Black Lapel Founder Warren Liao on risk-taking, leaving Wall Street, and the future of profesional menswear

Modern Fellows spoke with Warren Liao, one of the founders of online custom tailoring destination Black Lapel, who recently returned from a business trip to Asia.  Below is a lightly-edited transcript of our conversation, in which Warren discusses how Black Lapel began, his inspiration for starting a business, and what the future holds for his company and menswear more generally.

First Look Inside Suit Supply DC

August 30 marked the eagerly awaited opening of Dutch-based Suit Supply in Washington, DC.  Their DC outpost, at 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue in the Four Seasons in Georgetown, is their third in the United States following entries into New York and Chicago last year. 

In Pursuit of the Perfect Dress Shirt

I still remember the first dress shirts I bought out of college.  In New York City, I went to the Brooks Brothers flagship store and bought several shirts with pinpoint collars and button cuffs.  Technically, they were my size, but they billowed out uncontrollably.  You could have stuck two of my torsos side-by-side in those shirts.