The unabashedly colorful shirts at Lord Willy's.   (Photo: Jeremy Liebman)

• Lord Willy’s

  223 Mott St., 212-680-8888

  Nobody likes a man who takes his clothes too seriously. Thank heavens, then, that the custom-made suits, shirts, and accessories at this small Nolita store owned by British expats Alex and Betty Wilcox come with a leavening dose of humor. The logo shows a besuited gentleman with an umbrella and without his pants, the boxer-short sizes range from “big Willy’s” to “massive Willy’s,” and the shirts come in bright, rakish colors. There is a small off-the-rack selection, but the custom suits, which use Savile Row fabrics like Holland & Sherry, Harrisons of Edinburgh, and the occasional vintage one, are the real draw—they’re a classic English sixties slim cut that you don’t have to be six-two to wear. “Look at Michael Caine in The Italian Job,” says Wilcox. “The suit at that point in history was perfect. It’s all downhill since then.”

From the 2006 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine