HOW TO DRESS, EQUIP, AND ENTERTAIN THE BOROUGH GENTLEMAN

BY MATT SCANLON AND INDUSTRY STAFF

MEN’S SUIT ROBINSON BROOKLYN
Now celebrating its 22 anniversary, this custom suit-maker expanded from Manhattan to a second location in North Williamsburg seven years ago (though Brooklyn is its only home now), and, according to principal Craig Mack Robinson, “couldn’t have imaged how right it felt.”

A native New Mexican, he began his clothes making journey at 8 years old. “My mother and aunt worked in the Levi Strauss factory on the outskirts of town,” he recalled, “and a lot of patchwork garments were made on the kitchen table from the scraps my mother would bring from work.”

He opened his first store, on Route 66 in Albuquerque, at all of 20, later honing skills in an NYC hat shop and spending a few summers working in a suit factory in Italy.

Today, Robinson’s operation offers bespoke suits, jackets, trousers, and custom shirts, as well as seasonal ready to wear items, all bench made in house the sum a signature take on “classic items you always wished you had.”

Bespoke suits, Robinson explained, “allow us to maximize the custom experience. There is no limit to requests, regardless of complexity,” adding “what makes this shop so special is that you can see the staff making garments while you’re shopping, and often the person selling you the suit is the one who’s making it.” After an initial meeting and measuring, a pattern is drafted to exact specifications, with the resulting suit requiring anywhere from two to four fittings. Time consuming, sure, but what is created in the end is an extraordinary work of tailoring art. “We looked to Brooklyn for the future of our business because it has a new, young, and exciting feel to it,” said Robinson. “There’s a maker spirit here, as well as a creative community…that’s what we wanted to integrate ourselves with.” Bespoke suit prices start at $4,000. 85 North 3rd Street, #117, 718.218.9800, robinsonbrooklyn.com

A&G SPREAD

MOTO GUZZI V9 BOBBER SPORT VESPA BROOKLYN
Scooters are a blast, and city perfect in a myriad of ways, so Vespa Brooklyn and Vespa Manhattan New York’s only “exclusive authorized” dealers of Aprilia, Piaggio, and Vespa models are sitting in something like the fabled catbird seat. Lest we forget, too: they are also the only authorized dealer for Moto Guzzi, a 99 year old Mandello del Lario, Italy based maker of some of the fi nest motorcycles on the planet famed for its air cooled 90° V twin engines and their unique crankshaft orientation (cylinder heads protruding on both sides). The V9 Bobber Sport to us very much like a Harley Sportster if it spent time in a Milan fi nishing school (its 850cc engine is in the same class as the Sportster, too) is the perfect size for city and nearby driving, its lowered single seat saddle creating a slightly hunched over sport riding position, while keeping a driver’s head up at all times. With its two tone coloring, black aluminum mini fairing, headlight lowered in racer style, and a shortened front fender, there’s plenty of attrazione sessuale! $10,690 (MSRP).
215 Park Avenue, 718.254.0808, vespabk.com

MERCEDES BENZ GLE CLASS INFINITE AUTO LEASING
Not far from the boardwalk, on Avenue Z, Alex Tsirulnikov takes in the area’s changing pace with the practiced eye of a long time resident. (“I came here in 1989,” he said. “I was 15, and my now business partner was 13.”) Infinite Auto Leasing, which he and Serge Gayetsky opened 15 years ago, caters to a new age of city customers by offering its spectrum of mid and high range vehicles via a service model built around New Yorkers’ famous busyness.

“People don’t want to shop and spend their time in a dealership,” he explained. “In 15 minutes, I can get you a car.”

One of our recent favorites there is this redeisgned for 2020 GLE, with swanky chrome embellishments, a significantly air slipperier body, intelligent LED lighting, and a three inch longer wheelbase for a more supple ride. Infotainment systems now support gesture control, while semiautonomous features include Active Stop and Go Assist, Active Brake Assist, and Cross Traffic Assist. The base model sports a 2 liter in line four cylinder turbo motor (255 horsepower, 273 pound feet of torque), but there’s also a 3 liter six cylinder turbo option, making 362 horsepower and 369 pound feet. Call or visit for pricing.
1518 Avenue Z, 718.769.2886, infiniteleasing.com

FRENCH INDUSTRIAL DESK MARK JUPITER FURNITURE
Mark Jupiter’s reclaimed wood furniture shop in Dumbo is the anti IKEA a customer service driven facility wherein attention to detail and meticulous care trump big box mass production. A fourth generation builder, he grew up on the Upper West Side, where his craftsman dad constructed furniture in the family apartment.

“I grew up as his indentured servant,” he recalled with a laugh. “He taught me proper technique and tools, but really, and more pivotally, showed me how to be an inventive craftsman.”

Jupiter opened his Brooklyn storefront in 2013, an 8,000 square foot space, 2,000 of them dedicated to the showroom. In the summer, the operation opens to the public via a colossal swinging door. Yellow pine, elm, white oak, and red oak are just a few of the wood varieties that can be found in a custom piece, often complemented by metal furnishings and fittings, which are also made in house. His inventory includes tables, bunk beds, mirrors, benches, and office furniture one of our favorite examples of the last this stunning French Industrial Desk, made from a type of wood we will simply never see again.

“This piece is inspired by the Steampunk era, when designers were first dreaming up what the future of technology might look like,” explained Jupiter. “The top is made from a salvaged Brooklyn water tower from the 1950s. Back then, water towers here were, sadly, made from 1,000 plus year old Pacific Northwestern Redwood. The unique color variations of the wood are caused by the high mineral content of city water. After 70 years as a vessel, minerals have penetrated deep into the grain, giving it this one of a kind fingerprint.”
202 Plymouth Street, 718.401.6600, markjupiter.com

MOORE & GILES JAY BRIEFCASE AND LICENSE WALLET MODERN ANTHOLOGY
The Jay is a design collaboration between Forest, VA based leather goods maker, Moore & Giles, and this gem of a store in Boerum Hill. A place that can actually distract the shopping man for hours, Modern Anthology houses clothing, furniture, grooming supplies, shoes, and home décor knick knacks, as well an interior design department that has supplied the vision for bars, stores, homes, even sets for The Dan Patrick Show and The Nick & Artie Show.

Essentially packing all the functionality of a standard briefcase into in a tighter, streamlined silhouette (15 inches wide), it features two zip pockets on the front and one large drop in pocket with snap closure on the back. Also featuring a 53 inch adjustable/removable strap, it’s available in a lighter weight waxed canvas and leather version or the all leather option seen here. Moore & Giles’s likewise smaller dimension leather wallet is made for the gent who likes to keep things minimal. Center opening, with two card slots and a clear license holder. The Jay is available for special mail order only (call, visit, or on line shop to order). $825 and $75.
123 Smith Street, 929.250.2880, modernanthology.shop

ROLEX SEA DWELLER WILLIAM BARTHMAN
Rolex single handedly established the divers watch sector in 1926 when company founder, Hans Wilsdorf, introduced the Oyster case. Its combination of a screwed crown and case back and securely sealing crystal provided theretofore unheard of water resistance (a claim proven one year later when Mercedes Gleitze attempted the first cross English Channel swim while wearing one).

The Swiss maker’s Sea Dweller, which debuted in 1967, established new benchmarks, including waterproofi ng to an astonishing 4,000 feet, and it has been a jewel in Rolex’s crown ever since. Its signature black dial and large hands and indices are reserved for the maker’s professional models, with the Sea Dweller adding an innovative Chromalight display its distinctive blue glow lasting up to eight hours, and with uniform luminosity.


Other technical highlights include a newly developed calibre 3235 self-winding mechanical movement that’s insensitive to magnetic interference, a three piece link with safety clasp, and a house developed oyster steel bracelet its alloys commonly used in aerospace and chemical industries where robust resistance to corrosion is essential.
20 Broad Street, Manhattan, 212.732.0890 1118
Kings Highway, 718.375.1818, williambarthman.com

STRAIGHT RAZOR SHAVE PERSONS OF INTEREST BARBER SHOP
Tucked neatly and successfully between corner barbershops’ $15 $20 cuts and the fussiness and considerable expense of places like Martial Vivot Salon Pour Hommes and Warren Tricomi (even with the latter’s chrome countertops and free flowing champagne) is this three location shop (Williamsburg, Fort Greene, and Carroll Gardens), launched and owned by television producer Steve Marks.

While not déclassé by any means, the vibe is conversational, fraternal, refreshingly downbeat, though services are fueled by considerable expertise…and then there’s the option of a terrific little espresso, too. Its notoriety was partially fueled by Persons of Interest being featured in the Aziz Ansari starred Netflix series, Master of None.

Services include standard haircuts ($50 to $60), buzz cuts ($30), and beard trims ($25), but we come for the straight razor, baby a shave that is simply miles away from home attempts, and a hell of a lot more fun. One compelling advantage is that, in the right hand, straight razors reduce the irritation, shave bumps, and ingrown hairs so common with cartridge or electric razors (one blade against your skin at any time instead of many… nusaid?). $50
82 84 Havemeyer Street, 88 S. Portland Avenue, 299 Smith Street, personsofinterestbklyn.com

BROOKLYN BILLIARD TABLE BRUNSWICK BILLIARDS
Founded 170 years ago by John Moses Brunswick, who emigrated from Switzerland to make a new life in the U.S., Brunswick Corporation, now headquartered in the northern Chicago suburb of Mettawa, was pivotal in popularizing both billiards and bowling in America (for the former, John and his brothers are also recognized for setting standards for competition and creating structure and rules to govern the game). The company continues to make tables of internationally recognized craftsmanship and distinction.

Brunswick’s Brooklyn Billiard Table, the maker explained, aims to “deliver a swanky old school New York style with a retro spin” its brushed matte black finish and silver powder coated stretchers presenting strikingly uncluttered lines. Fourteen cloth color options are available on this 8 foot model, its base frame, legs, rails, and aprons all solid hardwood. A matching wall rack is available separately.

$5,800, plus a $400 shipping and handling fee, which includes professional installation.
For local dealers in NY and NJ, visit brunswickbilliards.com

AN END TO EXCESSIVE SWEATING RR PLASTIX NY SURGERY CENTER
There are over 15 million people in the U.S. living with hyperhidrosis, defined by the Mayo Clinic as “abnormally excessive sweating involving the extremities, underarms, and face.” Usually unrelated to body temperature or exercise, this condition can range from annoying to life diminishing. In the case of the latter, and when multiple showers a day, prescription antiperspirants, or special pads have exhausted their effectiveness, there’s a fascinating and relatively novel solution. Botox, which got its start as a cosmetic treatment, of course, smooths facial wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing muscles. It works in cases of hyperhidrosis by blocking the nerves responsible for activating sweat glands, and is FDA approved for that treatment.

Roman Rayham, MD, a double board certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon and the hands behind RR Plastix NY Plastic Surgery Center in Sheepshead Bay, has been performing cosmetic and reconstructive procedures in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island for over a decade. He’s well versed in such Botox injections, and has reported dependable success in addressing excessive sweating, with lasting results.
2748 Ocean Avenue, Third Floor, Brooklyn, 718.354.8572
161 Madison Avenue, Suite 11W, Manhattan, 718.354.8572 rrplastix.com