July 2, 2009

when can i have a new suit....

(Ed and I outside of Gieves)

It was a very busy day last Friday on the Row. I had a lot of fittings to do and the weather is far too hot. When I escaped for an hour I met my old business partner and friend "Boycey" or better known to you as Edwin Deboise from Steed. We originally met when we were both cutters for Anderson & Sheppard and although we're only five miles apart we never seem to get the time to catch up. Needless to say after an hour in Starbucks we put the worlds to right.

I've not only been busy meeting clients on Savile Row. We also had a visit from Mr William Boehlke of "A suitable wardrobe " fame. He writes a very informative blog about his constant persuit of true bespoke. He dropped in with his lovely wife on the way to Scotland visiting a weaving mill. We fitted a couple of suits he's having made and we also found the time to eat well and enjoy a couple of pints.

(very smart)

If you remember earlier I designed some school blazers for Sportswear International. I tried my best to weave a little of the finer details of bespoke into a mass produced garment for youngsters. With the limited budget you can't perform miracles but you can hope for them and I'm delighted that it worked. So well in fact the first batch of blazers has completely sold out and they're busy trying to restock.


(a young James Bond)

There's nobody more aware than me about the cost of bespoke clothes and I know what a privilege it is to wear such lovely clothes. Although they earn their hefty price tag mainly because of all of the hours of hand labour that goes into them. However, there are quite a few details we can consider and incorporate in a machine made garment which ultimately can make all the difference. Obviously on this occasion it worked.

One of the first schools to order was the Manchester Enterprise Academy. Last week I met their new principle Marie Quayle who is determined to raise the standards of the new Academy through the roof. Before changing to Academy status the schools past was typical of large inner city comprehensives. They've had their fair share of problems which they tackled head on and now have a fantastic future to look forward to.

I'm especially delighted that they're reverting back to the tradition of all the pupils wearing school uniforms. Now of course I would but this story gets even better because it was the pupils who enjoyed how they looked and felt in their new blazers. It was they that ultimately decided on this more formal look. Try as some people do they just cant kill off the fact that people want to be comfortable and look smart. Dress down Fridays and abandoning school uniforms seemed like a good idea at the time. However, in reality it's an attitude that doesn't make people feel particularly good or do anything for their own or establishments image.

(top sleeve matching)

Back on the cutting board the picture above is of a new suit we're cutting for a client that was especially woven for the London Lounge. It's a terrific Prince of Wales with a decent bit of weight to it. Although those checks are tricky to match it'll make a super suit. This incidentally was cut by my new apprentice who I'll introduce you to later. He's only been with me for a while and is still going through the usual yard stick beating process at the moment. I'm sorry that's not very "politically correct" for modern business but then again we're not a normal modern business.

("Boy, make me the doublet, and patch the pantaloons, or else I will rap the yard-measure over your ears.")

By the way my client is sure to recognize his fabric but don't panic I was standing next to him all the way:)

Posted by tom at 9:33 AM | Comments (0)

June 5, 2009

made in britain....

This is a new television programme that airs this Monday evening.

I've not seen it but the content looks pretty interesting and I like the basic idea behind the programme. A little bird tells me there's a nod to the Savile Row suit.

Basically in this "Green and pleasant land" how many things are still made in the UK?

The details are here.

Posted by tom at 3:54 PM | Comments (1)

June 3, 2009

fishy tails....

(skeleton baste, too tricky for a forward)

These as you can imagine give us tailor's lot of fun. I for one still have to scratch my head a bit when I cut one. Remember, I don't have block patterns so I do this from scratch. It's especially difficult as in this case where it was my clients first order, a morning suit for his wedding. Luckily I always get there in the end and thankfully I have Fred Eltham' one of my most experienced tailors to help me at the young age of 74.

You see I know that there aren't many cutters who can cut one of these straight from a blank sheet of paper and more's the point that there are even less coat makers that can put them together. It does look a little bleak for the future of such beautiful garments, well certainly the hand made ones. You see good coat makers can pick and choose what they want to make. Of course they charge more to make a body coat but they really are a quite a task and in all fairness the extra that is charged often doesn't seem enough for all the extra hours of effort. Needless to say the younger guys are not very keen to learn,

Like fitting any garment there are lots of things to consider, however one of the key things is the "balance". The balance of a coat or trousers is one of those very tricky things to try and explain in words. However with the help of some pictures I'll try to explain a little about what this means. I chose to do this now because on tail coats this is extremely important. If you get it wrong you can't hide it and it ruins this particular type of garment.

So here goes with my brief explanation. If you lose track then don't worry, apprentice cutters have been doing that for generations. In basic terms balance means the relationship between the front and back of a garment. The human form is very simply like this. As far as the coat is concerned try to imagine a person standing normally but sideways on to you. Now imagine a line at 90' to the standing body running through the nape of the neck or top of the shoulders. You still with me? Now imagine another horizontal line, again at the same angle running through at what would be a good coat length, just below the seat. Now the distance between the two lines at the back of the persons body at the front is the same.

However, stand any person sideways on and usually their chest or bust is prominent. Down their back it is usually straight in comparison. This is the part you have to think about, if you follow the silhouette of the body the distance between the lines over the front or chest area is longer than between the lines at the back. So in other words we usually need more in length of material down the front of the body than down the back to keep the garment equal or in "balance" between the lines. I hope you got that bit because you'll see that I said "usually" because this is often not the case. As you can imagine a person with a flat chest and rounded back will turn the equation completely around. In another example you may have a man that has a normal posture but a very large stomach. This again increases the length down the front of the body to keep the lines in balance. You may have heard a tailor say " you need more or less back balance" which is basically this situation that he's trying to get right. If you can get this principle with my description you'll easily image the same process for the trousers or a skirt. Usually this is the other way round as the extra length is usually over the back as your seat is the most prominent. Well it's 11pm here and I'm sure that's enough mental exercises in words for the moment so let me tell you what happens if it goes wrong.

One of the most common errors is shortness in back balance. Basically not enough length in material between our two back lines. The obvious signs are two things, the coat wants to stand off at the neck and when it's pulled onto the back neck you get awful diagonal drag lines from the side seams towards the centre of the back. If it's too long in the back you get collapsing in the lower back in the form of horizontal lines. If it's short in front balance you'll get the fronts scissoring across each other if it's long the fronts will fall away and want to swing open at the bottom. I could go on all night about this but as far as clients are concerned their tailor should be taking care of this. I'll leave the explanation there which should help clarify what I'm talking about next.

(swinging open, too long in the back)

Back to the body coat. These garments, well certainly if I cut you one will be very fitted. My clients know that my armholes are cut very small and that they almost need to be shoehorned into my coats at the fitting. However a body coat should be exactly that, fitted very neatly around the body. The more skin like the fit, the more you can move. This fellow is about a regular 40" chest but look at the tiny armholes. The blade cuts emphasize this further and he loved how it fitted his body like a glove. Now basically the balance on a coat like this needs to be absolutely spot on. The reason is that the length of the tails will make any errors glaringly obvious. If it's in balance as this one was, thank God. It will hang perfectly straight and look very elegant. If I adjust it on the mannequin I can show you what happens if it's long or short in balance. The tails cross over if it's short in back balance and just as bad the tails will swing open if it's long.

(tiny armhole,you'll move like Fred Astaire)

Now after your lesson here's the fun part. To alter a tailcoat is quite frankly a nightmare especially if it's completed. Also it's very expensive. There is however a little shortcut that's been used for years and here it is. Rather than take the coat apart just sew a few lead fishing weights into the lining at the bottom of the tails. It will hang beautifully. Easy when you know how:)

(straight and true, promise no lead;)

Posted by tom at 10:48 PM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2009

hold your horses....

( all the great merchants)

This little pile above is a only some of the work that I've got to cut and get made. In these inclement times we've been blessed to have a very full order book.

As you know I try to spend most of my time here at the Hall in my beautiful native Cumbria. Apart from my regular trips to the USA I always seem to be getting on a plane or a train. No bad thing I know you'll say, especially if your stuck in an office all day.

I don't know why it is but somehow those cases I carry seem to be getting heavier. When I do my big trips around the USA it's like a mini rock band on tour. Ok, I don't get the groupies but it's a different flight to a different city every couple of days and a very busy schedule. I like to think we create a form of art just like some musicians. Musicians as you know eventually stop touring. This way they can stay in the studio and hopefully do better things. This is ultimately at the point where I'm at now.

As I said earlier I've been tailoring for over 25 years now and am enjoying every minute. That being said I'm rather hoping to develop English Cut to possibly include some other wonderful English products which would compliment us and also be of interest to you, our friends.

They do say "you cant please all of the people all of the time" but in the last quarter of a century I'm pretty confident most of my clients have been pleased that our paths crossed. I hope I can reflect in a similar way in another 25yrs.

Anyway with these ideas in mind it will cause some changes as I'm desperate to recapture that very rare commodity called "time". I'm sorry but I doubt I'll be able to take on new customers :( as my existing clients keeping me busy enough. This will also be the same on my USA visit this Autumn. My plan is to complete the commissions we have on order return to the US to ensure all work is completed satisfactory and that everyone is delighted with their orders. I will have my usual visit this Autumn and then also return in the spring of 2010 to make sure all is as it should be. I then hope to hang up my US shears and leave the travailing tailoring business to the other artisans. The US is a wonderful place and I wont be able to stay away but it's definitely only short visits to catch up with friends and holidays after that.

Please don't panic as there will be no immediate change and we'll still be here as we love what we do too much. Next year however, I hope only to be cutting for about a third of what we do now. It's incredible how things can grow and tailors do have a habit of forgetting there are only 24 hours in a day. It'll be nice to slow things down a little.


(we're getting the hang of it)

I don't usually post pictures of my work but David and I had a great time when he visited us at the Hall. He ordered his first bespoke and David loved meeting Paul and the gang. His suit turned out to be very special. Special they all are, however I drafted his pattern with him there and then let him cut it himself! He had a steady hand and if he were 20 years younger I think he'd be as good as they come. Sadly I broke my phone recently and lost the pictures of him cutting. David is very pleased and kindly sent me this picture even though he's only had one fitting but it's looking pretty good I think. Don't worry I've already scalded him for fastening the top button.

What do you think of this marketing plan? English Cut suits "cut your own". May solve the time issue:)

Anyway I've got to run as I've a lot to do. Something tells me this is going to be a very quick year.

Posted by tom at 12:44 PM | Comments (5)

April 27, 2009

about time.....

(now pay attention.., english cut lessons)

In between running round the globe fitting hand made suits to personal clients I've been doing some special homework. The director of this company, Sportswear International initially contacted me the best part of two years ago to have a suit made. Sadly for him we were too busy to help but he wanted to come and see us anyway.

You see Kirk Robertson the managing director of Sportwear International that supplies the very best in sportswear to schools and clubs. He can put his hand on heart and say this because they had researched, developed and tested their products. This confirmed that there was no doubt that their products could stand up to any form of scrutiny. However the same could not be said for their school uniforms, especially their school blazers.

Certainly they had a fine range which was competitively priced and was as good as anything thing else found on the market. This was of course the problem, it was just the same as was what was on the market. There had been no research, no development or testing on their range of school blazers. Obviously a very important piece of clothing. The fact was that unlike their other products their school blazers were only equal to the market leaders, not better and in a word unremarkable, unlike their sportswear.

This is where yours truly came in. They knew there had to be something better and the key was to start from the beginning. Of course Mum's not going to pay £1,500 for their dear child's blazer but there where still huge differences we could make which wouldn't bump up the cost too much. We drafted new patterns that were slimmer and more fitted, reduced the huge armhole so the wearer could actually move. We put the waist button in the waist instead of the usual position stuck halfway up the chest bone. We've ripped out the stiff construction and replaced it with more natural and softer materials. As you can imagine the fabric has to be very tough, I mean Kevlar tough. Obviously this ruggedness doesn't usually make a good bed partner for a soft luxurious feel. Once again with a fresh approach they managed to find an amazing fabric that was strong but soft to touch. Incredibly you can put it through a washing machine. I really must add it to our range:)

(modelling outside the hall)

The new range is called the S-Cut, self explanatory. We addressed everything in the range from the ladies skirt to the men's tank tops. It's a completely new approach to school wear. We're still studying and tweaking the range because everything can be improved. You can view the range here. Of course for about £20.00 ($27.00) for the jacket retail there are limitations but we've made big improvements. As you can see on our model, who's a little taller than the usual pupil you can see the more natural shoulder and fitted shape. A long way from the previous boxy look. It's been a real treat for me to be able to improve these clothes that children and young adults have to wear. They really have been forgotten about far too long. It's incredible the youngsters who hated wearing school uniforms are now not just tolerating them but are actually enjoying wearing them.

(the ladies didn't miss out either)

We've put a lot of time and effort into these including fitting in a breakneck schedule to Shanghai to meet with the manufacturers to make sure everything was up to standard. In the beginning to try to design something that fitted within such a criteria but still make it unlike anything made before seemed impossible, especially with the cost constraints. Dare I say it I'm very proud of the end result. It's not going to make me a millionaire but it is another chapter in the English Cut gospel for good clothes, not expensive ones. The important thing is that it'll make a lot of youngsters very, very happy.

Posted by tom at 12:23 PM | Comments (3)

April 23, 2009

how much...

(hope it fits)

Here's an interesting tale of a £70,000 ($102,000) suit. It was made or conceived by this designer Mr Alexander Amosu.

It does look pretty sharp but then it should at that price. I don't know who's behind the making of this but it would be very interesting to know. Anyway, I can feel a price increase coming on :)

Posted by tom at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)

April 21, 2009

back to it...

(perfect for Chicago:)

As you can probably surmise we've been pretty busy here since we returned from the US. As soon as I returned I was catching up with clients here at the Hall and also in London. At least we got to enjoy a lovely Easter break and enjoy some lovely spring weather.

I was quite frankly astonished how busy we were on our trip. Again, my existing clients kept us going which I hope is because they're delighted with our clothes but I would imagine that the pound being weaker and making a suit $1000 less than last year definitely helped. This goes to prove that even with the dark clouds of recession every cloud has a silver lining.

(Rav and I taking the air before another hard day)

I was delighted to meet up with my friends Ravi and Lucy who also did very good business. In this climate I didnt expect to be on my feet working 12 hours every day, my feet were killing me.

What I also didn't expect is that our US friends seem to be having a bit of fun with their choices. Instead of the usual classics for business etc they're where lots of lovely cottons and linens chosen in bright summer colours. Bold country tweeds sold in Atlanta and Norfolk hunting suits in Chicago. This mini revolution cheers me up up because it harks back to the days when people wore wonderful clothes on all occasions. Instead of just work and formal events they're wearing beautiful clothes in the country, at the beach resorts and even for walking the dog. As I've said before good clothing made for you and only for you is irreplaceable.

(Paul altering one of our clients coats after the second fitting)

All of this makes me a very happy man as like anyone else I have wages and bills to pay and to have a full order book especially when I plan to marry in August is very comforting. From all of us here at English Cut we thank you all for the continued support.

Posted by tom at 12:24 PM | Comments (1)

March 17, 2009

off to the united states we go....

I'm ready for my travels again. As I write Paul is still working on the last few jobs and Peter my trouser maker will be finished tomorrow. God willing Claire and I will be open for business in Chicago on Friday morning.

Even with all the gloomy predictions for the economy we've thankfully got a full diary. I hope this is because we are doing something right and also the strength of the Dollar against the Pound is encouraging. Hopefully this will tempt our US friends to have an even larger English wardrobe. I will be meeting up with a couple of tailoring friends while i'm out there, Ravi of Antony J. Hewitt and Lucy.

(Claire outside the Oriental, lucky me.)

By the way I forgot to mention this wandering tailor has eventually seen sense and is engaged to marry the above mentioned Claire this August. Now I do have an excuse to actually get a suit made for myself.

We look forward to meeting old friends and new over the next few weeks. My full USA itinerary is here.

Posted by tom at 8:58 AM | Comments (4)

March 6, 2009

all very casual....

(mr howard hughes looking very relaxed but elegant)

It's interesting that Paul made this coat which is becoming quite a popular idea these days. It's basically dressing more casually but still looking stylish and feeling comfortable.

I read this article on my friends blog, Jonathan Quearney. It has some good advice and the details of his next US trip. Jony offers true bespoke tailoring and quality shirts. Also for those who bespoke is still a little out of reach he also offers a very nice made to measure option. For US clients the relatively weak pound makes this very good value at the moment.

If you get to see him please give him my regards and tell him to leave one in for me behind the bar:)

Posted by tom at 8:38 AM | Comments (0)