The Master Tailor | Panos Aristakessian

 

About “Peter” Panos Aristakessian

As a young boy Peter attended on of the finest tailoring houses in Beirut Lebanon. Driven from the country due to genocide Peter eventually found himself living in San Francisco. With only a little more than $2 in his pocket he began knocking doors seeking to demonstrate his skill in tailoring. Eventually he opened up his own shop in 1978. Peter specializes in making fine custom fit garments for his clients and is especially passionate about suites. His shop is located at in downtown San Francisco on Geary Street. Peter can be contacted at either peter@peterpanos.com or 1-415-986-8487. Peter resides in Milbrae, CA with his wife Sally and together they have three sons.

 

Interview Transcript:

Alan
Welcome back. I’m here today with Peter Panos and the founders actually his name is Panos artist occasion. But for the interview, we’ll just refer to you as Peter. Okay. And, and welcome to the show.

Peter
Thank you for having me, Alan.

Alan
So So Peter, you founded in a very successful tailoring practice and located downtown San Francisco and on Geary Street. And for the listeners, can you can you give us some background? How did you get into tailoring and a and get your store started?

Peter
Well, I came from Lebanon, Beirut, Lebanon, I was trained there, as you’re 14 years old, one of the highest staring house. And it was difficult, let me tell you that you can’t just learn to learning, you have to put all your effort or your focus. And at that time, my passion was music, the rock’n’roll band, but my father insists that I learned the skill, and trade, and then move on, because it was hard time then. And I came with the background of not much. So we all have to pitch in to help the family. So the family was the main focus to help one each other. And then also, from there, I learned the trade. And 1976, I came to San Francisco, and I had $2.25 in my pocket. And I started knocking doors for the tailoring. And I found few jobs, and then start pushing my life forward. Because it was hard. It was hard. The language barrier plus the culture shock. And what was in front of me,

Alan
you wouldn’t say $2 in your pocket, roughly.

Peter
Yes, that was to sell an aide hamburger with that one,

Alan
that it’s amazing how you were able to transform, you know, basically coming from off the streets into your own own business. And did you find a big break? Or did you just say, Okay, I got a couple of customers, I’m gonna just hang out a shingle and make the investment are

Peter
easy. Okay? So what I did is I started being humble. I went knocking doors and asked him wherever I could give me what job, I’m gonna, I’m not asking for money, not asking for pay. I just want to show them what I could do. Because I spent so many years in doing the custom tailoring. And I was just really the master of it. And but people don’t realize unless you show them. So I had the opportunity to do that. And they start appreciating. And then one day, I said enough is enough, I have to go on my own. Because working for them. It’s mostly was alteration, not enough for making my passion was to make the soup. So I had my own shop, I started doing so and years came by, and I was really good at it.

Alan
That you were really my dream. Culturally, you were in a a country where the people mostly go to the retail stores and pick suits off the shelf. Yeah. And so it must be an experience of, you know, trying to get out there market and find the customers that were willing to take the tailored.

Peter
Yes, that’s was very hard. And part of that. And the way to face those difficulties is just to be there and do the best work you can and tell everybody about yourself. That’s what took a lot of years to come to this. It took almost 40 years.

Alan
Now, Peter, you mentioned before that you had a passion for rock and roll. not often that you see us still have that passion in and then how did you decide which way to go daily versus rock

Peter
That’s amazing. That’s amazing. Two different level. When I came to the state, I was doing the tailoring but at the same time I had my band and I was playing weddings and parties. And that’s what took me actually 40 years longer than I am today here. So when I went to the market street and I saw this guy playing so beautiful guitar, and I said I quit when I see some talent out there. And I know what I could do and they could do I said I want to stick with my tailoring. After that I quit the the band not complete Today, of course, I focused on my business, you can always be successful when you focus on something no matter how good you are, if you’re not focusing, you will not really succeed. Focus is the main thing in business. And I did to focus on business. So I was completely, it’s like, at 14 years old, I made four piece band. And the guy who played with me didn’t know anything about the notes. I was just telling them how to play when to play. And I had that a ability to lead the band. I said, if I could do that, why don’t I do that to my business, and to be successful? Here I am talking to you.

Alan
Hello, Tessa. It’s a it’s been quite a fun journey, and you have a great reputation. In fact, full disclosure, I use your services and I love the scenes that you do. So Peter, yeah, I want to I want to jump into the process of custom made suits and how you walk your clients through but I’m running up against the break right now. And so after we get back we’ll we’ll pick up on the custom suit process. We’ll be right back after these messages.

Alan
Welcome back and visiting here today with Peter panels. And Peter. Yeah, we talked in first segment how you got into the suit making business but yeah, why a custom suit? Why do people come to you when they can go to the store shelves and pick something off the rack?

Peter
When they come to me because many reasons they can’t find the fabric they like they can’t find the Fit they like. And also, there are many styles that they don’t know what which style to buy. When you go to stall. Yes, you could find many and there could skidding confusing. You don’t know when you’re buying the right style. If it’s style is going away, there’s new fashion is coming. You have no idea. What I do is I follow the trend. But I don’t go too far to trend by keep it classic. So you could wear it for the next 1015 20 years. They really do wear my suits for 20 years. And if sometime I call my customer and I say well where are you? And they say Well, Peter, you made me suit I’m still wearing it. Well, that’s great to hear that but you know because classic, it’s not trendy. You could always do that but you can’t wear it especially now that you have a pleated pants you can’t wear it you have a lapel five inch like the 70s You know it’s just it changes if you stay classic, you could always enjoy your suit. And also we have all these choices when it comes to custom tailoring that the plus you could get educated how the suit should fit you so you will look your best. So

Alan
For my expectation a customer comes to us says Peter I’d like a suit. What should they expect in terms of timing? How long does it take from start to finish to

Peter
Usually takes six to eight weeks sometime more? It depends on that monthly business cycle some months there are you could get it much faster when some months takes three months up to three months.

Alan
That’s a lot of work in the suits then Is it is it is because I’m involved.

Peter
in everything that’s why it’s just get overwhelmed and you want to take your time before you deliver it. It’s not on the fast delivery system it’s how it’s what’s the product at the end? Yeah,

Alan
That did you man men and women suits or is it.

Peter
Is just men they used to do woman had a lot of woman customers. But my focus is so widely now that I only want to focus on men’s that’s what I start learning the business making men’s jackets and pants. And from there, I spread out. But there’s more demands in men’s suit and woman suit because Normally, they just wear the suits for business purposes. And men wear their suit for 30 years but woman once or twice, and it’s not the same.

Alan
That’s impressive, but it speaks to the quality of the garment that you’re producing. Yes, I have a 30. Year. Yes, life on that. So when you look at fabrics, walked me through what what the different type of fabrics, people are using what you see this thing wall 130 or wool 120 or, you know, what is it what is a good grade fabric?

Peter
For fur suits for good, great fabric suits. It’s a super 122, super 160. Those are the great, average, nice wool. The degrade comes from the strength of the fiber, how long they get stretched before the breaks. That’s the quality of it. Not the thinness or thickness. So those are the ones that you will find very good fabric. You don’t sometimes you don’t even have to press it, just hang it and just comes back press. And one of the fabrics that is more recommended is cashmere. Cashmere I’m wearing right now. It’s fiber. It’s unbelievable. You could if there’s a fire, you could put this jacket on, cover your head and go through the fire and saves you.

Alan
And what is it that is the the tightness of the weed with cashmere.

Peter
It’s the fiber that doesn’t burn. Okay, well burn fast, much faster than cashmere fiber. It’s amazing how nature give this to us sometime. We take it as luxury, but it’s not the luxury. It’s the quality of the fact we don’t recognize that. You know, we were polyesters and rayons. If you have that within seconds, it burns. And you know what happens?

Alan
I Peter and I’m up against the break. And we need to take a quick break. And we’ll be right back of these messages. And and when we get back I want to talk more about you know the popular types of suits that you typically work with on custom made.

Alan
Welcome back and busy here today with Peter Panos. And he’s a custom tailor up in the San Francisco financial district, not the Geary Street. been there since 1978. And Peter, we’ve been talking about the world of custom tailoring. Now. Question for you. There’s there’s the Bastion immense suits ever really change anything.

Peter
It’s like a cycle. We start with small lapels, bigger lapels, and then we comes back and then almost the same little bit tweak. There’s always something there. It’s not completely the same. But mostly it’s classical. They start with classical and then they start exaggerating and comes back we put pleats and take out the pleats but basically is the same.

Alan
That’s interesting in mindset for a client coming in. You get something off the shelf and those suits may last a couple years of what you’re building is a 20 to 30 year piece that are often used by your your clients.

Peter
We use the best quality fabrics, the inside training, the real canvas, the hand hand workmanship, and also I can’t say that buying off the rack it’s all bad either. They have very good quality suits out there. Every time I see one of them I go inside to see how it’s made. Why it’s made. What’s good about this, this designer suit, why they focus that I go completely inch by inch, try to find out why is this product is good or not as good as mine and there are always in competition with them. Yeah, I want to be able to buddy so I mean They’re, I really appreciate those people that they really put good work inside those garments that it makes me feel proud

Alan
That some of those suits are built much differently.

Peter
Yes. Right. And also the and I said, why these people are doing this, you know, and we just because the average customer doesn’t understand, you don’t do that, you know, just try to make your best and let people wear nice suits. You know, I walk on the Market Street, downtown San Francisco Union Square, and I see all these people wearing all this suit, I should, Oh, wow. They could have get much better suit.

Alan
So Peter, we talked about, you know, the traditional suit never really goes out of style. But as a custom tailor. From time to time, you get clients coming in and saying, Peter, I want something really special in the way that the suit is going to be made? And if so, what are some of the requests that you’ve got?

Peter
Many, many that’s why they come to custom because they have some kind of their own design. On a suit. I get lots of requests. Someone can say I don’t want a lapel on my jacket, can you make me jacket without the lapel it’s a challenge for me I love these challenges. I want to see how it turned out the jacket without an appeal. This is one of the example when I’m saying and there is a lot of other area that the back of the jacket needs to be different if the guy like the the John lesser tuxedo jacket. You want the lady back picture in the back of the jacket. So it was really hand sewing all this in the back. It was challenging. It was many, many many different style fabrics. It’s hard to that’s probably because it’s my part of my job to do those things. Yeah, yeah, that’s probably part of the fun part. That’s the fun part. Creativity creativity. Yeah.

Alan
So So what’s the secret of success that you can you can you coin the secret of a successful tailor what they need to have.

Peter
The sustained success of a tailor its focus on the customer focus on the business. And just because you’re the tailor it doesn’t make you separate from the business part. Because it’s tailoring is stressful job. When you put that stress in front of your customer you can really make successful business you have to separate them become a business a successful business person to take care of the customer and also and do the detailing behind put your stress behind the thing otherwise because your stress you can’t really deliver what your customer is waiting for you.

Alan
Now the sometimes people come in and order more than one suit at a time from you.

Peter
Oh yes they come in with very excited and they want to have 1015 soon made the same stop like stop your teen yes let’s start with one I want to see who you are what you like especially when it’s new customer of course for Sudha make and I know the customer what are they using for you know and what are they performing they’re they’re sitting on the desk all the time and all of those things plays a part of their ordering.

Alan
That Peter after you do when seated the second becomes a lot easier.

Peter
It becomes not easy but still involved the same kind of because it’s a different fabric different way different style, but it will be a little easier than the first suit first what is the real challenge.

Alan
And expectations is the six to eight week window for that first suit. Yes bet the second one it because once you really have the fittings in

Peter
Gets shorter like another two weeks less okay. I did the time when I’m very busy. It still takes a lot of time to finish it up. But the process is when they come in for a fitting. If the first fitting is perfect, then it’s very easy to finish it up afterwards. Peter some customers has very different called body shape. Yeah, they have very high shoulder forward pitching back, sideways, the worst kind is the sideways. So I really have to put a lot of hours and thinking, I have a small laboratory my tailor shop within the tailor shop, just for those reasons to take care of the problem or people body shape. And Peter,

Alan
How does a person find your tailor shop? Or do they go on the web? Do you have a website?

Peter
Yes, I do have a website viewed upon us.com, or my email, Peter at Peter panos.com. Or you could call me direct. One of the things I find out that when I call someone, you call them in so many machines after you really find the person with me, just call me personally. Talk to you and we start get going.

Alan
Peter, it’s been a pleasure having you on the show today. We were busy with Peter Panos. He’s a custom tailor up in San Francisco and for more information, you can visit his website at www Peter panos.com. Thanks for being on today’s show. Thank you

 

 

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This transcript was generated by software and may not accurately reflect exactly what was said.

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