Eric Adler Dresses Mayor Megan Berry
At Eric Adler, we make clothing solely for members of the male sex. We decided to make an exception when the mayor of Nashville expressed interest in having her first bespoke jacket made. Recently The Tennessean of Nashville wrote an article describing Mayor Megan Barry’s fashion crush on local designers like EA.
It all started with fitting at our old studio in Green Hills. I drew up a series of designs and selected a book of fabric curated for this special encounter.
After researching her wardrobe, I realized that she has been openly expressive about her choice of fashion color: black. It was our goal to get her to step out of her box. When I presented her with the fabric selections I hoped that she would choose a brilliant Cobalt blue fabric, but in the end, she chose a beautiful dark grey cashmere wool that has a slight heathered appearance.
In the end, Mayor Megan Berry decided on a simple, classic, and clean, knee-length design with a mandarin collar. Pictured below is a detail shot of the collar as Jason and I finished everything.
Below is a detail shot of the jacket’s inside. You can see the hand-sewn pic-stitch detail in red, the custom “Made For” label hand-sewn in black, and the black paisley lining and the heather grey fabric. The red stripe is the selvage edge and indicates that it’s high-quality cashmere worsted wool made in Italy.
After one fitting I finished the jacket and turned it in with pride and a sense of accomplishment.
Here’s a link to the video where Mayor Megan Berry models her bespoke local fashions.
Thank you to Lizzy Alfs of the Tennessean. Follow her on Twitter at @lizzyalfs
How To: Tie A Bow Tie Bill Nye Style
Who doesn’t love a good DIY tutorial? Who doesn’t love a smart, studly gent cleverly guiding you through a confusing task? Here is a great video tutorial on how to tie a bow tie hosted by the one and only Bill Nye the Science Guy.
It’s no secret that Bill Nye has an affinity for bow ties. Not many can make the process look as suave and seamless as he does. I’ll confess that when I learned to tie my bow ties I usually ended up sweaty and sore from the process.
It’s not as intimidating as it seems. It is really similar to the act of tying one’s shoes, depending on how you tie your shoes.
Here’s the video posted by designer Nick Graham on Youtube.
I know that he moves fast and it might take a couple of views to get it right so here’s a nice diagram and description courtesy of Ties.com to reinforce the process. One day I will get fancy and make my own diagram and video, but for now, I hope this will suffice.
1. Start with the bowtie lying face up. Adjust the bowtie so the right side is shorter than the left. The end on the left will be referred to as A and the end on the right will be referred to as B.
2. Move A to the right side, across B.
3. Bring A under B and up through the neck loop.
4. At the joint, fold B towards the right and then towards the left to create a bow shape.
5. Bring A straight down over the middle of the bow shape that was made with B.
6. Fold A back towards the chest and pinch the fold.
7. Push the pinched end (A) through the loop behind B.
8. Pull on the folded parts of the bow to tighten.
9. Adjust until balanced on both sides.
Eric Adler Bow Ties are designed, curated, and handmade in Nashville, Tennessee. We use the highest quality hardware made in San Francisco. All of our ties are fully adjustable from 14″ to 18″ neck sizes and are available at our Nashville showroom. We welcome you to come see our exclusive selection of silk, wool, and cotton bow ties. If you’re interested in getting a custom tie made for a special event, your wedding and groomsmen, or just because call us or make an appointment to come in and discuss your vision.
Dressing John Osborne for the 2016 Grammy Awards
When asked about music and fashion at this year’s Grammy Awards Ceremony, Pharrell Williams mentioned how musicians are often the muses for fashion designers. I know this personally to be true. The converse is often true that musicians bring fashion to life with their songs and videos. What a most potent example of the way that fashion and music are so closely related – the Grammy Award Show.
Every year E! hosts coverage of the Grammy Awards Red Carpet where the best musicians in the world arrive dressed in their best to receive the ultimate accolade in the music industry, a Grammy. For years I have watched and yearned to have my designs walk the Grammy Awards Red Carpet.
It started when AMAX stylist Anna Redmon walked in my door one day in January. She mentioned that her clients, John and TJ Osborne of the Country Duo, The Brothers Osborne had been nominated for their first Grammy Award following the release of their Single “Stay A Little Longer.” The song is awesome bottom line.
Anna asked if I would be interested in dressing them for this event. I replied that although I wanted to dress both of them, I wasn’t sure that time would allow me to create two looks in the given amount of time. She was admittedly pretty nervous that I would be able to follow through on my commitment which made me want to surprise her with success even more. At this point in my career every stitch matters. My reputation is being tested daily and until I gain more momentum, there is no room for error.
Once we decided on a particular look, I began the hunt for fabrics. Sourcing is by far the most stressful part of my job and seems to be something for which I lack natural talents. I spent hours searching the web, emailing, and calling fabric stores to find a particular plaid that probably doesn’t exist. Trying to find a certain fabric from a vintage suit is like searching for a particular star in the sky. As time grew short I consulted Anna because she was particular with her choices upfront. She asked that I gather a list of fabrics that would work into the given framework we had established. We ended up agreeing on my first choice – a very BOLD brown, black, tan, and red plaid upholstery fabric, by Ralph Lauren. This would be the statement piece.
I drafted John’s pants, vest, and jacket pattern and awaited the plaid fabrics arrival. In the meantime, I carefully constructed the vest and trousers from a beautiful 1/2″ brown/black herringbone design with red speckles. These would serve as the base. Generally speaking, a waistcoat should fit like a girdle and fitted clothing looks much better in photographs. On the day of our first fitting, I knew there would be alterations to be completed as I tailored everything slightly larger to save my ass. Sure enough, the vest needed to be shortened and the pant legs came in considerably. With a week until our final fitting, I was ready to get started on his jacket.
Plaid fabrics can be a bitch to deal with because they need to match from front to back. Here’s the finished product featuring peak lapels, a side vented back, a ticket pocket, 5 button cuffs, and handmade buttonholes.
Minor alterations were needed and they were off to the Grammy’s!
What a studly pair! We watched the whole red carpet show and they were CERTAINLY among the best dressed, if not THE best!
Just one more before I dust my boots and call it a night…Look at that plaid!
After all, I must say that it has been a dream come true to work with Anna and the Osborne brothers. I cannot thank her enough for this opportunity and although they didn’t win the Grammy for Best Country Duo, they definitely deserve it. Can’t wait to see what amazing music they will create in the future!
Check out their website, follow them on social media @brothersosborne, and listen to their new album Pawn Shop!
P.S. Check out this awesome video from the Grammy Red Carpet recorded by Nashville’s Taste of Country. So cool they gave us a shoutout!