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December 13, 2005
jonathan quearney
The Sartorialist just did a lovely interview with my tailor friend, Jonathan Quearney.
Describe personal style?When I first visited Paris in the late 90’s what caught my eye the most was the vagrants sense of style and how they dressed. It was completely uninfluenced by any trend, for obvious reasons. It came from necessity.
Once I observed a man standing inside the door of the restaurant; I thought he had an amazing presence while he waited for the leftovers. It was winter and he was head-to-toe in tailored garments combined in the most amazing patterns. This was not shabby chic; quite the opposite, this man looked his best. I don’t dress like a French vagrant, but their sense of style inspired me greatly.
[Bonus Satorialist Link:] G. Bruce Boyer writes about his first visit to Savile Row as a young lad:
I spent the next forty-five minutes or so going through the cloth swatch books, dozens and dozens of them – there must have been a hundred different patterns of district checks in tweed alone – some containing squares of cloth I thought I’d seen twenty minutes before in another book. My elderly guide stood demurely at my side, offering a word or two of encouragement or advice if I turned to him with a swatch between my fingers.[Background Reading:] "Thomas' Top Ten". The most popular and informative English Cut articles.“Very serviceable piece of worsted, that is, Sir. Perhaps a bit too heavy, though, for your climate at home, would you think, Sir?"
In one book I spied a handsome plaid of rusty brown with a lavender and Kelly green over pane. Did he think it was a bit loud?
“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say loud, Sir. But perhaps it does tend to mutter a bit.”
Posted by tom at December 13, 2005 2:26 PM
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