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
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I think that's the question I've been trying to answer for years in thousands of words! Maybe I'll try and do a full article running through what I would choose and why, because there are other really important factors, ...
Video: How a bespoke suit can be repaired
How a suit lasts - and can be repaired over time - doesn't get much focus in bespoke. The craft, the history, the style: they're all talked about more, and understandably so. They're a good deal sexier. But it's a shame, because a benefit of the way...
Video: How a bespoke suit can be repaired
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I see, thanks Dario. No, it is cloth rubbing against itself that usually causes it to wear through. My comment above at the end is in regards to jeans. I'm saying that you can patch on the inside there, because you don't...
Richard Anderson tuxedo: Style breakdown
This is the first in a series of articles looking back at suits I have had made by the world’s major tailors, and examining their style through a consistent set of parameters and images. For background and context, see the introduction here . H...
Richard Anderson tuxedo: Style breakdown
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Good question. Probably double vents, but largely because my figure (large seat, hollow back) doesn't really suit ventless. I also can't stop myself using my trouser pockets. If both those things were not the case, I mig...
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...
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I don't know the exact history, but I think it came from English tweed jackets which themselves were derived from those made for riding...
Video: The Tailoring Symposium
Ahead of our next Symposium in Florence next week – focusing on accessories – here’s a reminder of the tailoring edition I organised last summer. The Rake organised this video of our discussion beforehand, at ...
Video: The Tailoring Symposium
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Thanks Irv, lovely to hear...
Video: How to press suit trousers
This is the last instalment in our series on looking after suits at home. The first showed how to brush and generally maintain suits, and the second how to press a jacket. You can see them at those links. It’s been an interesting process...
Video: How to press suit trousers
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I don't use a trouser press, I just use an iron. However, it would be nice to have a trouser press as it would be simpler. The turn-ups would be an issue on heavier cloths though. They would still need an iron...
Video: How to press a jacket
Our latest video on suit maintenance may be the most useful of the lot: How to press your a jacket at home. In the video, Richard is at pains to point out that a lot of the pressing process cannot be replicated at home. Customers would need a hig...
Video: How to press a jacket
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If you're in doubt, then yes that's the best route, and steaming is always safer....
Video: How to look after your suit
This is the first in a series of videos – made in conjunction with Richard Anderson – on maintaining, brushing and pressing a suit. [It’s worth enlarging to full screen if you want to watch it all] They are p...
Video: How to look after your suit
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How wide should such a "wide-shouldered" hanger for suits be?...
House styles and difficult customers: The Tailori...
Edward Sexton Before the public part of Tailoring Symposium in June, we all gathered next to the pool at the Four Seasons to have a chat about tailoring and its future, with The Rake busily making a video of the event in the background. This was ...
House styles and difficult customers: The Tailori...
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Thanks Chris. There is a post covering it here....
Tailoring Symposium: the outfits
* Update: Going by the ‘likes’ on Instagram, the outfits currently rank as: Anderson & Sheppard Cifonelli Liverano Edward Sexton Panico Richard Anderson (Do you agree? Join in!) * These are the si...
Tailoring Symposium: the outfits
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Yes it is, and of several other Savile Row tailors. Usually just on the back pocket though, given no buttons on the trousers are visible elsewhere. I always liked it as a small decorative touch....
The Tailoring Symposium: six greats in one room
“Edward, Edward,” said Antonio Panico, in a conspiratorial whisper. “What was it like to fit Mick Jagger?” Just like the Shoemakers Symposium we ran in January, the biggest pleas...
The Tailoring Symposium: six greats in one room
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Not really, no.... Flannel isn't always great for a jacket, but more importantly this would be a very bold thing for a first commission (colour, DB, and 6x1 rather than 6x2) and I'd be afraid you wouldn't wear it that mu...
Almost ready – suits being made for our Tai...
At our Tailoring Symposium next week in Florence, we have six of the greatest tailors in the world presenting their styles to the audience of press and buyers: Panico, Cifonelli, Edward Sexton, Richard Anderson, Liverano & Liverano, and An...
Almost ready – suits being made for our Tai...
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Sometime in the future it would be interesting to see a range of work from provincial Tailors. Some people who have posted on your Blog have alluded to this subject in the past. There are many talented people out there a...
Black tie for New Year’s Eve
Dress way the hell up, as our American cousins might say. New Year’s Eve is a special event, and it deserves a special effort where our clothes are concerned. That doesn’t have to be black tie, as above, but wear a jacket at the...
Black tie for New Year’s Eve
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Nothing that comprehensive I'm afraid. There is a good guide to materials, here, but otherwise you'll just have to read the various black tie articles - a search should bring that up...
Denim and tailoring
The crossover between denim and tailoring is an interesting one. The appeal is perfectly understandable: like tight fits, short jackets or bracelets, it reflects a desire to undermine the conservative preconceptions of suiting. The execution, howev...
Denim and tailoring
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Thanks, although with some bespoke like that at Levis written about here, you can have that denim and get (in my experience) a better fit than through wash and wear...
Five tips on bespoke suits
The process of commissioning a bespoke suit is a nerve-wracking and, of course, expensive one. Permanent Style has provided extensive advice on this process over the years, particularly in posts covering suits from more than 20 tailors. But a reade...
Five tips on bespoke suits
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Okay, hopefully, it will get better. Thank you, Simon....
How to compare RTW and MTM suits
Since I wrote a post at the beginning of the month urging readers to comment and ask questions on Permanent Style, quite a few have asked about different ready-to-wear and made-to-measure brands. I’d like to explain how to compare RTW, and why ...
How to compare RTW and MTM suits
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I think you're right to be cautious - and I don't cover much MTM partly because it can be unreliable. But I'd have no hesitation recommending Saman Amel. I suggest starting there. And start with a conservative suit rathe...
Sean O’Flynn bespoke dress shirt
At the end of last year I completed a project with Sean O’Flynn to cut a traditional dress shirt, with voile back, Marcella front and detachable stiff collar. Some readers may remember they have already seen this shirt in black tie shoots with ...
Sean O’Flynn bespoke dress shirt
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Just on fit? By ‘cut’ you don’t mean style or make? Then I’d probably say D’Avino, Sean and Charvet. But we’re talking very small differences between them all...
Celebration time: Permanent Style tops 300,000 vi...
In January, for the first time in our history, there were over 300,000 visits to the Permanent Style site, doubtless helped by Pitti, The Times and Fuera de Serie. Thank you so much to everyone that visits, reads and contributes to the ongoing work o...
Celebration time: Permanent Style tops 300,000 vi...
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Brilliant, I look forward to it!...
How to buy a quality suit
Men are not interested in the clothing of celebrities. At the most, the endorsement of a film star, a magazine or a fashion brand is an endorsement, a shortcut. A man’s number one priority is not looking stupid, and popular culture i...
How to buy a quality suit
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Writing here. I'm 22 years old, recently got into classic menswear recently. Pre 21, I was a t-shirt jeans kind of boyo. Anyways, that tip regarding the pinch test around the buttons, a massive life saver. I would get so...
Latest piece on How to Spend It
We have decided to give greater structure to my How to Spend It column, making it a practical analysis of how to buy various items in a men’s wardrobe. The first one, on suits, is now live. Read it here.
Latest piece on How to Spend It
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Just started following your blog, you have some really interesting and informative articles on here. I'm trying to start up my own British men's lifestyle blog, needless to say there's lots of inspiration here! Thanks, C...
My top 10 books
Normal.dotm 0 0 1 564 3217 EMII 26 6 3950 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false Below is a list of my favourite books on menswear, just in time for Christmas, in rough order. There are some noble exclusions, including Eric Musgrave, Bernard ...
My top 10 books
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I don't really know any good ones I'm afraid. Partly this is because casual clothing admits of less analysis, it's more trend-driven...
How bespoke tailors work
Henry Poole cutter Craig Featherstone marks out my Prince-of-Wales suit Last week a reader asked me who the various people were in a bespoke tailoring house, and it occurred to me that this is one area I have never offered a guide to. So here goes. T...
How bespoke tailors work
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Thanks Lindsay...
Huntsman tweed suit: Part 2
Following up on the last post in this series, on Huntsman tweed, this runs through the style of a shooting suit and being measured. The suit shown here is three-button, but I opted for a more classic Huntsman one-button front in order to make it bett...
Huntsman tweed suit: Part 2
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Lovely to see the traditional craft of cutting a shooting suit covered on this informative website! Beautiful tweeds, will the final jacket have a shooting vent on the sides of the back or in the centre? A pleasant surpr...
Book review: Bespoke by Richard Anderson
Richard Anderson can write. This quickly becomes apparent as the reader embarks on the story of his time on Savile Row – from dishevelled apprentice to Huntsman’s youngest-ever head cutter. The realisation that a book is to be chronologic...
Book review: Bespoke by Richard Anderson
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Great recommendation Simon!...
The Rake: A real style magazine
Finally. A magazine that professes to be about men’s style and actually dedicates most of its content to that topic. Finally. A magazine that takes men’s style seriously enough to include a regular section on tailoring, how it works and h...
The Rake: A real style magazine
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:o...
