Frank Shattuck: Benchmade suits
It must be three years now since I first walked into Frank’s workspace, at that time in Cazenovia, NY. Good guy, I liked him right away. He talks loud, like I imagine my Grandfather would have. And there were two dumbbells on the floor which I found interesting. Frank used to box.
Frank came on my radar while I was reading Esquire’s Big Black Book from that year. The editor of Esquire was a fan of Frank and a client of his benchmade suits. It was a nice plug for Frank, a highly praised tailor, who had no real presence online. The article on Frank was part of an article called “The Bespoke Life.” I was amazed that it said he was based in NYC and Caz, so I called his 315 number as I had just bought an off the rack suit from Lord & Taylor.
Frank entertained the idea of tailoring the suit. I thought that while this $200 suit wasn’t worth a damn that it would be the only way I could get learn what it truly means to make and wear a suit. After two meetings and some laughs I saw an opportunity to help Frank. I set up www.fshattuck.com, borrowed some articles and just like that Frank had a way for bespoke hungry gentleman to find him.
Every now and again we exchange an email or a call. And he always asks about Gram. Good guy, now I just need to convince him to make me a suit.
Check out his thread on The London Lounge. It’ll teach you something.
