Sharp Dressed Man

Bespoke shopping comes to The Gulch

Written by Dave Mahanes / Photos courtesy of Q Clothier / Rye 51

Q Clothiers | Rye 51, a high-end haberdashery, opened its doors in the tony Thompson Hotel back in November. Q Clothiers | Rye 51 offers two distinct custom luxury apparel experiences—from readyto-wear casual to bespoke white tie under one roof. Founder and CEO Raja Ratan’s family has been in the custom tailoring business for 50 years. Ratan has a passion for creating refined products and building stores. Q Clothiers | Rye 51 currently has stores in Nashville, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and Little Rock. Ratan also enjoys building careers for his staff; many of his loyal employees have been with him for over 10 years.

Ratan’s philosophy is that one needs to start with the finest ingredients to get the finest results, just like a master chef or architect would.

Hence, Q Clothiers | Rye 51 only sources clothing materials from the world’s finest mills and uses the best manufacturers. For example, outerwear is manufactured in Italy, where the best craftsmen are located. Their t-shirts are made from cotton from Lima, Peru, because it is the highest quality cotton source. Although online shopping is available, another one of the driving principles of their brand is to create a unique, high-touch in-store client experience with customized, one-on-one styling. Once a client’s profile is integrated into their system, if the client wishes to order, for instance, a polo shirt similar to what he bought before, he only needs to text his personal clothier who will deliver the shirt the same day compared with ordering online and receiving it three days later. Q Clothier | Rye 51 is all about creating personal and lasting relationships with their clientele.

Raja Ratan

The Q Clothier portion of the establishment brings custom tailoring to street level. Q Clothier began 19 years ago in a 1,000 square foot store in Dallas when Raja was 23. Apparently, James Bond movies were continually played on their early flatscreen TV in their place of business; hence, the master tailor was named after Q, the gadget man in the films. Q Clothier’s tailors can turn around a custom suit in four to five weeks. While Q Clothier began selling custom shirts, they eventually expanded into a complete custom wardrobe experience, including suits, pants, sports jackets, formalwear, denim, polo shirts, sweaters, and t-shirts.

Many custom options are available, including collars, cuffs, pockets, buttons, jacket linings, and monograms. This allows the customer to truly personalize their clothing. The store’s professionals provide one-on-one personalized high-end service. They will travel where it is the most convenient for the client, whether it is the store, the home, or the office—the client can even begin the process online.

Rye 51, the other half of the establishment, offers the same high level of personal shopping as Q Clothier but for ready-to-wear casual menswear. Their suite of products is a curated collection of timeless quality casual wear. Basics, soft jackets, denim, outerwear, and accessories are available in the store and on location. What sets Rye 51 apart is that each article of clothing is produced in small batches of 100 instead of the large runs of 1,000 like at a name-brand department store. Rye 51 brings fit, fabric, and quality together with direct-to-consumer pricing. The name Rye 51 is inspired by small-batch rye whiskey. Its mash must be at least 51% rye; hence, Rye 51. Whiskey is always available in the store to enjoy a nip while shopping.

What the Q Clothier | Rye 51 experience is all about is aptly summarized by the following quote from David Osborn, Senior Vice President at HealthTrust and a loyal customer: “They know how to understand what you like, what pieces you need and how to wear them, whether it be several different looks for social and business and/ or different mix and match combos. There is a fine attention to detail with lots of custom options to express your personality.”

Let it “bespoken” that Q Clothier | Rye 51 is the haberdashery for the gentleman who wants to be uniquely stylish and have the convenience of high-touch service offerings.

Q Clothier / Rye 51 / 405 11th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203 / (615) 953-7414 / Monday-Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm, Sunday 12:00pm-6:00pm