Before starting a business, you could find Baltimore native Christopher Schafer loading passenger luggage into airplanes at the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

Now, Schafer, 52, runs his own high-end custom menswear shop, Christopher Schafer Clothier. He became a tailor while living in London for a year in 2007, and started his own business years later; his current Baltimore storefront borders Fells Point and Canton.

“I tell you what, my spatial relations are so good from stacking stuff, and my business is so much about proportion and making clothes fit people,” Schafer said. “Knowing how to make all that stuff fit in the belly of an airplane, I think it all helped me to get to where I am today.”

Christopher Schafer Clothier is located in a renovated 143-year-old building that houses his clothing, materials, supplies — and occasional parties.

In 2011, Schafer launched a nonprofit, Sharp Dressed Man, to help the community recycle their suits and get them in the hands of those in need of one for job interviews. Schafer and his team provide free custom fittings, meals and haircuts as part of the program.

In 2022, the nonprofit won a $25,000 grant through United Way’s Changemaker Challenge to create the Sharp Dressed Van, allowing Schafer to purchase a van to bring suits to more areas around Baltimore. Schafer says they’ve given away more than 13,000 suits in the last 10 years and have no plans of stopping.

The Baltimore Banner: What was the inspiration behind starting your own tailoring business?

Christopher Schafer: I got the opportunity to move to London because of my wife’s work. When I was over there, I was recruited and learned how to design suits. When I came home, I carried on doing that, but I was working for other people.

We came home because my wife was pregnant and we wanted to get back to family. But it was right when the recession hit. That was a really tough time to be talking to people about custom-made suits.

When I started my business in 2010, a lot of people told me that it wouldn’t work because no one in Baltimore wore suits. I’ve been in business for 14 years this fall, so it’s definitely working.

The Banner: What does a day at Christopher Schafer Clothier look like? And what’s your favorite part?

Schafer: Every day is different, and that keeps it from feeling like it’s Groundhog Day.

My favorite part is actually designing clothes for people. Sitting with them and going through the fabric, picking out the different detailing, measuring and talking about how they want the clothes to fit.

You get to meet a lot of really cool, successful people. It makes you look at the city differently.

The Banner: What’s something you wish people knew about your business or the custom-tailoring industry at large?

Schafer: Historically, Baltimore was the second-largest manufacturer of clothing in the country. At one point in time, every person in the country would have been wearing at least one garment that was made in Baltimore. That’s how deep the roots are here.

I’m also a musician, so I’ve been in the music and art scene for years. This has always been a creative city because it’s a livable city. There’s a ton of style here.

New York is definitely the fashion capital of the U.S. For my line of work, I think that London is the capital of men’s fashion. Some would say it’s Milan, but for me, stylistically, I like the British aesthetic, so I lean toward that.

The Banner: You opened your first brick-and-mortar store in Baltimore. What’s the appeal of running a business here?

Schafer: The people. There are so many characters in the city. There’s no place like Baltimore. I’ve traveled a good bit, and this place always brings me back because of the people.

The Banner: I’m wondering if you’ve faced any challenges doing business in Baltimore?

Schafer: The crime is pretty bad. But there isn’t a city that doesn’t have it. Right now, we’re constantly under a microscope, and I just want to see us get out from under that. Get people to see the good stuff that’s going on here.

We don’t have the industries or the jobs we used to. The city has been shrinking in size. But I’m doing my part to try and grow it.

The Banner: When you think about the future, what’s next for you? What are you looking forward to doing?

Schafer: We have a shop here in Baltimore, we have one in D.C., and next year, we’re opening one in Manhattan. I love this city; it’s 100% home for me. We’re looking to put Baltimore on the map. They don’t think about Baltimore and fashion.

We’re going to look at some places soon, so it’s looking like early 2025 [for the Manhattan opening]. That’s the idea. Our guy in D.C. wants to go to New York and run the shop there. I have some people here who will go help out to run the shop in D.C.

But that’s the plan. That’s what’s next.