Baltimore's Best 6.22.25 - Flipbook - Page 18
18 The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, June 22, 2025
BALTIMORE’S BEST LIFESTYLE & SHOPPING
John Massey, vice president and creative director, from left, and Marc Sklar, president and CEO, of Gian Marco Menswear, an upscale clothing store named Baltimore’s best.
KIM HAIRSTON/STAFF
BEST CLOTHING BOUTIQUE, MENSWEAR, SHOE STORE
GIAN MARCO MENSWEAR
517 N. Charles St. 410-347-7974. gian-marco-menswear.com
By Mike Klingaman
For what it’s worth, everyone gripes
about the prices at this trendy men’s
shop.
“They’re entitled,” said Marc Sklar,
CEO of the Charles Street boutique
that deals in luxury clothing and footwear.
Who would pay $100 for a bow tie,
$260 for a cotton shirt or $400 for a
pair of crocodile-and-python sneakers?
“Someone who appreciates quality,” Sklar said. “People who come here
want a good product. It’s like eating
fine steak rather than something from
McDonald’s.”
Well-heeled patrons agree. For 35
years, they’ve been buying European
dress and casual wear off the fashionable racks at Gian Marco, while touting
the top-notch fabrics and customized
apparel.
“This stuff is so well made that it
will go out of style, and then come back
in, before it wears out,” one reviewer
wrote online.
“That’s almost true,” Sklar said.
“Except that the merchandise we buy
is so timeless that it never goes out of
style.”
Twice a year, he and co-owner John
Massey fly to Italy and browse the
high-end clothing factories, awaiting
that Eureka! moment.
“We’ve literally climbed through
vaults of fabric to find things that are
really unique,” Sklar said. “We’re looking for buried treasure.”
Fabric found, they make their orders,
mindful of their customers’ breadth.
“Sometimes we have Italian manufacturers produce sizes they would
normally not produce,” he said. “They
have to understand that there are a lot
of big Americans.”
How old are Gian Marco’s clients?
“Age 25 to death,” Sklar said. “We’ve
done many of their burials.”
Also weddings, graduations, confirmations and Bar Mitzvahs.
“We’ll go to people’s homes to fit
them, or to redo their wardrobes,” the
owner said. Truth be told, customers like to peruse the shop in Mount
Vernon, if only to hear the good-natured banter between Sklar and
Massey. Said the former, “We’ve been
in this business so long that John used
to dress Moses.”
jklingaman@baltsun.com
Turn to 2025 Winners, Page 20
THANK YOU BALTIMORE SUN
READERS FOR REPEATEDLY
ELECTING US BEST MENSWEAR
Those of you who know us,
know we have Baltimore’s finest
menswear made exclusively for us
in Italy, and those who don’t,
please visit and see why we are
continually selected for these
prestigious awards.
Call us today for a free consultation!
Award-Winning & Family-Owned
Made in Italy exclusively for
Gian Marco Menswear.
• Hardscapes & Patios • Erosion Control
• Pools
• Kitchens
• Retaining Walls
• Pavilions, Pergolas
• Lighting
& Decks
• Landscape Designs • Seasonal
• Fire Pits & Fireplaces Maintenance
517 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 347-7974
www.gian-marco-menswear.com
Winner of Baltimore’s BEST for Best Menswear
www.tdhlandscaping.com
410-692-0050
