C_Shoemaker Custom Clothier brings bespoke menswear to Ligonier
If clothes don’t make the man, they certainly make the first impression.
And if the clothes look good, the wearer feels good, too.
That’s the aesthetic Cindy Shoemaker is bringing to Ligonier with her recently opened business, C_Shoemaker Custom Clothier.
The shop specializes in custom-made suits, tuxedos, sport coats, trousers, shirts, sweaters and knits, golfwear, belts, and riding and shooting jackets.
Shoemaker consults with clients on fittings, fabrics, finishes and all the other details that go into a made-to-order look. Production is handled by small family tailoring firms.
“It’s all made in America,” Shoemaker said. “I use legacy families that have been in the tailoring business for years and years and have passed the business down to probably the fifth generation. There aren’t many left in the country, but I do use one in New York for the clothing and one in New Jersey for the shirts.”
Fabrics offered are from exclusive fabric houses around the world, including Dormeuil, Holland & Sherry, Scabal, Cerruti, Huddersfield and Ariston.
“They’re mostly British and Italian fabric lines,” she said. “The Huddersfield fabric is certified by Her Majesty the Queen.”
By appointment
Shoemaker notes that she does not run a retail operation but does carry some off-the-rack items including hand-carved cuff links, ties and seasonal sweaters and scarves.
“This is an appointment business,” she said. “It’s not a retail operation, so I don’t want people to expect retail hours.
“I will also go to people’s homes to do fitting,” she added. “If a customer wants me to go through their closet while they try things on, or just see what they’re missing, or they want to start a custom wardrobe, I do those consultations.”
At some point, she said, she might design a limited womenswear line. But for now, she’ll focus on men.
Shoemaker, a Latrobe native, said custom menswear “is in my blood.” But she didn’t start out intending to pursue it as a career.
After earning a degree in graphic design and fashion illustration — including studies in anatomy and figure proportion — at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, she went to work at Custom Mark International in Pittsburgh.
“I dressed a lot of the Steelers and the Penguins back then,” she said.
Her art background was a bonus.
“You’re designing the garment for the person, so it’s important to understand anatomy and proportion,” she said. “If you’re getting custom, I can put the button on the jacket where it should be and not where you’re going to get it off the rack.
“I’m able to put that button in the right spot that proportionally works for that customer,” she said. “In that way, it’s really important to have the art background and that eye.”
‘Retirement plan’
From Pittsburgh, Shoemaker moved to New York City to work in a vendor’s factory and dress a Wall Street clientele.
After returning to Pittsburgh and performing a stint as an Ermenegildo Zegna made-to-measure representative and liaison for Saks Fifth Avenue, she started her Shadyside business, offering custom clothing and off-the-rack specialty items. Hers was the first privately held boutique in the United States to carry Savile Row designer Richard James.
She also earned the master clothing designer designation from the Custom Tailors and Designers Association.
After closing her eponymous boutique in the early 2000s, she worked for a company that installed spas in airports across the country.
“For five years, I lived in hotels and airports, literally,” she said. She also worked in regional learning and development for 24 Macy’s locations.
“But (custom menswear) is in my blood. I always knew, at some point, I would get back to doing what I love — and that’s what I’m doing now,” she said.
The slower pace of life in Ligonier seemed appealing, as did having clientele still in the area who had patronized her Shadyside shop.
“From the mid-’90s to last year, I was in cities,” she said. “I feel like I had used the city up at that point, and I was ready to get out, so I decided to come to Ligonier with the thought in the back of my mind that I would perhaps open a shop.”
“This is my retirement plan.”
Shoemaker said she sees signs that younger professionals, tired of fast fashion and the business casual look, are getting into bespoke clothing, in both their work and personal lives.
“So many things are trendy and throw-away, and this is not trendy, it’s classic,” she said. “I just want people to have clothes that fit.”
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
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