Brand: Gieves and Hawkes

Gieves & Hawkes has rarely had a distinct house style in recent decades.  Although historically a military and naval outfitter, and making its suits with a similar amount of structure and strength, the cut has varie...

  This post was originally written in 2012: a breakdown of all the tailors I have tried personally (rather than just written about), split into different countries. It was updated in 2016, and I have updated it agai...

One of the reasons a bespoke suit can last a long time is that it is easier to adjust, and the tailors that made it are better at doing so. It's easier to adjust because more cloth is left in the seams, and in more plac...

This dark, muted green linen was a risk. I had never had anything like it before, let alone seen it on anyone else.  But I think it’s worked out very well. I’m pleased as well as relieved.  The colour is unusual y...

Relief, and relaxation. Those are my abiding memories of this, my fitting at Gieves on a new suit. Readers commented on a previous post that it was nice to know what I was thinking and feeling during a fitting. That it ...

  A reader commented on the last instalment of this list that it shaped his whole season’s shopping. No pressure then. Many of the ranges will feature in other coverage later in the year – particularly the o...

  This post could come under the ‘How great things age’ or the ‘Reflections on bespoke’ heading. Whatever the category, readers have asked frequently about this pea coat , how it has held up and – more...

The biggest potential pitfall with tailored dressing is looking fussy. Fussy is not sexy; it is not attractive. It is closely related to appearing ‘affected’ or ‘mannered’. Looking relaxed in clothing, on the ot...

Thank you everyone that responded to my ‘You are the interviewer’ post a couple of weeks ago. The number of variety of questions was staggering, and I will try to answer as many as I can over the coming weeks. It ma...

Last month, we organised a dinner at the beautiful Beaumont Hotel to celebrate The Style Guide - the book published earlier this year by myself and photographer Jamie Ferguson.  There had been official launch events, ...

Looking back on it, our summer 2016 edition of the Symposium series - which focused on young tailors - was particularly interesting. It's easy to forget until you see our film, shown here, how much the backgrounds of e...

Our Young Tailors Symposium last week in Florence - in the beautiful Stefano Bemer atelier - threw up some really interesting areas of discussion. The six tailors all had rather different backgrounds: some trained in co...

Davide Taub of Gieves & Hawkes One of the nicest things about the Young Tailors Symposium last week was the fact we managed to arrange a film - something that will record for the hundreds of thousands of you what w...

This week the young tailors featuring in our Symposium at Pitti will be taking over my Instagram account. Every day, a different one of the six tailors from England, Italy, Hong Kong and Korea will post images of the pi...

Every Pitti Uomo for the past  two years, we have held an event to bring people together with a unique group of the finest craftsmen in the world. For the next instalment, we will be returning to last summer's focus: ...

   Last August I began this project with Davide Taub, head cutter at Gieves & Hawkes, to create a bespoke gilet that could be buttoned into a variety of jackets.  I think it’s fair to say the project has been la...

   One of the nicest aspects of the Bespoke Tailors Benevolent Association dinner every year is the evening wear. Although most cutters and tailors aren’t actually into clothes and style, they are all wearing som...

   A round-up of different notices today – three separate posts seems like overkill.  First, I had the pleasure of putting together Mr Porter’s lead journal story last week – featuring some of our fa...

   Over the years I’ve had a few casual waistcoats made. What makes them casual? Well primarily cloth, ideally something with a pronounced texture and perhaps a chunky pattern – in this case, a tan/black h...

   The ‘ How Great Things Age‘ series celebrates and examines how quality menswear ages over time. Often, it becomes more beautiful, though different materials from leather to cotton to board age in very di...

   I’ve had quite a few requests by readers over the past year for city guides, so this is the first in a series.  In London, there are so many options that it makes sense to group some together. Also, if I leav...

   Laces are to a shoe what buttons are to a jacket. Often ignored, but with a disproportionate important effect on the overall look.  The most attractive buttons, for me, are always matte horn with a touch of contras...

  Bespoke driving jackets designed by Dege & Skinner, Henry Poole, Gieves & Hawkes and Huntsman.  Which is your favourite? ( Worth expanding to full screen)...

Loro Piana I’ve been pleased to see that suede has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years. Italians like Loro Piana have always done it well – often in a classic Italian mix of brown suede and grey cashme...

   Last year a reader commented – quite rightly – that there is a tendency here to cover freshly received suits/shirts/shoes, but not follow up on them later, when they have bedded in. He was right also ...