If there is one name in the world of menswear that genuinely deserves the overwrought moniker of legend, it’s Alan Flusser.
Alan is not just a menswear designer, not just an author, not just an innovator and not just the guy who invented Gordon Gekko’s signature look for the movie Wall Street (only one of several movies for which he worked his magic). He is also one of the most well-versed and well-read menswear experts alive today. Flusser is such a close friend of Ralph Lauren, that Lauren asked him to write his biography, which he’s currently working on. He’s also a very nice guy.
Alan Flusser literally wrote the book on dressing well; more accurately, he wrote the books. When people ask me what they should read to help them learn about dressing well, I typically start off with, “anything by Flusser.”
So, it was with thanks to ADG, a longtime friend of Flusser, and genuine excitement that I stopped by the DC office of Alan Flusser Custom. The DC “office” was actually a very nice hotel suite converted to a showroom/salon for Alan’s Washington clients. This trip to the nation’s Capitol happens four times a year and speaks to the commitment Alan and his team have for their clients.
In between visiting clients and friends, I had the chance to chat with Alan; Mark Rykken, Alan’s longtime number two and former head of DC’s venerable Britches; and personal clothier Karim Ferrell. Team Flusser exudes a genuine love of clothing and an unwavering assertion that dressing well, dressing to fit your coloration and frame, comfort and personal style matter even more today.
Mark Rykken
Karim Ferrell
Among other things, we discussed the lack of real guidance for many young men who are looking for role models when it comes to dressing. Too often, magazines and celebrities, “style experts” and self-professed consultants focus on ephemera like of-the-moment trends and “looks” that, frankly don’t look very good. That’s not dressing; it’s dressing up like someone else. Flusser knows from dressing well and the reason he knows is because he lives and breathes menswear but he is not locked in the past.
He as an attitude and persona that is forward looking, intellectually aggressive but not rude. There is the Flusser way to dress and that’s what you need to buy into when you ask Alan and his team for help with your wardrobe. It’s both elegant and casual, formal but witty.
Alan himself was wearing black and white; knowing what colors, patterns and textures work on you the most important thing, he noted. Chalk striped suit, horizontal striped shirt (a Flusser/Gekko signature), solid silk tie, striped grosgrain belt and, almost incongruously, suede driving moccasins sans socks. Natty, personal, assertive but without the “aren’t I clever” attitude. It’s just how he dresses.
Below are some more shots from the afternoon.
