I picked up my final jacket and trousers from Steven Hitchcock last week. The result is a beautiful tweed jacket – light and comfortable but still with definite shape – and a wonderfully fitting pair of moleskins.


Steven describes his offering as “soft tailoring for comfort and style” and this is gives the customer a good idea of the end result.

Readers will probably be familiar with the soft, drape cut that is most strongly identified with Anderson & Sheppard (where Steven trained). A soft shoulder and full chest is pulled into a close waist, given shape to the upper body.

If anything, Steven’s cut is more comfortable than A&S, with a particular focus on achieving a clean line up the side of the body, through the waist and up the side of the armhole. The soft, lightweight tweed here accentuates that effect.


The trousers are usually cut high, with side adjustors on the seam. As you can see in the picture, the fit is particularly nice in the small of my back – something other tailors struggle with as the curve of my back is quite exaggerated. The close-up of the back also demonstrates how the cut has dealt with the idiosyncrasies of my body, with Steven achieving a clean back despite my prominent shoulder blades. As I mentioned in my previous post, hand-sewing the back seam helped in this regard, giving it greater stretch.


Finally, I was pleased with how the gauntlets on the sleeves turned out. When ordering I was unsure whether they would have looked nicer running all the way around, rather than just on the outside half, but I think that would have made the cuff too heavy.


Steven is in New York soon, and his dates can be found below. Ask him about his carp-fishing prowess!

If you want some more examples of Steven’s style, check out his blog here. I’m a particular fan of this shot.

The Benjamin Hotel,
 125 East 50th Street
Sunday 20th May through Wednesday 23rd May 2012
Contact: steven@stevenhitchcock
US cell phone: +1 646 241 9039


Photography: Luke Carby
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Nathan

Dear Simon,
Wonderful jacket and trousers ! I love the colour combination but I’m really dying to know what cloth you chose for that jacket. It looks blue gray on the photos, and is really wonderful. What time of the year do you envision to wear it ?

Anonymous

That’s absolutely beautiful Simon, classic yet the colours make it look very contemporary. The jacket would be great with jeans as well.

Well done, just my kind of thing.

Anonymous

Hi Simon,
This tweed jacket looks smart indeed! No slanted flap pockets, the trendy thing?! I am impressed by the cuff, a kind of signature on a bespoke tweed! I would have liked seing a picture of the jacket full back.
John.

S

Good to finally see you in trousers with a higher rise! How did u like them? And what about some forward pleats fpr your next high(er) rise trousers?

S

What do you suppose is the cultural and historical origin of the “gauntlet” cuff, handled in this way and on a sports coat. I know that A & S have shown it in the past in their catalog, though handled in a somewhat different way, and I have them on an evening coat, with a half-cape, that I had made here in Italy many years ago.

Frith Street Post

That’s a beautiful coat and trousers, very impressed by Steven’s work, must go and see him

Anonymous

Hi,
By the way, I saw once a pic of a country jacket cut by the same Steven Hitchcock, that looks utterly amazing! I have managed to retrieve it. See here: http://www.thesavilerowtailor.co.uk/2012/02/how-to-stand-out-in-a-crowd/tweed-3-2/
John

Anonymous

Hi Simon,
It seems to me that there is a cultural gap between British men one side and French and Italians on the other when it comes to patch pocket jacket, and more specifically to its navy blazer type. Whereas British men seem reluctant wearing it, French and Italians are found of it! And I wonder whether this esthetic gap were not grounded on the simple fact that British men had worn uniforms in schools. Am I correct? Frankly, I see no other sound explanation.
Thanks for your reply.
John

Anonymous

Many thanks for your reply, Simon. So a kind of subtle tilt towards rebellion even in this quite remote field of esthetic! This is a very interesting insight! Honestly, I couldn’t guess that!

Anonymous

Excellent sport coat and trousers are excellent to!
Alxey.

John

I would so much rather have seen the jacket sleeve actually turn back, like double shirt cuffs. Cuff (gauntlet) appears to to tacked-on, and looks gratuitous.
Beautiful cloth, though.

Anonymous

Many thanks to Mr Hitchcock for such excellent work on the trousers. They really accentuate the positive. (wink)

Anonymous

Fine, I’ll say it.
Nice glutes, Simon!
Of all of your British acquisitions, this is, perhaps, your most successful.
Gorgeous fabric. The shoulders are a bit hard-looking, but, the width is PERFECT, sexy, even.
Compliments to Mr. Hitchcock.

Arash

Dear Simon,
In one your posts you mentioned no tailor does the long seams by hand but in this post you mentioned the pack seam is done by hand. So I was wondering Mr Hitchcock does the back seam of the Jackets by hand or that’s done by the other high end bespoke tailors also?