Tie it All Together

To help you take the guesswork out of shopping this season, we have put together our 6 favorite ready-for-work shirt and tie combinations.

Our Windowpane Dress Shirt and Paisley Tie.

1. The windowpane print came back in full force last fall in rich sportcoat fabrics. Now it’s moving onto dress shirts, like on our Windowpane Dress Shirt. As our Facebook fan Choi told us: “Windowpane shirts are so popular these days. The other day I was in a business meeting and 5 out of the 6 attendees were wearing them. The exception was me.” Wear it with the Paisley Tie.

Our Two Color Stripe Dress Shirt and Shadow Stripe Tie.

 

2. We love ties that are defined by a subtle texture, like our Shadow Stripe Tie. Pairing it with this Two Color Stripe Dress Shirt with the hint of matching red pulls everything together. This is a great, rich, classic look. Under a navy suit? Impeccable.

Our Multi Glen Plaid Dress Shirt with Floral Tie.

 

3. Floral is kept masculine with shades of blue and the glen plaid print of the shirt. Our Floral Tie and Multi Glen Plaid Dress Shirt.

Our Pale Check Dress Shirt and Melange Plaid Tie.

4. Play with patterns by pairing a small print, like that of our Pale Check Dress Shirt, and a larger print, like that of our Melange Plaid Tie.

5. We embraced bold colors and prints in years past (pink and green tie? guilty), but now monotone is always a safe bet. This soft blue on our Multi Check Dress Shirt with the updated dot print in our Melange Dot Tie is perfect for spring, and the pairing would look great with a grey suit.

Our Multi Stripe Tie and Tonal Glen Plaid Dress Shirt.

6. This is your go-to, nail-that-presentation or loosen-up-for-a-first-date look. We will be buying this tie in every color combo (three on the site now, more to come), and the dress shirt is the height of sophistication with a “now you see it, now you don’t” kind of print. The Tonal Glen Plaid Dress Shirt and Multi Stripe Tie are great investment pieces.

A Tailored Experience with Jeremy Roenick

NHL legend Jeremy Roenick visits Hickey Freeman to learn more about the upcoming line, swatch selections and suit bodies.A Tailored Experience with Jeremy Roenick

Hallmarks of Quality: Sponging

At Hickey Freeman, we are as passionate about the care of our suits as we are about the styling and construction of them.

High quality fabrics and trimmings are pre-shrunk at the mill, but that’s not enough for us. We subject these products to a second conditioning process to ensure predictable, uniform behavior throughout manufacturing and the life of the garment.

At our factory in Rochester, NY, we test our fabrics for shrinkage. The variance of fabric shrinkage is slight – usually within 2 percentage points of each other – but for perfectionists like us, this makes all the difference. Through sponging, we re-condition fabrics, thread, pocketing, and interlining. This process ensures the stability of the cloth while it is being tailored and subjected to steam and heat in the various manufacturing stages.

This means that you can be positive that if your Hickey Freeman suit is a 40 Regular, then you’ll be a 40 Regular in any other Hickey Freeman suit of a different fabric. Without this process, your first visit to the dry cleaner could result in unsightly puckering of the fabric due to the relative instability of the cloth and its reaction to moisture (ring any bells from other suits you’ve owned?).

We are one of a handful of suit makers that uses this sponging process. It’s an example of the way that hand tailoring, which is essential to the integrity of every Hickey Freeman garment, is enhanced by modern technology to ensure a comfortable and and better fitting garment.

Hallmarks of Quality: Full Canvas Construction

Full canvas construction is a hallmark of quality in tailored clothing.

The canvas is a floating foundation upon which the fabric is constructed. Our Mahogany Collection suits and sportcoats are made with a full floating canvas, meaning at several critical locations the canvas is gently tacked to the cloth through a process called basting. Basting attaches the canvas to the facing with thousands of loose stitches from the collar to the hem. These invisible basting stitches hold the cloth and canvas together.

Jay Williams Gets Suited Up for March Madness

Jay Williams visited the Hickey Freeman showroom last week for a special tailored experience. Our president Mike Cohen and head designer John Morales presented the history of the brand and walked him through our collection.

We measured Mr. Williams and tailored custom suits for him, as well as choosing shirts, ties, cuff links and pocket squares to complete the look.

Jay Williams, now a sportscaster on ESPN, was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the second overall pick in the 2002 NBC Draft, after Yao Ming was selected by the Houston Rockets.

A young basketball prodigy, Mr. Williams was one of the few freshmen in college history to average double figures in scoring. He was named ACC Rookie of the Year and National Freshman of the Year by The Sporting News, averaging 14.5 points, 6.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per contest. He was also a first team Freshman All-American by Basketball Times.

Unfortunately, Mr. Williams’s basketball career was cut short due to a motorcycle accident after only one season with the Bulls. On the bright side, he now has the chance to wear some dapper threads to his on-air gig. He looks awesome in our suits and we can’t wait to watch what he wears throughout March Madness!

For the Modern Gentleman: The Beacon Model

Mahogany Collection Navy Stripe Suit, $1795, available at hickeyfreeman.com

New Spring suits are arriving to stores and hickeyfreeman.com, and we’re quite excited about it. Many around the office are making orders to refresh their wardrobes, and around here it is impossible to miss the phrase “B model” thrown about left and right.

We joke that the Beacon model is the Hickey Freeman HQ favorite. Although there are splatterings of A models, C models, and more (the Z body is looking very nice for a debut next fall) around the office, the Beacon or “B” model just seems to be a uniform crowd pleaser among the guys who know suits and want to look work-appropriate.

Jon Morales, who oversees design for our tailored clothing, describes the B model as “the epitome of understated elegance.” The series features a lean,

Inside Edition: 5 Questions for James Blaikie

Sales Director for the Southest Region, James Blaikie, sat down with us when he was visiting our NYC headquarters last week. Read up on our other regional account executives, too.

Mr. Blaikie is wearing a Hickey Freeman plaid suit, Best of Britain shirt and tie, a Hamilton shirt and Crockett and Jones shoes.

Regional Account Executive Tim Sandifer is visiting us in the NYC headquarters right now from his homebase in Texas. Be sure to read about Mr. Lang from Chicago and Mr. Quintanilla from Maryland as well!

Inside Edition: 5 Questions for Jeff Lang

Jeff Lang is one of our regional account executives, based in Chicago, Illinois but handling accounts all over the country. We caught up with him during his visit to our headquarters in NYC.

Mr. Lang is wearing a Hickey Freeman three piece Donegal tweed Z body suit, oxford shirt, a vintage Yves Saint Laurent tie, a Panerai watch and Edward Green belt and shoes.

Be sure to check out yesterday’s post with account exec Ralph Quintanilla from Maryland if you haven’t already.

Inside Edition: 5 Questions for Ralph Quintanilla

A few of our account executives who work in other parts of the country are visiting our headquarters in NYC this week. While they’re here, we wanted to showcase their great style and cool personalities for our blog readers. First up, meet Ralph Quintanilla, Regional Account Executive, Maryland.

Mr. Quintanilla is wearing a sportcoat, trousers, dress shirt and tie by Hickey Freeman, shoes by Alden.