Eye on Small Business: D’Agostino Clothiers, Larchmont

Old-fashioned in absolutely the right way is how you might describe D’Agostino Clothiers, the Larchmont men’s and boys clothing and tailoring store that has been in business for 60 years and is still going strong. While the very word “clothier” – rather like “hosier” – is one few of the younger generation might be familiar with today (and that’s before we even get started on glovers, corsetières and haberdashers), it’s a service almost as important now as perhaps it ever was.

D’Agostino’s is owned and run by brothers Erminio and Tony D’Agostino, whose late father, Antonio, started work in Larchmont in 1964 as a custom tailor. Originlly a small store on Palmer Avenue, D’Agostino then moved to bigger premises on the Boston Post Road before landing at its present location on 138 Larchmont Ave. When I recently visited, Erminio touchingly pointed to a picture of his mother and late father, who died in 2021, on the wall at the back of the store, saying how proud he and his brother were to be continuing the family business.

These days, the store features men’s and boys’ clothing, specializing in – but by no means limited to – weddings, communions, bar mitzvahs, prom outfits and ballroom-dancing attire. The store carries a wide range of top-of-the-line clothing, include brands like Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis and Ermenegildo Zegna. The brothers also sell shoes.

Very much integral to D’Agostino’s old-world service, professional men’s and women’s tailoring is all done in house. “We have two tailors and a seamstress working full time,” Erminio told me, pointing to the workroom where I could see all three of them at work, if I had been in any doubt.

Just been offered tickets at lunchtime to a black-tie gala evening at The Met that same night, but you haven’t managed to squeeze into your tuxedo for more than a decade? No problem:  D’Agostino will sort you out. (And with the dress shoes, too.) That ballgown you loved but can no longer fit into? D’Agostino’s is here to help.

Amazon may have tricked us into thinking that everything we could ever posssibly need or want is but a click away, but it won’t tell you how to look good in a suit (when T-shirts and trainers are your go-to), or shorten a hem for you the same afternoon or explain where style and good taste converge.

Successful businesses like D’Agostino prove that, regardless of fad or fashion, in our world of fast and disposable everything, genuine service is needed as much as ever – although it is something that is increasingly difficult to put a price on.