An Interview with Thành Đức Huỳnh
1December 2, 2024 by Ville Raivio
VR: Your age and occupation?
TDH: I’m pushing 40 years young (how time flies!) I have experience working in technology, engineering, and logistics. Currently, I’m practicing/working in the legal field.
VR: Your education?
TDH: I have an Associate’s and a Bachelor’s Degree in Science and another degree in Legal Studies.
VR: Do you have children or a spouse (if you do, what do they think of your style passion)?
TDH: My current and past partners started out complaining how I’m always “overdressed.” Overtime, they subside and let me style them, too. Persistence and cooperation win.
VR: …and how did your family members react when you first started dressing classically?
TDH: Oh, for the last decade, my mother has been commenting about my overdressing and not dressing “timely and era appropriate.” Other relatives probably just keep to themselves. I heard those words but do I care to change my way of dressing, not really.
VR: What hobbies or passions do you have besides clothing?
TDH: Besides clothing, I do woodworking in my small garage workshop. I enjoy making small furniture and restoring vintage guitars.
I have also played the flamenco and classical guitar on and off for about 18 years. I do photography, mostly landscape and nature. Finally, I am a huge supporter of “the Second Amendment” – the right to bear arms AND stricter gun control laws. I train and participate in local shooting competitions.
VR: How did you first become interested in clothes? Why classic clothing instead of fashion?
TDH: It was probably 9 or 10 years ago that I bought my first pair of “quality men’s dress shoes” – the Allen-Edmonds Strand. I was working for a semiconductor company and just like any “tech bros” – my daily “comfortable clothing” was jeans and T-shirt. Of course, leather dress shoes don’t look great with those. I wanted garments which were appropriate with my swanky leather dress shoes, last a long time, and comfortable. Hence, I started exploring classic menstyle. Fashion is something extraterrestrial to me – I don’t understand them, can’t follow them, and refuse to pay their price tags.
VR: How have you gathered your knowledge of dressing well?
TDH: I pick up my knowledge of dressing well from everywhere. Youtube videos, Facebook groups, Instagram, blogs: namely Keikari – your website has been a tremendous library for me early on and up until now. However, the key is filtering. I chose to read and learn as much as I can but use only a fraction of the information on myself.
VR: How would you describe your personal style?
TDH: Comfortable, practical, and unapologetic.
VR: What is your definition of style?
TDH: My definition of style has been shifting over the years. Currently, it stands as a “personal expression of oneself.”
VR: Who, or what, inspires you?
TDH: My style hero is Jimmy Stewart. He has a certain way of carrying his style and a very easy-going aura – some might call it “sprezzatura.”
While I’m nowhere as handsome or tall and lean as he is, I took his ways of dressing and interpreted it on myself. Combining patterns and color, balancing proportions, and being comfortable in my clothes. Additionally, and importantly, my environment – mother nature! I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of the United States so I’m surrounded by beautiful sceneries – waterfalls, mountains, beaches, creeks, rivers, wild birds…etc. Through billions of years, mother nature has perfected her color schemes, so why not utilize existing resources? I can simply walk to my backyard and copy exactly the same color schemes I see, and voila!
VR: You’re in the shoe polish and sock businesses. What motivated you to create the companies?
TDH: I am fed up seeing people not taking care of their shoes. I am also bored of people wearing the same mid-calf navy socks (which won’t stay up and look horrible with lighter color garments!) Some call me OCD and that’s OK, but I’d like to see a well-rounded overall ensemble aka complete uppers and polished lowers.
VR: You’ve taken the longer road of bespoke. What are your tips for choosing the most suitable artisans?
TDH: Oh, this is my most favorite question! I have made numerous mistakes throughout my bespoke journey, I still make some mistakes here and there.
First and foremost, I want to make sure I have absorbed enough knowledge and wisdom from others, especially their mistakes. I try to avoid all the “talkers” – they often like to talk without having real knowledge and wisdom. People who walk the walk talk the talk – they often keep to themselves but will share if you are willing to learn. This is where I set my foundation. I also love thrifting for vintage clothes – the knowledge from vintage clothings contributes to at least 40% of my current information base and 50% of my wardrobe!
Once such a foundation is built, below is my general process of how I review and determine a bespoke suit maker. I start with watching/witnessing an artisan – bespoke maker throughout a period of time – days, weeks, months – depending on how often the maker shares their work (or if I was fortunate enough to go visit them). First and foremost, I look for a well set collar and properly placed drape on a coat, and the balance of the trousers. The heritage, name brand, handwork, and styling don’t matter if those 3 foundational elements aren’t done correctly. Next, I determine whether their style (from their photos) would fit me and my style or not. For example, I like a comfortable, soft, roomy, and slightly slouchy garment because it serves me and my lifestyle better. Hence, I won’t proceed with a structured tailor. And vice versa.
Additionally, I almost always look at how their garments fit on a “less than ideal” body shape aka stooped, erect, fat, big bellied…etc. I don’t care for ay tailor houses who always share photos on perfect models – I’m also very good at detecting post-processed/photoshopped photos, they are my red flags. I then proceed with some discussion on the maker’s housestyle/preferences and learn how we could both benefit from an order (if I was to place one). Questions regarding the fitting process (remote fitting is a huge plus because it showcases the tailor’s competency and passion), payment, wait time, and delivery shall follow henceforth. Subsequent orders may follow if the first one worked or did not.
VR: Finally, you’ve moved from Vietnam to the US. How would you compare the men’s style of both cultures?
TDF: Vietnam is a tropical country – warm and humid year round. We may get 5-6 days of cool breeze per year so this is quite a challenge, but also a blessing because Vietnamese makers have to find ways to work around that – much lighter construction, slightly roomier fit, much less lining, and very open weave fabrics. The tailored garments market has been rising over the last decade thanks to high quality fabrics becoming more attainable while the labor cost remains relatively low compared to Western counterparts.
Meanwhile, the US has shifted towards fast fashion and “pseudo-comfort clothings.” By those I mean the dreadful-looking catwalk style, and the lower quality artificial fibers being mass produced into “performance” and “comfortable” clothes – the sweatsuit, tracksuit, non-collared T-shirts, low-rise slim fit elastic jeans. Of course, there are bespoke artisans offering high quality handmade products, but the cost is high and the wait time is long which prevent the “regular Joe” from enjoying the experience.
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Very thoughtful answers.