High Society, Fine Custom Tailoring by Richard Lim

Richard Lim opened High Society in 1968 in the belief that everybody working hard and striving for the best should also look and feel at their very best. High Society provides expert European Tailoring for Men & Women, including formal wear, all style of suits, uniforms and shirts. High Society has also offered studio services to the Film and Entertainment Industry, expertly completing contemporary and period costumes for hundreds of film, television and theatrical clients. Richard Lim has also been a personal tailor to working professionals and A-list stars, form the former Mayor of Los Angeles to Tom Cruise, legends like Ray Charles and so many others. High Society stocks an extensive selections fine fabrics from around the world, offering expert fabric and design advise to his novice to the most discerning clientele.

High Society will provide you with highly personalized service, which, along with uncompromising dedication to workmanship, has become High Society's trademark, delivering nothing less than Excellence.

Richard Lim, Master Tailor: A Brief Biography

His clients are some of the most recognizable personalities the world. The late Ray Charles, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith were and are only a few of the entertainment elite that have been clients and continue to praise his craftwork. His creations have appeared in countless films, much of them blockbusters, such as Charlie's Angels, Mission Impossible, Ocean's 11, The One, Minority Report, Anchorman, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Just to name a few.

Richard Lim traveled from his native land of Korea in 1961 to studied Mechanical Engineering. His early life in Los Angeles was a much more trying time, taking whatever job he could get; he's had his hand at dishwashing, a manual laborer, anything to get by. While working these jobs, he earned his engineering degree from L.A. Technical College and studied Business Administration at L.A. Pacific State University.

Eventually, though, Richard's entrepreneurial urges got the best of him. In 1968, he established High Society on Wilshire Boulevard to address a specific need in the city's Korean and Korean-American community. He saw that there was a growing demand as the community was growing, and with his extensive background in custom-tailoring, he saw a great opportunity. In Korea, he had apprenticed in everything from designing garments to running a custom tailoring boutique. During his tenure at a tailoring shop, Mirimrasah in downtown Seoul, he lead a marketing campaign that made the tailoring shop one of the most recognized in Korea. This all helped in creating High Society in Los Angeles.

Richard's customers were predominately of Korean decent at first. For the most part, his customers comprised of those who either had difficulty finding clothes that fit or had heard of his superb tailoring skills from the fast-growing Korean-American network in Los Angeles. Word of High Society's craftsmanship quickly spread beyond this network, and it was before long his reputation spread outside of the Korean-American community. He now estimates that his non-Asian customers constitute more than 70 percent of his collective clientele.

Equally important was Richard's burgeoning relationship with Hollywood. As luck would have it, Richard became acquainted with one of the wardrobe consultants at Warner Brothers. After several successful ventures with Warner, word of Richard's expertise widened quickly, throughout the Hollywood community as well as spreading to the world of politics and sports.

Richards remains grateful to his community and the city for his success. Richard has been generous donor to the Delancy Street Foundation, which provides rehabilitative community services in the Los Angeles Area. He has also been an annual contributor to the FIDM Scholarship Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization in Los Angeles that helps raise money for eligible students looking to continue their education in the fashion industry. The McCobb Home for Boys, a homeless shelter for runaway children, is another recipient of Richard's generosity and compassion for his community.

Richard remains dedicated to his clients, helping them look the part. He happily resides in the same home for twenty years, in Los Angeles with his wife. His son, David Lim, who is a talented designer in his own right, heads Kasil Jeans, a high-end, popular denim label.