Welcome to Formal Times! We are glad to see you are surviving. Peak season is now done for our stores yet, I know many of you struggle onward. In this issue we mourn the passing and celebrate the life of Harvey J. Weinstein, one of our Industry’s founding members. Also a survey of what the kids have chosen for prom. We offer information on a small company working to provide for the industry. Please contact us with your stories--good and bad--about season. Rebeccamc522@aol.com.

We regret to inform readers that Toby Dobby, the wife of Sam Dobkin of Dobby’s Formalwear in Livonia, MI, has passed away. She was an elegant and graceful woman and will be sadly missed by all. Mrs. Dobby is survived by her husband and 3 children.

From Formalwear International:
It is with great pride for FWI to announce to the industry that Dominic Yacovella has amplified his responsibilities with FWI as Director of Sales & Customer Relations. In his ever challenging position and his persistent dedication, we at FWI find it necessary for him to devote 100% of his time strictly with FWI for the continued growth of the Jean Yves brand label.

Sandra Vallejo, Dominic and Maurice Silva developed our Jean Yves label or brand name in 1999. The Management and Staff of FWI have given our total commitment to be the best quality product sold in this industry.

The sales force will continue to report directly to Dominic and his goal is to help with any concerns under the Jean Yves umbrella to our customers. Dominic will also be responsible to preserve the continuity of our products and be our representation in the formalwear industry.

Please join all of our Jean Yves Partners in wishing Dominic continued success in his future accomplishments with FWI!

Also from FWI:
It is Formal Wear International’s pleasure to announce that Bill Davis has been awarded the position as Sales Representative for FWI’s Mid-West territory. Bill is an experienced professional in the formalwear industry and has been part of the Jean Yves Sales Team for about a year taking the Canadian marketplace by storm! Formal Wear International is very proud of Bill’s accomplishments and knows that he will be a tremendous asset in the Midwest!

IFA EXPO26! September 8-10 Nashville, Tennessee at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Make plans now to attend! Have you made your reservations yet? What better way to spend some of that hard earned money from prom then on networking with old friends. What better place to network than EXPO26 in Nashville? Come explore new options.

HOTEL: Call the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center to reserve guest rooms. Be sure to reference "IFA EXPO" to receive the discounted room rate of $149 single/$169 double. The hotel room cutoff date is Tuesday, August 7, 2007.

Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center
2800 Opryland Drive
Nashville TN 37214
(866) 972-6779
www.opryland.com

At 20 years of age the will reigns, at 30 the wit, at 40 the judgment. 
      -Benjamin Franklin

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog. 
      -Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech to the Republican National Committee, January 31, 1958
34th president of US 1953-1961 (1890 - 1969)

Five out of seven guys wore top-priced tuxedoes.

I work at an in-stock tuxedo store and putting stock away the other day made me think about sizing and style usage during this busy season. I noticed a very non-technical way of looking at usage. Our coats are all bagged in plastic for hanging in stock. During peak season we do not put plastic back on the black coats. The still bagged unused sizes and styles on the last week of our 5 week season stuck out like a sore thumb. What was our “prom” size these days? Are the kids willing to pay premium for our high end items? Long ties or bow ties? Which lapel style? Black or white? Evaluating usage as this peak season winds down, contributes to buying choices for next year. What worked for you? I took a random 500 orders from our organization and recorded the answers.

Lapel usage definitely depends on availability, more notch lapels are offered in this case. The color choice was surprising, it felt like every young man wanted white. Maybe that has something to do with the extra care necessary to produce a top quality white tuxedo. Long ties definitely are still strong here. The number willing to pay top dollar was surprising. Sizing in this particular group seems pretty average although overall it would probably lean towards getting “larger”. It seems whatever large sizes we carry, someone comes in bigger every year. We purchased a 66 Long white coat this year and 16 wide white shoes for a young man to rent for prom!! By no means a highly scientific study of data this represents an opportunity for thought for our organization. What has done well for yours?

Contact us with your hits and misses: rebeccamc522@aol.com

1925-2007

If you were ever kidnapped, and placed in a deep dark 3foot by 3foot well for 12 days would you, for any reason, ever ask to revisit that hell? Harvey J. Weinstein did! The tuxedo industry mourns the loss of a strong and compassionate leader. Mr. Weinstein lost a lengthy battle with lung cancer this month, and will be greatly missed. I had a conversation with John Desmond at Midwest Garment of LaCrosse, WI, and he told me about his friend of 40 years. Mr. Weinstein’s very interesting life was formed by a passion for his family, friends, and business and they tell the story simple words cannot.

Mr. Weinstein’s formal wear career began when he partnered with the prominent Westreich family to form West Mills. They formed the parent company of what became Lord West/Tuxacco and is presently partnered with the Weintraub family forming FLOW Formal Alliance. His steadfast dedication to quality helped set present-day standards. The business outgrew the first factory and when many were beginning to move offshore, Mr. Weinstein chose to move to a larger facility in Queens to retain quality control and jobs. He always said he had to keep the factory local for his employees.

Mr. Weinstein’s regimented marine World War II training brought discipline and order to his everyday life. He adhered to a steadfast routine that varied little day to day. He ate breakfast at the same time at the same diner each morning. Ironically, that routine gave one of his own employees, a sewing machine operator, along with his brother and girlfriend, the opportunity to study and learn where he would be at a given time. On August 4, 1993 the three abducted Weinstein leaving the diner. They placed him in a cistern then covered it, leaving him in total darkness. A ransom demand of 2 million dollars was made to the family. The FBI and New York Police Department were involved in the ransom negotiations. His military training again aided him in devising a routine to keep his sanity that he set by the time of day. Being totally locked in darkness he used the rush hour traffic sounds overhead to determine the time. He divided his time and his small space into areas and routines for sleeping, exercising, and writing at least 1 chapter of his autobiography in his head per day. As the ordeal dragged on, Mr. Weinstein pleaded with the kidnappers to just take him out and shoot him. Being a frugal business man, he felt he had paid a lot of money into an insurance policy his family would be unable to collect if he was never found.

The kidnappers were caught by their own ignorance. They asked the ransom money to be paid in small bills. Two million dollars in any denomination is a lot of money and they had not thought out the sheer weight and size of this amount. The main ones fled to the Dominican leaving others to pick up the money. That is ultimately how they were caught and Mr. Weinstein rescued. Upon interrogating one of the suspects left behind, he ultimately confessed to Mr. Weinstein’s general location. The officers used dogs to search the area. He heard them and was able to yell enough for the dogs to be alerted. After 12 days, he was found weak but very much alive!

Harvey Weinstein later called this ordeal his “unauthorized vacation” and amazingly never harbored ill-will for the abductors. After his release he was troubled over his inability to escape. To assure himself he had done everything his military background allowed, a year later he had himself placed in the pit and spent a couple of hours trying to escape. Even then in top condition he was unable to do so. This knowledge helped give him peace of mind he had not failed. All lives are filled with success and failure--it is how we choose to use them that sets the balance. The formalwear industry sends it deepest regards to Mr. Weinstein’s family and would like them to know we are grateful for all his contributions.

Please visit the Notice for Harvey J. Weinstein. www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000088062446X

What percentage of your business is done on the Internet? I contacted one businessman who claims 90% of his is now conducted online. In our hi-tech times our customers may not always be walking through the traditional front door. Vrej Grigorian’s site tuxedosonline.com offers a variety of hard to find items. He established the business and the website quickly followed. It offers a variety of items, from hard-to-find to traditional basics. Spats and boys tuxedos sell very well along with colored tuxedo shirts.

  SPATS

 BOYTUX

Mr. Grigorian manufacturers his own line of satin vests in a large array of colors. He sells them under the Moda Formalwear name and provides wholesale pricing and volume discounts. Check out his or give him a call with any questions on styles or availability.

Tuxedos Online
www.tuxedosonline.com
888-968-4TUX

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White tuxedos all the rage this year! A sharply coordinated group.

All long ties, and look at all the black and hite shoes.