Lifestyle

Threads that count

Settling on interview-appropriate attire can be an unnerving task for a job seeker — especially one trying to turn the page on a troubled past.

But thanks to a tailor’s gift, 16 graduates of a Brooklyn nonprofit’s job-training program have one less thing to worry about.

Last Wednesday, Mohan Ramchandani of Mohan’s Custom Tailors invited a group of graduates from the HOPE Program to his Midtown studio to indulge in a shopping experience usually reserved for moneyed execs: being fitted for a custom suit.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Robert Cruz, 46, showing off the pinstripe number he’d chosen. “I’ve got goose bumps just thinking about it.”

Like the others crowding the shop’s small waiting room — who have overcome problems including substance abuse and criminal backgrounds — Cruz had successfully completed the program’s 12-week class and internship. But he was stuck with an ill-fitting hand-me-down suit that didn’t match his newfound sense of self.

“I have one suit, and I’ve worn it as many ways as you can wear it,” said the Brooklynite, who landed a receptionist gig last May.

“Wait till they see me in this,” he beamed. “Trust me, I will work it!”

It’s this sense of purpose that Ramchandani said he’d hoped to offer the men.

“When you have a nice suit on, you feel comfortable and confident,” said the soft-spoken tailor, who counts Patrick Ewing and Bernie Williams among his clients. He called the donation a chance to return the goodwill he was shown in his struggling years, after he arrived in NYC from India with next to nothing.

HOPE program director Jennifer Mitchell said she hoped the men would be inspired by Ramchandani’s against-the-odds story, and also learn from the care and pride he invests in his work — something “we try to instill” in the program.

“The care they’re taking with your suits is like the care you’re taking with your life,” she told them,

Neither the lesson nor the suits’ craftsmanship was lost on Cleveland Oakes, 38, who shook his head as he contemplated the ways his new ensemble would boost his prospects.

“This is going to help me with advancement,” he said. “I’m not just going to fit the part — I’m going to look it.”