Thu. June 12, 2014
By Terrence Chappell
When I got the invite to attend and check out Alton Lane, a tailored apparel and custom suiting men's store located at 49 E. Oak Street, honestly I thought great just another pretentious, overpriced shop where the owners are probably Brooks Brothers' reject clones who use custom as a verb. My mother taught me to never judge, and I did. I was wrong. Alton Lane and its stylish founders, Colin P.G. Hunt and Peyton Jenkins, couldn't be further from such and actually bring a refreshingly authentic approach to custom suiting and tailoring for men in the city. With a dine-like area of comfy leather couches, a wet bar, and of course topped off with a moose head, the loft space elicits a masculine edge that's classic in its form but welcoming in its function.
"Space is such an important component of it. We are really interested in building relationships with our customers. Personally, I love hosting, I love having people over to my house. So, we wanted that same element here. We want you to feel comfortable and that you're walking into a space that feels like a home," said co-founder Hunter.
Take your pick of any 10,000+ fabrics sourced from Asian and European mills. Custom shirts can run anywhere from $89 to $200 while a custom suit ranges from $595 to as fancy-priced as your account can handle. You would think it was the store's stylish aesthetic with of course refinished wood, or the perfectly lined rows of dress shirts, or even the cute guy behind the register that caught my attention. While all of them indeed leave impressions, but because I'm a kid at heart and easily entertained, it was Alton Lane's 3D scanner that takes 160 measurements of your body to ensure a custom fit. So, save the ill-fitting suits at K&G Fashions and grade school picture days. With stores in New York, Washington D.C., Boston, and now Chicago, Alton Lane is sure to step up our city style game.
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