Good Suits

I spend so much time on here bitching & moaning because I'm an asshole, so it's nice to read about people doing something really great like a suit maker in Brooklyn offering free formal wear to newly exonerated men and women trying to rebuild their lives:

On a windy day in mid-May, four men and two women whose convictions were overturned in the last year made their way to Bindle & Keep’s studio near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where they tried on sample garments, selected fabrics and were meticulously measured for custom suits.

“I’m going to be cleaner than the board of health,” Renay Lynch, 68, said after seeing her reflection in a navy velvet tuxedo jacket that she had tried on. Ms. Lynch, who was convicted of the murder and the robbery of her landlord, was exonerated in January after serving 26 years in prison in Buffalo.

These are all reasons that Bindle & Keep offers suits to the newly exonerated, said Ashley Merriman, 47, a partner at the company, which was started in 2011 by Daniel Friedman, its head tailor. Ms. Merriman said that since Bindle & Keep began working with the Innocence Project in 2016, about 50 exonerees have received free custom suits, which normally start at about $1,200.

“We hope the suits help exonerees feel more confident and empowered,” she said. “We want to provide an experience where they feel seen and heard, and where they have the agency to pick out their own clothing.”