The (55) bespoke tailors I have known
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 again now in 2020, adding a fu...
The (55) bespoke tailors I have known
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...
Clothing Resources: Places to clean, alter and re...
One of the most frequent questions I get asked on the site is where I would recommend for getting suits altered - or knitwear repaired, or shoes resoled. I’ve been meaning to create a single page with all these recommendations for a while, so ...
Clothing Resources: Places to clean, alter and re...
One of the most frequent questions I get asked on the site is where I would recommend for getting suits altered - or knitwear repaired, or shoes resoled. I’ve been meaning to create a single page with all these recomm...
Bespoke commissions – What I should and sho...
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 may take time, but I wou...
Bespoke commissions – What I should and sho...
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...
Graham Browne Christmas sale 2016
As is traditional, Graham Browne are having a sale between Christmas and New Year - and just as traditional is my writing to tell readers about it. The sale will run on the 28th, 29th and 30th of December, and offer suits from various cloths includ...
Graham Browne Christmas sale 2016
As is traditional, Graham Browne are having a sale between Christmas and New Year - and just as traditional is my writing to tell readers about it. The sale will run on the 28th, 29th and 30th of December, and offer...
Suit style 1: The difference between bespoke, mad...
This is the first article in our Guide to Suit Style. You can see the full contents so far, and browse between them, on the right-hand side of this post. Bespoke suit, Anderson & Sheppard What’s the difference between bespoke, MT...
Suit style 1: The difference between bespoke, mad...
This is the first article in our Guide to Suit Style. You can see the full contents so far, and browse between them, on the right-hand side of this post. Bespoke suit, Anderson & Sheppard What’s the diffe...
Wearing a jacket and jeans
If there is one question men ask more than any other, it is how to wear a jacket with jeans. Behind this usually lies a desire to dress up an outfit without appearing too up-tight. Friends in the creative or digital industries often have this prob...
Wearing a jacket and jeans
If there is one question men ask more than any other, it is how to wear a jacket with jeans. Behind this usually lies a desire to dress up an outfit without appearing too up-tight. Friends in the creative or digital...
The casual waistcoat: preppy herringbone
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 herringbone woven from a w...
The casual waistcoat: preppy herringbone
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...
A newcomer to quality
It’s been so long since I experienced bespoke clothing for the first time, or indeed most of the luxury, craft-based things I write about, that I find it interesting when friends do so for the first time. Each finds pleasure, or value, in...
A newcomer to quality
It’s been so long since I experienced bespoke clothing for the first time, or indeed most of the luxury, craft-based things I write about, that I find it interesting when friends do so for the first time. Each f...
Why most tailors don’t like clothes
Quite a lot of tailors and cutters don’t wear jackets, even waistcoats during the day. Certainly if they are hidden away from the eyes of customers, they quickly dress down. Partly this is because such work is difficult to perform all day in an...
Why most tailors don’t like clothes
Quite a lot of tailors and cutters don’t wear jackets, even waistcoats during the day. Certainly if they are hidden away from the eyes of customers, they quickly dress down. Partly this is because such work is difficul...
Send in your Permanent Style Tweed pics!
I’ve seen quite a few Permanent Style Tweed pieces going through Graham Browne in recent weeks. As my Caliendo jacket gets ready for completion, this is a call out to readers to send in pictures of their tweed made up. The pictures will be ...
Send in your Permanent Style Tweed pics!
I’ve seen quite a few Permanent Style Tweed pieces going through Graham Browne in recent weeks. As my Caliendo jacket gets ready for completion, this is a call out to readers to send in pictures of their tweed made...
Reader question: Side straps and chinos
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 424 2417 Euromoney PLC 20 4 2968 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Incotex trousers Dear Simon, I have a couple of questions on trousers which I haven’t seen you address. First, you said in a post a while ago that...
Reader question: Side straps and chinos
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 424 2417 Euromoney PLC 20 4 2968 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Incotex trousers Dear Simon, I have a couple of questions on trousers which I haven’t seen you address. First, you said ...
Reader question: What should I buy in London?
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 479 2735 Euromoney PLC 22 5 3358 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false A typical ensemble at Trunk Clothiers Dear Simon, My name is David and I have been a fan of your work for quite a while now. As an undergraduate busines...
Reader question: What should I buy in London?
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 479 2735 Euromoney PLC 22 5 3358 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false A typical ensemble at Trunk Clothiers Dear Simon, My name is David and I have been a fan of your work for quite a while no...
Panta clothing: new trousers and site
Trousers are easier to tailor than a jacket. They’re not straightforward, as everyone’s waist to seat ratio varies, but the problems are at least largely in two dimensions. Because trousers are simpler, you can spend less money on them. Y...
Panta clothing: new trousers and site
Trousers are easier to tailor than a jacket. They’re not straightforward, as everyone’s waist to seat ratio varies, but the problems are at least largely in two dimensions. Because trousers are simpler, you can spend...
Graham Browne in New York: fittings
Three fittings awaiting a customer Last week in New York it was a real pleasure to meet the five men who came for appointments with Graham Browne. They varied from the established customer (there to try on a tweed jacket and two suits) to the complet...
Graham Browne in New York: fittings
Three fittings awaiting a customer Last week in New York it was a real pleasure to meet the five men who came for appointments with Graham Browne. They varied from the established customer (there to try on a tweed jacket...
Graham Browne: Neapolitan lining
As mentioned in a previous post on this jacket, Graham Browne used the inspiration of my Rubinacci jacket to work on an alternative construction to the half-lined jacket. The same cloth (Harrison’s Moonbeam) is used in the internal lining o...
Graham Browne: Neapolitan lining
As mentioned in a previous post on this jacket, Graham Browne used the inspiration of my Rubinacci jacket to work on an alternative construction to the half-lined jacket. The same cloth (Harrison’s Moonbeam) is use...
Graham Browne: Brown cashmere and tan cotton
An autumnal outfit this, commissioned a little too late in the summer and then delayed by various factors so that it was ready just before Christmas. Still, on a clear winter’s day with an overcoat it serves very well and it will also do well i...
Graham Browne: Brown cashmere and tan cotton
An autumnal outfit this, commissioned a little too late in the summer and then delayed by various factors so that it was ready just before Christmas. Still, on a clear winter’s day with an overcoat it serves very well ...
Suit, Shirt, Tie 1: Pink and green
One of my favourite colour combinations is pink and green. The pink here is pale, too pale perhaps to be portrayed accurately in the photo, but it provides a subtle field of colour for green to play on. The green tie, from Neapolitan maker Isaia, is ...
Suit, Shirt, Tie 1: Pink and green
One of my favourite colour combinations is pink and green. The pink here is pale, too pale perhaps to be portrayed accurately in the photo, but it provides a subtle field of colour for green to play on. The green tie, fr...
The modern man needs a good blazer
Men wear fewer suits today, as we all know. But they retain the need for a jacket, if only to appear smart or professional. Two of my friends, a doctor and a teacher, are particular examples. Their jobs do not require them to wear a suit, yet a jacke...
The modern man needs a good blazer
Men wear fewer suits today, as we all know. But they retain the need for a jacket, if only to appear smart or professional. Two of my friends, a doctor and a teacher, are particular examples. Their jobs do not require th...
Different ways to pad the chest of a suit
A reader commented that the way he spots a good bespoke suit is to look under the lapel and look for the little pinpricks that betray hand padding. This does indeed show where the tailor has come through the suit cloth as he sews the parts of the che...
Different ways to pad the chest of a suit
A reader commented that the way he spots a good bespoke suit is to look under the lapel and look for the little pinpricks that betray hand padding. This does indeed show where the tailor has come through the suit cloth a...
Choppin & Lodge cotton suit
A cotton suit, or at least jacket, should be a staple of casual summer wear. Cotton is often derided by fans of bespoke because it has no drape and wears out quicker than other fabrics. But the issue of drape – how the cloth falls across your b...
Choppin & Lodge cotton suit
A cotton suit, or at least jacket, should be a staple of casual summer wear. Cotton is often derided by fans of bespoke because it has no drape and wears out quicker than other fabrics. But the issue of drape – how the...
Altering the neck of a suit
This is an alteration to an old flannel suit, pinching in and raising the neck of the jacket slightly to correct a collar that currently stands a half inch away from my neck. This, of course, is one of the last alterations you should have done. It ca...
Altering the neck of a suit
This is an alteration to an old flannel suit, pinching in and raising the neck of the jacket slightly to correct a collar that currently stands a half inch away from my neck. This, of course, is one of the last alteratio...
It’s time for overcoats 2
The overcoat commission from Graham Browne – a grey herringbone DB, Bateman & Ogden 600g – was ready this week. Russell returned it initially to the coatmaker because he wasn’t happy with the finishing of the pleats, but the...
It’s time for overcoats 2
The overcoat commission from Graham Browne – a grey herringbone DB, Bateman & Ogden 600g – was ready this week. Russell returned it initially to the coatmaker because he wasn’t happy with the finishing of the p...
It’s time for overcoats
Right, it’s definitely overcoat weather now. It’s dropped below 10 degrees in London during the day and a scarf and hat just won’t cut it. Of course, this is entirely the wrong time of the year to start thinking about a bespoke coat...
It’s time for overcoats
Right, it’s definitely overcoat weather now. It’s dropped below 10 degrees in London during the day and a scarf and hat just won’t cut it. Of course, this is entirely the wrong time of the year to start thinking ab...
Wine-red socks with a grey suit
This series is a progression in socks, from the most conservative to the most flamboyant colour combinations. It is important to start slowly and build to greater sophistication. Colour is tricky; so much can go wrong in a shade. Buy one or two pairs...
Wine-red socks with a grey suit
This series is a progression in socks, from the most conservative to the most flamboyant colour combinations. It is important to start slowly and build to greater sophistication. Colour is tricky; so much can go wrong in...
Green socks with a blue suit
A man has come a long way when he shifts to proper socks – calf length and in navy, grey and charcoal to match the day’s suit. Too many remain stuck in the teenage mindset that short, black socks go with everything. They don’t; they...
Green socks with a blue suit
A man has come a long way when he shifts to proper socks – calf length and in navy, grey and charcoal to match the day’s suit. Too many remain stuck in the teenage mindset that short, black socks go with everything. ...