The Andre’ Julius showroom at 1309 E. Main St.
A clothier to the stars, professional stylist Andre’ J. McLaughlin opened a second location of his custom suit and tuxedo business, Andre’ Julius, in Richmond at the end of 2023. Founded in Williamsburg in 2021, the business has gained a celebrity following.
The showroom, located at 1309 E. Main St., is filled with fabric books, the sounds of soft jazz music, suits hanging on every wall and an antique Singer sewing machine. There are two dressing rooms available, each equipped with floor-length mirrors, but McLaughlin notes the by-appointment-only setup of the boutique ensures customers receive one-on-one attention.
Andre' McLaughlin, owner of custom suiting business Andre' Julius
Andre’ Julius designs bespoke and made-to-measure suiting for men and women. Garments can even be expedited when clients are in a pinch and need them within a week or two.
A Williamsburg native, McLaughlin became interested in custom-made suits when he recognized that off-the-rack options just didn’t fit him the way he would like. However, his passion for fashion developed much earlier in his life.
“The fashion portion definitely derives from church,” McLaughlin says. “I was the kid playing the drums in a suit at 5.”
Most of his design knowledge was obtained through personal research, and he taught himself how to measure and recognize various fabric qualities. Andre’ Julius sources its fabrics from around the world, offering more than 10,000 books of texture and design samples created everywhere from Australia to Italy. The materials are also exclusive to Andre’ Julius.
“I wanted fabrics that no one else had. You won't see anyone wearing my fabrics from my mills unless you’re a client of Andre’ Julius,” he says.
Richmond Bride sat down with McLaughlin in his showroom to learn about the business and for advice on acquiring a bespoke suit for weddings and formal events.
Richmond Bride: What apparel options do clients have when designing clothing with Andre’ Julius?
Andre’ McLaughlin: Suits, tuxedos, shirts, leather garments, trenchcoats, overcoats. I make skirts, I make business dresses. I don’t really dive into gowns, but I can make a business A-line dress.
RB: What’s the difference between bespoke and made-to-measure suits?
McLaughlin: Made-to measure is the process of when you come in here, you pick all your garments, pick your buttons, you pick your liners; I measure you, and I make the whole suit, and you come back for one fitting usually. If some alterations are needed, we’ll do the alterations as well. A bespoke process is a longer process. Same front-end portion of the made-to-measure, so you get the fabrics and pick all the buttons, etc. The difference is your first fitting will be a basted garment. A basted garment is an exposed garment. It still has stitching exposed. So, we can alter your jacket, your vest, whatever it is, before we finalize it. So, a true bespoke is multiple fittings. The first one is the basted garment. The second one is the finalized garment. And a third if alterations are needed. The benefit of the bespoke is the fit is going to be even better than made-to-measure.
Andre' Julius' custom suiting includes options for women using fabrics sourced from around the globe.
RB: Can you describe the process of purchasing a suit from your showroom?
McLaughlin: It's a very intimate process, so booking an appointment is imperative. [It begins with a] brief consultation [to get] to know you, and then we’ll start the design phase. The design phase is picking the fabric that you want for your garment, the buttons, the lining, the width of the lapel — pretty much everything that goes on a suit you would end up choosing and picking yourself and with me. And then we conduct about 30 different body measurements, and then we take photos of you for your body composition, and then we start the production process after the deposit is received. Sometimes, I have to actually draw out a design, and then we turn it into a digital format, and we present it to the client as a mock-up. … It's about four weeks till we can finish that garment, depending on how in-depth we have to go with the creativity and designing everything, and they’ll come back for their first fitting. If it's made-to-measure, they’ll don their suit, and if the garments don't fit properly, we’ll make alterations. I'd say 98% [of the time] the first fitting is the last fitting as well, because everything fits according to the measurements. One thing I put as the cherry on top of my process, I offer a complimentary photo shoot to all of my clients.
RB: On average, how much should someone budget when ordering a custom-made suit?
McLaughlin: Our customs start in that $800 to $1,000 range and can range up to about $3,000.
RB: What are your favorite aspects of opening a location in Richmond?
McLaughlin: Richmond is super. I love how I feel when I step into the showroom. … It feels more inviting … I have people come in and say, “Welcome to Richmond.” ... There's so much love and culture, and that's what makes me super excited to come to Richmond.
