Ep. 14 - Jake Mueser (J. Mueser)
As a guy who has worked in apparel for roughly 20 years and certainly appreciates nice clothes and fine tailoring, there are several accounts I follow on Instagram posting men in suits - previous podcast guest Matt Hranek namely being one. Often I'd be scrolling my feed and photos of suits would stop me from going on. And a pattern began to form where I'd see the same name tagged in the photo: J.Mueser. The man behind that handle is this week's guest, Jake Mueser - a custom tailor in New York City outfitting some of the sharpest guys in the game. I had never met Jake before, but his work utterly intrigued me on a couple different levels. Not as many people are wearing suits these days. I used to joke while living in Los Angeles that there's only two people wearing suits in LA: lawyers and agents. And then there's the retail aspect. Competition is stiff with the likes of big names such as Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers and many others, frankly. But what I can tell you is Jake's work is different. It has its own style. We talk about skiing, punk rock, having realistic expectations makes for being a good customer, and how variety truly shapes life experience. What I really took away was when it comes to creating a bespoke suit, the art of collaboration really reigns supreme, and it's the relationship that is what connects the dots in the current digital age. I hope you enjoy all of the details discussed, because there sure are some gems in this one.