CARS MEET FASHION AT SEIZE SUR VINGT BLOCK PARTY

Exotic race cars rolled into Greene St. in SoHo on July 22 at a race-themed block party sponsored by retailer Seize Sur Vingt, which has been offering customers hand tailored menswear for 17 years.

The event, the brand’s third block party featuring race cars, was held to promote the The Tudor United SportsCar Championship (TUSCC), a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada that is sponsored by the Tudor watch brand. It is organized under the auspices of IMSA (International Motor Sports Association) and was held at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn., an iconic race circuit situated in a park-like setting, on July 25. Unlike most race circuits there are no grandstands at Lime Rock Park. Instead, fans sit on a blanket on the grass and enjoy a bucolic backdrop as the cars blast around in front of them.

“I’ve always been a fan of cars and of fashion” explains the store’s co-president James Jurney. “My wife and I have a friend in common who’s with Lime Rock Park who years ago introduced us to its owner, Skip Barber. When we were together one time I casually threw out an offhand remark that we should have a block party and bring a bunch of race cars to SoHo and to my surprise everyone said, ‘That’s a great idea!’ From that brief conversation we now have a very successful event promoting Motorsports at Lime Rock Park and clothing at Seize Sur Vingt.”

The store’s general manager Karim Manuel Fresno adds, “We have now had our third racing block party and it has been a huge success.  It was amazing to see full-out race cars lined up on both sides of Greene Street in front of our store.”

The shop has even created a special Driving Shirt for customers who share its passion for automobiles. “We’ve shifted the shirt’s pocket which is normally on the wearer’s left side to the right side of the shirt so that seat belts do not inhibit the use of the pocket. Similarly we have added a loop above the pocket so that there is a place to hold sunglasses out of the way of seat belts. Finally we gave the shirt a smart phone pocket on the lower left side of the shirt for easy access which eliminates a guy having to struggle to get his phone out of his jeans pocket,” explains Fresno.

Seize Sur Vingt’s garments are made utilizing elements of old world tailoring and are hand finished of high quality fabrics implementing single needle stitching and real mother-of- pearl or horn buttons.  They are manufactured in Italy, Portugal, France and England.

Seize Sur Vingt translates to “16 over 20,” which is a school grade in France that is equivalent to an A- in the U.S.

The label also has a shop in West Hollywood and a collaboration store in Moscow.