« March 2005 | Main | May 2005 »

April 30, 2005

flared trousers & tailors' dens.

(The topside and underside of a very flared pair of trousers.

Richard's suit (which I wrote about earlier) is coming along nicely. Richard wants his trousers to fit over his cowboy boots, hence the flares.

What I'm showing you here are the two cuttings needed for a pair of trousers- the topside on the left, the underside on the right.

You're actually seeing four, not two pieces of cloth here. Suits- coats, waistcoats and trousers- are always cut "on the double". This makes sure both left and right are cut exactly the same. Any disparities between the customer's actual left and right are attended to later.

(Tailors' den, Kingley Street, Soho)

Speaking of trousers, when I was in London this week I stopped by my trouser maker for a "skiffle" (tailor's term for a rush job), who works out of this den in Kingley Street. Though Soho is now mostly known for its trendy cafes, media companies and ad agencies, as you can see Old London is thankfully still with us.

The vast majority of sewing tailors are self-employed, with their dens scattered around within walking distance of Savile Row. All the coats you see being made here will come from all the famous tailors' shops- A&S, Huntsman, Poole's etc. And that's the way it's been for as long as anyone can remember.

Posted by tom at 1:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 22, 2005

paris april 24th-25th

I will be in Paris as of tomorrow.

If you wish to meet up, I will be available all day Sunday, the 24th of April, and the morning of Monday, the 25th of April.

Probably best to reach me via my mobile, or call the hotel and ask for me:

Mobile from Paris and outside the UK : +44 7811 388 536

Mobile from the UK : 07811 388 536

Hotel: 01 42 61 50 28

I shall be staying at the Hotel Mansart, just off Place Vendome, where I'll be conducting my fittings.

I am planning on visiting monthly from now on, in order to build up my French business, in the same way I now regularly visit New York. Paris has always been a good market for Savile Row, with quite a few tailors already visiting there on a regular basis. I'm quite excited about it, to be honest.

Thank you.

[UPDATE:] I had a fabulous trip. Wonderful. Thank you to everybody who met up with me. I can't wait till I return.

[BACKGROUND:] The "About Thomas" and "Why Buy From Thomas" pages.

Posted by tom at 8:07 PM | TrackBack

savile row's wyatt earp....

(Richard's body pattern. Notice the extra length and sidebody cut.)

This is an interesting one. This is for Richard, a local chap in Cumbria who went to school with me. He’s a bit of a character, and as I expected his first bespoke wasn’t to be in the usual classic style.

Instead he’s going to have boot flared trousers with 2-inch loops, for a huge belt and buckle, plus a single breasted long jacket with a sidebody for flair, with flared cuffs on the sleeves.

The best way of describing this is "Savile Row's answer to Wyatt Earp."

It's going to be cut from a nice Smith Woolens Super 100’s and a slate blue/grey lining.

(That's a sample of the slate blue/grey lining on the bottom, with the stairway of Warwick Hall- where I have my Cumbrian office- in the background)

Bearing in mind Richard’s about 6ft, 3 inches, He’s going to look every bit as imposing as any gunslinger.

As the work progresses, I’m going to show you various stages- the cutting, the making with my (sewing) tailor, and then the fittings- until it's completed.

Watch this space...

Posted by tom at 1:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 20, 2005

tea and biscuits

(Oh Dear, it seems I'm still on lowly mug status. Still a long way to go etc.)

I was sharing a Guinness at Mulligan's with Mr Anthony Hewitt last Friday. Decades ago, Mr Hewitt, who is about 30 years my senior, worked as a young undercutter at Anderson & Sheppard, like myself.

"I wouldn't say it was my favourite place to work," he said. "But it was without question the best place to get your education. Without any question whatsoever."

Of all the great firms on the row, Anderson's was the one with the most hardcore reputation and the strictest rules, bar none. That was still true when I came on board.

Mr Hewitt went on:

"It was very simple back then. If you were a packer, a trouser maker or a coat maker, you got a mug of tea. Then, if you were an undercutter, you were given a cup. If you were fully-fledged cutter, you were given a cup and a saucer. And if you were a director, you were given a cup, a saucer, a white napkin and a biscuit. That's how they ran everything."

So there you have it. Why bother with giving your employees expensive company cars and window offices when, frankly, all they really need to be happy is some nice crockery and a tin of biscuits?

Posted by tom at 2:05 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 13, 2005

sb peaked lapel...

You saw me cutting this earlier. A single breasted jacket with a peaked lapel.

This is still at the forward stage but you can get a pretty good idea of the final outcome. There is a waistcoat to go with this, which should look very elegant. I’ll be fitting this on the customer in Paris next week.

This isn’t everyone’s favorite style, but done right it can look fantastic. And in this particular case, there’s no chance of it looking like anything other than true bespoke.

If the customer is not camera shy, you may even get to see him in it.

Let’s hope it fits...

Posted by tom at 4:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 5, 2005

mr. cameron

(Mr. Sheppard's shears lying on top of one my hand-drafted trouser patterns.)

Last Monday evening after work I was lucky enough to enjoy a couple of pints in one of the local pubs near Savile Row. I was in very good company; I was with Alan Pitt of Anderson & Sheppard (Mr Pitt made this coat, among others), and Alan Cooper of Welsh & Jeffries.

Though I've known Mr Cooper for a long time, I only found out yesterday that he also worked for A&S in the early 'Sixties. Typical of Savile Row and its nomadic tailors.

Back then, the head cutter at Anderson & Sheppard was an infamous tyrant named Mr. Cameron.

No one would doubt Mr. Cameron's abilities as a craftsman- utterly top notch and world class. But let's just say his hot temper was as memorable as his red hair.

My teacher and former A&S head cutter, Mr Hallbery kept me on my toes, but even he would shudder when he spoke of what Mr. Cameron would do if he ever spotted a finished suit, waiting for collection by some important customer, that he wasn't happy with.

After a close inspection of the cut of the lapel and drape of the shoulder, Mr. Cameron would explode and demand to see the young cutter responsible.

When the trembling wreck was summoned for his scalding (which I’m sure felt more like an execution), Mr. Cameron would show his utter disgust by taking his shears and cutting the offending coat horizontally in half.

It was of no consequence of who or what the garment was for. If it wasn’t right, then no way would it be seeing the light of day. Pretty terrifying. The only revenge I ever heard the cutters and apprentices ever exacting was to put itching powder in his overcoat pockets. That'll teach the great Mr. Cameron. Indeed.

Two nights ago at the pub, after a long inhalation of his cigarette and a good chug of his India Pale Ale, Mr Cooper recalled how he he was witness to one of Mr. Cameron’s most famous tirades.

Whilst Mr. Cameron was fitting a illustrious, high-ranking member of English Society, young Mr. Cooper was then Mr. Cameron's striker (undercutter), standing silently with pins and chalk in the corner of the fitting room, as Mr. Cameron masterfully fitted the gentleman in question.

The unfortunate customer made the mistake of inviting his wife into the proceedings. Officially that's not a problem in Anderson’s, as long as the wife stands quietly in the corner in silence like the apprentice cutter, clutching her handbag instead of pins.

Sadly, this is where the good lady made a near fatal mistake, by daring to utter a minor detail with regard to the fit of her husband's coat.

Within a split second Mr. Cameron’s tape was lassoo'd around her neck with more skill than any western wrangler, the chalk thrust into her hand, followed with the statement, “You seem to know what you’re doing, Madam. The job is yours.”

And with a swoosh of the curtain he was gone, like a Savile Row Batman.

My friend, the young Mr. Cooper, was greeted with an uncomfortable stunned silence in the fitting room, as he squeezed ever tighter on his chalk.

After a request of forgiveness from The Good Sir, Mr. Cooper crept out to find Mr. Cameron for an indication of what to do next. On finding his master, he asked on what he should tell his stunned customer?

Mr. Cameron simply replied... “Get rid of the wife.”

Thanks, Alan, for that great story. Yes, it was worth every last drop of beer I had to buy you, in order to get you to tell it.

Posted by tom at 3:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 2, 2005

dressing for a warm climate

(A sample bunch of fine linens from Dormeuil, the cloth merchants on Sackville Street, around the corner from Savile Row.)

Michael Alden of The London Lounge recently asked me the following question:

Many of our [London Lounge] readers are preparing their wardrobes for Spring and Summer. I have always felt that the Anderson & Sheppard style of tailoring always worked exceedingly well in warmer weather as long as the choice of fabrics was correct. Rigid, lightweight fabrics like frescos and Irish linens when handsewn and without lining always seem to be the best solution to warmer weather. What advice would you give our readers about garments, their sewing and choice of cloth, destined for these seasons?

The truth is, there is no magic, secret formula for making coats for warm climates. It's just common sense, with three main tenets:

1. Only use fabrics which are extremely light.
2. Only use fabrics that are extremely breathable.
3. Always build the suits with a very light internal structure.

Allow me to elaborate:

We're all aware how wonderfully cool cottons and linens are. The downside, of course, is that they do look as if you've been sleeping in them. Still, it's the honesty in these fabrics that gives them their charm. We all know they crease badly, but that's their style.

But if we want to stay cool, whilst still wearing the proper, formal business attire, what's on offer?

Your standard worsteds (Super 90's} are out of the picture; the lightest this quality can go is around 9 ounces.

You've really got to be looking at the Super 120's/150's. These do indeed crease, however the compromise in comfort is well worth it. And yes, these materials are going to cost more, but that's par for the course when you get into the lightweights.

Another option, which is a very viable one, are the modern 'High Technology Materials'. These probably sound as scary to you as to me. Even with names like, for instance "Supertronic" from Scabal the cloth merchant, believe it or not they don't have a strand of man-made fibre in them. It's all good, honest and most importantly, cool, pure wool.

Even without their unsettling names, if you look and feel at the texture of these materials, I'm sure like me you'll be convinced there must be something awful in there, like polyester. But there is none- this is simply the way the cloths are spun to produce this robust, stretchy texture, even in 7 ounce materials.

This is the main problem with these materials. Customers and tailors alike feel that these cloths are somehow hiding something, unlike those good, honest cottons and linens. Our minds trust them, but our hearts do not.

That's about it. Compromises do have to be made in warm climates, but c'est la vie. Still, if you follow the obvious three rules above, you can still look good and keep cool at the same time.

Posted by tom at 12:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 1, 2005

no strings attached

A little bit of trivia:

This beautiful length of pure silk lining arrived yesterday. Notice, and you can see that tiny white piece of string tied on the edge... lying over the yellow table.

That string was put there by the cloth merchant, to indicate a slight flaw in the silk weave. You can only just, just see the flaw in the photo- a tiny light thin line going across the fabric, perpendicular to the string.

It was a very minor flaw, but that's how it works with the best merchants. Sometimes a piece of cloth will arrive at my door with a piece of string attached to it, and I won't be able to see the flaw unless I look VERY hard, sometimes more than once.

But these cloth merchants are extremely strict with themselves, which is how it should be.

So when I need a perfect, flawless length of cloth for a job, I'll say to the merchant, "Give me 3 metres, no strings attached."

Yes, that is where the phrase "No strings attached" comes from. And yes, it's still being used with its original meaning on Savile Row to this day.

Posted by tom at 4:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack