The (61) bespoke tailors I have known

October 30th 2024

  This article has been updated every four years for the past 12 years. It was originally written in 2012, and has had new versions in 2016, 2020 and now 2024. The number of bespoke tailors we have tried and covered has increased, but the g...

The (61) bespoke tailors I have known

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Thank you...

October 30th 2024

Video: How a bespoke suit can be repaired

August 9th 2019

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...

Alterations and care - VideoAugust 9th 2019

Richard Anderson tuxedo: Style breakdown

May 25th 2018

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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I've never bought buttons like that, I've always got them through the tailor. But I guess I'd try Bernstein & Banleys or Richard James Weldon. Not sure if either of them do them...

Black tieMay 25th 2018

Bespoke commissions – What I should and sho...

September 20th 2017

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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Hi there, apologies for the late reply, this dropped into spam for some reason. First thing I would say is, don't try and have Graham Browne make you a softer jacket - I tried that over a decade ago now, and others have ...

Black tie - CoatsSeptember 20th 2017

Video: The Tailoring Symposium

January 5th 2016

  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...

VideoJanuary 5th 2016

Video: How to press suit trousers

November 20th 2015

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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Yes, true. I'd say around super 120s...

Alterations and care - SuitsNovember 20th 2015

Video: How to press a jacket

November 5th 2015

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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No...

Alterations and care - JacketsNovember 5th 2015

Video: How to look after your suit

October 21st 2015

  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?...

Suits - VideoOctober 21st 2015

House styles and difficult customers: The Tailori...

August 19th 2015

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....

August 19th 2015

Tailoring Symposium: the outfits

June 22nd 2015

* 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....

June 22nd 2015

The Tailoring Symposium: six greats in one room

June 19th 2015

     “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...

June 19th 2015

Almost ready – suits being made for our Tai...

June 12th 2015

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...

SuitsJune 12th 2015

Black tie for New Year’s Eve

December 31st 2014

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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Blimey, I'm afraid I have no idea how you could wear that, sorry James. I don't even know anything about the history of them. Maybe with a smoking jacket?...

Black tie - StyleDecember 31st 2014

Denim and tailoring

October 31st 2014

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...

DenimOctober 31st 2014

Five tips on bespoke suits

June 23rd 2014

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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Good idea, yes...

SuitsJune 23rd 2014

How to compare RTW and MTM suits

February 21st 2014

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...

SuitsFebruary 21st 2014

Sean O’Flynn bespoke dress shirt

March 14th 2013

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...

ShirtsMarch 14th 2013

Celebration time: Permanent Style tops 300,000 vi...

March 6th 2013

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!...

March 6th 2013

How to buy a quality suit

February 12th 2013

  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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Refreshing honesty, thanks. That's where as a customer we have to make our decisions as informed as possible. And that's where we have to set our priorities and, dare I say, our values. I think that more durability per s...

SuitsFebruary 12th 2013

Latest piece on How to Spend It

February 11th 2013

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...

February 11th 2013

My top 10 books

November 29th 2012

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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Wow! Thanks for that. Lindsay...

StyleNovember 29th 2012

How bespoke tailors work

March 7th 2012

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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Watched a documentary on Clark Gable. They described his farther as Just a Cutter. Made it sound like he was nothing....

March 7th 2012

Huntsman tweed suit: Part 2

September 6th 2010

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...

SuitsSeptember 6th 2010

Book review: Bespoke by Richard Anderson

February 19th 2010

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!...

February 19th 2010

The Rake: A real style magazine

March 3rd 2009

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...

March 3rd 2009