As a loyal reader of pretty much every menswear/fashion blog on the Internet, there has been a lot of buzz on the web about Freeman’s Sporting Club, a men’s store in Manhattan’s Lower East side that specializes in made-to-measure suits, tailored clothing and some sportswear. FSC is opening another barber shop in New York.

Photo courtesy of Freeman's Sporting Club

Reading these blogs got me thinking about the recent interview I had with Taavo Somer, the owner and designer of Freeman’s Sporting Club and Freeman’s restaurant. He said a couple of interesting things, including one that I think is becoming more prevalent in the menswear industry: “The biggest revelation I’ve had is that the restaurant and clothing world is getting back to local.”

What he’s talking about is locally grown food, as well as locally sourced and produced clothing. (Everything in Freeman’s is made in Brooklyn.) He was telling me about a New York Times article that talked about how younger people are becoming more and more interested in buying their food from local farmers markets. “A lot of young people are doing this because they want authentic and real food and want to know where it is coming from. That it is not an illusion of an American brand really made in China, but it is an American brand. People are waking up and realizing this about clothes too.”

Somer says the same is true about the experience a customer has in the store. “We offer an alternative to mass produced, and mass marketed, who want a personal, mom and pop experience. They like local or locally made product. They have a desire for authentic, personal goods. So much is over produced and made overseas, and at the end of the day, is pumped out of a factory and we offer an alternative to that.”

Buying and selling locally made goods is taking the “Made in America” concept, even one step further. It gives a guy something that he can connect with and relate to. Customers can feel good about spending on local goods because he, can in a sense, see where his money is going, and is supporting something that hits close to home.

Freeman's Sporting Club

freemanssportingclub.com

8 Rivington Street

(between Bowery & Chrystie) New York, NY