Hawick, Vanners and Robert Noble – Duchamp ...

November 21st 2011

Good friend Eric Musgrave – author of Sharp Suits among other things – has got a great job, going around the country making films of all the factories where Duchamp has its products made. It’s almost as good as my excuse...

Hawick, Vanners and Robert Noble – Duchamp ...

Match in comments:
No, unfortunately not...

Factory visitsNovember 21st 2011

Penrose: Oh, the colour

June 30th 2010

Every season, accessories brand Penrose rents a showroom next to Liberty on Great Marlborough Street to show off its new collection. Walk in there, and you get an invigorating shock to the senses. So much fresh, vibrant colour in that clean, white sp...

Penrose: Oh, the colour

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They went into administration, yes, but were bought out by Vanners I think. So they are still operational...

Hanks and scarvesJune 30th 2010

The history of Hunter’s and Peckham Rye

February 1st 2010

Martin Brighty and David Walker have been around the tie industry for a long time. They first met at legendary English tie-maker Holliday & Brown 20 years ago, brought in to replace the sales director and admin director at the time. Indeed t...

The history of Hunter’s and Peckham Rye

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Many of the traditional shirtmakers and general retailers on Jermyn St stock them, though I think Peckham Rye is probably better value. No, Hunter's doesn't have a website I don't think, as the vast majority of their bus...

February 1st 2010

How my ties were made

November 6th 2009

The men and women at Vanners were kind enough to send me pictures recently of how my bespoke ties were made down in Suffolk. So here they are, with explanatory captions. The three-piece pattern for the tie is laid out on the woven silk, at exactly 45...

How my ties were made

Match in comments:
Michael, You're right, that does look good. It is my impression that a traditional covert coat was a lightweight topcoat with a fly front and extra rows of stitching to prevent fraying. The photo looks more like an overc...

TiesNovember 6th 2009

Confusing seven-fold ties

October 26th 2009

A seven-fold tie doesn’t necessarily have seven folds anymore. That isn’t because of corporate marketing and shortcuts (though the ‘VII fold’ from a certain manufacturer might qualify for that description). Rather, different w...

Confusing seven-fold ties

Match in comments:
It depends what you mean by quality. It takes more time, silk and perhaps skill to make a seven fold, but the materials and methods are the same. There's no objective benefit, it's just a nice artistic object...

TiesOctober 26th 2009

How China changed the silk industry

September 15th 2009

The British silk-weaving industry has changed immensely over the past 50 years. Some can still claim to be among the biggest and best in the world, but many smaller weavers and artisans have gone out of business. The biggest reason for this, of cours...

How China changed the silk industry

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I'm not sure it is the largest weaver though, Summer. That was the information I was given. Simon...

September 15th 2009