About Us

Cynthia Ivey Abitz, clothing designer, walks the beach with part of her shih tzu pack.
Cynthia Ivey Abitz, artist and clothing designer, walks the beach with part of her Shih Tzu pack.

What’s in a name?

Ivey Abitz
pronunciation: | ī’-vee ab’-bits |
The Story

At Ivey Abitz, everyday clothing is as important as the air that we breathe, the homes that give us shelter, and the food that gives us energy to live. Such a crucial everyday life necessity should be created with thought, quality, ethics, and love.

The company comes from a desire to celebrate hope and beauty in everyday life. It is the creation of artist/designer and animal advocate Cynthia Ivey Abitz. Her husband and best friend, Joshua Ivey Abitz, assists the company as a professional photographer, videographer, web designer, and musician. They believe art and good design makes everyday life better. Placing the elements that create fine art in a piece of clever clothing makes complete sense to them. In a world saturated with bland, mass-produced, cookie-cutter clothing made by slave labour overseas, Ivey Abitz garments are set apart from the fast-fashion rags clogging our landfills. They are thoughtfully designed, ethically made, and sewn to last.

Ivey Abitz garments can only be obtained through the Ivey Abitz studio and online through this website. All garments are designed by Cynthia Ivey Abitz. All photography is by Joshua Ivey Abitz. The garments are all sewn by talented Ivey Abitz tailors, right here in New York.

Cynthia and Joshua Ivey Abitz in the Ivey Abitz Studio F - "F" is for fabric!
Cynthia and Joshua Ivey Abitz in the Ivey Abitz Studio F – “F” is for fabric! March, 2020.

The Name

Ivey Abitz is a combination of Cynthia and Joshua’s last names. When they married in 1996, they took each other’s names instead of Cynthia just taking Joshua’s family name. This gesture of the utmost respect for one another is yet another reason why the “Ivey Abitz” name holds great meaning.

The company flourishes because they want to spend their days working together and not apart. Their four-footed children (Shih Tzus, all rescued from puppy mills) offer daily assistance running the company.

The Ivey Abitz Pack, Puppy Mill and Senior Rescue Dogs
The Ivey Abitz Pack

Animal Advocacy Work 

In addition to being president and owner of her own company, Cynthia spends much of her time as an animal rescue coordinator. She organizes animal rescue transports to pull dogs and cats from animal control to prevent euthanasia, then safely delivers them to no-kill animal sanctuaries that find the best homes possible. She also lines up volunteer sanctuary homes to give the dogs and cats pulled from animal control a place to rest and recuperate before being placed in permanent homes. At Ivey Abitz, we believe in the grassroots No-Kill Initiative that will make the United States a no-kill animal control country. This means that euthanasia will only be designated for animals that are too injured or ill to be helped. It will not be used merely because an animal is an inconvenience to a human being, or an animal control facility doesn’t have the space. This dedication to protecting companion animals exemplifies the Ivey Abitz’s commitment to honouring and respecting all of creation, especially the most innocent within it.

Collection Philosophy and Intent

The Ivey Abitz collection gives a nod to the past whilst looking ahead to the future. It’s about art elements that you can actually wear. It’s about designs that cover and flatter the body. It’s anti-generic garb. It’s an aesthetic. It has hints of classic and historic design elements, yet it has a voice all its own. It’s a celebration of life by getting dressed in something rare and special every day. It’s a state of mind.

Cynthia Ivey Abitz and her husband, Joshua Ivey Abitz, in their winter office, circa 2008.

Cynthia Ivey Abitz and her husband, Joshua Ivey Abitz, in their winter office, circa 2008.

Sizing

An Ivey Abitz shirt ready to ship.
An Ivey Abitz shirt ready to ship.

Instead of having constricting sizing that you try to fit into, Ivey Abitz designs come in five sizes that adapt to fit you. Clever button tabs completely change the look and fit of a shirt in an instant. Length options allow any height to wear the collection. If the versatile sizing does not quite work for you, Ivey Abitz is also a couturier that makes their designs to fit a person’s specific body measurements. Simply contact the studio with your requests.

Design Elements

The design elements are thoughtful and intricate but still have an ease about them. Carefully designed a-line garments allow you to move about through everyday life with ease. Roomy sleeves give you freedom, no matter what you are doing and where you are going.

Fabric and Colour

The Ivey Abitz colour palette combines bold and sometimes subtle hues with strong lines, shapes,and textures found in landscapes and architecture. Fabric is gathered from England, Italy, France, India, and the United States to create a diverse collection. All of the fabric is hand picked by Cynthia Ivey Abitz herself.

Garment Details

The collection gives new life to 100-year-old buttons that haven’t seen light for decades. Buttons and embellishments are collected from Ivey Abitz’s search around the world for unique accoutrements. The majority of the antique buttons used in the current collection are from Prague, Paris, New York, and England.

Bias Bound Seams and Fine Stitching – the Key to Fine Garment Construction

It’s about being able to open a jacket and thinking it’s just as stunning on the inside as the outside. All Ivey Abitz garments are finished with bias bound seams instead of serged edges so your garments actually look just as refined on the inside as they do on the outside. Interior serged edges save construction time and expense, but the extra polyester thread and bulk it creates next to the skin is unsightly and unnecessary. Ivey Abitz garments add unexpected details like fine, small stitching that not only looks more refined, but it makes the garment stronger. Hand cut binding is added to finish neck edges so they’re smooth against the body. It’s these extra details that set the Ivey Abitz collection apart from all other every day wear collections.

Sewing on an Ivey Abitz label.
Sewing on an Ivey Abitz label.

Made in New York Because it Matters

Only 2% of garments sold in the USA are made in this country. Bespoke Ivey Abitz clothing is a rarity indeed.

At Ivey Abitz, we know who makes our clothing: we do. We meticulously design every piece sewn by our family of tailors who live right here in New York. All garments are made in the United States by professional and experienced tailors and seamstresses. Some have backgrounds in costume making for films and theater, and some have been masters of their sewing machines for over forty years.

Pin tucks have become a running joke between the tailors and Cynthia Ivey Abitz, as they know how much she loves pin tucks, and she knows how long it takes to complete the pin tuck adorned designs. But the respect between designer and tailor is yet another reason why Ivey Abitz works so well. That respect is sewn into each and every Ivey Abitz design.

We create garments, one at a time, chosen by you from our selection of exquisite European and American fabrics. This is the quality clothing of museums and heirloom treasures, meant to be worn and enjoyed every day. Contrast this with fast fashion that is causing a landfill crisis.

Such quality, personalized clothing adds meaning and enjoyment to everyday life. The investment is in yourself and the earth simultaneously.

Ivey Abitz is an original cohesive collection of bespoke clothing designed and sewn only in the United States, sold exclusively at IveyAbitz.com.

Meaningful Process

It really does mean something, from beginning to end. Cynthia Ivey Abitz labours meticulously designing a collection to share with the world. Designs are debuted, then custom ordered by you. Tailors spend many weeks working on challenging details to create the designs sewn in the finest weaves available, just for you. They are able to make a living wage by sewing clothing that is made right here in New York. Rare antique buttons, Ivey Abitz labels, and special presentation wrappings are all put into place for the big send-off. Ivey Abitz wearable art arrives to your home, and you’re set with fine bespoke designs for every day.