HOW TO LOOK REALLY, EXCEPTIONALLY, IMPOSSIBLY GOOD IN PANTS, part 2

prom! we took friends, or sophomores or went with a classmate who couldn't take his freshman girlfriend (it was the seventies) and couldn't keep from the self-mutilation of standing by and watching, alone, as the other juniors and seniors gathered with their dates in the school parking lot across the street, him with his freshman girlfriend, getting ready for the post-prom sunday picnic. no fun. who wouldn't relish the opportunity for a do over?

portland has proms, because portlanders love theme parties. or, rather, portlanders love reasons to set up a photo booth (those of you who have lived in austin will understand). unfortunately, too many of the portlanders who lust after post-party facebook réclame in the click of the photo booth flashbulb don't have any grown up clothes. it's no trivial perquisite of working in portland, oregon that employers of anyone who might be considered a cultural creative make it so that those of their employees needn't own a suit. but it's no trivial oversight of civility that most of the gay men at the prom themed queer dance night on thursday night showed up in their work clothes. hoodies over plaid button ups might pass muster behind the computer, but is that really how we want to our only prom (this month)?

that's of particular consideration when it's considered that portland has so many fine local tailors -- and in particular the ladies of duchess clothier. it's a very fine thing to have quality local designers available for ordering creatively devised custom garments, but it's of an entirely different order of fineness to have available a group of stylish and knowledgeable local women who have dedicated themselves to men's fashion.

duchess was founded by lady seyta selter (the aptly handled "founding duchess") as a small vintage reproduction boutique for portland's ladies in 2005, but the company has since metamorphosed into an (only somewhat larger) operation committed to outfitting the men of portland in the most dapper suits, shirts and accessories -- and ms. selter's uniquely cool, vintage sensibilities deliver a high standard of dapper, indeed. today, duchess occupies the entirety of the showroom at se 11th ave and division that it used to share with haberdasher winn perry, and duchess' offerings have come to include not just its exquisite -- if under reputed -- custom garments, but also a head to toe line of ready to wear pieces.

the duchess concept is simple: every man looks good, not necessarily in a suit, but in a suit that was made to measure. and the duchess experience begins with the measurements. if it feels good to be wearing (and to be seen wearing) a duchess creation (and people at thursday's prom were definitely looking at the two button duchess two piece with the satin lapels), then it's because lady ariel arrow, the duchess of fit, got it right when she asked you up from the plush leather couch across from her consultation table and took to you with her tape measure. she asks your age. your age informs your carriage, and that number goes down with all the others -- and the photos she's taken -- in your file, which is kept on file, because once you've had yourself made a duchess suit you'll be back for others.

the concept is simple, but making an order isn't easy. anything but. even if you're only ordering from the scotch basic menu, which limits you to choosing one of five styles preselected by the ladies from some two dozen total patterns that uniquely represent the best of "classic" taste from the victorian era to the present, you'll still have to decide on color, fabric (those two choices are especially daunting when you're ordering custom shirts)...a vest? a silk jacket lining? hand-stitched lapels? the exact fit of the final suit is up to the customer as well, and although ariel is happy to lend her expertise to your decision through suggestions, she's just as willing to encourage your creativity and push you, with a patient smile and silence, toward an assertion of your personal style. the combination of luxury and coziness that characterizes ariel's consultations can be confounding. the duchess showroom -- and that leather couch in particular -- are inviting, as are all of the ladies (and the one gent) of duchess, but, but...no kid in any candy store has ever had this much fun, or was ever faced with such a complication of choices.

the cultural lexicographers should change the idiom. the image of a dandy gone to duchess is so much more evocative, and if it weren't for the pecuniary limitations that might restrict said dandy's ability to order each and every one of the outfits he'd imagined out of the infinite possibilities of duchess' offerings, that phrase would exemplify absolute bliss. now it just lies with we evangelists to spread the word, get the phrase to catch. spread the word by wearing the clothes. by making orders, as difficult as that task can sometimes be. and not that you won't do whatever it is you can to have all of your suits and shirts made by duchess after you're first glamoured by the duchess magic, but it's worth mentioning that custom garments from duchess are almost indecently affordable for the order of quality and design savvy that they represent. but you're right. it's uncivil to talk about price. you can find pricing information along with style menus at the duchess website.

and pictures? find those at the website, too. the ones from prom aren't ready yet. and if they don't turn out -- the mood was so uninspiringly under dressed -- we'll just have to throw another do over. but in another suit, of course. unfortunately, that means a wait. but it's never not worth it. those ten weeks are always the sweetest sorrow.