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A couple of nice interviews were published with me this week, by scarf-maker Begg and by shoe blog Claymoor’s list. The Begg one in particular is always nice to do at Pitti, with Yasuto Camoshita at United Arrows and Jonathan Kaiser at Bergdorf Goodman also profiled. 

You can read the Begg interview here, and the Claymoor profile of me and my shoes here

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DM

Hi Simon,

Completely off-topic and I know your only asia tailor is in HK, but I know you had some experience with Bangkok tailors in the past. I was wondering if you could pass along the name of a good Bangkok tailor for shirts.
Thank You,
D

Jerrell

Hi Simon,

I liked your statement here:

These days Italians want to be English, the English want to be Italian. Is this fashion melange a threat to Classic English style?

Not at all, it has brought us great things – the modern Italian style we love; the world of Ralph Lauren.

My question – Is Ralph Lauren one of your fashion heroes? Maybe ring up Polo to see if you get an interview?! You mention Flusser and Boyer, but not the mastermind behind Polo…

Shams

Hi there Simon,

I am based in London and would really like a two-piece suit with a jacket that has a natural shoulder (I think this is also known as a shirt shoulder or Neapolitan shoulder), just like those found on blazers and sports jackets. I recently went to Gant on Regents Street and tried on their Hopsack blazer which I really liked a lot; the shoulder on it was exactly what I was looking for as it simply followed the line of my shoulders and didn’t stick out horizontally beyond my shoulders before falling vertically.

However I have not found any off the peg two-piece suits with jackets like this.
Are there any off the peg brands/shops that you know of that make a natural shoulder on the jackets of their suits?
If not, then can you recommend some bespoke suit makers who could make a suit with a natural shoulder on the jacket?

My budget is only around £1,000 though.

I hope you can help.
Thank you.

Shams.

Shams

What about Solito and Napoli Su Misura. Are they within my budget and can they also do a natural shoulder?

Omar

Santoni brown derby is listed amongst your bespoke shoes; Santoni does bespoke as well?

TC

There is an error in the Claymoor’s list article – you don’t mention the J.Adler shoes when enumerating the bespoke shoes you own. One can only assume that these were commissioned after the interview…………..

Dan

Did consider to mention the omission too.

Interesting to see you put G&G top for bespoke but don’t mention them at all in RTW. Is this due to a lack of experience with their RTW or something else?

Stephen

Whilst I agree with Jerrel’s liking of Ralph Lauren his genius is really in marketing and interpreting the archive of menswear style – rather than designing or introducing the new. Many of his products take their cue from existing designs such as the Polo shirt originally designed and sold by LaCoste. It is also true of his formal wear which is a stylish upgrade to that which Brooks Brothers have been selling for decades. Purple is a renewed expression of British style but at far greater prices than the the original British RTW items. An interview would be welcome but let’s be honest about the contribution; one of the business of fashion rather than original design or the art of bespoke.

J

RL is just incredible.

In relation to suits and shirts etc I now only wear bespoke, British or Italian.

But I would love if Rl offered a true bespoke option – I’d get one made in a heartbeat. Probably not the purple label aesthetic but the traditional Polo preppy look in a soft chalkstripe and a safety pin collar shirt that is so reminiscent of his ads. Something about his vision I find is just magic!

Simon, I gather it is perhaps not your ‘thing’ but I would love you to one day write about and recommend (american?) bespoke tailors who could theoretically recreate such a subtle preppy look for those of who don’t really wear RTW.

Stephen

RL’s worlwide marketing spend is colossal ($256 million 2014) and looks to exemplify a lifestyle (moneyed upper class WASP – see Vanity Fair/American Dreamer 2007) rather than an implicit quality within the brand. In essence it is a large corporate player that chooses sweatshop labour practices (see criticisms of US Open clothing/Made in USA Foundation) – this has made Lauren a billionaire. There is an argument to be made therefore that Lauren stands in direct opposition to everything that bespoke represents (SME’s, craft driven, client focussed and respectful of the artisans that create the items).

My main criticism above all others however is that RL represents the modern disconnect between the heritage of an item and its actual identity. An example might be a Tweed jacket in the British style. The material (often unknown in origin), its manufacture (sweatshop) and its final representation to the market (luxury goods, maximum price) are, in combination, unrelated to the implicit aspects of the original (quality British Tweed, locally crafted, artisnal in construction, fairly priced).

It is a luxury good purely because of its supposed heritage and all that this falsely implies (hand crafted, bespoke, reflective of taste and income). If it were legal it would be similar to selling sparkling white wine as Champagne, perhaps palatable but unrelated to the defining aspects of the true product whilst ignoring the debt (intellectual and creative property) to its progenitors – (which in RL’s Purple range is often Savile Row). I realise that these criticisms apply to many companies (Hackett perhaps – see Guardian 2013) but I use RL to illustrate how modern multinationals are a cypher purporting to represent an ideal whilst actually operating in its direct opposition. Please forgive the slightly off-topic
comment but I thought it worthy of submission.

Mac

Simon,
Stephen makes some very good points above. Ralph Lauren seems to be beyond criticism to many style writers. I find that rather unhealthy.

I, like yourself, love his elegant styling and the vision that he creates of an ideal world. I don’t ask that he is innovative. He gives people what they want and need. He is brilliant at what he does.

However, I think it would be remiss of any style lovers, who have a conscience, not to question certain aspects of his business. His philanthropy is certainly admirable, but his use of cheap labour is very disappointing (considering his prices).

I know a very good salesman who was head-hunted by RL for a job in London. At his interview, he literally laughed out loud when he was informed of the salary. I, myself, used to work for a large American luxury brand. Never again. The big, corporate American way of doing business is degrading to those at the lower end of the hierarchy.

Contrast that with Bruno Cucinelli (as outlined in the latest issue of The Rake), that pays 20% above the industry average.

Mac

I’m not actually a fan of Cucinelli’s clothing! If talk of their generous pay is true, then I salute that. I followed the links that Stephen suggested above and it made for interesting reading. It’s nice to know that the Americans feel equally strongly about the awful effects of moving their clothes manufacturing abroad. Perhaps the mood is changing (at last) to such profitable, but unethical, practices?

mat wetton

Hi simon. I am getting married later this year and am going to get a bespoke/mtm three piece for the occasion. I know of cad and the dandy in london is good for this in my budget of around 1500 but i live in Manchester so a trip to london for 3 fittings will add to my price by a few hundred. i am after a very classic structure to my suit (im a big huntsman and gieves and hawkes fan) could you recommend anyone in the north west/south yorkshire that would be suitable given my price and style requirements i know many in this bracket do the more neoplotan style but thats just not me

David

Hi Simon, I am based in the US and will be traveling to Milan in April. I can likely move outside Milan a bit as well. I have an interest in bespoke suits, shirts, cashmere sweaters, and leather goods. Any particular recommendations on where to go? Also, any must see menswear retailers there? Thanks