Tailor-Made Man

This is Nick Hilton. He’s someone who the real menswear people all know and respect. They also like him because he’s a pretty nice guy. If you are interested in style, clothing, and dressing well, then Nick is a good person to meet. He has an interesting story, which he details in his book A Tailor-Made Man. At one point, Nick’s family had one of the world's largest American-made tailored clothing brands. Fun fact: His father gave Ralph Lauren (who worked for Norman Hilton) the seed money to start Polo. This is just one of the many interesting stories surrounding the Hilton family, which Nick chronicles so well in his book.

A friend recommended A Tailor-Made Man to me, but Nick reached out to me before I could read it. We met via Zoom, and we spoke for over an hour. I was intrigued with Nick, his family, and his history in menswear. I also liked that Nick has serious opinions about dressing and doesn’t shy away from sharing them.

I’ve always been fascinated by the history of things we use in our everyday lives. That’s a big part of what has driven my point of view with ACL through the years. I arrived in New York after many of these apparel manufacturers were gone, but I still could extract some of the stories about the golden years of U.S.-made clothing. I love to hear stories about the prime days of American-made suits when hundreds of thousands were made in Brooklyn and all over the Northeast. Having guests like Nick on the podcast to tell some of these stories is important to me. If you read his book, you’ll understand that era even better. Until then, I hope you enjoy our conversation.

Below are two ads from the Norman Hilton natural shoulder glory days.

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Big thanks to Al James for lending me his music. The song is Hard Working Dogs by Dolorean.