The new menswear collection inspired by Matt Bomer's 'White Collar' character

MATT BOMER
Photo: Brian Bowen Smith / Courtesy of GILT

White Collar's Neal Caffrey is one dapper con artist. So dapper, in fact, that Matt Bomer says fans are obsessed with his character's style. "A lot of times when people will stop me to talk about the show they'll say, 'Where can I get a suit like that?'" the actor told EW.

Now there's an answer: The USA network and Bomer have partnered with online retailer Gilt.com and bespoke menswear retailer Alton Lane to create the Caffrey Collection.

Beginning January 22 ā€” the same day White Collar returns with the first of four new episodes ā€” Gilt members will have the opportunity to buy bespoke Alton Lane suit and shirt packages as well as ties and pocket squares designed by Bomer himself.

In order to curate the collection, which involved selecting suit and shirting fabrics, Bomer channeled his character's retro aesthetic. "Neal Caffrey's look was the brain child of [White Collar creator] Jeff Eastin; he had this whole idea of the character having a fedora and his look being inspired by the Rat Pack so that's what we worked off of for the pilot," the actor said. "Every season, we create a board of looks I like and draw inspiration from everything from the Rat Pack to Cary Grant and Jack Kerouac. We did Harry Belafonte when we started getting into the summer months. [For the Caffrey Collection], we basically went through the wardrobe archives and found looks that we liked."

Though his character has a distinct style, Bomer says the Caffrey Collection includes options for every man. "Neal's look is mostly skinny ties, so we wanted to make sure we found something that was skinny but appropriate for everyone," he explained. "There are a lot of great pocket square and shirt options to choose from if you want to put your own personal touch on things to reflect your own personality."

How has playing Neal Caffrey helped Bomer improve his real-life look? "I think had one or two suits to my name. I was 29 when I got the job, so I was still a little bit intimidated by dressing up," he said of taking sartorial cues from his character. "I think getting to play this role put those fears to bed and has taught me a lot. I [also] have the luxury of having an amazing costume designer in Karen Malecki."

The Caffrey Collection debuts on Gilt.com on Tuesday, Jan 22, beginning at 12pm EST. A portion of the sales will benefit Project A.L.S., an organization with which Bomer is closely involved.

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