old boys' network; After more than a decade in the sharp-men's-suit business, Alexandre Plokhov is finally giving women what they want, too.(Brief article)

Byline: Aimee Cho

Alexandre Plokhov's first female client was a commodities trader named Jennifer Fan. Jennifer happened to go with a friend to the Cloak boutique opening on Greene Street in SoHo last fall and thought that the Cloak menswear look-a little bit rock 'n' roll with a dash of Goth, but completely grown-up-would be just right for a young woman working in her male-dominated industry. "I can't look vulnerable, in ladylike skirts and little bed jackets. I have to look and feel a little edgy, a little aggressive," Fan says. She asked to have a suit custom-made-and thus, a bespoke women's business was born.

Two female models appeared among the male models on Plokhov's spring runway. "I'm not actually launching women's clothes," Plokhov says. "One always has to have forward motion, so we are slowly expanding with bespoke for women." Each Cloak suit is meticulously crafted by the in-house ...