ESPN’s New Monday Night Football Team Kicks Off the 50th Season in Style with Wardrobe by Manhattan-Based Custom Clothing Atelier Britches Bespoke

August 29, 2019, New York – Illustrious menswear brand Britches of Georgetowne has re-emerged on the custom clothing stage with their new BRITCHES BESPOKE showroom in Rockefeller Center and an exciting relationship with ESPN to provide the custom wardrobe for the broadcast team during the 50th season of Monday Night Football.

Legendary men’s clothing designer and Britches Bespoke co-owner Mark Rykken custom created suits, sport coats, shirts and ties to meticulously fit for play-by-play commentator Joe Tessitore, analyst Booger McFarland, the two-time Super Bowl-winning defensive tackle, and officiating analyst John Parry, who recently retired after officiating 19 seasons and serving as Head Referee during Super Bowl LIII. The new announcing trio is being dressed by Britches Bespoke for every MNF game during the 2019 pro football season.

Britches of Georgetowne’s co-founder Rick Hindin, together with Rykken, opened the first Britches Bespoke Showroom in New York at Rockefeller Center in October 2018 to create the brand’s next iteration of “Clothing for Life.” “Bespoke tailoring represents the highest quality… the best in men’s fashion … and the best way to bring the Britches iconic brand to the marketplace,” Hindin and Rykken said.

The Manhattan showroom is a destination for men looking for impeccably tailored made-to-measure and full bespoke sports and casual wear, outerwear, neck wear, belts, shirtings, shoes and accessories. It is in this showroom that Mark Rykken and Boston-based ESPN stylist Cynthia Gardner carefully curated the clothing for each individual, taking into account a number of factors including each commentator’s personal style, hair and eye color and skin tone as well as the climate conditions where each game will be played.

The relationship between Monday Night Football and Britches Bespoke was forged by ESPN’s desire to accentuate its new team during the 50th season with a classic, elegant look for its on-air personalities. Britches Bespoke has dedicated its best resources and time behind the scenes to design and create specific, perfectly tailored, high quality clothing to ensure that the three commentators look their best when they are describing all of the action on the field. Every Tuesday, fashion forward fans can follow Britches Bespoke on social media (@britchesbespokenyc on Facebook, @britchesbespoke on Instagram and @britches_bespok on Twitter) for information about the previous evening’s looks and how they can achieve similar style for themselves.

The 50th season of ESPN’s Monday Night Football will kick off Monday, September 9th when the New Orleans Saints host the Houston Texans (7:00p.m. ET). The announcing trio will be joined by Emmy-award winning reporter Lisa Salters who will be dressed by Lafayette 148 during her 8th season as MNF’s sideline reporter.

There’s been a sighting at Rockefeller Center

One of Washington’s Iconic, Most-Loved Brands is Back Britches opens new
Bespoke Showroom at Rockefeller Center

WASHINGTON, December 18, 2018 —Rick Hindin, co-founder of Britches of Georgetowne, joins legendary custom suit designer Mark Rykken to open Britches Bespoke. After 4 successful trunk shows in Washington DC and New York City, Britches Bespoke opens its first Showroom at Rockefeller Center, setting the stage for “A Whole New way to Think about Custom Clothing.”

Mark Rykken’s career in the menswear business began at the age of 21, when he joined Britches of Georgetowne “Mark’s talent, love of fashion and design lead to a position on the coveted Britches Design Team and ultimately became Divisional Manager for Britches highest volume stores.” explained Hindin.

When Britches was sold in 1988 to CML, a New York Stock Exchange Company, Rykken left the company to open the first Alan Flusser boutique in Washington D.C. In 1994 Rykken joined legendary menswear retailer Paul Stuart to open their Flagship store in Chicago. From 2002 to 2009 Rykken owned and operated The Alan Flusser Custom Shop in New York City. In 2010, Rykken became Paul Stuart’s Director of Custom Clothing, a position he held for 7 years.

“Mark’s been a New Yorker for over 22 years now and has an incredible following of New York’s style conscious business and financial leaders, TV personalities, politicians, menswear aficionados, who like me, want our custom wardrobes designed by Mark.” Said Menswear Blogger Dusty Grainger. “Maxminimus Blog Story”

Hindin & Rykken were recently interviewed by world renowned Menswear Blogger Simon Crompton for a story about New York’s elite custom tailors. The story is slated for December on his blog site, “Permanent Style.”

“I’m excited to partner with my former boss and mentor to launch Britches Bespoke. Rick is a legendary figure in the men’s apparel industry having created and co-founded the iconic brands Britches of Georgetowne, Britches Western, Britches Great Outdoors and now Britches Bespoke.” said Rykken. “Mark embodies the essence of Britches. His taste level, eye for design, style and knowledge of custom clothing makes him the ideal person to lead Britches Bespoke,” Hindin said.

“It’s been exciting working with Rick to create 10 new custom collections of “Clothing for Life” for all aspects of a gentleman’s wardrobe and lifestyle, including Custom Dress and Work Attire, Custom and Made-to-Measure Custom Sportswear, Outerwear and Jeans, Ties, Belts, Shoes and a new custom collection of casual, yet sophisticated Unconstructed Sport Jackets.” Rykken proclaimed.

Exclusive design, extraordinary quality and legendary service has its price. Britches Bespoke Made-to-Measure suits begin at $1000 and $2500. Full Bespoke suits, entirely handmade by master tailors in our workroom in New York City. The process includes 2 to 3 fittings, the customers own individual paper pattern, and details such as, hand edged stitching on the lapels, and handmade buttonholes. Bespoke suits start at $4500 depending on the fabric selection. Our price also comes with the understanding our clients must love their clothing or we’re not done, we guarantee it.

Background information on Britches: Known as “Fine Clothiers Since 1967,” in 1967, with its roots in Georgetowne, Britches became a Washington DC area institution and ultimately one of the nation’s leading retailers for updated classic, tailored clothing and sportswear, with 116 stores and sales to other retailers in major markets across the United States, with annual sales of more than $200,000,000.

Founded as Canterbury Tales Inc., trading first as Georgetown Slack Shoppe and then Britches of Georgetowne, focusing on fashion forward “Clothing for Life,” for image conscious, professional consumers seeking tailored clothing with a unique and unconventional point of view. Britches “lifestyle” merchandising philosophies lead the company to expand its casual sportswear division, Britches Western, into a separate division called Britches Great Outdoors.

Ultimately, the Britches merchandising platform also included gifts and accessories for the home and office, including corporate gift programs that featured products from Mont Blanc pens to Silver Palette’s Grand Marnier Chocolate Sauce to six packs of Clyde’s Chili. Grounded in its trademark philosophy of promoting its own Britches brand, under the tagline of “Clothing for Life,” Britches was among the first men’s retailers in the country to expand its merchandise platform to include non-clothing, lifestyle products and unique gifts with accessories for the home and office.

Britches expanded volume and capacity to feature unique gifts along with Britches entry into the catalog business created purchasing power that lead to Britches Wholesale, which provided products to Britches stores and sold Britches branded products to over a hundred other specialty stores across the country, including Bloomingdales and Wilkes Bashford. For over three decades, Britches products were thought of as high quality, at reliably reasonable prices. Britches extraordinary, legendary customer service and combined with its quality and value, resulted in one of the highest per square foot volumes in the menswear business with sales of more than $1,000 per square foot in stores that averaged 3000 square feet.

In 1983, CML, Inc., a publicly traded New York Stock Exchange company, entered into an “Earn Out Sale Agreement” to purchase the company and provided $14M for expansion and growth. In December of 1988 CML took ownership of Britches by executing the Earn Out Agreement. In December of 1988, Rick Hindin, Co-Founder, President and CEO, left the company. David Pensky remained with CML for 2 years, leaving the company in 1990 after which the company was sold. In 2004, Britches closed its doors.

Co-Founder, Rick Hindin, acquired the trademark rights and intellectual property for both Britches of Georgetowne and Britches Great Outdoors in the summer of 2015 to leverage the brand legacy. The first phase of the brand’s return is the opening of Britches Bespoke at Rockefeller Center.

Britches is Back

One of Washington’s Iconic, Well-Loved Brands Returns

Rick Hindin partners with former Britches employee Mark Rykken to launch new enterprise

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2018 —Rick Hindin, co-founder of Britches of Georgetowne, recently entered into a partnership with legendary custom suit designer, Mark Rykken. The two will set the stage for the finest custom-tailoring combining the highest quality fabrics from around the world, artisan tailoring, master fitting, legendary service and value for a personalized, custom wardrobe that is being described as “clothing for life.”

Rykken’s fashion pedigree began at the age of 18, when he joined Britches of Georgetowne and began a career with the company that lasted 18 years. “Mark’s talent and love of fashion and design lead to a position on the design team that created Britches updated classic clothing collections,” explained Hindin.

When Britches was sold in 1989 to CML, a New York Stock Exchange Company, Rykken left Britches and partnered with legendary fashion designer Alan Flusser to open Flusser’s first boutique in Washington D.C.

In 2008, Rykken joined prominent menswear retailer, Paul Stuart to be director of custom clothing. Rykken grew Paul Stuart’s custom business from under $1 million to over $3 million in four years.

“After months of planning, creating, designing and research, I’m excited to partner with my former boss and mentor to launch Britches Bespoke,” said Rykken. “Rick is a legendary figure in the men’s apparel industry having created and co-founded the iconic brands Britches of Georgetowne, Britches Western, Britches Great Outdoors and now Britches Bespoke.”

Hindin also feels fortunate to be able to rely on Rykken’s years of experience and customer following. “Mark’s talent, eye for fashion, knowledge of custom tailoring and years of expertise make him the perfect partner for Britches Bespoke,” he said.

Hindin continued, “What makes Britches Bespoke unique and unlike other custom tailors is the breadth and depth of our custom offerings. In addition to the custom suits offered by traditional custom tailors, we’ve created 10 custom collections including suits, sport coats, slacks, jeans, shirts, sportswear, neckwear, belts, shoes and outerwear…. Britches Bespoke will also be featuring a collection of casual, yet sophisticated, unconstructed sport jackets.”

Britches Bespoke’s Inaugural Trunk Shows will be held in New York City at the Royalton Hotel at 44 West 44th Street,

June 27 through June 29, and in Washington, D.C. at the Sofitel Hotel at 806 15th Street NW on July 11 through July 13. Both shows will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. for the first two days and, on the last day begin at 8 a.m. and end at 12 p.m. To schedule an appointment or for more information, call Mark Rykken directly at 201 707 3000 or email mark.rykken@gmail.com.

About Britches Bespoke