The Secret To A Perfectly Tailored Suit? For The Black Tux, It’s Machine Learning

When Andrew Blackmon and Patrick Coyne launched The Black Tux in 2013, they did so with the intent of helping men suit up without setting foot in a Men’s Wearhouse. The goal was to upgrade suit and tuxedo rentals by introducing higher quality garments and placing an emphasis on fit, qualities that Blackmon says the market was severely—and surprisingly—lacking. The Black Tux promised to do all this as an online retailer, which meant men could rent formalwear with a few clicks. The company charges about $95-$145 for suit and tuxedo rentals, depending on the design, while rentals of complete outfits—which include additional items like a dress shirt, leather shoes, cuff links, and a tie or bowtie—run between $150-$215. Recently, The Black Tux unveiled a new and improved fit algorithm that claims to accurately predict how a suit should be tailored, based solely on the measurements customers provide online. The secret sauce: machine learning, built on a robust data set accrued over the past few years. As Black Tux feeds the algorithm more data on how customers’ measurements have historically correlated with suit sizes and alterations, it gets better at predicting which cuts will work best for future customers. Read more at Fast Company.