Buck Mason's Summer Suiting Embraces Quality

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Buck Mason is known, and often lauded, for a great many things. The CA-founded brand has built a reputation in recent years, on the back of affordable staples, heritage collaborations and some best-in-class heavyweight t-shirts.

Small-scale Italian tailoring has not, at least traditionally, been one of those things. Buck has dabbled in suits before — their soft-shoulder Graduate and packable Carry-On lines are both more than serviceable options — but the brand’s perceived strengths lie within a rugged stock of workwear-leaning, Americana. Pennsylvania-milled boxy tees, Japanese selvage denim, remakes of Eddie Bauer’s classic flight jackets.

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It might come as a surprise then that Buck has tapped NYC-based J. Mueser, a menswear tailoring operation featuring a variety of impeccably crafted off-the-rack and bespoke suiting, for its latest collaboration. But according to Alex Goldberg, Head of Merchandising at Buck Mason, it’s a more natural fit than you might expect.

“We have strong mutual admiration for each other’s brands, Jake [Mueser] has made suits for several of us over the years,” Goldberg told InsideHook, admitting that the partnership is as much about “working with friends,” as it is a sartorial and commercial venture.

The collection of Ivy-inspired tailoring, a six-piece, three-suit (or, rather, two lightweight suits and a tuxedo) capsule immaculately crafted at the J. Mueser sartoria in Naples, Italy, centers around bringing their signature artisanal approach — Mueser’s suits are batched in small workshops, often in a one-on-one setting — to Buck Mason’s scaled operation. While the resulting luxe tailoring might sound like a strange mish-mosh of sprezzatura and California ivy, the focus on craftsmanship and quality ties together the whole capsule as a more than sensible option for upcoming weddings and formal festivities.

The partnership’s offerings include a beautiful navy two-piece in a four-season wool-linen blend (the Townsman), a west coast spin on the double-breasted tabacco linen suit (the Statesman) and even a classic peak label tuxedo in a louche, Vitale Barberis Canonico-sourced mohair barathea wool. (According to Goldberg, “Every man should own one, not just for awards season.”)

If this is sounding like a sweaty affair, fear not — all of J. Mueser for Buck Mason was designed for a summertime of wear in California. “Weather played a big factor in the design process,” says Goldberg. “Based in Southern California, we wanted to craft premium versions of items sometimes difficult to track down – all suitable to be worn in warmer climates.”

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The focus on premium materials and exceptional craftsmanship was something already baked into Buck Mason’s ethos, but Goldberg readily admits that the partnership — the J. Mueser for Buck Mason suit jackets start $1,498, a departure from Buck’s affordable basics — is a step in a new direction for the brand. “This collection is for those who seek out and appreciate the handwork and number of steps required to finish each of these garments. The fabrics and trims were hand-selected, colors obsessed over and fits tweaked numerous times until perfected. It’s an attention to detail and craftsmanship that needs to be seen, tried on and worn to be fully appreciated.”

According to Goldberg, we can expect another season of J. Mueser for Buck Mason to arrive this fall. But don’t get ahead of yourself — the just-launched summer-ready capsule is very much ready to be added to your cart (and worn to all your warm weather occasions) this instant. The collection ranges from $498-$1,598 and is available to shop now, below and at Buck Mason’s webstore.