Capitol Threads and Clubhouse Creds
Dressing America’s most unfashionable city
Anthony Bolognese wears a lot of (well-fitted) hats. He founded and operates Capitol Hill Clothiers and Capitol Hill Photo providing him regular access to Washington professionals and insiders. And, if that’s not enough, he’s also an investor in two up-and-coming culinary establishments across the Potomac in Virginia, HYDE Social and Carbonara, both in Arlington. .
Years ago, Bolognese was a young man becoming disillusioned with the experience of selling clothes from big box retailers. This would result in him launching Capitol Hill Clothiers in 2018 to provide the experience that he craved as a consumer.
“ I realized that what I was selling was trash that was way overpriced” Bolognese said. “The customization options were woefully limited and I just knew that I could do better.”
As a result of this, he says, Capitol Hill Clothiers was designed as an “antibody” to the traditional retail-oriented, made-to-measure custom clothing.
Now, let’s be clear about one thing, Washington is not a fashionable city by anyone’s standards. A cursory search of Google shows an overwhelming agreement among Washingtonians (except for the Washington Post) that the city is perpetually “dripless” — as the young people say. Glance through Reddit pages for D.C. influencers (yes, such a thing apparently exists!), fashion blogs, and even outdated mommy forums and you’ll find the same message rings true.
Count Bolognese in as well. “D.C. is not a ‘style Mecca’ by any means,” he said. “It’s a [black hole] of long ties and poorly fitted suits from the 80s.”
Among the most egregious offenses that he sees regularly are ill-fitting suits. His response to this: “ It doesn't matter who you are, if you're suit doesn't fit, it looks bad.”
Another common issue that he sees are people who don’t cut the vent stitches on suit jackets. This, Bolognese says, tells him two things: the suit hasn’t been altered and that the person doesn’t know that those should be removed before wearing the suit.
Despite his company’s name, few of Bolognese’s customers actually work on Capitol Hill which is also home to the most egregious of fashion faux pas.
His customers are cut from a different cloth of Washington. They’re often clubby with membership spanning the gamut of D.C.’s traditional clubs, such as the Army and Navy Club, Capitol Hill Club and Cosmos, to more contemporary clubs, such as The Clayton or The Ned. A substantial share of them are men between the ages of 35 to 55 years old employed by many of the nation’s law firms, trade associations, consulting firms, or are lucratively self-employed.
Bolognese knows what this audience is looking for in a suit purchasing experience. His process usually involves an initial consultation and an in-person visit to the prospective customer, often with cigars or drinks.
And he doesn’t look to set trends either. “ Helping people understand what is timeless versus what is trendy is really my focus. I don't care about what's trendy.”
In one of the most transient cities in the country, there’s something appealing about an expert focusing his time and effort on quietly raising the sartorial standard for our nation’s capital.