Category Archives: A Retail Experience

Lord Willys is one of those hidden sartorial secrets in New York City. The store in Nolita can look intimidating at first but once inside, you feel right at home. Alex and Betty Wilcox did a wonderful job curating the store. The beautiful furnishings and gray walls make the downtown space look like an elegant tailoring shop in London. Quintessentially English, they infuse colors into almost all of their products.

The best sellers of Lord Willys are their shirts.  Unlike many traditional manufacturers, they use bright buttons on almost all of their shirts.  Alex Wilcox explains that it is a feature to brighten up a shirt and give it an extra pop.  Many of Lord Willys clients do not see people with the same shirt and when they do, they give their fellow “club member” a nod of approval, maybe a wink across the boardroom or a discreet thumbs-up. On other shirts, the color buttons may look cheap or tacky, but Lord Willys shirts are impeccable quality and these color buttons work perfectly with their shirts.

Alex and Betty Wilcox, have a great line of suits and they are all made in Brooklyn, New York. The two man workshop makes beautifully tailored clothing and you can really see the fine craftsmanship. As I said before, this is a very English store and the jackets are extremely English. Do not expect to find a soft shoulder jacket or unstructured jacket in their lineup. All of their jackets are fully canvassed and have a more substantial shoulders. Many of the details of a Lord Willys jacket are unique to them, they infuse bits of color into every piece. Many of the pieces will include contrast button threads, subtle grosgrain trims and a contrasting center back seam. As you see below, the light blue contrasting top stitching goes very well with the gray glenplaid, it picks up the light blue overlay in the plaid.

Lord Willys also has a house tartan which is registered with the Scottland Tartans Authority. It is a beautiful navy and lilac fabric which will work well with almost anything. I would love to see this fabric used in a pair of cargo pants. As you can see below, they use the signature tartan on many items in the store.

Almost all of the accessories available in the store are from the United Kingdom. Their umbrellas are made by Fox, the socks by Pantherella and the hats by Lawrence & Foster. They carry Dents gloves, George Cleverly shoes, and use Holland and Sherry cloths for their jackets and trousers.

Lord Willys is a very welcoming store and I highly recommend everyone to visit Lord Willys as it is like taking a trip to a tailoring shop in London.

Lord Willys
225 Mott Street
New York, NY 10012-5706
(212) 680-8888