• Cost
Are we talking about the purchase price or cost per-wear? As my dad used to say, “Only very wealthy people can afford to keep buying cheap things.” If cost is your main concern, don’t skimp on alterations or the fit. It’s better to buy an inferior product than to buy a better garment and skimp on the alterations and the fit. The next question to ask is are you buying pieces that can only be worn in one category, such as Business Casual, Sartorial or “Casual Sartorial”? We feel that for the foreseeable future menswear will have a non-industrial look and feel, so there is no reason that you cannot buy things that could be worn in each one of these categories. Now that is true Value!

• Quality
Quality isn’t a subjective word, is it? This is precisely the reason one goes to any “boutique” or “better” department store where brand names and labels are the name of the game. Almost every major department store has basically the same brands under different umbrellas, so what are these retailers bringing to the table? More importantly, how much is it costing you? Pricewise, name brand labels cost about 30% more for the same fabrics and workmanship, and that’s just for off the rack garments. The lack of passion, lack of knowledge and lack of caring about the details can be stupefying.

• Alterations
Men’s wear is not about inches, it’s about the 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch that can make or break the look. Before opening Dash’s, I worked in the “BEST” men’s clothing department store in the country. Their policy was that the tailor who pinned or chalked the garment was the one doing the work on it. I found this to be like communism, by which I mean it sounds good on paper. Here’s an example: The most common mistake in mens clothing is for the jacket sleeves to be too long. Since your “better” garments have stitching at the cuff which at least gives the illusion of functional buttons, the sleeves have to be shortened from the armhole. I would recommend to have the customer’s sleeve shortened, and the tailors would get angry with me because that alteration requires a lot of work. This is not a job for a seamstress, but for an actual tailor. Unlike many of these department stores and “boutiques”, Dash’s never short changes the client when it comes to these important details of sartorial splendor!

• Custom Made “Off the Rack”

These terms don’t usually go together and while we are best known for the quality and quantity of custom made suits that we produce for our clients, even our “off the rack” suiting is custom made for Dash’s. Most men’s stores rely on whatever the manufacturer offers for a given season and make their purchases six months out. However, we pick all the fabrics, styles, and details for our suiting ourselves with a mind toward what works for our client base and then have this stock custom made one month before the season begins. We do this for two main reasons: the first is so our customers have a more unique and rarified selection to choose from, even when purchasing “off the rack” suiting. The second is to provide our clients a finished product to see when considering the purchase of a suit as we realize it’s often difficult to visualize what the finished product will look like from viewing only a small swatch. That’s why every season we produce the fabrics and patterns that we feel strongly represent the best value and wearability, whether in a seasonal or year round suiting fabric. Coming this fall, we will be producing custom shirts in the same manner! As far as we know, we are the only men’s store that does this. It’s practices and standards like this that truly make Dash’s the most unique men’s store.