Dapper gents have a new downtown haunt where they can create a custom suit or find the perfect pocket watch to compliment a new fedora. Dandy's, The Gentleman's Store opened March 7 in their own location location at 411 Brazos St., Ste. 110.

Co-owner Wendy Bykowski said her and her husband, Christopher Bykowski, fell in love with their downtown space while they were searching for the right place to set up their store.

"It was built in the '20s, has exposed brick, it's on the corner, it's downtown, and we just knew we could really make it our own," Bykowski said.

The store moved from 2110 S. Lamar Blvd., where they shared a space with Filin, a hair salon, clothing and alteration store. Dandy's focuses on styles from the 1870s through 1930s and offers items such as full suits, various styles of hats and shoes, bow ties, straight razors, flasks and gramophones.

Bykowski said the idea for the store came when her and her husband got engaged in 2009. She said they were not able to find clothing in the style they liked, so they decided to design their own clothing and accessories and find someone to manufacture their products. The business got off the ground in 2011 and offers custom versions of the majority of the items available in the store

"From the suits came bow ties and boots and hats, and it just progressed from 'oh, these suits don't exist, but neither do these bow ties,'" Bykowski said.

Bykowski said operating the store has been a real "labor of love" for the two of them.

"I do love that ladies and gentlemen were ladies and gentlemen and presented themselves as so," Bykowski said. "Not that there wasn't all kinds of crazy, zany, debaucherous things going on, but the way things were made, the way people did everything, it was just kind of with care and with pride. And it's beautiful."

For more information about Dandy's, call 512-999-8196 or visit www.dandysuit.com.