Five Fits With: Tailoring Expert Jake Mueser
When you think of New York City tailoring, Jake Mueser and his eponymous label should be top of mind. Before the brand’s inception in 2008, Mueser lived on the Lower East Side, bartending, DJing, working in record shops, “enjoying New York the way someone young should,” he says. “I was having a lot of late-night conversations about what I was going to do when I grew up,” he continues. “It’s crazy, because going to parties and hanging out—much of that became the foundation for what I would go on to do. Once I started my own line, I had this big network of people that knew me and supported me.”
The brand recently expanded its New York store, taking over the space next door to the original shop and doubling its ground-floor imprint. It’s entering its second season of collaboration with Buck Mason and launched wholesale, so this spring you’ll be able to find it at Mr Porter and nearly a dozen stores nationwide. I recently met up with Jake at his office in New York City to discuss how punk’s DIY ethos shaped his initial style journey, why less is more when it comes to getting dressed, made-to-measure tips, and plenty more.
Fit One
How did you first find an interest in tailoring? Was there a moment that sparked it?
I was a punk-rock kid growing up. The DIY scene, the idea of making your own clothing, that was a big part of it. In the late ’90s, it was very hard to find the things that you wanted and clothing that fit. So I started learning how to sew when I was a teenager, when I was modifying my own stuff. All those things informed who I was and how I would use that for design and getting everything started.
Would you consider yourself a tailor?
I would not consider myself a tailor per se. I know my way around a sewing machine. One of the reasons I started the business the way I did was, in the beginning, I really wanted to go out and learn how to do everything myself. I started realizing that to become fairly good at tailoring would probably take another eight to ten years of sewing, and to become really good would probably take a solid 15 years. I didn’t really want to wait until I would be the age that I am now to actually be good at the craft. So I started employing people that were a lot better than me. But I think that foundation of knowing how to do it has been great and always made me able to communicate better with the tailors that we have in-house and the partners that we have.
Fit Two
What is the value proposition of J. Mueser?
I’ll be the first to be like, “Listen, yes, I think that my suits are amazing. I believe in quality. I believe in the ratio of quality to price.” I believe in so many things we do. We put a lot of energy into developing the fabrics. After all these years, for the most part, prices have stayed the same, but the profitability of the company’s gone up. That’s because I’ve gotten smarter in how I do things. I have a really unique group of people that I work with. So much of what the brand is today is a sum of all those parts in unison. And being open-minded. That’s something that can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes I think it’s better to be more rigid, but I also like taking all of these things in. Our brand is quintessentially New York for that reason. New York’s a melting pot, and that’s what the essence of the brand is.
Do you have any style tips for Esquire readers?
It’s funny. I don’t really believe that there’s one set of perfect advice. That being said, I certainly tend to gravitate a lot toward playing with texture. I like things that are tone on tone. I like layering that way. I like patterns that are very subtle. A lot of times, less is more in design and in dress. You don’t always have to be the loudest or the boldest person in the room to have the best style. A lot of it’s in the things that you might not notice from across the room. But as you get closer to someone, as you sit and you start to look at it, you’re like, “Oh, man, I didn’t even realize that was a patterned suit. I didn’t even realize what you’re doing there.” And to me, that’s the essence of a really elegant, well-dressed gentleman. At first glance, you’re like, “That guy looks good.” And the closer you look, the more you see. I would encourage anyone choosing tailoring to think about subtlety.
Fit Three
How about tips for how to break up a made-to-measure suit or wear tailoring in a less stuffy, more interesting way?
First off, guys aren’t wearing ties as much. I don’t wear ties as much as I used to. That’s a natural thing. But I think what happened is that everyone was like, “I’m just going to wear a shirt, no tie.” I don’t know that I necessarily think that’s the best look. You’re better off layering knitwear. For me, it’s long-sleeved polo shirts, it’s long-sleeved crewnecks, it’s turtlenecks. All this stuff gives a totally new way of wearing tailoring that’s refreshing but doesn’t feel like you’re just missing your tie or that you just took one element of your outfit off. You’ve brought something new in. That would be one of the biggest things that I’m really into these days, remixing knitwear with tailoring.
Fit Four
What would you tell someone who might be intrigued but intimidated by the concept of made-to-measure and has historically only bought off-the-rack?
For the most part, it’s a luxurious experience, but first and foremost you should be having fun with it. If you’re not having fun, then either you’re doing something wrong or the people that you’re working with are doing something wrong. When I say have fun, you don’t get overly stressed out. Work with people that can guide you through some of those steps. If they tell you that it’s the right shade of navy, then don’t torture yourself over whether that is the right shade of navy or something else is the right shade of navy. A lot of times, the person you’re working with does this for a living, and it takes a certain amount of trust, but it also takes a certain amount of time getting to know that person. Also, do your research. Think about what you like and don’t like. Both of those things are equally important. I have people coming to me all the time that say, “I really don’t like this, I don’t like this, and I don’t like that.” It’s hard. I’m like, “Okay, noted, noted, noted, but tell me what you do like.” The same thing goes with someone who only tells me what they do like. A lot of this comes down to vocabulary. For someone who’s a novice coming into the world of custom tailoring, you probably know most of the things or you feel them; you just don’t know how to articulate them. So do a bit of research and spend some time thinking about what you like and you don’t like.
Fit Five
Are there any brands outside of your own that you’re appreciating at the moment?
One of my favorites these days is Savas in L.A. and in Nashville. They’re friends, but I’ve also had them make stuff for me. From one custom clothier to another, it’s amazing to see someone who’s really, really good at what they do, do it. I’m a super-big fan of what they’re doing. I look at shoes a lot because I don’t make shoes. We’ve made a few slippers, but I don’t make shoes. So that’s a big one for me. It’s like geeking out over whatever, if it’s J.M. Weston or Edward Green or Saint Crispin. I just had a first pair of fully bespoke shoes made by Roberto Ugolini in Florence. This was a process. They took a few years, because it was about my travel schedule back and forth to Florence. I also told him I was in no rush. I have plenty of shoes, but that was really a unique experience to see craft on that level.
If you had to wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it consist of?
This is hard. I am the king of saying that one should never try to find the one perfect outfit, because we always need something different for every season. But it might be jeans and a navy blazer. A chambray or a denim shirt. Some of my all-time favorites are Alden penny loafers. Just a really easy shoe that can take a beating. They can be super dressed up, and they can be at home with no socks and a pair of swim trunks.
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