This Menswear Brand Makes Clothes Actually Worth the Money
An Interview with Mark the Tailor
When is the last time you spent a decent amount of $$$ on a piece of clothing and actually felt satisfied with the quality of the garment?
I picked up a few pieces on the SSENSE sale last week, notably this Our Legacy trench coat and this wool boucle fleece from Drake’s.
While I enjoy both pieces— neither are incredibly memorable from the standpoint of craftsmanship.
And largely, the je ne sais quoi you feel when feeling a well made piece has been annexed from our buying habits.
Fashion is getting faster and faster, as evidenced by the massive success of companies like Shein, which rollout 2000+ pieces per day and have increased revenues by 30% last year.
And even some menswear brands once known for their quality have received huge investments from conglomerates like LVMH and seen the production get outsourced to Tunisia and quality go way down while prices go up.
So when Lindsay Mark reached out and introduced me to her and her husband’s new menswear brand, founded on the principles of craftsmanship and tailoring, I was intrigued to say the least.
Mark the Tailor is a Boston-born menswear brand with origins dating back to the 1960s, now being revived with care 60 year later, offering elegant, modern takes on menswear staples, crafted from the finest natural materials they could get their hands on.
Their initial collection features an eclectic mix of pullovers, hoodies, corduroy pants, and an impressive wool coat— all catering the the old money aesthetic that has helped catapulted Loro Piano and Brunello Cucinelli into the lexicon of Gen Z menswear enthusiasts.
I was sent the Statler shirt, a boxy button up made from ultra-soft heavyweight moleskin, boasting the details that make me smile, like a navy poplin collar lining and a locker loop for hanging. I styled it with my new Our Legacy coat, and Ven. Space pants, and Who Do You Know? hat on a visit to Quarters furniture store & cafe.
The shirt’s quality struck me as soon as I opened the garment bag, and I was even more pleased when I tried it on and it fit perfectly. The moleskin is thick enough to keep you warm when layering with a jacket.
I spoke with Lindsay and Adam to get more info on the brand—
An Interview with Mark the Tailor
JAKE BELL: First can you introduce yourselves?
LINDSAY MARK: I started my career in the business of fashion - my first job out of college was at Bloomingdale’s. I was so excited, but it didn’t take long for me to become disenchanted with the corporate world. I left and somewhat unintentionally landed in the spirits industry, where I worked across data, finance, and marketing at established (The Macallan) and startup (Cincoro Tequila, Calirosa Tequila) brands. I’m finally back to my roots in the business of fashion - I’m now the co-founder and CEO of Mark The Tailor, a modern heritage menswear brand dedicated to making clothes the way they used to be made.
ADAM MARK: I’ve been in media sales my entire career, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with clothes. I grew up in a family that placed a lot of emphasis on how we dressed, an emphasis that was passed down by both sets of grandparents. Outside of my day job, I’m the co-founder and Creative Director of Mark The Tailor in partnership with my wife Lindsay. We met as summer camp counselors when we were 17, straight out of a bad rom-com, and we’ve been together ever since.
JB: Tell me a bit about the process behind building Mark the Tailor? What was the inspiration? The gap in the market you saw?
AM: Mark The Tailor was inspired by my late grandfather’s tailor shop of the same name. After surviving the Holocaust, he immigrated with his family (including my dad, a baby at the time) to Boston and built a life as a tailor, opening his own shop in 1960. He epitomized elegance, always dressed to the nines despite having very little. He was obsessive about fabric and valued how clothes felt just as much as how they looked - a principle we carry into the brand today.
LM: There are so many brands nailing either style or quality but very few focus on both. We’ve gotten frustrated with the high concentration of synthetics in clothes nowadays, especially at such high price points, so we chose to use only premium natural fibers and quality construction techniques. We don’t think you should have to sacrifice style for clothing that lasts, so we saw an opportunity to follow in Adam’s grandfather’s footsteps.
JB: Can you tell me a bit about the shop and how it informed what you’re building 60 years later?
AM: My grandfather’s shop was a true family business. He focused on quality above all else - famously closing his eyes to feel for the right fabrics while shopping. Even as synthetics became popular in the 60s, he stuck to natural fabrics. Today, our mission mirrors his: combining exceptional quality and timeless style with a personal, family-oriented touch. Our ultimate goal is to recreate his shop one day. He passed away in 1969 so I never knew him, but I know he’d be so proud to see it coming back to life.
JB: The brand is backed by craftsmanship, which is seldom seen these days. Tell me a bit about the process behind one of the garments from ideation to sampling to production?
LM: Our Dorchester Coat was a labor of love. Inspired by vintage cinched-waist ski jackets, Adam reimagined it in wool for versatility - elevated enough for dinner, yet easygoing with sweatpants. We were lucky enough to connect with the incredible people at American Woolen Company, who took over the Connecticut-based mill and team from Loro Piana in 2014. They are revitalizing New England’s textile industry, a mission we feel similarly passionate about. We worked with them to find the right wool fabric for the coat - something with enough weight to keep you warm yet not too much weight that it wouldn’t cinch and drape elegantly. Once we found the right fabric, we moved onto lab dips and fabric finishing to get the color and loftiness right. This process alone took months, so we had to do most of our sampling in the ‘wrong’ color fabric.
After months and months of sampling and many iterations later, we finally nailed it. The end result required 35 pattern pieces, 3 different fabrics, 2 layers of interlining, 8 different pieces of trim and hardware, and hundreds of hours of meticulous work by our factory partners. The NYC-based factory we produced with is known for their craftsmanship and attention to detail, and it shows. It’s a luxury item at a luxury price point, but it really is such a special garment that its owners will be wearing for the rest of their lives.
JB: Curious as to who you guys think has amazing style and which Celeb or fashion icon you think would look amazing in the brand?
AM: To me, amazing style always feels effortless - think Steve McQueen’s layered looks or the natural evolution of Devin Booker and Jeremy Allen White’s style. All of them have consistently stayed true to themselves, never letting the clothes wear them. Seeing Jeremy in our Leon Cords or Devin in our Park Place Pullover would be a dream come true.
JB: When does the brand launch and where can readers purchase?
LM: We officially launch today! You can shop the Fall Winter 2024/25 collection at markthetailor.com.
Jake Bell is a content marketing, creative strategist, designer, and writer based in NYC. He specializes in brand building, content strategy, creative direction, business development, and making things cool.
Want to chat? Email me: jake@jb.studio
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Great piece Jake!