From his blue-collar childhood in Boston's South End to his spread-collar success as one of America's top designers, Joseph Abboud has forged a remarkable path through the unglamorous industry of making people look glamorous. He's been jilted by Naomi Campbell (who didn't show up on the runway because she wasn't in the mood), been questioned by the FBI (who did show up in his office after September 11, because he fit the profile), and soared and sunk more than a few times-and lived to tell the tales.

Joseph Abboud, the founder of the Joseph Abbound clothing line, is a lifestyle designer and the president of Herringbone Creative Services

1. Guy in the Gray Flannel Suit

1

(10)

2. The Home Team

11

(13)

3. Visionaries, Decisionaries

24

(8)

4. Air Play

32

(9)

5. Personal Appearance

41

(5)

6. The Hero Was Always Dressed Right

46

(8)

7. Joe College

54

(11)

8. Innocent Abroad

65

(6)

9. Louis, Murray, and Me

71

(10)

10. Travels with Murray

81

(9)

11. Polo Player

90

(11)

12. Pal Joey

101

(12)

13. The Game of the Name

113

(13)

14. Getting the Business

126

(7)

15. Model Behavior

133

(10)

16. The Show on the Road

143

(9)

17. Us Versus Them

152

(6)

18. Down to Earth

158

(8)

19. All Those Ties

166

(10)

20. Designs on Women

176

(8)

21. The Reality (and Realty) of Retail

184

(9)

22. Honor Thy Customer

193

(7)

23. Lowdown on the Markdown

200

(5)

24. Lucky Charms

205

(7)

25. Whose Image Is It, Anyway?

212

(9)

26. Campaign Promises

221

(9)

27. The Last Row

230

(5)

Acknowledgments

235

(1)

Index

236

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Threads
My Life Behind the Seams in the High-Stakes World of Fashion

Chapter One

Guy in the Gray Flannel Suit

Doctor. Lawyer. Indian chief. Fashion designer.

Most guys don't do surgery on a daily basis, or sue somebody, oropen a casino. But everybody deals with what I do: fashion."What'll I wear?" Comes up every morning.

The CEO says, "Does this tie work with that suit?" The art directorwonders, "Should I wear my cords with a T-shirt or a cable-knit?"Even people who don't give a damn about fashion have to admit it intotheir lives.

There's covering our nakedness, and then there's image. A man'sclothes tell the world how he wants to be perceived. Whether he'swearing a pair of rusty jeans or a beautifully cut Italian suede jacket, hehas an image of himself in mind. All clothes make a statement. Theright clothes make a statement that will open doors.

That's why most businessmen wear a suit. It's easy. They don't have to think too hard about it, and they always—well, almost always—lookcorrect. A suit says, "Take me seriously." It's subliminal, but it's real.

My very first suit was a little white cotton three-piece, bought formy first communion at Holy Name Church in West Roxbury. I wore itwith white bucks, a white shirt, and a white bow tie—right out ofTruman Capote. I looked so angelic, so holy. But a communion suitdoesn't count.

My first real suit was a beigy, tweedy mod thing from Jordan Marsh,and being able to buy it at a famous store in downtown Boston was apretty big deal. It made me feel legitimate. But I was sixteen, and thesuit wasn't expensive, so nobody took my tailoring requests too seriously.When I went to pick it up, disaster! I looked like a clown. I'dwanted the sleeves lengthened and the pants shortened, and they'ddone exactly the opposite. My first suit experience wasn't a good one.

But it should have been. Buying a suit is a major event, because itmakes you look—and feel—important. At twenty-one, every youngman should have a great navy or gray suit that he can wear to an interview,a bar mitzvah, a funeral, a wedding. He also needs a navy blazerand a pair of chinos. With those three fundamentals, he's covered forany event. On his feet: anything from penny loafers to wingtips, butshoes should never be outlandish or detract from the outfit.

An observant guy looks around and notices how others dress andwalk and decorate their homes. Sooner or later, he makes up his mindhow he's going to look—and how he's going to be. Is he going to beflamboyant? Is he going to dress like the guys in the stockroom or dresslike the boss? Depends on where he's headed.

A young friend of mine named David Black, who was toiling in themail room at a publishing company, came in one day wearing a suit,shirt, and tie. "What are you all dressed up for?" somebody asked himwith a sneer. The answer: for himself. Working in the mail room didn'tmean he couldn't dress well and look professional. He wasn't going tolet other people's perceptions of him keep him down. And they didn't.He quickly rose through the ranks to become a prominent literary agent in New York. No, it wasn't just the clothes that got him promoted, buthe had a certain image of himself, and the clothes helped him projectthat image. The first time we met, a few years ago, David was wearing aputty-colored dress shirt with a soft collar, a soft-print tie, and a navyblazer—all Armani, so he made some kind of apology. I didn't carewhose label he was wearing, because he looked great. He had a lot ofother things going for him too, of course, but that strong first impressionmade a difference. We connected, and now he's my agent.

There's a migratory pattern to developing your wardrobe and tasteas you become more successful. It's like traveling. The first time youtravel, you feel lucky to get on any flight from anywhere at a price youcan manage. You don't care if you sit with the chickens. Then, as youget a bit more successful, you fly coach. When you're a junior executive,you can travel business class. And then, as the CEO, you're goingfirst class. It's an obvious analogy, but it's exactly what happens.

For example, most guys who are starting to move up the ladderrelate to a pinstripe suit almost instinctively. They figure, "It's been donebefore—by my father, my boss, my father's boss—and it's a classic. I'mthe boss now, so it's my turn." If you remember the musical How to Succeedin Business without Really Trying, you'll remember the final sceneof the movie, in which the outgoing chairman of the board is wearing anavy chalk-stripe suit with a soft butter-yellow vest, a white shirt, and asilver tie—and Robert Morse, being introduced as the incoming chairmanof the board, appears in exactly the same suit, vest, and tie. He's notjust following in the boss's footsteps; he's following in the boss's suit pattern.It's a spoof, but a spoof with a lot of truth behind it.

The other best choice is a beautifully cut solid or chalk-stripe graysuit with a white or white tattersall shirt, a silver woven tie—nothingtoo bright or too flashy, no tone-on-tone thing happening, no tricks—and a pair of dark brown suede shoes. (Brown with gray shows confi-dence, and it's one of the dream color combinations for the powerfulguy. It's sophisticated, it's soft, and it doesn't scream.)

Threads
My Life Behind the Seams in the High-Stakes World of Fashion. Copyright © by Joseph Abboud. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Excerpted from Threads: My Life Behind the Seams in the High-Stakes World of Fashion by Joseph Abboud, Ellen Stern
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