Meet the Irishman behind a Buckhead made-to-measure menswear studio.
London’s Savile Row has been the home of bespoke suiting in Great Britain since the 1800s. Known as the “golden mile of men’s tailoring,” the 150-yard street is world-renowned, having fitted gentlemen from King Charles III to actor Jude Law. Patrick O’Shea, the proprietor behind Buckhead’s SPO 33, learned the craft there, cutting his teeth at Gieves & Hawkes, the storied Savile Row house with a royal warrant and a military pedigree. O’Shea later moved to Harrods and mastered the art of luxury customer service amid a clientele ranging from A-list celebrities to Qatari royalty. Along the way, he met a Nashville native in a London pub, married her and, in 2016, moved to Atlanta for a position at the Westside’s Sid Mashburn, bringing his Savile Row education with him.
After four years at Mashburn, O’Shea found himself longing for a space of his own. In 2021, with his father as his muse and London as his compass, he started SPO 33, a made-to-measure menswear atelier. By design, the moody, garden-level shop in Buckhead feels more like a cigar lounge or library than a menswear boutique. “I wanted it to be a modern take on the old London gentleman’s club: a place for people to go to relax, have a glass of wine or a whiskey, and shut out the world for a little bit,” says O’Shea.
Glancing around the room, he points to pieces of art: a family heirloom, his own photography of the River Thames and his personal favorite: a vintage snapshot of a Land Rover Range Rover Classic. “When I was born in 1979, my dad treated himself to a personalized license plate: SPO, for Sean Patrick O’Shea, and 33, the age he was when I was born. He’s had it on every car he’s owned since. That license plate is where the name came from. Then I turned it into our logo,” says O’Shea.
His attention to detail that turns a license plate into a legacy carries through to the clothes themselves. O’Shea sources his fabrics from the same mills as his London counterparts. Books with samples from Drago, Loro Piana, Holland & Sherry and others show the full gamut of what SPO 33 offers. Every jacket gets a functioning surgeon’s cuff, a hand-finished Milanese buttonhole and full-through lining in the brand’s signature navy.
Those above-standard touches and his client-first mentality set SPO 33 apart, O’Shea says. “My slogan is tailoring your lifestyle. I really need to understand what someone needs before I can tailor around that.” A client who’s always on a plane, for example, gets steered toward wrinkle-resistant wool; a television personality under studio lights needs something lightweight and breathable. He also makes medical coats built with the same construction and finishing as his suits; they’ve become a popular gift for new doctors finishing their residencies.
O’Shea says he is chasing relationships, not receipts. When a customer requests a full wardrobe overhaul, O’Shea starts with one suit, not five, so he can build faith and trust. He doesn’t seek followers on social media. His business is word of mouth, relying on client praise to bring new feet through the door.
Patience shapes how SPO 33 grows. The business is entirely self-funded, keeping expansion deliberate. He has added supplemental goods from regional businesses he believes in, like Secret Society ties and Ranger Station fragrances. Womenswear is next; he already makes women’s jackets on request, cut from the same Italian and English fabrics as the men’s line. For O’Shea, there’s no rush, just the next fitting.
SPO 33
spo33.com
@spo33official
