Where Is A Good Tailor?

The owner of Field English Custom Tailors on Wisconsin Ave, William Field has bespoke running through his veins. He inherited his Georgetown shop from his father, William Field, Sr., who trained on Savile Row in London and moved to Washington on a dare in 1963, just a few days short of Kennedy's assassination. He opened his shop roughly five years later and easily became a DC institution. The junior Field only took over the helm in 2005 after graduating from the University of Maryland in 1994 then doing a short apprenticeship at the shop, learning to sew while belting out lyrics with Oi! band Spitfires United. He has been nothing short of the perfect replacement. On any given weekend the shop is filled with some of DC's most stylish and influential, all lounging around and waiting to be measured. You can justly compare it to a barbershop-like experience where discussion of current events is likely to be found.

Field is easily one of the youngest head cutters and bench tailors in the country and has established a clientele that reaches all across the Eastern seaboard, to California and back. I have a habit of going to him for alterations; ask Will himself, though, and he will persuasively tell you that his true passion is starting from scratch, creating bespoke suits that feature classic English styling with soft structured shoulders and chest. They start at $2,500. And he himself favors English tailoring. Go in with a decisive vision, however, (minds usually consist of runway photos from Burberry, Tom Ford and Hermes) and he will deliver perfection.

2134 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC (202) 333-2222; Mon-Fri 9:30am - 6:00pm and Saturday 9:30am - 3:00pm.