Bespoke custom blends relationships, technology to suit style

Customer Anthony Andrews listens to Bespoke owner Brian Hines.Photo byAlex Bass/Tribune

By Alex Bass

Alex.bass@triangletribune.com

RALEIGH – The same thing that kept Anthony Andrews in the barbershop all Saturday long while growing up brought him to Brian Hines, a bespoke tailor who just opened another BR Bespoke custom clothing studio at 10940 Raven Ridge Road.

"As you can see, I don't really have any hair,” said Andrews, self-admittedly a little color blind but tasked by his fiancée with securing a monochromatic autumn white tuxedo for their November 2025 wedding.

Hines had an answer. “Haircuts are bespoke. You create a style for a person’s head that’s actually curated or created for them,” he said. “It’s the same thing as decorating a suit or doing a style. All of it is inclusive. What it is, is creating a culture for it all to exist in one place.”

Hines, a self-professed, interior design aficionado, has extended the barbershop’s relational culture within his new studio. It includes several surrounding enclosed spaces where active cosmetologists work. In the main area, customers can view fabric swatches before retreating to a table for technology-infused creativity, while jazz music enhances the ambiance. The swatches offer tribute to Hines’ grandmother, from whom he learned patterning and other seamster fundamentals.

The newly launched BR Bespoke app allows clients to see their creation’s development on tabletop devices and wall screens. “Seeing is believing,” Hines said. “I believe showing them all of the features, all of the customizations, all of the details visually helps them make a better or more informed decision.”

Andrews connected with Hines through James Abram, co-owner (with wife Wendy) of Jada’s Accessories in Durham, for whom Hines has made custom garments. Andrews, who said he was unfamiliar with French cuffs and hidden buttons - two elements he chose for his ensemble’s dress shirt - was adamant about the impact of developing a strong, in-person working relationship with Hines.

"Trying to do this on my own, I probably wouldn't have gotten it done,” Andrews said.

On Oct. 19, Andrews was in and out of Hines’ studio in a little over an hour. A BR Bespoke purchase requires 50% of the total cost upfront, and the remaining 50% when you receive and are fitted in the finished product.

Andrews, while waiting for Hines to return from a brief office visit, found something else - a pair of white loafers. "What size do you wear?” Hines asked. Hines texted Andrews a photograph of the shoes.

Minutes after Andrews departed, he said he really liked the shoes. “Why not just do it right from the start,” Andrews said of his bespoke experience.