We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Chris Moncrease a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Chris thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
When a client is inquiring of a Bespoke suit that they would like, it’s a journey, trying to figure out how the end result is going to come out. Therefore all my projects are meaningful, especially the up-and-coming project are the most meaningful, but if I had to pick one in particular, it would be a project for an event, like a wedding! I was able to make my line brother, a velvet smoking jacket for his wedding and it came out amazing! Now this was his first Bespoke jacket, so everything was new to him, from picking fabrics, to getting measured, a pattern being made for him, coming to a few fittings, and feeling that finished project being laid upon him. It was very surprising for him to experience. Once you go Bespoke, it’s kind of hard to settle for anything less. He can agree with that, therefore the project was a success. The thing about meaningful projects is that the suits that are created for events, are more than just every day suits, these suits were made to create a moment, and I love that. This moment that was created, was a beautiful moment. Pictures came out great, and not only did he look amazing, his wife looked stunning also, and due to this unforgettable day…this is why it is more than a suit.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
Growing up, I’ve always been into the arts. It started off with Music, I loved jazz and always wanted to play an instrument. In elementary and Junior High School I was in band…I played Trombone and Saxophone. Then in High School, I started to play sports so I was able to take “Art” classes all 4 years, I fell in love with drawing nice, detailed images, with colored pencils. The learning process of art has always been enjoyable because it felt like a comfort zone…a space where time, peace, and deep thought all were at a standstill, in its own realm, and that’s where art takes me during the creative process. During High School I learned the “art” of cutting hair…and for a school to have a barber, cutting your hair during a break or lunch break is top tier, so that young business thrived throughout my High School years, until my sophomore year in college. Then, after that, I was a full-time athlete and my love for art was put behind me to an extent, because I just didn’t have the time. Yet, one thing about “art,” it never leaves you. Now out of all the arts that I was into, I started to think about what would be a cool “art” that you can take out into the world on a day-to-day basis and show everyone your creative skills. Then I thought about clothing brand, but everybody had T-shirts already and then I remembered I’ve always worn suits and suits are very unique in its own way. It will be very interesting to learn how to make suits in my own artistic way. But learning how to sew itself is a process, so my first projects were things such as bowties and ties and pocket squares to fast forward 10 years later, and now I feel as though I make some of the best suits in California.
What am I proud of
The progression of Moncrease Bespoke
And how much people appreciate the service and quality of their garments
It’s easy to appreciate my garments or how I conduct my business but for others to be excited about my services and garments makes me feel great…also the life of my suits I always love seeing them on social media
What I want clients to know is that this process of designing, developing, and fitting is a journey. Going to a store and buying a suit off the rack, is equivalent to going to McDonald’s and ordering a number one or a number two. The Bespoke process is more like fine wine tasting. You have to go through different wines, different years, different locations, just to find the wine that suits you. Same with the Bespoke process there’s fabrics, styles, cuts, buttons, colors…and about 80 hours of labor. If you give me a chance, time, and allow the final product to be finished when we are both satisfied…you will love it…and you will remember the journey as well.
We provide bespoke garments for men’s and women’s here at Moncrease Bespoke. That is our bread and butter. However, if you’re looking for something fairly quick, and a little lighter on your pockets, we do have made to measure options as well. We sell accessories to help amplify your look and even if you need consultation or styling, we provide that as well. Now we’re starting to open up a new lane of having discussions on the right thing to wear, the wrong thing to wear, red carpet reviews, and the history of men’s fashion.
What this does is solve problems…
What to wear…What not to wear…
This is hard in itself, trying to figure out what to wear. There’s many layers of understanding this, seasons, events, dress codes, rules, the look, the cut, whats in, what’s not, what’s appropriate, or not, we provide all of that knowledge you need to know. Being educated on these matters provides confidence!
Comfort…
When it comes down to fit, it’s always a lot of little problems that’s causes a suit to not be functional or fit comfortably. We love suits, and people wearing suits the right way, our ultimate goal here is for you to put a suit on and for you to be comfortable in it all day long whatever you’re doing. If you had to run from a dog, and you forgot you had a suit on…we’ve accomplished our mission. If you’re obligated to have lunch at a cramped table with your coworkers, and you’re perfectly fine with eating with your jacket on comfortably, the suit is a success.
This is why sets us apart, here you get a lot of my personality also. Moncrease Bespoke is a one stop shop. Going to a store, you have to go through 3-4 different people just to get this one service that we are providing here. We aim to please, I can guarantee that!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
On the outside looking in my suits may look perfect but to my eye there’s always something I wish I could’ve changed to perfect it, so my mission is not only to create a perfect masterpiece for a client, yet, to also create the perfect suit from my perspective. Since I’m chasing perfection, something that’s not attainable, I guess I’ll be chasing it for a long time.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
It’s good for the mind, being an artist is good for those individuals whose mind is troubled. It opens a meditative realm during the creative process, it causes you the go within a lot, a lot of time to think. It helps you to become deeper thinker. When someone is very detailed in little things, we can assume they’re detailed in many things. Art works on you in so many ways, each individual is different, I love art, I love creations & creativity…overall we are Imitating Jehovah…the Creator creates…and so do we.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.moncreasebespoke.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moncrease.bespoke?igsh=YTQwZjQ0NmI0OA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moncreasebespoke?mibextid=dGKdO6
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-moncrease-133a2719?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Moncrease.bespoke?si=eTNMbPLB65fypdcM