Tailor’s Keep fine-tunes the art of suit making, alterations.
Tailor’s Keep goes old school to keep you looking sharp. Care for a drink while we talk fit?
Though Ryan Devens and Erik Gavrilov are not the only tailors in San Francisco, they are nip-waisted, deftly hemmed, effortlessly turnedout proof of why a man needs one.
I’ve trudged through easily 10 different tailors across the city, ranging from high-brow custom shops to tony bastions of S.F. menswear, to what amounts to a low-end dry cleaner with an ancient Singer in the back corner. And, although most of these seamsters were able enough, I didn’t meet a single one who simply had to be a part of my sartorial life.
Tailor’s Keep, Devens and Gavrilov’s custom suiting and alterations brand at 1 Columbus in North Beach, offers more than just fine duds. It’s an inspirational tour of how, when rightly done, clothes can elevate the man.
“We really care about our craft and want to share that joy of tailoring and dressing,” said Gavrilov, 30. “A lot of what we do in the initial fitting appointment has to do with meeting you where you’re at and working together to make you feel great about everything in your closet. We’ve found that almost anything purchased off the rack needs a nip or tuck to be truly personal.”
Gavrilov, who is from a line of tailors and has been tailoring clothes for 12 years, partnered with Devens, 27, to launch Tailor’s Keep earlier this year.
By combining custom clothing — which they measure in person, have sewn outside Boston, and then fit and finish in their studio —with canny alterations, they’re making a bid to, as Devens puts it, “enter guys’ wardrobes.”
“For us, it doesn’t stop at a custom shirt and suit,” he said. “We took our experience at Wingtip (Gavrilov worked there) and Taylor Stitch (Devens ran their suiting department) and added this extra element of inhouse tailoring to refine garments. We’re giving our clients as close to bespoke as we can.”
Devens credits his time at Taylor Stitch with not only learning some of the ropes of the clothing trade, but with figuring out how to build a brand. “Taylor Stitch is insanely good at being able to open a store, make friends with everyone around it, and build loyalty with people. What I learned most from them was how to build community.”
As I spoke more to Devens and Gavrilov about what separates them from other tailors in San Francisco, they veered away from smart dressing and emphasized the old-school idea that your tailor used to be like your barber: somebody who knows you, who keeps you looking nice.
“Usually your tailor is seen as a quick and dirty thing,” said Devens, “but for us, we want a guy to hang out with us, chill, come down from his day. I’ll make you a Manhattan, have one with you, and talk to you about your wardrobe.”
Tailor’s Keep makes its custom suits from fine Italian and English cloth and a twopiece will run around $1,550, with a three-piece clocking in around $1,800. As for alterations, taking in a blazer may cost as little as $65, while a full recut of a suit (tapered legs, higher arm holes, shortened sleeves, etc.) can run as high as $600.
“You could walk into Barneys and get an amazing suit,” Devens said, “but that’s where the experience ends. If you need an alteration, you have a disruption of that Barneys experience. For us, we make a garment and it’s all in the experience. We point out things to the customer: buttonholes, canvas, etc. A lot of what we do at Tailor’s Keep is the education.”
Fitting, then, that in a city obsessed with easy purchases and frictionless commerce, Tailor’s Keep’s disruption is high-touch, old-fashioned customer service.
“We want to be friends with you,” said Devens. “We want to dress you and your friends well.”