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EAST CHICAGO -- When he started his own
business, Paco Fernández went straight to his city's Wmayor and asked him for
his patronage a small indication of Fernández's staunch determination. East
Chicago's Mayor Robert Pastrick ordered four custom shirts and started sending
his friends and associates to get fine clothing from the tailor. In a few years,
Paco Fernández's customers went from zero to seven hundred and fifty worldwide,
including customers in London, Puerto Rico and Africa. According to Mr.
Fernández, the secret of his success is his desire to ensure that his customers
are well-dressed to succeed in business and life. “Loving what one does for a
living is the first step to a successful business, and I love my job. Whether
they are doctors, lawyers or bankers, I make sure my customers are properly
dressed to succeed in whatever they do,” says Paco who arms his customers with
whatever they need from shoes to a necktie and everything in between.
Born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, México, Paco Fernández is the son of a Mexican
General named Fernando Pamanes Escobedo. His father was also governor of
Zacatecas, and Mexican Ambassador to Indonesia and other countries. “I arrived
in Chicago at the time of the biggest snow storm in decades,” says Paco
recalling the life-changing
moment when he arrived in the United States.
After 28 years of working at the Custom Shops in Chicago, Paco Fernández left to
start his own business in East Chicago. “The customers I have are almost forever
because I never to sell them for the simple reason of selling. I learn what my
client does and what he likes or dislikes. I ask many questions and the reason
why they want to wear a
custom-made suit,” says Paco about his trade. “I teach people what the meaning
of dressing is.” He stresses the fact that every piece of the clothing he sells
is made into his own label. “It has my name and reputation,” says Paco with
pride the same pride he wants his customers feel when wearing his label.
One of the reasons for his success in the clothing business is not only Paco's
talent and professionalism but also that the dress-down trend has come to an end
and rofessional wardrobes are back. “Today, shirts and ties are coming back very
strongly. Men are going back to tailored clothing and personalized service,”
says the tailor whose fabrics are from the same mills as the ones for
Ermenegildo Zegna and Laura Piana. Unlike these brand clothes, which are
ready-made, Paco takes thirteen individual measurements and makes sure the
clothes fit his customers' body structure.
One may think that custom-made clothes are very expensive, but that is not the
case. An Ermenegildo Zegna suit might start at around $2,200 while a custom-made
one from Paco Fernández label starts at $695 and $65 for shirts. “You will
immediately look and feel better and, unless you are a perfect size, you can
only do so much with a suit off the rack,” says the tailor with pride.
“And since 75 percent of the battle is the first impression and clothing is no
longer cheap, you have to achieve the maximum goal.”
When asked about how many Latino customers he has, Paco responds, “Not many. The
first question Latinos ask is how much.” Latinos are very pricesensitive when it
comes to fine clothing. It is rather obvious that Latinos in places like Chicago
are just beginning to dress for success in business and their personal life. But
if they decide to look beyond the price in fine clothing, they can find in
people like Paco Fernández a tailor who not only can make them look good but at
a good price. “Tailors are not necessarily good fitters and fitters are not
necessarily good tailors. I can provide the best of both worlds,” says Paco
about his profession and his new sense of dress satisfaction.
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