The (61) bespoke tailors I have known
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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I agree. Most of them still do, and it is nice, although I also understand why more modern ones don't do it. They don't always want that very traditional association. Interestingly, Poole has had a prominent label for a ...
The work of Fred Nieddu, ‘Taillour’
Fred Nieddu (above) recently set up on his own under the name ‘taillour’ (an Old French term for tailor), having previously been the bespoke cutter at Timothy Everest in London. However, chances are you will have seen Fred’s work ...
The work of Fred Nieddu, ‘Taillour’
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Where is his jewelry from (bracelet and rings)?...
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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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 ...
Japanese retail and the growth of bespoke
Our trip to Japan this week was meant to be roughly split into three parts: retail (for a shopping guide), bespoke makers (for a range of posts and freelance articles) and Japanese crafts (around Osaka and Kyoto). But strangely enough, it was the be...
Japanese retail and the growth of bespoke
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Good question Hugh - no idea though I'm afraid! One thing I do know is that tariffs are only one of the things that make such pieces expensive, or harder to import, so there's no guarantee there. And often stockists try ...
BTBA dinner: The best-dressed men in black tie
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 something bespoke – s...
BTBA dinner: The best-dressed men in black tie
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Only somebody who doesn’t understand would think of wearing a smoking jacket at a black tie evening....
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...
The BTBA summer party
Friday was the Bespoke Tailors’ Benevolent Association (BTBA, new version of MTBA) summer ball. As per usual there was an eclectic range of outfits, from sober business dress to top hats, cream linen to sequins. Three Anderson & Shep...
The BTBA summer party
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No, I'm afraid not. It looks very similar to my W Bill linen though: http://www.permanentstyle.com/2014/07/spanish-tailors.html...
Embroidered velvet jacket: Hawthorne & Heaney
Following my first project with Claire Barrett, who founded embroidery company Hawthorne & Heaney last year, this was a follow-up to decorate the lapel of my Timothy Everest smoking jacket. I wasn’t entirely sure whether I liked the lo...
Embroidered velvet jacket: Hawthorne & Heaney
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That is very nice. Not many have buttonholes with our dress suits (a shame perhaps given how elegant it looks in vintage illustrations) but this is a subtle and interesting nod towards it and combines well with the infor...
Double-breasted smoking jacket: Reader question
Simon, Firstly, please accept my apologies if this email address is not appropriate for you to receive and reply to individual questions. My apology offered, if you are still reading then I thank you and pose my question… I am a heavyset ma...
Double-breasted smoking jacket: Reader question
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I think your penultimate question is the important one Stephen...
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
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Thanks Simon....
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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Watched a documentary on Clark Gable. They described his farther as Just a Cutter. Made it sound like he was nothing....
The atelier atmosphere of Timothy Everest
I had a fitting last week on a jacket at Timothy Everest. A summer jacket, in entirely the wrong season, but I get these timings so wrong that I’ve ceased worrying about it. I didn’t have enough lightweight jackets this past summer, so I ...
The atelier atmosphere of Timothy Everest
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Hey Nick To be honest it's so long since I've been there that I don't think I could recommend or not. But purely on that experience, I wouldn't go there for something that soft and casual, no. I'd go with one of the Neap...
Innovation in denim at Rapha
I’m always interested in innovations in fabric, and one of the excuses for featuring my favourite cycling brand – Rapha – is that they are constantly pushing boundaries here, whether on wool, leather (both of which I&...
Innovation in denim at Rapha
I’m always interested in innovations in fabric, and one of the excuses for featuring my favourite cycling brand – Rapha – is that they are constantly pushing boundaries here, whether on wool, leather (both of which...
A plain business suit from Timothy Everest
Readers have made the point that my bespoke commissions often seem to be rather outlandish pieces: the Huntsman shooting suit, for example, or the Timothy Everest velvet jacket. Why, at least one has asked, do you not have simple business suits made?...
A plain business suit from Timothy Everest
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Blimey. Up to you on the lining. Matching is conservative but can be nice; bright red or blue can be a little jarring; personally I prefer dark, sophisticated colours these days, like a mossy green or burnt orange....
Fitting at Timothy Everest
This was the fitting for a velvet jacket being made by Timothy Everest. I was pleased with the fineness of the velvet, the grosgrain facings and the contrast between the two. It felt very odd to have no vents on the jacket...
Fitting at Timothy Everest
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Replace it......
Velvet jacket from Timothy Everest
A few years ago I came across a double-breasted brown velvet jacket in a vintage shop in London. It was far too large and, at the same time, far too short. But I loved the contrast between deep-pile brown velvet and grosgrain lapels, both in colour a...
Velvet jacket from Timothy Everest
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The key question, if I may say so, is can a velvet jacket be worn with 'ordinary' black tie trousers at a ball? what do you think? such questions keep me awake at night......
The commissions of Timothy Everest
Timothy Everest is a beast of many parts. A tailor who began his career sketching designs for Tommy Nutter, lauded at one point as a saviour of Savile Row alongside Ozwald Boateng and Richard James, he now keeps a delightfully eccentric townhouse in ...
The commissions of Timothy Everest
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It's just the little details that make Tim's work so fantastic. Love him....