that both harkens back to the local barber shop, but also infuses that model with a more modern flair – a lounge with flat screen TV, it’s own branded magazine and depending on the franchisee, a host of inspired layouts.

Yes, Kennedy’s is a franchise; surprising to some, but wholly logical to Chris Hurn. Chris is the CEO of Mercantile Capital Corporation, the parent company of Kennedy’s and entrepreneur extraordinaire. While that corporate framework takes some of the wind out Kennedy’s small-town nostalgic sails, Hurn is genuine when it comes to what Kennedy’s means for men. He want’s to see Kennedy’s everywhere, not only because it’s great for business, but also because he wants men to get back to being men.

Chris Hurn (3rd from right) and the Kennedy’s crew

Chris Hurn recently sat down with OTC and we chatted about Kennedy’s, haircuts and men’s clubs. Hurn is a self described serial entrepreneur and came across Kennedy’s predecessor in the new urbanist town of Celebration Florida.

A couple of British guys had developed and executed a membership-based version of an American barber shop, but its business model was sorely lacking. Hurn, who as a member himself, saw enormous potential and offered to by them out. After a two year process, the deal was closed and Hurn had his newest company.

Hurn told me that he liked the idea of a membership-based operation, which is a great franchise model. While anyone can walk in and get a haircut or shave, members are afforded various all-inclusive packages based on their tier of membership – unlimited haircuts or straight razor shaves, shoe shines and, at some locations, massages.

The target audience is the mass-affluent guy pulling in around $75,000, who sees this as a well-deserved treat to himself. It’s a small but regular luxury that lets him relax and hang out with other guys.

“It’s a men’s club that happens to cut hair and give shaves, “Hurn said.

And the shave part of that equation is no small matter. Most states regulate who can actually give a straight razor shave; some don’t even allow them. Shaving in this manner is akin to an art form that only experience can provide.

In Maryland, for example, only certified Master Barbers can use a straight razor. After fine tuning the model, Kennedy’s was re-launched in August of 2008 and business is going strong. Currently, there are eight locations with several more coming on line in the immediate future. My location, in Rockville, Maryland, is number seven.

Owners Dave Gagner and Jeff Bochner invited me in for a complimentary shave and haircut which I promptly accepted (it had been a least a month, so the timing was perfect.) While their location, then open only a few months, was still a work in progress, the vision was obvious: your grandfather’s barber shop updated for today – along with complementary coffee, bottled water, soda, snacks.

At some shops you can even kick back with a nice cold beer. As Jeff told me, each franchisee works off a standard floor plan template based on the footprint of their space. However, there is enormous flexibility limited only by zoning regulations. Some owners expand their lounge areas into full-blown private club type spaces – one franchisee is even planning to include a full service bar.

In Jeff’s case, as an entrepreneur himself, he and his business partner opted to relocate their own offices into the shop’s space and construct a separate boardroom that is available for member’s to use. This means that members can hold meetings and receive clients at their “club.” It’s a great selling point, member benefit and marketing tool.

My haircut and shave were excellent and the experience relaxing. I have to say, that shave is reason enough to come back – I nice old school neck massage helped round it out. In fact, I’ll probably join and take advantage of those unlimited shaves and haircuts.

Kennedy’s is moving full speed into the lifestyle/branding market, as one would expect from a guy who created a rather massive holding company based on entrepreneurship and franchising. Kennedy’s branded grooming products just launched and should be filling the shelved of a location near you and they already have their own in-house magazine – a good one at that.

I’m trying out the lighter version of my template – what do you think? I know that it seems everyone is using this, but I am unhappy with how the sidebar links are getting lost in the background blue.

I plan on working with a designer to come up with a new, appropriately OTC-inspired, header. I’d like to get some reader feedback if you have a minute to give me you thoughts. In many ways, this site is as much yours as mine and I want to shepherd the OTC brand carefully and without loosing its heart.