The solo shoemaker: A Styleforum find

Here's a Styleforum find for shoe lovers - a solo shoemaker who will make made to order shoes based on several standard lasts. Cliff Roberts is effectively a one-man Edward Green MTO operation. His ebay name is charlesdaniell. If you know how you fit in EG lasts, this could be a nice opportunity for more affordable MTO.

Check this thread for the details and photos of his sample work (including balmoral boots).

Men's magazines: The Rake and Men's Ex

Currently, my favorite men's magazines are Men's Ex (published in Japanese and available at Kinokuniya and Mitsuwa) and The Rake (published in English). Below are are a couple of sample shots from the September 2008 issue of Men's Ex. They illustrate nicely the difference between soft and structured shoulders and variations between.





The Rake is a newly launched magazine whose inaugural issue was the December 2008 / January 2009. The Rake website recently went live and features a selection of articles from the print versions.

Philadelphia stories: Men's shops and shirtmakers

I recently stayed about a week in Philadelphia and visited or walked by a few establishments. I stopped by Wayne Edwards, an independent men's retail shop, and chatted with the owner Wayne and his assistant Franz on a recent weekend. They carry RTW business and sportswear and also do MTM (Isaia). I was curious to see their shoe selection as their website mentions John Lobb. I didn't see any Lobbs but they did have a nice selection of mostly Italian makes (Bontoni and Gravati).

Wayne Edwards is perhaps the "cooler" alternative to establishment retailer Boyd's, which is also the largest men's retailer in the city. While Boyd's carries Hugo Boss and True Religion, Edwards carries PRPS raw denim and Yohji Yamamoto.

Around the corner from Edwards is the custom shirtmaker Barton & Donaldson.







The NY Times article below makes a brief mention of Philadelphia's Fabric Row Fourth Street (between South and Catherine Streets). The article came out after I had left Philly but I did manage to visit Fifth Street, a block away. Fifth Street houses a custom tailor and shirtmaker Ernesto (unclear if the shop is MTM or bespoke).



Just down the street from Ernesto is a tailoring supply shop, Charles Zarit and a nice vinyl shop, the Philadelphia Record Exchange.



Additional links
- NY Times article 36 hours in Philly

Foster & Son Spring 2009 Schedule

Bespoke English shoemaker Foster & Son are back in the States this spring with more enticing new samples and accessories. I visited Sarah Adlam and Emma Lakin on their last day here in Los Angeles but you can catch them in the following cities in the days ahead:

San Francisco
Friday 8th May 9.00am – 6.00pm
Saturday 9th 9.00am – 5.00pm
The Fairmont Hotel
950 Mason Street, San Francisco CA 94108 Tel: 415 772 5000

Chicago
Monday 11th May 9.00am - 6.00pm
Tuesday 12th May 9.00am - 6.00pm
Wednesday 13th May 9.00am – 12.00pm noon
The Drake Chicago
140 East Walton Place, Chicago IL 60611 Tel: 312 787 2200

New York
Thursday 14th May 9.00am – 6.00pm
Friday 15th May 9.00am – 6.00pm
Saturday 16th May 9.00am – 6.00pm
InterContinental The Barclay
111 East 48th Street, New York NY 10017 1297 Tel: 212 755 5900

Washington
Monday 18th May 9.00am – 6.00pm
Tuesday 19th May 9.00am – 6.00pm
University Club of Washington (non-members welcome)
1135, 16th St. (NW), Washington DC 20038 Tel: 202 862 8800


Sarah and Emma will welcome visitors during scheduled hours or you may wish to contact them directly:
Cell (USA only) 323 710 1542 / 978 967 5313
Email: sarahadlam [at] wsfoster.co.uk

Denim disputations: 'Distressed' over rules

In recent weeks, an intellectual dispute with the 'denimification' of clothing has surfaced up to the mainstream media. Exhibit A is journalist Daniel Akst's Wall Street Journal op-ed piece describing the pernicious assault of denim on sartorial taste. He argues that the principal crime of denim is "undifferentiated dressing".

Picking up where Akst leaves off, George Will thinks the crisis runs much deeper. In a recent op-ed, Will puts a Freudian-Tocquevillean spin on the meaning of denim: "Denim is the infantile uniform of a nation in which entertainment frequently features childlike adults (Seinfeld, Two and a Half Men) and cartoons for adults (King of the Hill)".

For both Akst and Will, denim is a sure sign of sartorial oblivion and turpitude. Will writes, "This is not complicated. For men, sartorial good taste can be reduced to one rule: If Fred Astaire would not have worn it, don't wear it. For women, substitute Grace Kelly." Good taste forbids the use of denim. Both Akst and Will want rules back in place.

Both make interesting observations but veer toward overzealousness. Shall we ban denim then? If every man, woman and child in our country wore denim and only denim everyday, their outrage would be more compelling. As for myself, I enjoy having options ranging from three piece suits that might even meet with Astaire's approval to dark rinse jeans that would not.

Rules are useful but I prefer exercising my own judgment to automatically following the Akst-Will rule on denim.

Additional links
- AskAndy thread on the George Will and WSJ essays
- Styleforum thread on Will / WSJ essays
- Styleforum thread on "sartorialist jeans" - The debate continues!

Recession-savvy shirt care: How to iron a shirt Old World style

As a follow up to my recent entry on shoes, here's another feature in the "recession-savvy" series of wearing your clothes for longer wear. This time we're talking dress shirts and how to care for them.

This blog entry by shirtmaker Laliquette goes into detail on each step that he goes through in ironing a shirt. Since this is a global recession, he very helpfully provides instructions in English, French and Russian! I chatted with my own shirtmaker who said the instructions were very good and similar to what he does.

1970s style: The roast as artform and dress code

Ah, the 1970s - it was the best of times and the worst of times. In terms of good clothes and decent style, it was perhaps more of the latter. While I suspect many would agree with this assessment, the 70s were not a complete loss. Take the slowly disappearing art of the roast. Style may have been on the decline but the classic roast was alive and well.

I've embedded a YouTube clip of a Dean Martin Roast of the Hour featuring the comedian Don Rickles. The broadcast is undated but circa early 1970s I believe. The dress code is black tie albeit with the exaggerated proportions of the 70s in full force.

Other celebrities and personalities on the dais in this clip: Joe Namath, Angie Dickinson, Paul Lind, Gene Kelly, Jimmy Stewart (in a shawl collar dinner jacket), Bob Hope, Orson Welles, John Wayne (in a 3 piece dinner suit), Muhammad Ali, Sen. Hubert Humphrey, Howard Cosell. Rickles' one-liner on Namath and Dickinson contains a double entendre for the ages.



A few restrained standouts can be found. Gene Kelly and Jimmy Stewart were the sartorial standouts along with the arch-conservative Sen. Barry Goldwater. Make a note at 1:24 and 1:56 in the clip of Barry Goldwater wearing a blue OCBD shirt with his tuxedo. You might remember the very same blue shirt idea mentioned in my earlier entry on creative black tie.

Enzo Caruso: An Ulster-style overcoat

The idea of clothing as a uniform is a historically rooted one and quite appealing. Comfort through conformity has worked for men for ages. Nothing wrong with adhering to a reliable formula for dressing. It's worked in a military setting for centuries and has crossed over repeatedly into the business/civilian sector.

However, I've always have been dissatisfied with the relatively uniformity of modern overcoats, especially RTW. Modern coats often come in a sedate navy blue or charcoal grey. Moreover, in my experience the overall proportions seem hard to get right in a RTW overcoat (especially the length and shoulders).

This past winter I began to think about developing an overcoat, specifically for travel and all the requirements that imply, as well as something distinct, even interesting. In my case, this meant wearability in temperatures above freezing and below and versatile enough to wear on formal business and sportier occasions. I also wanted an overcoat style that would be highly functional in terms of coverage and warmth.

I felt an Ulster-style overcoat would be my best bet. In particular, I went with a double-breasted Ulster-style overcoat with six on three buttoning, a large "storm" collar, a martingale (half-belt) back. darted back, kick pleat, slash pockets, wrist tabs and three interior pockets (two chest pockets and one large scarf pocket on the lower left). Below are photos of the coat just prior to completion at Enzo Caruso's shop (the back of the overcoat is still missing the half-belt piece at this stage).







Regarding my choices, I probably violated a few discussion forum rules. First, I selected a midweight fabric (16oz) in a distinctive blue/gray herringbone with a touch of cashmere (10%) rather than a heavier weight cloth. The cloth is from the Drapers Tessuti Pregiati overcoating book if you're curious. A midweight made sense for me given my criteria and the offsetting weight of the lining. Paired with a 13-14oz three-piece suit, the overcoat should provide sufficient warmth in colder weather.

The overcoat lining differs from the norm in terms of construction and look. Instead of a single interior lining in one color or pattern, I went with a dual lining with an underlayer and overlayer. The base layer of lining is a lightweight seasonal wool plaid by Butterworth & Roberts (250/280g). In addition, for the upper body and arm sleeves, we used an overlayer of Lear Brown Dunsford viscose satin lining in cornflower blue.



The dual layer lining was the result of some fairly extensive collaboration and back and forth between Enzo and me as well as several conversations with a contact in the cloth trade. After I laid out my initial thoughts with Enzo, he suggested improvements addressing issues that I had not considered. So all in all it was a very productive bespoke "dialogue" rather than a "monologue". Both Enzo and I greatly enjoyed the process and the end result.

I like this Ulster-style overcoat so much that I'm thinking of getting a similar version for next winter, made up in whipcord or covert cloth for cold, wet weather conditions.

Additional links
- Styleforum thread on overcoat ideas - Excellent ideas and pictures
- SavileRowStyle article on winter 2008-9 overcoats in Savile Row
- London Lounge thread on demystifying the paddock coat and the historical frock overcoat
- Styleforum thread on overcoat linings

Brooks Bros flagship store: 346 Madison

A couple of weeks ago I heard from a trusted source that the Brooks Bros flagship store is closing due to a lease issue. This is the historic store at 346 Madison that the firm moved into way back in 1915. The plan is apparently to consolidate their retail in their other stores in NYC.

I haven't gotten a second source to confirm this but the tip comes from a reliable source. In addition, there are other indications that a move is imminent. Exhibit A is the recent "warehouse" sale - the first such sale at least since the 1960s. If you can confirm or disconfirm, let me know!

Updated 04/01/09: I heard from an employee that BB will not be moving. Check the comments section of this post.

Additional links
- Ask Andy thread on BB warehouse sale

Edward Green & Alfred Sargent unplugged

Styleforum member manton visited Northamptonshire last year for an article he was researching on English shoemakers.  He posted photos of his Edward Green and Alfred Sargent factory visits in this Styleforum thread.  

I'm posting this partially for the very informative photo essay above but also because Alfred Sargent has been under some financial distress recently. However, it appears that Sargent is continuing to make shoes and delivering to customers. They make for Brooks Bros Peal line of shoes, among others.

Additional links
- Styleforum thread on the state of Alfred Sargent
- AskAndy thread on Alfred Sargent

Giacomo Trabalza and Hollywood tailors

Giacomo Trabalza, a tailoring fixture in Los Angeles, passed away last week. I was traveling last week and learned about it in this Styleforum thread. This leaves only a handful of old school bench tailors who can legitimately be called "Hollywood" tailors.

I am not sure whether his shop will continue on in some form. When I spoke with Trabalza in 2006 he did not have an apprentice or working tailor in place to succeed him.

We've seen the passing of Hollywood tailors like Anthony Gasbarri, Carmen LaMola (described by Chicago tailor Chris Despos in this Styleforum post) and Eddie Schmidt of Schmidt & Galuppo.

However, in the next few years I think there is a real opportunity for a new generation of tailors to set up shop in LA. Given the opportunity, it just might be the right time for an enterprising tailor to fill in the gap.

Additional links
- Sleevehead posts on Trabalza

Winter looks: Between Savile Row and Burlington Arcade

Before springtime finally arrives, I'm putting up some parting winter photos of Savile Row from my most recent trip to London back in February:

Gieves & Hawkes



Maurice Sedwell





Richard James





The camouflage jacket on the right reminds me of a story a tailor shared with me recently about a customer who ordered a dinner jacket (i.e. tuxedo) in camouflage. Certainly not the first choice of a tuxedo if you're building your formal wardrobe. But there might be a satiric, albeit esoteric sense of humor at work here - a sartorial inside joke. After all, black tie is really about conformity to a standard - blending in so to speak. And camouflage is the ultimate fabric for blending in, isn't it? This is the sort of thing a dandy might do to "creative black tie" - live dangerously in the night.

WH Giddens / Schnieder


Just off Savile Row is the bootmaker WH Giddens owned by Herr Schnieder. I dropped by and had a pleasant chat on boots, vintage crocodile luggage trunks, riding and equestrian events.

Budd Shirtmakers



A trio of formal chamois gloves in the three traditional colors: white, pearl/lt grey and cream.

Additional links
- SavileRowStyle on the "surprisingly upbeat" mood in the Row

Breanish Tweed - A baker's dozen of Shetlands

Among tweed aficionados, Breanish Tweed is high on the list of favored weavers. Woven in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, Breanish woolens are unique in several ways. They are handwoven on a single width Hattersley loom from natural yarns that are also warped by hand.  Until recently, much of Breanish production went primarily to designer houses and Savile Row tailors who make up custom tweeds for their customers.

However, last year Breanish Tweed in cooperation with distributor Jodek embarked on their first set of stock-supported cloth for wide distribution. This means they now offer cut lengths to any tailor who wishes to order Breanish Tweed for his customers. This season Breanish and Jodek offer a dozen 10.5oz Shetland tweeds in single widths in blues, reds, greens and browns (both solids and patterns). Below is a close up of Shetland ST7's weave (note: the actual color is considerably darker).  



For my next project, my local tailor will be making up a jacket length of Breanish ST7, which is a richly subdued melange of maroon, loganberry and brown herringbone with a dark green and blue overcheck. This is not a color palette for everyone but I like its ability to be paired with trousers in shades of grey as well as brown. If you're interested in the cloths, ask your tailor to contact Jodek (link below).

Additional links
- Cloth distributor Jodek 

Recession-savvy footwear: Recrafting/resoling shoes

If you need a pair of workhorse dress or dress casual shoes in this tough economy, read on.

Recrafting option

For recrafting, all you need is a nearby Goodwill, Salvation Army or thrift shop and a little luck. If you have a favorite thrift shop, you've probably seen an occasional pair of Allen-Edmonds or Alden shoes. In the past, you might have passed on them, especially if they were a bit beaten up or scuffed. But think again if you're on a budget these days.

A brand new pair of AE shoes can retail for $325 (and more for Alden dress shoes). But you can buy those used AE shoes for $10 and send them to the AE Recrafting program for $95. Alden has a similar program through its retailers (as do many of the English shoemakers based in Northampton like Crockett & Jones and Edward Green but these will be pricier than the US makers).



You'll get back a pair of shoes that will be re-welted, re-soled, re-heeled and refinished. Depending on the original condition, you could get back a nearly new looking pair of shoes for about $200 less than retail. Here's an AE pair (bought new about a year ago) after it was recrafted by AE.



You might recognize this as the AE Thayer monk strap which uses the 8 last. The beauty of the AE recrafting program is that you can specify a different outsole from what it originally came with. In this case, I requested the Titan rubber outsole which is similar to the hard-wearing British Dainite sole.

One final note: Many members of the various men's clothing forums dismiss AE and Alden, finding them to lack the "elegance" and "style" of English or Italian makes. This is a bit sweeping. To my eye anyway, the AE 8 last, as shown above, is a perfectly fine and elegant last.

Resoling

The other option of course is to breath new life in your worn out pair of Goodyear welted shoes by resoling them. You do have a pair of welted shoes I hope? You can go to the original maker as mentioned above (which is preferred since they work off the original last). Or you can ask an experienced cobbler to resole your shoes. A skilled cobbler can do an amazing job in restoring a pair of shoes as this Styleforum thread illustrates. If you don't know of a good cobbler locally, check the links below.

Not sure what kind of replacement outsole or heels you need? The UnionWorks website has a pretty exhaustive list of resoling options.

Additional links
- AskAndy thread on resoling Brooks Bros Peal shoes
- Cobblestone resoling service (St. Louis)
- B. Nelson resoling service (New York)
- Official Dainite website (aka Harboro Rubber) and Styleforum thread
- Shoe Service Institute of America - Need a cobbler but don't live in NY or St. Louis? Use the locator function on the SSIA website to find one in your city or state.
- Time Magazine article on thriving cobblers in the current economy - Interesting article that was published after I posted this entry

Updated 04/5/09

Children of a "Lesser" god: A chance encounter with Henry Lesser

Pardon the pun on the movie title but I could not resist. If you are customer of Savile Row, the chances are very good that you are in effect a sartorial child of Lesser. In other words, you have already ordered (or will at one point) a suit made up in Lesser cloth. Even luckier still, you may have had the good fortune of having a suit made up in Lesser's Golden Bale cloth.

During one of my visits last week to Chittleborough & Morgan, Mr. Lesser happened to drop in by sheer coincidence and he was a very charming fellow to talk to. Lesser was wearing incidentally a very well-made and handsome looking overcoat. He was in town making his rounds to the various tailoring houses that day and also to attend the Merchant Taylors' annual festival dinner that evening. I didn't ask but I believe he was updating his books at each tailor. Below is a photo of Messrs. Morgan (left) and Lesser (right).



During our wide-ranging chat, Joseph Morgan and I began talking about heavyweight cloths at which point Morgan pulled out a Lesser heavyweight (18 oz I believe) cloth book as an example, noting how marvelously they made up. Lesser nodded approvingly, saying in sotto voce that it feels a bit "like leather." Unfortunately, the cloth is no longer in production. They are only three bunches from the book left in stock - a medium gray and two blues I believe.

The surety and fluidity with which Lesser speaks about his fabrics captures I think a reassuring consistency between his fabric's quality and his business philosophy. This is a merchant that inspects every piece supplied by their mills for defects like a pulled string, making a note of its position and length, and sending it back to the mill. Lesser may very well be the only cloth merchant in the business that conducts such an exhaustive quality assurance check. In the world of manufacturing, this is effectively a zero defects process (Six Sigma anyone?). It was a pleasure speaking with both Morgan and Lesser, giving me a fascinating peek into the small highly networked world of the Row and its ecosystem of suppliers and intermediaries.

It was a pity I wasn't able to attend the Merchant Taylors' annual festival dinner. Perhaps next year!

Updated 04/26/09

Chittleborough & Morgan: The Row liveth

In these challenging economic times, one might imagine a grim mood gripping Savile Row. Indeed, last week as I stood on a stoop looking down into the basement of Hardy Amies I spied a pile of discarded moving boxes sitting below a sample sale sign in the window. The couturier had been in the press last fall regarding potential receivership. It's a sharp reminder that no business - even those with a storied past - is immune in this economy. But many of the SR shops I visited on this trip seemed busy - some even busier than my last trip a year ago.

All the shops I visited were quite amiable but Chittleborough & Morgan was the most amiable and informative at a personal level. This is because I spoke with the proprietors themselves, Messrs. Roy Chittleborough and Joseph Morgan.



In his book The London Cut: Savile Row Bespoke Tailoring, James Sherwood describes the atmosphere at C&M as "brisk and efficient". He's certainly right at one level but I also detected an unusual readiness and willingness to chat and share. You get a sense of that openness when you notice the selection of Gaziano & Girling sample shoes on the wall. Started by Tony Gaziano (formerly of Edward Green), G&G offer MTO and bespoke footwear and share space with C&M at the latter's invitation.

I visited on two separate days, first speaking with Mr. Chittleborough and then Mr. Morgan. Roy worked at Kilgour back in the 1960s and then at Nutters before opening his own shop with partner Joseph Morgan. They've been in business since 1980 and make the full run of garments from dresswear to overcoats (with the exception of military clothing). C&M carry a number of mills and merchants - Lesser, Dormeuil, Scabal, Dugdale and other English cloths. Morgan visits NYC twice a year and is scheduled to visit in April.

The following day I spoke with Joseph Morgan and he shared a number of notable details on what goes into a C&M suit and the look they strive for. They favor a straight shoulder rather than natural, the straightness of which creates a platform to shape the waist underneath. They also cut a slightly longer jacket. Of course, this is only a starting point as Morgan made the point that bespoke means by default a level of customization in the end product.

Joe graciously walked through the handpadding of lapels (and several examples in progress) and the construction of the three-layer chestpiece. He also pulled out a roll of the standard pocket lining used for their trousers, the quality of which is truly exceptional as I have not seen it elsewhere. We walked over to a nearly finished jacket and he opened it up to show the construction of the interior pocket, which features an ingenious extra fold above the pocket opening to catch and secure oversize objects protruding from the pocket. He also lifted the sleeve for closer inspection of their very distinctive, ridged (raised) buttonholes and the special technique they train their tailoresses to create the subtle ridging. Finally he opened up a customer's trouser bundle to explain the unusual steaming and shaping of their trousers prior to their assembly. If you live for perfectionism in the details - the "lovely bones" of a suit if you will - then you will be remiss in not visiting C&M to see the handwork and detailing yourself.



Morgan himself was wearing a three button dark blue suit that on first glance appeared like a very well executed city suit with a classic Row shoulder. However as the eye moves down the suit, you begin to see vertical detailing in the form of open lap seams (or small ridges) on the center back seam and sleeve seams of his jacket and the side seams of the trousers. It's a city suit that has been individualized and subtly dandified.

Morgan's exactitude and precision reminded me of the Parisian tailor Cifonelli (which should be a compliment to both gentlemen). In fact, both Massimo Cifonelli and Joseph Morgan are excellent ambassadors for their businesses. And they both wore suits that spoke highly of their craftmanship. But do not confuse C&M's exactitude and perfectionism with staidness. They channel their precision with a sense of style and detailing that is fresh but understated.

My latest visit to the Row solidifies the following belief: If you know what you want, the chances are very good that you can find it on the Row.

Men's shoes: Do we need a Christian Louboutin?

In this blog post, Lauren Goldstein Crowe, a luxury goods consultant, decries the moribund state of men's shoes. She may be right that it's moribund but then she laments "Where, oh where, is the Christian Louboutin of men’s footwear?" Louboutin is of course the well-known "high-end" women's shoe designer. Apparently he and Manolo Blahnik sell the most expensive and desirable women's shoes on the market.

As I describe in a comment following the article, men have plenty of choices in quality men’s shoes. In the US and UK, we have a number of quality RTW makes: Edward Green. John Lobb, Crockett & Jones, Trickers, Alden and a host of others from Italy and Central Europe (Vass, St. Crispins).

For bespoke, look again to England (Cleverley, Foster & Son, Gaziano & Girling, John Lobb St James), Italy (Ugolini, Gatto, Bestetti), France (Corthay, Berluti) or Central Europe (Vass, Maftei, Balint, Scheer).

The problem is not in the lack of quality makers for both RTW and bespoke. Quality men's shoes have been around for decades - long before Christian Louboutin ever became popular in women's shoes. The real problem is that men do not understand or appreciate quality shoemaking while the cost of labor has inexorably risen. The result is that fewer men are able to both appreciate and afford shoes made by the makers mentioned above. But that loss is I hope offset by the increasing self-education of men in this area - witness this and countless other blogs and discussion forums on men's clothing.

Choosing a tailor: Singularity or plurality?

Happy new year and best wishes for 2009. This is my fourth year of developing this blog and it has evolved from its modest origins thanks to other bloggers, a truly international audience of readers and the always entertaining and informative world of online men's clothing forums.

Given yesterday's post, I thought it might be useful to contrast two recent threads that speak to the theme of choosing tailors.

This London Lounge thread on Adolphe Menjou's tailors lists the 13 tailors that Menjou mentioned using in his autobiography, It Took Nine Tailors. Adolphe Menjou of course is the impeccably dressed actor of old Hollywood. Another LL thread seeks advice on a placing an initial bespoke order with English tailor Anderson & Sheppard.

These two threads make for a fascinating comparison because they contrast sharply two schools of thought. One school favors finding just one tailor - the One Tailor to Rule Them All - and sticking with him. This is reflected by a side discussion in the A&S thread by advocates of both approaches weighing in. The other school (i.e. Menjou) is driven by a curiosity and passion for tailored clothes, which tends toward experimentation of tailors.

So which is right? Singularity or plurality? For now suffice to say that both approaches can be made to work - depending on who you are and your ability to know what you want. According to my 2008 survey, 59% of bespoke customers use one tailor while 41% use two or more. I'll expand more on this in my book with a fully fleshed out taxonomy of approaches to choosing a tailor.

The A&S thread is full of superb advice by A&S customers (esp. by LL member uppercase) on how to navigate the initial order process with this well-known Savile Row tailor. I speak out of personal interest as well since I intend to place a first order with A&S sometime this year. I can say that this was in the works before - way before - I saw the results of the bespoke wishlist question in my survey. Ha, perhaps that survey may have nudged me a little.

At any rate, I'll be sure to remember the following advice from uppercase, "Walk into A&S knowing, in broad terms, what you want" and "Agree, up front, on the number of fittings that you will receive." Probably good advice to apply to any new tailor.

Bespoke survey: Who will be your next tailor?

First, a very special thanks to everyone who responded to the bespoke survey I created earlier this year. If you haven't filled it out yet, here's the link to the survey and the related post.

In the survey, I asked the following question: Which tailors are you most interested in commissioning a garment from but haven't yet tried? This attempts to get at the tailors that bespoke buyers are most interested in trying next - a bespoke wish list. To some extent it also measures tailors with the greatest "brand" awareness among bespoke customers (as opposed to RTW customers). This distinction is important because it presumably shows the preferences of buyers who are fairly knowledgeable about bespoke clothing.

I would like to share some interim results now that the pool of respondents for this question is decently sized (n=109). So what are the results? They are quite interesting because they show what looks like a power law distribution. In other words, the responses follow a long tail distribution with a just a couple of heavyweight contenders at the top and many other players trailing the lead pack.

Here are the interim results as of 12/30/08:

Ranking / Tailor (% of Respondents)
(n=109)
1 Anderson & Sheppard (31%)
2 Rubinacci (25%)
3 Thomas Mahon (9%)
4 Henry Poole (8%)
5 Huntsman (7%)
6 Caraceni (6%)
6 Raphael (6%)
7 Dege & Skinner (5%)
7 Any Savile Row tailor (5%)
8 Chris Despos (4%)
8 Gennaro Solito (4%)
8 Steed (4%)
8 Leonard Logsdail (4%)

A couple of methodological notes. First, the ranking above captures roughly the top two-thirds of all tailors mentioned. There are quite a few with just one or two mentions. Also, the percentage indicates the percentage of respondents who mentioned the tailor in their response. Since each respondent can list more than one tailor, the percentages do not add up to 100%.

So why are just two tailors - A&S and Rubinacci - sitting pretty at the top of the wish list for bespoke customers? Good question and I suspect it's a potent mixture of two things - the power of tailoring tradition and history fueled by the easy information exchange of today's internet-enabled consumer. A&S tops the cognoscenti's list because of its storied past, achieving almost mythic status for its original cutting style (Scholte) and uniqueness among Savile Row firms. Men like distinction. And modern men have been like moths to the flame when it comes to ease and comfort - both perceived and actual.

Let's look at Rubinacci. Imagine if I had distributed this survey five or ten years ago. I would guess the list would be mostly Savile Row with Caraceni perhaps still making an appearance but certainly not the Neapolitan tailors. The success of Rubinacci in this list can probably be traced back literally to one or two members on Styleforum and LondonLounge. Three or four years ago very few men - even experienced bespoke customers - knew what a Rubinacci cut/jacket looked like.

Mahon is number three largely because of his groundbreaking tailor's blog - the first of its kind - and the intense, internet-based marketing efforts early on by his supporters. Of course, it helps to have the A&S training and pedigree as well.

It's also interesting to note that the top three tailors are all of the soft tailoring paradigm - soft natural shoulders, relatively little or no padding, free and easy chest canvas, penchant/familiarity with creating front drape over the chest.

What is somewhat disappointing is the relative paucity of American-based tailors on this list. Of course, I didn't ask the respondents for their current tailor (who very well might be American) but one might want to consider local options before booking that flight to Naples, Rome, Sicily or Heathrow. Of course, if you have the means to rely on tailors both at home and abroad, consider yourself lucky!

Related links
- LondonLounge thread on survey results

2008 post of the year: Seeing the forest from the trees

It appears the 2008 discussion thread of the year enjoyed a brief revival since my post last month. This generated additional discussion that, in turn, has led me to award the 2008 post of the year to Styleforum member DocHolliday. He writes:

I find the quality comparisons of high-end RTW interesting in that they focus on details that, for me, make little difference in terms of the actual wearing of a coat.

This is truly a gem of a post worth pinning up. It's pitch perfect because it remembers to focus on the fundamental task at hand, namely, the enjoyable, useful wearing of clothes in your everyday life. This insistence on the sum of the parts rather than the parts in isolation is a key message in my proposed book. It's probably the one question that really matters in the end - not the pick stitching, handpadded lapels or level of handwork. Yet these are the minutiae that often form the lifeblood of the clothing forums.

Honorable mention goes to a passage in Mike Albo's recent New York Times article on clothier Paul Stuart. Albo describes with comic accuracy the kind of men and women that until recently were the style fixtures of our time:

It has been just three months since the end of the Age of Excess, but I can already picture how that era’s fashion will be remembered. An image easily springs to mind: some D.J. jerk with neck tattoos and lines shaved in his eyebrows wearing $600 distressed jeans and a gold brocaded Ed Hardy hoodie, getting out of a white Hummer clutching a bottle of Cristal. Next to him is his girlfriend holding a Chihuahua and gargantuan Frappuccino, wearing bug-eyed sunglasses and expensive pink warm-ups with the word “tart” on the backside.

I have nothing against Ed Hardy, tattoos or Chihuahuas but this was too good not to laugh at.

And quote of the year goes to this LL post by member Camlots: "Tradition means to care for the fire, not to adore the ashes." Very pithy. It sounds like a line out of a Thomas Mann novel - and that's a very good thing in my opinion.

Creative black tie: How to do it?

Creativity in dressing requires a basic familiarity with tradition against which to improvise. In contemporary evening dress, men today generally lack that core knowledge but feel free nonetheless to pursue creative variations of black tie. "Pursue" is the operative word as it seems the achievement of true creativity in black tie events for men is a bit of an oxymoron.

Creative black tie is inherently paradoxical for men because it upends what traditional black tie was all about - a set of rules of dressing after 6pm. But perhaps taking their cues from women, men are experimenting with black tie these days in a big way. Lots of long black four-in-hand ties with a black silk or wool suit. It seems this is the contemporary interpretation of a dinner jacket or tuxedo. Or a black tuxedo with a plain white shirt without a bowtie or other neckwear. Or even more casual, a daytime sportscoat with an uncollared shirt (i.e. a t-shirt).

At the recent Marie Claire 2008 Prix awards, we see all of the above - a mix of personal styles ranging from "creative" to traditional black tie for men. Below are my votes in the following categories:

• Best bowtie (self-tied, not pre-tied): Pic 1, pic 2
  
• Best wing collar shirt (Suggestion: the sportswatch should be replaced by a dress watch)
  
• Best complete black tie (Note use of just 2 shirt studs, peak lapels, pocket square and spread collar instead of a more traditional point collar)
• Runner-up complete black tie (Clean shirt placket sans studs)
  
• Best sleeveless evening dresses: Pic 1 (Wins best smile award too!), pic 2
  
• Most colorful evening dress
  
• Best complete women's outfits: Pic 1, pic 2, pic 3, pic 4
  
• Best dressed couple: Pic 1, pic 2

In black tie ("creative" or traditional), men should seek to bend the rules at the margins, namely, the accessories. The statement to make is understatement. To my mind, creative black tie would be a set of vintage Cartier ruby shirt studs and cufflinks. Or it would be a carefully chosen boutonniere like a white carnation of precisely the right size. Or a black and white houndstooth silk pocket square folded in a puff. It might even be a dress shirt with a distinctive bib front material or different shirt color (perhaps ivory/cream, periwinkle blue or royal blue instead of white). The royal blue is inspired by Styleforum member LabelKing's blue shirt worn with a dinner jacket.

I think there is a real difference between the rote application of rules and traditions and the highly selective bending or extension of such rules. The former is called dressing well while the latter takes a standard of dress into the territory of personal style.

Related links
- Black Tie Guide
- Styleforum thread on black tie

Sidenote: Shopping in Vietnam

I thought I should add a brief entry on shopping in Vietnam for those interested in women's clothing, accessories, home furnishings and handicrafts. Both Saigon and Hanoi pack in a large number of such retail stores in the central district.

In Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), the place to go is Dong Khoi Rd, esp. for women's clothing. La Mystere has very nice home furnishings, pillow covers, wall hangings and accessories made by ethnic groups such as the Hmong and Lao. Other retail streets worth checking out: Le Thanh Ton, Nguyen Hue, Le Loi.



In Hanoi, the main shopping venues are along Na Tho, Na Chung and Hang Gai streets. For instance, Sapa on Hang Gai features accessories and clothing from the Sapa region. The Sofitel Metropole has a nice gift shop called La Boutique (right next to the L'Epicerie bakery in the hotel and off of the interior courtyard).


In both cities (esp. Hanoi), art galleries are a surprisingly common sight, especially those who enjoy popular, contemporary painting through a Vietnamese lens. Other types of stores I encountered frequently: embroidery, silk, handicrafts and lacquerware.

For my trip, I bought the Footprint Vietnam guidebook (published in 2007), which was helpful but already outdated in some areas. If you're just visiting the major cities for shopping, restaurants and nightlife, buy the compact and inexpensive Luxe city guide for Hanoi and HCMC. Stores and restaurants turn over fairly frequently and the Luxe city guides are updated more often than guidebooks.

Southeast Asian tailors: A visit to Hong Kong, Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City

Asian tailors can be a good option and value - assuming you are local to them (or they visit your city regularly) and you are comfortable with a high level of directed involvement and oversight in the bespoke process.

Hong Kong

In my recent trip to Asia, my first stop was Hong Kong. I visited two tailors, A-Man Hing Cheong and Tux & Collars. A-Man had a nice selection of British fabrics (John Hardy among others). I chatted with a fellow named Norman and, partially ignoring my own advice above, I ended up ordering a tweed jacket made up in a 16oz gunclub from the John Hardy Alsport book - in the broader interests of sartorial research of course.

I also attempted to visit Tux and Collars, whose head cutter purportedly trained in Naples. When I visited the address in the Pacific House across from Harvey Nichols, the store was shuttered and had either moved or closed. According to the lobby security guard, they had moved out a couple of months before my visit. But unfortunately he did not have a forwarding address or other contact details.

Vietnam

Vietnam is quickly moving forward in becoming a global textile and apparel player. In 2008, Vietnam's garment and textile industry is expected to hit $9.5B in exports and employ some 2 million people according to Vietnam News (10/01/08). The Vietnam Garment and Textile Association expects to be in the top 5 globally by 2015-20. The US is the top importer of Vietnamese garments and textiles, followed by the European Union, Japan and Russia.



In Vietnam, I visited a couple of tailors: Dung (pronounced yung) Tailor in Ho Chi Minh City and Duc Tailor in Hanoi. Dung has been in business since 1985 and appears to be a genuine bench tailor. Shirts range from 25 to 45 USD and take two weeks. Suits go from 160 to 500 USD and take roughly 3 weeks. Incidentally, the concierge at the Park Hyatt Saigon recommended a couple of tailors, Cao Minh and Dung.



Up north in Hanoi, I visited Duc Tailor just north of Hoan Kiem lake. When I walked in, I saw a fitter making marks on a customer's basted jacket (no sleeves, just the body) and a cutter nearby marking and cutting cloth without a pattern (a technique known as "rock of eye"). He traced out the pattern with chalk directly on the cloth and then cut the cloth. The suits appear to be canvassed based on the basted jacket I saw.



There were four shelves of in-stock suitings arranged by price): $500, $400, $300 and $200. The selvedges appear to be of Italian origin. One selvedge read Garavino which I am not familiar with but I also saw a Dormeuil Amadeus book. Suits take 2-3 days. Pants have a price range depending on cloth: $50, $70, $100 and $120. Shirts start at $25.

Given the tropical climate and limited time, I decided to order a casual shirt short-sleeved shirt, which would be ready at 6pm the same day. I ordered a band collar linen shirt and initially sketched a picture of the band collar. But then I spotted a copy of the spring 2008 issue of Menswear magazine on one of the shelves and found a picture of the collar style I was looking for.

As the cutter took my measurements, he recognized I was wearing a custom shirt (made by Freddy Vandecasteele) and asked if he should just copy the measurements which he did (chest, abdomen, waist and shirt length). I requested small adjustments to the sleeve length, overall length of the shirt body and band collar height.

The area just south of Duc tailor is a busy retail area for RTW sandals and shoes as well as luggage and backpacks (Cau Go and Lo Su/Hang Dou streets).

Additional links
- Styleforum thread on Vietnamese tailors
- Styleforum thread on Hoi An tailors (Vietnam)
- Styleforum thread on tailors in Hong Kong and Vietnam
- Lonely Planet thread on Bangkok tailors
- Styleforum thread on Singapore tailors - Iris Tailor (Lucky Plaza)
- Styleforum threads on Hong Kong tailors and a comparison between A-Man Hing Cheong and WW Chan
- Styleforum thread on Japanese tailors
- Styleforum thread on Korean tailors (Seoul)

Updated 03/23/09

Classical music and classic men's clothing

Below is a recent Charlie Rose interview of James Levine, conductor of the luminous Boston Symphony, Daniel Barenboim, former music director of the mighty Chicago Symphony and centenarian American composer Elliott Carter.

At 100 years old, I give Carter leeway in his dress but I do note his charming use of suspenders. Note the jacket on Daniel Barenboim - an example of a soft shoulder with no or very minimal padding (and unusual, Teba-like lapels - no notch as far as I could see).



Contemporary classical music is in a very similar situation to "classical" men's clothing. It doesn't resonate with today's audience or to use Barenboim's phrase it lacks immediacy.

In my Tom Ford entry, I give short shrift to "timeless" style in men's clothing. This is because its strict application tends to lack "immediacy" - trueness to you and your context. I believe men should be absolutely aware of classical men's clothing but they should not be slavishly bound to the canon in all things, all times and all places. For better or worse, we have the freedom to make choices.

Naples: Rubinacci, Attolini, Solito

This is the final, belated installment of the Italy trip I took back in February. My sartorial itinerary in Naples took me along: Via Morelli, Via della Cavallerizza, Via dei Mille, Via Filangieri, Via Chiaia, Via Toledo, Galleria Umberto.



Rubinacci

Rubinacci seems the most commercially savvy of the sartoria I saw in Naples. It certainly appears to have the largest operations judging by their relative store size and by having a dedicated Japanese speaker on their payroll (at least when I visited). When I walked in the store, I was greeted by a woman sitting at the desk on the right of the entrance. I greeted her in English and she called for Gianni to come over. Perhaps there was a language barrier but Gianni really didn't seem too enthused to interact, which was a pity.



As any active Styleforum member knows, Rubinacci is the 2007-2008 darling of that forum. My two cents: choose a tailor for concrete, tangible reasons. Don't let someone's bespoke garments (including mine) seduce you into neglecting the due diligence you owe to your sense of style. The tailor should fit your style, your schemata, your (out)look, not the other way around.



Of course, for some men, choosing a tailor is a lot like falling in love. They see a picture on the internet of a jacket made by X worn by a complete stranger and it is all butterflies. They fall in love and proclaim X - and only X - is the tailor for me! My search is over, my quest is fulfilled, I am sartorially complete. Not quite. In my opinion, choosing a tailor is just the beginning. But enough pontificating from me.

Cesare Attolini

I was greeted by three gentlemen: Giuseppe, the grandson of Cesare Attolini, his uncle Claudio and Tito, a salesman. This is a small store and when I walked in there was another customer, his wife and son in tow. The customer, a Russian fellow, was trying on a few windowpane sports jackets. The fit was splendid around the shoulders and waist.



The Russian chap is indicative of the new wealth class. I see a desire among these new captains of industry eager to acquire “style” in a manner similar to acquiring a new factory or entering a new market. If it's of value, how do I implement or acquire it? He asked Giuseppe and Claudio, “Why do you show only two buttons [on your sleeve]?” In other words, he was wondering why they left one of the working sleeve buttons undone. He also asked persistently of them, “Which one [jacket] is better?” He was deciding between two windowpane sportsjackets – both of which fit superbly. The three Neapolitans in the store punted on the question, which was surprising since he looked excellent in both.

This little conversation reminds me of Charles de Lucas' comment on the education of his current clients. The best houses can offer good advice at the right time and in the right manner. Nevertheless, I did find the Attolini staff friendly, welcoming and open to answering my questions. For the Attolini MTM program, two fittings is a minimum. The Attolini factory is ten minutes outside of Naples.

Gennaro Solito

Solito was the friendliest and most welcoming of the Neapolitan sartoria I visited. Like my visit to Cisternino in Florence, we had a delightful conversation, albeit in an amusing pidgin of English and Italian - single word sentences and hand gestures go a long way. He was working on a customer's order when I rang. Next time I'll need to schedule an appointment with his daughter (Laura) who speaks English.



Solito has customers from NY, San Francisco and Philadelphia. He's also featured on a recent cover of Monsieur magazine (along with Marinella and the tiemaker Capelli I believe).

Wrap-Up

At the end of the day, I had an excellent hot chocolate and sfogliatelle at Gran Caffe Gambrinus. As I was sitting at the cafe, I noticed very few men – actually none at all – wearing Neapolitan style jackets. Even in Italy, style is mostly an export good it seems.



On the way back to the hotel, I wandered into Salvatore Argenio, a shop on Via Filangieri, and discovered a source of made-to-measure knitwear, which is rather difficult to find. Argenio takes measures on sleeve length, body length and chest. He says he visits NY twice a year (February and September). Price: 700 euros for a MTM cashmere sweater.



Of the three Italian cities - Rome, Florence and Naples - I visited, I thought the Florentines were the friendliest, Rome the best for strolling and Florence offered the most interesting shops. Naples is unique, off the beaten path but potentially quite rewarding. The most striking women were in Paris, followed very closely (somewhat surprisingly) by London. Among the men, the best dressed men were in Rome and Florence (saw quite a few fedoras there).

Additional Links
- Styleforum thread on Solito and trousermaker Ambrosi

Becoming a tailor/cutter today: How do I become an apprentice?

In the past couple of years, I've received more than a few messages, comments or emails from folks interested in becoming a bench tailor, i.e. someone who can cut and sew garments. More specifically, they're interested in becoming an apprentice to a working tailor. I don't have much original advice except to approach the best tailors in your city about your enthusiasm, experience and perhaps most of all your dedication in putting in the time and effort to become a tailor.

Obviously it will pay to do your homework too. I recently came across this AskAndy thread that does a great job of assembling recommendations and references from working tailors and cutters. The thread also touches on an interesting distinction in patternmaking between industry or factory production v. bench tailors.

Let me also post another useful thread on the soft tailoring exponents of the English tailoring firm of Anderson & Sheppard. Too often it seems we have tailors who work only in the structured shoulder / stiff chest paradigm or the soft, drapey shoulder / soft chest paradigm. I personally think that a bench tailor who can inhabit both worlds and understand when to apply which paradigm will stand apart from most tailors working today and quite possibly take the next big step in bespoke tailoring. Innovations often come from hybrid milieus in which someone who knows a specific tradition or practice extremely well is then able to pivot and take a different slant on received wisdom.

Related posts
- The next generation of tailors: Mutually assured succession

2008 thread of the year: Tom Ford, pagoda shoulders, bespoke tragedies and more

After a few years of mostly reading and posting occasionally to the various men's clothing forums, I began to feel my interest flagging a bit. This is natural as the number of times we can meritoriously debate a "RTW v. bespoke" thread is limited. But this Styleforum thread, in the waning days of a sobering year of credit and financial ills, wins my vote for discussion thread of the year on a men's clothing forum. Good for high quality laughs and also offering some food for thought and a useful foil to my writing needs.

Styleforum member AvariceBespoke begins the proceedings with a simple question: Anyone ever use Tom Ford's MTM program? Not too many it appears but that doesn't stop the commentariat from knocking the Ford MTM program for being a re-badged Zegna product, among other things.

"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." In this post, Doc Holliday provides a flash of phenomenological rigor in this sprawling thread of 23+ pages. This is a rigor that I plan to address in more detail in my book. Is an objective discussion about clothing choices and preferences simply impossible? It seems so. Prescriptions about what others should wear are almost invariably colored by what one wears personally. It is remarkable to note this unconscious expression of vanity, this natural self-prioritizing about other people's choices. But there is a way out I believe.

So what exactly are tailors good for? As Rubinacci devotee iammatt makes clear in this post, he expressly thinks there is really one type of successful bespoke tailoring relationship. "From what I have seen, even in bespoke, monologues are usually more successful than dialogues. The advantage to bespoke, as I see it, is fit and fabric, and not the ability to direct." Not coincidentally, to my point above about personal choices being writ large, a monologue is precisely the type of relationship he has with his tailor.

I believe reality is accommodating enough to offer richer and more varied types of tailoring relationships. As VitaminC describes in his post on "bespoke tragedies", he argues that bespoke tailoring boils down to proportion and technique. Most tailors are really about nailing the latter. I think he maybe onto something here. If true, it means the customer better bring something to the table rather than completely outsourcing his sense of style and judgment.

Tom Ford's style - does it have substance? It certainly does for a man who likes his calories. What I love about this post by Chicago tailor Chris Despos is that he deep sixes the ahistorical, point-in-time dismissal of Monsieur Ford. The near universal rejection of the concave, pagoda shoulder (spalla insellata) in the thread is too easy, too quick. I'm a sartorial pluralist at heart and believe in the goodness of choices. Who knows - a spalla insellata might be the right look for someone. Of course, choice works best for those who are able to exercise discernment and self-restraint.

At the end of the day, it's far better to have the option of a Tom Ford, a Thom Browne or a bench tailor. Why? Because style is more about deftly exercising one's choices today and tomorrow than creating a supposedly timeless look.

Open source tailoring

I came across a fellow blogger AstoriaUnderground, who put in a nice mention about visiting Sleevehead. In one of her recent entries, she also mentioned Burdastyle, which is a site dedicated toward "open source sewing" and patterns for women's clothing.

This is an intriguing and brilliant idea I think. It's a mashup of the open source concept that originated in software development with the world of patternmaking and pattern cutting. The idea is to assemble a forum and community of designers and patternmakers of women's clothing to create new designs and inspire new ones. One of the side benefits would be a common language of patterns.

How might this concept benefit men's tailoring specifically? Bespoke production is highly skill dependent and labor intensive. As we know, the supply of skilled cutters, coatmakers and tailors of men's clothing is very constrained, at least in the US. And the costs of bespoke production remain extraordinarily high. If there is a way to a create a standardized language of pattern cutting, this could potentially make it easier to educate and train cutters and tailors and lay the groundwork for affordable, high quality garment production.

Vietnamese shoemaking: Tran Quoc Lan

At the height of the financial crisis a couple of weeks ago, I found myself in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) observing from afar the US-led meltdown in financial liquidity, solvency and accountability with a certain measure of disbelief. Nonetheless, I was in the region on vacation and had a specific place to visit in my itinerary - a shoemaker to be precise. I had read about AskAndy member m@t's experiences with a Vietnamese bespoke shoemaker named Tran Quoc Lan and thought to follow his footsteps so to speak.





The first step was getting my feet measured. The lady who measured my foot took two measurements around my right foot and drew an outline of both feet in her notebook. The older gentleman with glasses promised a very quick three day turnaround, perhaps because I requested a derby style that had been made for another customer. The older gentleman spoke English and the lady who measured my feet also spoke a bit of English. I showed her a photo of the design on my iPod touch and she pulled out a JM Weston shoe catalogue to find its pictorial equivalent. As I looked through their leather selection, the following colors struck my eye: 43 dark brown (the one I ordered), 74 chestnut, 78 maple, 35 maple (slightly darker than 78), 17 acorn, 101 deep brown and 108 olive/dark brown.



I ordered on a Saturday and picked up the shoes the following Monday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I was most curious about how the overall shape would turn out. It reminded me a bit of the Edward Green soft square 888 last (see below right). For a shoe (and last) that was made in literally days, it was a remarkably well-fitting shoe. Given the time constraint, I suspect my last was probably a modified version of a preformed last (using the addition method). Nonetheless, the fit is superior to any RTW shoe I've tried out of the box. And the price? 65 USD.



The leathers are not nearly the level of quality you'll find at British, French, Italian, Austrian and other European shoemakers and the lastmaking may not be quite as refined. But if current results are any indication of future potential, don't be too surprised to find within the next 10 years a decently constructed pair of shoes with the label "Edward Tran" or "John Tran" in a store near you.

Additional links
- Styleforum thread on TQL's MTM Chelsea boots
- Styleforum thread on Hong Kong shoemaker Zee's Leatherware
- NY Times article on Kow How and Mayer Shoes in Hong Kong

Updated 05/09/09

Foster & Son fall schedule

I spent a very pleasant morning today chatting with Sarah Adlam and Emma Lakin. This is their first visit to Los Angeles. I also was there for my fitting, which Emma conducted. Below is their visiting schedule. If you've have any interest in fine bespoke shoes, do visit them while they're here in LA or the other cities below. They're absolutely delightful to talk to. Sarah's US mobile number is 978-967-5313.

New RTW samples (based on the Edward Green 88 last and a new last designed by Terry Moore)


Closeup of RTW samples


Foster leather accessories


Bespoke samples 1


Bespoke samples 2


Bespoke samples 3


Los Angeles
Monday 13th October 9.00am - 6.00pm
Tuesday 14th October 9.00am - 2.00pm

InterContinental Los Angeles Century City Hotel
2151 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles CA 90067
Tel: 310 284 6500

San Francisco
Wednesday 15th October 9.00am - 6.00pm
Thursday 16th October 9.00am - 12.00pm

The Fairmont Hotel
950 Mason Street, San Francisco CA 94108
Tel: 415 772 5000

Chicago
Friday 17th October 9.00am -6.00pm
Saturday 18th October 9.00am - 6.00pm

InterContinental Chicago
505 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago IL 60611
Tel: 312 944 4100

New York
Monday 20th – Tuesday 21st October 9.00am - 6.00pm
Wednesday 22nd October 9.00am - 12.00pm

InterContinental The Barclay
111 East 48th Street, New York NY 10017 1297
Tel: 212 755 5900

Washington
Thursday 23rd October 9.00am - 6.00pm
Friday 24th October 9.00am - 2.00pm

University Club of Washington (non-members welcome)
1135, 16th St. (NW), Washington DC 20038
Tel: 202 862 8800

Enzo Caruso: A bespoke tailor in Santa Monica

Earlier this year based on a couple of references in an AskAndy thread, I decided to drop by Enzo Caruso on Ocean Park Blvd in Santa Monica. For some reason, I had thought he was an alterations tailor but it turns out Caruso is a bespoke/custom tailor. He has a nice selection of Italian and British fabrics including: John Cooper, Taylor & Stewart, W. Bill, Harrisons, Holland & Sherry, Charles Clayton, Thomas Fisher, Gladson, Scabal, Dormeuil, Zegna, Loro Piana.

Enzo clearly loves fabrics and spent a good half hour or so showing me interesting fabrics: his latest H&S books (Eutopia) which UPS delivered while I was there, a lavender Zegna Cashco 91% cotton/9% cashmere blend that he's going to make up into a pair of trousers for a customer. I'm not sure I'd wear the Zegna Cashco myself but it was a beautiful fabric. He also showed me Zegna's 15 Milmil fabrics and a special H&S cashmere book specifically for scarves and throws.



Some background is in order. In 1895, the first of his relatives immigrated to US. His great-grand uncle opened a tailor's shop in Santa Monica in the 1920s. He showed me an advertisement for that shop that was reprinted in Fred Basten's book, Santa Monica Bay: Paradise By the Sea (see above). Enzo also worked at Moss Bros in London for a couple of years in the early 1970s. As a child he toiled away at his grandfather's tailoring business in Calabria. At that time, his small town of 20,000 had about 20 tailors - a remarkable number today but not unusual then.

Enzo has been at his current location opposite the Santa Monica Business Park for about 15 years. He's a fifth generation Calabrian tailor. Calabria is located in the deep south of Italy – occupying the apron, so to speak, of the boot shaped Italian peninsula. This makes me wonder if there is a specific Calabrian style of tailoring garments. He said he is the last one in his extended family (including his son) who has any interest in tailoring. He himself looks fairly young to me – in his 50s.

Enzo gives his advice freely – much of which is spot on – regarding fabrics, color and coordination. For instance, he recommended subtle, subdued patterns for me – to fill up my fairly lean frame a bit – emphasizing more of the horizontal than the vertical. He also felt, and I agree, that I would do well in three piece suits.

All the garments are cut, sewn and finished on the premises. As for his cutting style, Enzo is adaptive to the customer's build but his preferred cut seems to have a basis in the natural shoulder. He will vary the amount of shoulder padding depending on the customer's shoulder and preference. In my case (square shoulders), he said he would do minimal padding. For first-time customers, three fittings is the norm. Below is a picture from my third fitting of my first order with Enzo.



For those who require a thorough fitting process, I think Enzo would fit the bill superbly. He also knows his tailoring chops. During one of my early fittings, I wore one of my Neapolitan suits and he examined it with much admiration. For him it was a beautiful example of a deconstructed jacket. He picked up on that theme of a soft, natural shoulder and carried it over to the initial jacket he made for me. The armhole is handsewn and attached with an open seam, which is folded up into both shoulder and sleeve. The time he spent to make the shoulder speaks volumes about Enzo's love of his craft. He's interested in new challenges and spends a couple of days on alterations, the rest on bespoke commissions. Those interested in using Enzo should be comfortable with exercising patience. Although he used to have an assistant, he's now a one-man operation so commissions will take time.

I also learned that he makes a separate muslin/trial suit in certain cases (i.e. with large orders or an especially difficult fit). For example, during my latest visit, he was making a trial topcoat for a customer who placed an order for 4 topcoats. The making of a trial garment is a rare and time consuming service. I was under the impression that there was only one tailor in the US who still makes a trial suit according to one knowledgeable authority. Hmm, make that two tailors who do trial suits in the US.

Two piece suits start around $2,400. I was also quoted $3,500 for a three piece suit in one of the more expensive suitings (the name of which escapes me). Delivery of a first suit order takes at least 8 weeks. His hours are M-F 9:30-6pm and Sat 9:30-1pm. For new customers, he has an interesting payment policy: 1/3 initial deposit, 1/3 at first fitting and 1/3 on final delivery.

All in all, Enzo is the genuine article – a tailor's tailor. As I walked out of his store after my first visit, he ushered me out with some reassuring words, “The best things in life take time to grow. I think the same way with customers.”

Additional links
- Styleforum thread on LA bespoke tailors

Los Angeles bespoke tailors: An updated list

View Larger Map

After a couple of years scouting this city for its tailoring gems, I'm ready to provide a more complete list of LA custom or bespoke tailors. There seem to be three categories of bench tailors in the city of angels:

• Armenians (Novex, Gary Gagossian and Anto Shirtmakers). Harold is the tailor behind Novex. Gary is the eponymous tailor behind Gary Gagossian. Jack and Ken Sepetjian are the two sons of Anto Sepetjian who now cut and make the shirts at Anto Shirtmakers. Interestingly enough, the common thread among them is that they are all of the Armenian community, which has set up a little tailoring enclave in Beverly Hills.
  
• Italians (Giacomo Trabalza, Enzo Caruso, Frank Caruso). I've written up on Trabalza before and despite my recent fear that he had retired he is still in business according to one of his colleagues in the trade. I've visited Enzo Caruso and a write-up is forthcoming. Frank Caruso is apparently Enzo's uncle. I'll need to check out his shop one of these days.
  
• Others/clothiers (Jack Taylor). Jack Taylor was the one of the first tailors I visited in Los Angeles. Perhaps I should also add Duncan Quinn and Waraire Boswell to the map, as they appear to be trying to follow Taylor's steps as designers/clothiers to the (new) Hollywood set.
  

Note this mashup of LA tailors doesn't include a couple of affordable ones outside of Los Angeles County - Johnathan Behr and Ariel Tello - described in an earlier post.

Additional links
- AskAndy thread on Richard Lim / High Society

The American clothier: Martin Greenfield, Adrian Jules, Jack Taylor

The clothier is an interesting animal, commonly encountered in mid-sized and large American cities. He serves a useful purpose I think. The clothier occupies that middle position between a trained tailor and a pure salesman on the retail floor. Given enough experience and a good eye, he is well positioned to dispense advice and serve as the face for a true bespoke and/or a made-to-measure (MTM) tailoring business. Chances are he will be a member of the Custom Tailors & Designers Association of America.

Martin Greenfield in Williamsburg, Brooklyn


Martin the Tailor from Ed David on Vimeo

This is a recent documentary on the remarkable story and background of Martin Greenfield and GGG Clothiers.

John Vanderbrook of Adrian Jules in Rochester, NY



At 3:33 in the video clip, Vanderbrook discusses the pattern cutting method at Adrian Jules. Notice the hybrid use of a human to draft the pattern, a CAD system to store, modify and print out customer patterns and a human to cut the cloth on the pattern. If I am not mistaken, this is the same hybrid approach Nedo Bellucci Napoli uses.

Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills

The documentary Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills premiered a couple of years ago at the Santa Barbara Film Festival but I have yet to find a clip of it online. In lieu of that, here is a YouTube clip of the opinionated Mr. Taylor. Incidentally, similar to Greenfield, Taylor also got started in the clothing business by working at GGG Clothiers.

Update: It appears the filmmakers of Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills have a new website with three video clips and stills from the documentary.

Additional links
- Styleforum thread on a MTM fitting at Martin Greenfield
- Custom Tailors & Designers Association of America

Savile Row and the business of bespoke tailoring

On the Kilgour website a few years ago, I read an article which described some of the details of an earlier buyout of Kilgour. If I remember correctly, I believe it cited the acquisition price as 1.8 million pounds. What I find remarkable is how relatively inexpensive that is - only about $3.5 million for one of the best known Savile Row firms.

I suspect that a little financial analysis will tell you the acquisition price of bespoke tailoring firms is a very low (if any) multiple of revenues. This is not surprising since firm valuation is a function of revenues, profitability and future growth. And with bespoke tailors there are only a few ways to grow: (1) Lower price and increase volume (usually by adding RTW or MTM product line or using cheaper labor overseas for suit construction) (2) Maintain price and increase penetration of current markets or (3) Create or introduce a new set of customers. Options 2 and 3 are made possible by growth in new markets (e.g. Russian, Central Asian or Mideast petro-millionaires) or growth in the home market.

What's interesting about option 1 is the staunch criticism of Savile Row firms offering RTW. If done well, I'm quite supportive of such efforts to diversify. As I wrote in a recent London Lounge thread, here is why.

Imagine that you are a managing director of a Savile Row tailoring establishment. You see several options to ensure the future viability of your firm. One option is the dogged pursuit of a purist strategy - produce bespoke and only bespoke to the true connoisseurs of taste. If you produce a quality garment, the customer will come to you. However, as pointed out, the bespoke-buying elite is a "much smaller market" consisting of an "ever-decreasing circle of clients."

The purist solution, I'm afraid, is a rather passive, unimaginative and unattractive option because it simply preserves the business for the existing set of customers. It suffers from a fundamental flaw: consigning the business to the status quo (or even worse, to the past). There is no future envisioned to grow the business. Instead the firm is asked to cater to an aging clientele purchasing fewer and fewer garments over time. A principled strategy perhaps but one that ensures SR's gradual extinction.

The other option is to educate, cultivate and appeal to an entirely new set of customers (while preserving the existing clientele of course). The thinking is this: If the existing market is declining, find or create a new one (also known as blue ocean strategy). The upshot is that offering RTW does precisely this. It introduces a new pool of customers to the brand, brings them into the shop and perhaps more importantly gives the firm the opportunity to educate them and perhaps convert them over time to MTM or bespoke.

The tut-tutting of Kilgour or Gieves & Hawkes for diversifying into RTW misses a blindingly obvious business dilemma facing SR firms. If the existing customer base is declining (and has been for decades), how will you find new customers to replace the old? By conducting business as usual? I think not.

The decline of ties and neckwear

Citing a recent Gallup Poll, the Wall Street Journal reported that just 6 percent of men wear neckties to work everyday, a decline from 10 percent in 2002.  Responding to this steadily declining demand, American suppliers and manufacturers of neckwear announced the disbanding of the 60-year old Men's Dress Furnishings Association this summer. I find this of course unfortunate but at the same time ripe for some interesting analysis.

In fact, I see parallels between the decline of hatwearing and the decline and fall of the necktie. This is a subject I will treat in more depth in my book but suffice to say that I don't think we are seeing the death or complete extinction of ties.  In fact, ties will probably fare quite a bit better than brimmed hats since the end of World War II. The good news is that there will probably always be a segment of the population that will wear hats and ties regularly and/or stylishly (hopefully both regularly and stylishly).

This is borne out by the most recent results of my bespoke clothing survey, which indicates that less than 1 percent of bespoke customers never or very rarely wear a tie. Not too surprising for this group of men.  In fact, more than a third of them (about 36 percent) wear a suit or jacket and tie everyday. Another 28 percent wear a suit or jacket/tie a few times a week. So it appears that a majority of bespoke customers wear ties regularly. The difference going forward is the motivation: less compunction, more voluntary choice. Vive la cravate!

Additional links
- Wall Street Journal article (06/04/08)
- ABC News article (06/08/08)
- ABC News article (06/09/08)
- London Lounge thread on the "death of the tie"

Apparel Arts/GQ magazine covers (1957 to 2000s)

The role of print media, especially prior to television, was highly influential in setting and calibrating standards and tastes in men's clothing.  Much the way that some newspapers used to be considered newspapers of record, certain magazines played that role for men's clothing.  Apparel Arts used to be such a magazine of record and standard bearer for men's dress.

Here is a link to an archive of Apparel Arts and GQ covers from the 1950s to present day, some 528 of them. It offers a fascinating lens to to the past and present. Of course, many would argue that the high water mark is found in the Apparel Arts of the 1930s, during which the printed reality most closely comported with the social and sartorial reality on the ground.

Update: For all of you vintage apparel magazine fans, I've found a Fedora Lounge thread with scans of the first Esquire issue - Autumn 1933.

Florence: Liverano, Cisternino and Madova

I've written previously on my recent London, Paris and Vienna trips and now it's time for Italy beginning with Florence.  I had originally planned to visit four tailors in Firenze but only two were open: Liverano & Liverano and Cisternino. 


View Larger Map

Liverano & Liverano

Liverano & Liverano was first up since it was closest to the train station in Florence. I was greeted by the office manager, a Japanese fellow named Takahiro Osaki. He spoke a bit of English and took off his brown, two button Shetland wool jacket to show me the details, styling and cut. It is essentially a Neapolitan cut less the shoulder extension and front drape (Apparently, this is a cut that would fall under the Blasi school of Neapolitan tailoring). The shoulder has no padding, the front quarters are highly open (perhaps the most cutaway I've seen anywhere) and designed to show the trouser pleats.  The chest features a single chest dart. The jacket was cut on the shorter side and essentially everything is handsewn except the center back seam. 



I noticed there was no waterfall sleevehead on his jacket though the tailor does feature it on their shirts. Reflecting perhaps a Florentine restraint, Takahiro noted that the manica con grinze “looks too casual on a jacket.” So in the world of Liverano, the jacket sleeve is left smooth but the shirt takes the shirring. Indeed Takahiro was wearing such a shirt under his Shetland jacket.

This distinction is quite nice and refined I think. Liverano & Liverano observes a nuanced hierarchy of formality – construction method does not take precedence over an English-like sense of appropriateness. Instead of slapping a waterfall on every jacket and shirt sleevecap, this Florentine tailor orders and regulates the cut and construction in a sensible house style. This is similar to the Viennese tailor Knize which omits the crumpled sleevehead from their formal jackets. Although I generally agree with this aesthetic, I probably would still take the waterfall sleeve on a casual sports jacket or two!



Quite unusually, Liverano offers the full run of bespoke: ties, shirts, sports coats and suits. They prefer English cloths and seem especially to favor tweeds. I think it is safe to say they give Rubinacci a run for the money in providing an end-to-end bespoke offering.  Liverano might be more complete actually. 

They do not travel except to Japan (three times per year) in partnership with the retailer United Arrows. As expected, Takahiro pointed out that maestro Liverano does make adjustments to accommodate physical irregularities such as a slight rise or bump on the shoulder.  In Takahiro's case, the cloth along the shoulder seam from the neck to the shoulder bump is pressed and ironed to firm the cloth around the bump.

He made some interesting comments on other tailors, which he admires but thinks they fall short in some areas: Caraceni is “too old and traditional” (Takahiro showed some breezy, striped cotton jacketings that he said Caraceni would never carry) and Savile Row, which he likes but feels is too “old”. So what is Liverano & Liverano's style? “Contemporary classic,” says Takahiro.  This is an interesting challenge issued to the older tailoring establishments. Founded in 1948, the Liverano & Liverano aesthetic seems to say "I raise your emphasis on tradition and double down on being relevant to modern taste and style."

Piero & Franco Cisternino

Next up was Cisternino, tucked away in an alley off of Via della Vigna Nuova and situated - I noted with some apprehension - between Via dell' Inferno and Via del Purgatorio.  Perhaps this portended some sartorial abyss?  But fear not, what I encountered was closer to a tailoring Paradiso for the suitably inspired pilgrim. What immediately caught my eye was the display model in the shop window. The display jacket was showing the characteristic Neapolitan shoulder and sleevehead.



Cisternino consists of two brothers, Piero and Franco.When I walked in, I was greeted by Franco, the non-English speaking half. Piero, the English speaking one, stepped out of the workroom to chat with me and we had a delightful conversation. It turns out he is originally from Naples and hence they make two types of sleeve attachment: Florentine and Neapolitan. For the Florentine style, the Cisternino brothers put in a little padding to keep the sleevecap from collapsing. We both had a good laugh when I joked that I could have a jacket made with one sleeve shirred in the Neapolitan style, the other Florentine. With bespoke, many things are possible.  But not all.  Piero doesn't like structured shoulders – “too military” he said with a good-natured smile.  

Each suit takes 40 hours to make and, if I understood correctly, the first fitting can take just 4-5 days. Piero showed me a couple of jacketing books from Scabal. All in all, he was exceptionally friendly and accommodating to my unannounced visit. 

The other two tailors I wanted to visit were closed for the weekend – Gianni Seminara and Armando di Preta. So I am left with just solitary photos of their doorways. 



Thankfully Florence has a plenitude of wonderful stores and eating establishments to while away the time. Very few things exceed a leisurely stroll with a coppo of gelato in hand. During my visit, I also bought a couple of pairs of peccary gloves at Madova just off the Ponte Vecchio and fingerless driving gloves from Pusateri.  





Additional links (updated)
- Styleforum thread on Liverano
- Fellow blogger A visit to's report on Liverano (with lots more pictures)
- Styleforum thread on Florence hotels and RTW shops

Windowpanes and double-breasted suits

Check out this well-edited business casual look by DocHolliday on Styleforum. He wears a bold windowpane sports jacket but "mutes" the boldness with a small-patterned tie and solid white shirt.  Definitely one of the best "what are you wearing" photos I've seen recently on Styleforum or anywhere else. 

Are you curious about double-breasted suits but have held back from some reason?  Perhaps you have unpleasant memories of loosely fitting double-breasted suits from the 1980s with extended shoulders.  This Styleforum thread offers a nice corrective to those dated examples.  

Additional links
- Google images of the Duke of Windsor in Life magazine from the 1940s and 1950s wearing double-breasted suits

Well-Dressed Strangers: Handsome Meets Beautiful

Ever spot a well-dressed person walking down the street and wonder a bit about him or her?  I recently stumbled across this YouTube clip of Beautiful Stranger, a fashion-oriented street interview series in New York:



This triggered the following flight of fancy. Perhaps an enterprising, media-savvy reader of Sleevehead could do the same but dedicated to men's clothing?  Ha, maybe call it Handsome Stranger? There'd be one for each metropolis: NYC, LA, London, Paris, Vienna, and more. Sort of a short-form video version of the Sartorialist. 

I'd ask largely the same questions (except for the gender-specific ones about skincare and hair stylist of course):

• What is your name?
  
• Where do you live?
  
• Occupation?
  
• What are you wearing?

But perhaps one difference is that I would hire Zoe Havler, the Beautiful Stranger above, as the inaugural interviewer for Handsome Stranger.

Blogs: Nedo Bellucci and Slow Wear

I'd like to welcome a couple of recent entrants to the blogosphere. Nedo has launched his own blog recently. As he describes in the blog, he is introducing a novel and intriguing line of shirts with a level of custom somewhere between ready-to-wear and bespoke.

The difference is the introduction of a semi-finished shirt body (similar to a basted try-on suit jacket). I haven't seen the new line yet but it should be quite interesting to learn more about it in my next visit.

Slow Wear is a German blog which I recently discovered linked to my blog. I appreciate the link!

Digging deeply into pockets: A thought experiment

In a recent Styleforum thread, I was struck by this statement regarding the chest pocket on jackets: “A human chest is curved, a suit has curvature in the chest, so anything applied to the chest [e.g. a chest pocket] needs to be curved as well.” The idea is intriguing due to its literalist, quasi-Lamarckian overtones. If the human body is curved in certain places, then our clothing should effectively mimic that curvature. It seems intuitively sound and well-stated but is it?

Let's test this claim against a larger sample of shirt, jacket and pants pockets and see if there is a necessary relationship with the matching part of the body.

Shirt pockets --> Chest (usually curved)
In reality, we see a panoply of pocket shapes – straight, angled, curved/multi-angled/multi-curved (Western shirts). But according to the literalist argument, the chest pocket should follow the actual chest and hence be curved. So are all of these possible pocket styles (except the curved one) misshapen, evolutionary dead ends? No, the answer is that they all look perfectly fine depending on the shirt style.

Side pockets on jackets --> Side abdomen (usually curved)
Quite a variety of pocket styles here – straight, angled (hacking) or curved (crescent). However, on most jackets, side pockets are straight. Again, no compelling reason why side pockets must be crescent shaped to conform to the contour of the abdomen.

Rear trouser pockets --> Posterior (usually curved, but can be flat :-)
Less pocket variety here esp. for dress trousers – mostly straight pockets but very few if any curved ones. This is the acid test because the presumed relation between body and pocket shape is weakest here. I doubt many men would like a pair of smiling pockets decorating their posterior. But if straight back pockets look lifeless or nearly extinct to you, feel free to punctuate and mix things up! There is goodness in experimentation and evolution.

However, the claim about curved pockets confuses a basic distinction in clothing: fit v. styling. Fit is fairly objective, styling much less so. Rigidly insisting on a universal rule for pocket shapes leads to some odd, humorous and doctrinaire outcomes. I prefer to keep things flexible: Pockets depend more on the particularities of the intended style of clothing in question than on the underlying anatomy.

Structured v. unstructured shoulders: Worlds apart?

Let's talk about one of the most common tailoring polarities discussed on the discussion fora. And it rests on the shoulder, so to speak. It is often asserted that structured shoulders (e.g. the classic Savile Row cut) look and feel substantially different than unstructured or soft shoulders (Anderson & Sheppard or the Neapolitans). That would seem to make sense but we humans have a curious way of believing what we want to believe.

For the new entrant to bespoke, these polarities sometimes create a false choice. Consequently, many are led to think that the question of the shoulder is an either/or question. As I wrote in an earlier entry, if you have relatively normal, squared and even shoulders, you'll look good in both structured and unstructured cuts.

I'll use myself as a case in point.

Exhibit 1 is Kilgour, often characterized as "highly structured".



Exhibit 2 is a Neapolitan style jacket by Nedo Bellucci. It has no shoulder padding, just a very thin piece of wadding.



So which jacket shoulder feels better? The truth is that I love the look and feel of both. In my mind, the wrong answer is the absolute, unequivocal one - especially one that reaches for the obvious. For instance, "Well, the best is a light unstructured shoulder of course!" Either way, we're talking about a few ounces of cloth and fabric on your shoulder. If you're unable to shoulder the burden of a "heavier", structured jacket, perhaps you shouldn't be wearing a jacket at all?

I'm being a bit provocative of course. But there are good reasons and there are better reasons to distinguish between structured and unstructured shoulders. And the better reasons are perhaps not the obvious ones.

Additional links
- Styleforum thread on structured v. unstructured shoulders

Freddy Vandecasteele: A custom Western-style shirt

Experimentation. I think it's a good antidote to the excessive seriousness that occasionally undermines the bespoke journey. To that end, I recently picked up a Western-style shirt from Freddy Vandecasteele. It's similar to the one Freddy is wearing but lacks the two-tone treatment, features a modified scalloping of the front yoke, has different pockets and is made up of a slightly darker pink end-on-end cotton.



I worked with Freddy to modify the front scalloping and the pocket design. The edging of the yokes are attached using an overlapping seam.





I think the shirt goes well with denim (I wear it with a pair of darker rinse Seven For All Mankind jeans) and probably appealing to the younger guy - or perhaps I'm just flattering myself! Anyway, I won't experiment so far as to leave this or my other shirts untucked but Freddy will shorten the shirt length if that is your style.

I'm still on the hook for the finishing entries of my recent trip to Europe: Florence, Rome and Naples. I hope to write these up in the next few weeks.

Additional links
- Rockmount Ranch Wear - The place to visit if you're serious about western shirts and western wear.
- Styleforum thread on Western suits - Mind you these are Western suits, not shirts. I haven't crossed that Rubicon yet.

Vienna: Knize, Niedersuesz and Netousek

After Paris and London, my next destination was Vienna. Judging from the discussion threads posted in English language forums, you might think Italy (specifically, Naples) has a near monopoly on the soft shoulder. Think again. The soft or "runde" shoulder is alive and well in Mitteleuropa or Central and Eastern Europe. Call it the Viennese soft shoulder tradition.

Bernhard Niedersuesz/CM Frank

My first stop was Bernhard Niedersuesz. Bernhard was quite accommodating with his time given that he was expecting a client very shortly. My first, burning curiosity was to compare his cutting style with Knize. Knize of course is the store his father runs and where he used to work before striking out on his own. The answer is quite simple. The elder Niedersuesz at Knize cuts a softer jacket, which I saw later that day when I dropped by.



Niedersuesz the younger still cuts a natural shoulder (i.e. following the natural contour of the shoulder) but with less of a sudden drop or collapse as the shoulder seam approaches the sleevehead. Bernhard illustrated the Knize shoulder by pulling down the sleevehead of his display jackets a few millimeters. He prefers a slightly more structured look with the usual exceptions made for irregular shoulders. For example, when I put on a basted try-on jacket, he detected the slight bump on my shoulder line (thanks to a slightly raised clavicle). In his cut, he would remove any padding directly over the bump and add a touch of padding just before and after.



Bernhard offers two MTM lines: one of which is made by Brioni according to his specs. His new store opened in spring 2007, handsomely furnished and located conveniently near the Stephansdom. I mentioned I lived in Los Angeles, which led of course to a discussion of Arnold Schwarzenegger. One of his eventual goals is to make a suit for the Governor.

Netousek

My next stop was Netousek, a short walk past the Staatsoper. On the way I stopped by Malowan on Opernring, which had a couple of windows of nice English-looking outerwear (including Chrysalis walking coats). Curious, I stepped inside but they don't offer bespoke just RTW (though the salesperson nailed my European size correctly at a glance).



Netousek occupies a fairly compact retail ground space on Gumpendorfer Strasse. I was greeted by the father, who speaks German only, and later the son, who speaks English. The store was started by the younger Netousek's grandfather and has been in the same location since then. When I asked the father to describe their cut, he said immediately “klassisch und Englisch” (classic and English) and “nicht modern oder Italienisch” (not modern or Italian). By the latter I think he really meant the Roman or Continental cut. By the former, he really meant the A&S cut – a soft round shoulder (“runde” in German) which actually is not the typical English-looking Savile Row cut. Regardless of the semantics, they do adjust to customer needs and mentioned having US customers. Netousek offers two types of custom: MTM (machine made in a factory) and handmade on premises.

They looked very busy. I saw a row of around a dozen or so basted try-on jackets lined up behind the counter. I also saw a selection of cloths including H&S. Interestingly enough, I asked what was the preferred shoulder in Vienna. According to the son, Viennese men tend to prefer the soft shoulder look.

On the way back, I walked by a custom shoemaker by the name of Otto Bartkiewicz at Dorotheergasse 15.



In the window display was a sturdy-looking pebble grain Norwegian apron derby.

Knize

My next stop, of course, was Knize – a wonderfully atmospheric and familiar store. Familiar especially if you have some knowledge of fin-de-siecle Viennese art, literature and politics. In some ways, it seems quite fitting that Knize inhabits the southern reaches of the German-speaking region of Europe. Perhaps being in the south has an effect on tailoring because Knize offers a distinct, Central European take on the soft round shoulder, much as Naples does in Italy.



In the store, I saw two examples of the Knize shoulder, one of which I could touch and feel (the model on the ground floor). This was a plaid cashmere jacket. The sleevehead was crinkled a la the Neapolitan spalla camiceria. The lapel buttonhole was beautifully and neatly done by hand. The chest piece felt very soft and the front quarters fairly open (a touch less than what I have seen from Naples). Prices start at nearly 5,000 euros. Unfortunately, I was not able to take photos in the store but their website offers a glimpse of the interior.



Upstairs I saw a table of Goodyear welted shoes and two marvelous examples of formalwear: a dinner jacket (with a beautifully handrolled linen pocket square) and evening tails. The sleeveheads on both were smooth, a very appropriate adjustment in my opinion. I also tried the Knize Ten Golden Anniversary cologne – a potent, woody and musk-laden scent which I quite liked though it is certainly not for everyone.

Just one street away from Knize is Rudolf Scheer, the royal warranted shoemakers.





Balint
Then it was onto Balint, the bespoke shoemaker on Singerstrasse and I had the good fortune of chatting with Bela Balint, who was quite friendly and helpful. They offer two types of custom: full bespoke (last based on foot shape) and MTM (pre-formed last that is adjusted). For full bespoke, the first order is 1,500 euros and 1,000 thereafter. Full bespoke takes 4-5 months. The initial measurement also requires at least 90 minutes. In Bela's view, a good fit is dependent on the snugness of the foot to the shoe between the heel and balls of the feet. The toebox is a different question, a tradeoff between design and comfort.



The Balint workshop employs 12 workers and is located in Transylvania. Bela works in the Vienna shop during the wintertime until July and then switches to the Zurich shop. Upon request, he is happy to email photos of Balint shoes and styles (from a selection of some 4,000+ photos if I recall correctly).

Updated Feb 2009

Additional links
- Sleevehead posts on Knize
- NY Times Magazine article on Bernhard Niedersuesz
- Styleforum thread on Scheer
- Websites: Knize, Netousek, Niedersuesz, Scheer, Balint

Updated: Survey for bespoke customers

Update: Thanks to all those who have filled out the survey! The response has been great and I will leave the survey active on Surveymonkey. If you encounter any issues with the survey, please post a comment or send an email to sleevehead [at] gmail.com. Regarding publication, I am hoping to publish the results in my forthcoming book if I get a fairly decent sample size. Otherwise, I'll publish the summary results on my blog and hopefully a forum or two.

If you're a customer of bespoke clothing, I invite you to take a ten minute survey that I've created. I'm conducting some primary research into men's bespoke buying habits and preferences. Every additional response will increase the robustness of the data collected.

Thanks and feel free to copy and send the link to a friend who's into bespoke!

Click here to take survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=jHDLBYht7E7dXFh_2fnqoM_2bA_3d_3d

Paris part 2: Camps de Luca

My final stop in Paris was Camps de Luca on Place de la Madeleine. When I walked up to the second floor and stepped into the atelier, I asked for someone who could speak English and out came Charles de Luca who is the young cutter, tailor and heir to the de Luca name. Charles is quite passionate about his work and legacy and that is reflected in the time and effort he very graciously lent me in showing the tailoring and workrooms.



One of the first things he said was, “Let me talk about the chest.” He took me to the workroom in the back and pulled out a sample chestpiece. In the de Luca chest, the layers are pressed and shaped to create a very distinct ripple or drape in the chest. He pushed the chest piece together between his index finger and thumb to indicate the swell. This, he said, is the “power point” for the Camps de Luca cut, creating a shaped chest. I found the chest treatment (and his explanation) absolutely fascinating. If you like Kilgour, for example, you might find its Continental cousin right here at Place de la Madeleine.



Regarding the chest, Charles noted the Italians (especially the Neapolitans I would note) like to keep the chest “free” and easy. He also noted that he will take away padding depending on the shoulder of the client. The norm at Camps de Luca is usually 2-3 fittings.

Other salient elements in the de Luca cut and style: roped sleevehead, the Camps revers and details such as the ingenious little raindrop pocket (in the left lower front). He also showed another fine detail: the finishing of the side vents in which the matching fabric on the inside is folded and pressed over to match the outside flap.

Charles very kindly allowed me to walk through the workrooms and take photos of the various workstations. As you can see, they maintain specialized workers for buttonholes, lining attachment, etc.

Buttonholes


Lapel/collar


Quite astutely, Charles describes bespoke as an education unto itself for clients today, to which I agreed wholeheartedly. Today's customer is different from the customers of yesteryear. But the future looks bright as increasing coverage in French men's magazines such as Edgar and Monsieur seems to suggest. They also have a new website up and running. As we wrapped up, Charles kindly offered to send me over to his bespoke shoemaker, Pierre Corthay. He phoned the store and said Pierre himself would be there to receive me. Now that is indeed hospitality! Many thanks to Charles for spending part of his afternoon with me.

A concluding note to Paris. As a group, Parisian bespoke offers an intriguing hybrid of Savile Row and the Italians (Rome in particular). My Parisian visit might be subtitled “Notes on the chest”. Indeed, it has strengthened my view that the chest and shoulder must be considered in unison. On the discussion forums, nearly everyone focuses on the shoulder, neglecting its necessary counterpart, the chest.

Additional links
- London Lounge thread on Parisian style and Camps de Luca suits from the 1950s
- Sleevehead post with TF1 video clip of Camps de Luca

Paris part 1: Cifonelli and Smalto

Cifonelli

From London, I hopped onto the Eurostar to Paris and embarked at the spanking new Pancras train station, now a dedicated terminus for the high-speed rail link to the continent. My goal was to visit a few of the heirs of the "Parisian five" tailors. Cifonelli was first up and quite impressive (pardon the temporary scaffolding).



I stopped by their retail storefront on rue Marbeuf and asked the salesman if he spoke English. He did and called the workshop upstairs. A few minutes later Massimo Cifonelli kindly walked down and took me up to the second floor rooms used for measuring and fitting their bespoke customers.



The Cifonelli cut is distinctive in three ways according to Massimo. I shall defer a more detailed description on this for my book but suffice to say that they involve the chest, sleevehead and shoulder. Massimo's grandfather created this system for comfort and ease of upper body movement. He came up with this system after working in Savile Row and then modifying those techniques to his own vision. The Cifonelli cut is also characterized by a fairly fitted waist (similar to Camps de Luca). The shoulder is straight and slightly roped (“une cigarette”).

Massimo himself prefers the double-breasted suit. He was wearing a black 6x2, which is the preferred DB style he likes to make (I asked about the 4x2 style, which he said could be done but he seemed less enamored with it). He was also wearing a black shirt and black/white patterned tie. Very Parisian, stylish and quite different from the Anglo-Saxon and American sense of style. Another detail of his suit: flared sleeves with one button closures. As he says, the beauty of bespoke is that the customer can change anything. My favorite quote of his during my visit: “You must have a mistake somewhere in your look. You can't look perfect.” In other words, one needs to strike a dissonance, if you will, a minor key somewhere in one's sartorial register.

Massimo obligingly brought out several examples of their work including a completed travel jacket in tweed (with half-lining) and a jacket in basted fitting stage. The level of handwork looked excellent (handstitching in lining attachments, handpadded lapels).



The firm takes up the entire second floor, employing four cutters and nearly 40 workers. Fabrics include: W. Bills, Holland & Sherry, Drapers.



Overall, I was struck by the precision of it all - the operations, the cut, the personality. Monsieur Cifonelli himself strikes me as being a very precise and exacting individual. This precision carries through to their documentation. I was impressed by their distinctive and meticulous customer measurement document: a bifolio sheet in thicker linen-based paper embossed with the Cifonelli logo. The second page displays a swirling constellation of variously sized circles containing key measurements (You can catch a glimpse of this document in the slideshow below or here). Whereas most tailoring establishments seem to record customer measurements in a simple notebook or plain sheets of paper, Cifonelli has a system, a plan, a method. I can definitely see how this would appeal to the left-brained sartorialist. C'est logique!

Francesco Smalto

After Cifonelli, I took a quick stroll down rue Marbeuf to Smalto's couture boutique and walked upstairs to the bespoke section. Or rather, to the haute couture section as the saleswoman on the first floor naturally called it. On the second floor, I managed to communicate in elementary French with a salesman.



The starting price for a couture suit is 6,700 euros and normally takes six weeks. There are no US visits. The cut is a structured, straight (or slightly pagoda-like) shoulder with distinct roping and a clean chest. Keep in mind the firm does not, as far as I know, retain the family connection as do Cifonelli and Camps de Luca. But the model suit certainly looked superb for those interested in the Continental style (note the cran Necker notch style).



If you are interested in Smalto bespoke, be sure to bring your best conversational French with you. The saleswomen on the first floor did not speak English nor did the salesmen upstairs. Next stop: Camps de Luca at Place de la Madeleine.

Additional links
- L'internaute video clip (Feb 2008) on Cifonelli. In the video, you'll see Massimo wearing a grey suit in the trim-looking Cifonelli cut.

- L'internaute slideshow (Feb 2008) on Cifonelli

- Styleforum thread on Smalto

BBC4 documentary on Savile Row

For those who were unable to view this three-part series on Savile Row, it is now (unofficially) available for download on the web.  See this Styleforum thread for more details.  

Off Savile Row: A walk by 6-7 Sackville St

Jones Chalk & Dawson / Tom Brown / Brian Russell / Ward & Kruger / Meyer & Mortimer



Meyer & Mortimer were tailors to the original dandy himself - Beau Brummell.

Fallan & Harvey

London: Foster & Son, Anderson & Sheppard, Norton & Sons and Gieves & Hawkes

In late February I visited a number of cities (London, Paris, Vienna, Rome, Florence and Naples) primarily to research a few critical items for a book project. I shall roll out my commentary on each city in that order. The first city was London and my first stop there was Foster & Son.

Foster & Son

I dropped by in the mid-afternoon for an appointment with Foster's principal lastmaker Terry Moore and chairman Richard Edgecliffe-Johnson. My purpose was both pleasure and business: to order a pair of punched captoe oxfords and to chat with Mr. Edgecliffe-Johnson.



What did I order? The lovely punched captoe model on display in the showroom (from 1954!) with slightly antique finishing and fitted waist. The measurements took just 20 minutes and involved the following: an outline/tracing of my feet while standing up and several measurements taken of each foot.



Terry also examined each foot by hand and made some remarkably astute observations about my feet and the way I distribute my weight when I walk. It goes without saying he's a highly skilled and experienced cordwainer whose eyes and hands can make some startlingly accurate inferences about his customers. I also learned that Terry will make a separate last for slip-ons (at least in my case since I have fairly bony feet).



Back in the day, Terry used to travel quite extensively when he worked for Peal until around 1965 – twice yearly in the US to a dozen cities or more including NYC, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans and also Japan.



Afterwards both Terry and Richard kindly took me upstairs for a tour of the workshop and a fascinating discussion of Foster's history and the history of London shoemaking. One of their projects is to search back into the archives and pull out interesting historical material. For instance, Richard mentioned finding a 1901 West End Bootmakers' Association membership list mentioning some 52 bespoke shoemakers in London at the time. Today that membership list reaches a grand total of just four: Foster, Cleverley, Lobb and James Taylor (who specialize in orthopaedic footwear).



Times have changed in terms of the craft as well. As of today, there is no true trade school for lastmaking in the city. In the past, the Cordwainer's School served this purpose. Terry graduated from this school but today it is folded into the London College of Fashion and is focused more on the design rather than the craft aspect. Richard also mentioned that Foster would be introducing an Edward Green line (with specially designed lasts if I heard correctly).



In my tour upstairs, I met Emma (pictured above) and another young fellow (Micky I believe was his name), two of Terry's pupils and current lastmakers.

All in all, this was quite an enjoyable visit and set of conversations. Thanks to Terry Moore's expertise and experience, Foster has trained and developed a young and capable team of cordwainers and, equally important, the firm is led by a dedicated and enthusiastic management team. My thanks to them for sharing their stories and work with me.

Anderson & Sheppard

Before my visit with the direct heirs of the Scholte cut, I stopped by Kilgour to pick out some cloths from the Lesser 8/9 oz tropical book, adjust a pair of trousers and to chat with Will, one of the younger cutters at 8 Savile Row. We both had a good laugh regarding one scene in the BBC documentary on Savile Row. But it was a quick stop because I needed to visit Anderson & Sheppard.

Conventional wisdom says A&S embodies the old, stuffy Savile Row – rather formal and intimidating. Nonsense. My visit late this afternoon was quite the opposite and all the more noteworthy because it was unannounced and unscheduled (as actually all of my visits were on this trip save Foster above). They had no idea who I was and whether I intended to be a customer or not. Despite that, they were quite accommodating and I enjoyed chatting with Colin Heywood and John Hitchcock. There was a buzz of activity when I arrived due to the regular run of business but also because the final episode of the BBC documentary on Savile Row had just aired.



Hitchcock graciously offered to show me the workroom which is one of a kind on the Row now that workrooms are being moved systematically to the basement level. The room used to be a conservatory when the building was a residence. Hence it enjoys the fall of natural light through the skylight. Looking around, I have to agree that it is indeed a marvelous room to cut and sew clothes together.



Note how high and tightly cut those armholes are on Mr. Hitchcock's colleague above.

Heywood did an excellent job explaining the A&S cut by taking down the window mannequin (with the grey flannel jacket). For those who favor the soft round shoulder, A&S has historically been the tailor of choice should you be based in London. In the interests of equal opportunity, I should mention that Thomas Mahon, Steve Hitchcock and Edwin DeBoise of Steed - all A&S trained - also merit a serious look for those requiring the soft tailoring approach.

Times have indeed changed with regard to flexibility to customer requirements. Flexibility is certainly part of the offering these days. Plys of padding may be added on request or due to a dropped shoulder (say two ply on a dropped shoulder). Lapel width can also vary though the width will be kept in proportion. The most distinctive jacket style according to Colin: the single-breasted jacket with 3-2 button roll through. I must say that grey flannel jacket on the mannequin had me seriously tempted to order an odd sports jacket that afternoon. But fiscal discipline prevailed that day.

Additional links
- W Magazine article (March 2008) on Anda Rowland, vice-chairman of A&S

Norton & Sons / Gieves & Hawkes

Rounding out the day in Savile Row were two quick visits to Norton & Sons and Gieves & Hawkes. At Norton I chatted briefly with Patrick Grant, who appears in the BBC documentary. Norton's suit production is just 200 suits per year, which allows them a firm handle on quality. He was a bit short of time as they were preparing to go to Brussels the next day for two major customers.

From our conversation, I gathered that the Norton cut is somewhere between Poole and Huntsman. Back in the 1970s, John Grainger was the head cutter and now John Kent and David Ward have assumed that role. Kent is one of the most experienced cutters on the Row – some 40 years of experience and a trusted source for other tailors. Example: Another tailor asked for his advice on making an Inverness cape as he had not made one for more than ten years.

Final stop of the day was Gieves & Hawkes, which has focused in recent years on its RTW business by the look and feel of its retail space. It was near closing time when I met John Blanco, general manager. But I did manage to examine a bespoke morning coat on a mannequin, which looked solidly constructed. G&H offers a selection of 25,000 cloths and are in the process of redesigning the layout of their bespoke department. In my next visit, I plan to email ahead to schedule a one hour appointment for a proper tour.

The next city on my itinerary was Paris where I had some fascinating discussions with a couple of scions of the Parisian tailoring scene (Camps de Luca and Cifonelli). Hope to write that blog entry shortly.

Spanish tailors

Thanks to a LondonLounge thread by Guille, I recently discovered that I had misspelled the Teba jacket in my previous posts on the jacket and Barcelona. These misspellings have been fixed. Apparently the jacket is quite popular in Madrid. Guille also provides a photo of Madrid-style Teba jacket, which looks a bit different from the one Bel y Cia made for me.

He has also helpfully compiled a list of five tailors and one shirtmaker (Burgos) in Madrid.

Update: Nedo Bellucci Napoli

I wrote last year about my experience chatting with Nedo Bellucci who is based in New York City. As far as I know, Nedo is the only purveyor of custom Neapolitan-style suits and shirts who is actually based in the United States. There are of course visiting tailors as I described in my earlier blog entry. But for the most part, those who are partial to the soft-shouldered Neapolitan cut need to travel to Naples.

Unless of course you travel to NYC or Nedo travels to you. He is in fact launching his first travel itinerary to Atlanta (from February 15th to 19th) and Florida (from February 19th to 27th). I also believe he is offering a promotion on shirts (regularly $225 and up) and suits (regularly $3,000 and up). For more info, contact him at infonedobellucci@gmail.com or by phone at 212.810.9536.

Additionally, I do have some photos of a Bellucci suit and shirt I can share:

Single breasted, 3-2 button suit in glenplaid





Spread collar shirt

Collar and collar button (with crow's feet stitching)


Exterior view of sleeve attachment


Interior view of sleeve attachment


Handsewn buttonhole

Leather Soul Hawaii

I was in Honolulu last week for a quick visit. It doesn't get much better than 80 degrees with light trade winds in Waikiki in February. Since I was in town, I also visited Leather Soul in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center (which is currently under renovation but already looks great). Also recommended: stroll down the newly constructed Waikiki Beach Walk (Lewers Ave) and have lunch at Roy's.

By coincidence, I stopped by when a reporter from the Pacific Business News was doing a follow-up story on owner Tom Park. I mentioned that even in Los Angeles we don't have an independent shoe store like Leather Soul selling both Aldens and Edward Greens under one roof.








Before leaving, I naturally picked up a pair of a Alden cigar shell wingtip boots in the Plaza last.

Boston Globe on the Alden Shoe Company

The Boston Globe recently published an article on Alden, the venerable American shoe company and the last remaining shoe and bootmaker in New England. Allen-Edmonds is the only other American RTW men's shoemaker with production still in the United States. Although shoe aficionados often move on to the English or Italian shoemakers, both Alden and Allen-Edmonds make a solid, quality product. I wear both brands on a regular basis.

Enjoy the accompanying video clip below.

Watch this at Boston.com

LA Times on Novex and Jack Taylor

Both Novex and Jack Taylor are featured in a LA Times article this week on Los Angeles tailors. The article looks at both bespoke and alteration tailors for men and women. The lead photo features Harold of Novex, wearing what it looks like is one of his own jackets. The link to the photo gallery has a picture of Jack Taylor and a nearly finished Taylor jacket on a mannequin.

Additional links
- AskAndy discussion thread

French tailors: Demi-mesure and grande mesure

For those living in Paris, a French blogger has conveniently listed the top Parisian tailors - both bespoke (grande mesure) and made to measure or semi-bespoke (demi-mesure).

His list of tailleurs offering grande mesure includes: Cifonelli, Camps de Luca, Smalto, Gabriel Gonzalez, Rovito and Max Evzeline.

Demi-mesure tailleurs include: Marc Guyot and Elie di Fiore (formerly of Camps de Luca I believe).

NPR/All Things Considered: Joe Centofanti and his new apprentice

A well-timed piece by NPR on the new apprentice working with Philadelphia tailor Joe Centofanti. Well-timed because it comes on the heels of my entry "The next generation of tailors: Mutually assured succession". Be sure to listen to the audio portion as well.

Additional links
- AskAndy discussion thread

3 great reads: Monocle, The Men's Book, The Black Book 2007

Happy new year. Looking back last year, I found myself reading and going back to three great magazines:

• Monocle
• The Men's Book
• Esquire's The Big Black Book 2007

Monocle combines articles and photo essays in international affairs, design, business and travel in one compact format. The fall/winter 2007 issue of The Men's Book featured a spread on bespoke in LA: Jack Taylor, Waraire Boswell, Duncan Quinn and Anto Shirtmakers. MB also features a well-researched food/restaurants section and events calendar.

The Black Book is a one-off issue on men's clothing. The 2007 issue featured a section on bespoke tailors (including a photo of one of Kilgour's regular visiting US cutters) and shirtmakers. The shirtmaker list was interesting for mentioning two LA area shirtmakers: Anto and my own shirtmaker Freddy Vandecasteele.

The next generation of tailors: Mutually assured succession

Pop quiz: How many tailors or cutters do you know under the age of 40? Not very many I imagine. In New York City, the Big Four - Raphael, Corvato, Nicolosi and Fioravanti - are in their 60s or 70s. The situation is similar in Los Angeles.

I was prompted to ponder this question by the winter issue of Menswear magazine which featured an article on Italian bespoke tailors in Rome, Turin, Palermo and Naples. One of the younger tailors featured in the article - Alessandro Martorana - is apparently thinking of opening an atelier in Los Angeles.

Planning for a market entry/expansion is usually a sign of a healthy and growing business but also fraught with risks. My advice for foreign, independent tailors seeking to establish a foothold in the American market is the following: think merger and acquisition (M&A) not initial public offering (IPO). What do I mean by this? The difference is simple: acquiring existing operations v. building from scratch. The M&A strategy is to partner and then acquire an existing US tailor's operations and customer list.

The key is focusing on US tailors who are close to retirement, which would appear to be the majority. More specifically, the strategy for the foreign independent is to find a US tailor whose cut and silhouette is similar or one that he can master and execute fairly easily.

Let's be clear here. The primary benefit for the foreign tailor is to acquire an existing clientele. This removes a huge barrier to success in new market entry, namely, where do I get my customers? The retiring US tailor also benefits from this arrangement. He can ensure that his legacy customers are not left stranded. Perhaps equally as important, he can also rest assured that his tailoring name and reputation will live on for at least another generation.

Take Martorana's planned foray into LA as an example. There are at least three top-notch tailors in LA: Giacomo Trabalza, Jack Taylor and Novex. Both Trabalza and Taylor are in their 80s and close to retirement. If I were Martorana, I would seriously consider approaching one of the three (most likely Trabalza) to entertain options.

Video tours: Huntsman and Charvet

Huntsman
Quote from Peter Smith, Huntsman's general manager: "We have our own silhouette at Huntsman, which is a very fitted garment. Our silhouette is a one button front. We cut a slightly longer coat with a natural shoulder."




Charvet
An informative walk-through of this iconic Parisian shirtmaker with store manager Jean-Claudes Colban.

Link to video

The rise and fall of natural shoulders

Certain men look good in nearly every imaginable cut/silhouette and shoulder treatment. These are rare men endowed with naturally fit and lean frames and half-square shoulders. Can the same be said for specific shoulder treatments (i.e. soft v. structured shoulders)? Is one shoulder the best-looking one for all men? Some declare the natural shoulder look to be the summum bonum of shoulder treatments. Every man, these advocates claim, will look good in a jacket with a natural, unpadded shoulder.

I think the reality is far more nuanced than this, as I lay out in this AskAndy thread on Neapolitan suits. Counterpoint: Examine this picture (courtesy of the The Sartorialist blog). Natural shoulders (on jackets) are indeed pleasing to the eye if your shoulders, anatomically speaking, are naturally even, fairly broad and squared off. If you miss one or more of those elements, the look may not be as pleasing as it could be (examine the left shoulder of the man in the picture above). Here's another example at a recent holiday party in NYC and an excellent AskAndy thread comparing natural v. padded shoulders.

In short, a soft, unpadded, natural shoulder is not a universal look that is advantageous to every man. How does one determine one's own suitability for the natural shoulder? Stay tuned as I'm tackling this very problem more systematically in my forthcoming book project.

How to tie a bow tie

I touched on the topic of tying necktie knots in an earlier entry. Thanks to a recent StyleForum thread, I'm linking to a couple of useful visual tutorials to tying bow ties in particular.

The first is a Washington Post slide show which is especially thorough and specific in its explanation.

The second is a short video clip illustrating how to tie bow ties with adjustable neck collars:

VideoJug: How To Tie A Bow Tie

Giacomo Trabalza in 2008

I spoke with a close colleague of Trabalza today and it appears the lease on his current shop is set to expire sometime next year. Nothing is certain yet but lease renewals can be a dicey proposition for the lessee. I see four possible outcomes:

• Renewal of lease with minimal increase in rent (suit prices stay the same)
  
• Renewal of lease with significant increase in rent (suit prices go up)
  
• Move to a new location
• Retirement

I hope things turn out well but nonetheless I may want to accelerate my first order with this highly experienced tailor before one or more of the above events happen.

Sam Hober ties

This StyleForum thread discusses a bit of the history behind Sam Hober ties (formerly Mulberrywood) and David's approach to design and tiemaking. I was in Thailand back in September and we were supposed to meet for tea at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. Unfortunately, our schedules didn't cooperate. Perhaps next time!

Trouser sidetabs

In my quest for properly fitting trousers, I initially found it difficult to make sense of the seemingly myriad waistband options available for unbelted or beltless trousers. These included: Daks top, D-ring adjusters, button sidetabs, waistband level v. below-the-waistband positioning. What were these and what do they look like?

This LondonLounge thread contains the best photos of sidetabs that I have seen to date. For Daks top trousers in particular, check out this thread.

Affordable bespoke tailors for less than $1,500

In the Los Angeles area, we have a couple of bespoke options with some folks reporting favorable results with both.

1. Ariel Tello (no website, AskAndy thread, StyleForum thread)
2. Johnathan Behr (StyleForum thread, AskAndy thread)
3. Novex (no website, Sleevehead blog entries) - Novex deserves an honorable mention. Suits start at $1,600 for customer supplied fabric.

In New York City, there are at least 5 bespoke or semi-bespoke tailors charging less than $1,500 per suit according to this StyleForum thread:

1. Traguardo
2. Mr. Ned (no website, StyleForum thread)
3. Giliberto Designs
4. Ercole's Creative Fashions (AskAndy thread)
5. Winston Tailors - Chipp

Updated 04/21/09

A bespoke patrimony

In the current issue of Men's Vogue, John Seabrook writes on the quandary - an embarrassment of riches actually - of assuming a remarkable inheritance - 130 Savile Row suits, 500+ Jermyn Street shirts and 50+ pairs of Edward Green shoes. His father was named one of Esquire's best dressers in the 1960s for good reason. The conundrum is simple. Although the jackets fit Mr. Seabrook, he has no interest in wearing his father's clothes. What to do? Here's the accompanying AskAndy thread on the Men's Vogue article.

I wrote on precisely this quandary in an earlier entry on the passage of bespoke clothing through the generations. Actually, if I had an extra room, I would gladly assume the collection. Had I but closet enough and time!

Two style icons: Fred Astaire & Rita Hayworth

Of course, the more well-known pairing is Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers but things were never lovelier, richer or more sublime than Astaire and Hayworth. They were an impossibly superb dance couple. And Astaire's dancing clothes were phenomenal in an unobtrusive way. One is reminded of the dictum that form follows function. On Astaire, everything made of cloth followed and flowed together. And then there is Hayworth who, needless to say, was non pareil wearing pretty much anything.

Enjoy the video below. Among many things done well, Astaire wears a high wing collar shirt that is well proportioned to his face and frame. He does this in both black and white tie. But perhaps more importantly you can see Astaire and Hayworth enjoying each other's company in an interplay of movement that is both immensely carefree and carefully attuned to each other. A remarkable on-screen couple indeed.

Montage from You Were Never Lovelier and You'll Never Get Rich


Additional links
- Film synopsis of You'll Never Get Rich
- Film synopsis of You Were Never Lovelier

Updated 05/11/09

Dressing for a night at the opera

AskAndy member Sator wrote up this wonderful thread on dressing for the opera for both men and women. Although very few dress up in black or white tie nowadays, at least you have a picture of the ideal incarnation after reading his description. I also found the photos and drawings of women's evening dresses to be quite stunning.

Quality clothing: The times they are a-changin'?

Anecdotally at least, there has been a number of positive developments in the past year or so in favor of quality menswear. We've seen better distribution of existing products, as well as new lines of products. This is almost certainly driven by greater demand, which in turn has generated additional media coverage and exposure.

Some news and events to ponder:

• Edward Green's recently launched Top Drawer made-to-order shoes are reported to be backlogged for months
• High end retailers are now stocking and offering quality shoes. Witness Paul Stuart's new MTO and bespoke program and Bergdorf Goodman's revamped shoe department now offering John Lobb. Within the past month, high-end retailer Gary's in Orange County began to stock Edward Green and Bontoni.
  
• In the US, at least three new high-end men's magazines have been launched in the past year: Classic Style, The Men's Book (LA-based) and Men's Vogue.
  

This interest in good clothing is perhaps not very novel, especially in Asia. In my visit to Southeast Asia recently, I picked up the anniversary issue of a Singaporean men's lifestyle publication called August Man. Although not focused on bespoke tailoring, this and other recently launched magazines are expanding their coverage of quality clothing. All in all, a good sign.

Additional links
- Styleforum thread on Gary's
- Styleforum thread on Japanese shoe magazines (Men's Ex and Last)

Bespoke experiences on YouTube.com

I was struck (and amused) by the enthusiasm of the first clip, and also by the fact that bespoke in Southeast Asia is available at very low price points. Hence, it's within reach for everyman in that part of the world. This makes the learning curve and experimentation of bespoke much more palatable for beginners. The contrast with the two Poole clips below is instructive. The Savile Row customer is clearly a different animal in many respects but there is a curious continuum (and continuity) between bespoke customers and the tailors themselves even across continents and price points.

The second clip shows the fitting process and what turns out to be a decently fitting suit (though undoubtedly fused given the quoted price).

David Fashions (Hong Kong)


St. Michael's (Bangkok)

Henry Poole on YouTube.com

TotallyLondon's tour of Poole


Classic Style's interview with Simon Cundey, Director, Henry Poole

American trad: West Coast & East Coast

The retailers of "American trad" are usually associated with the East Coast, specifically New England. These are shops like J. Press and the Andover Shop and, in the South, shops like Ben Silver and Eljos.

Member NukeMeSlowly recently visited what is probably the leading West Coast retailer of trad - Cable Car Clothiers in San Francisco. He took extensive photos in this StyleForum thread and AskAndy thread. The closest trad competitor in California probably would be Carroll & Co. in Beverly Hills.

I've found some excellent, unusual items from trad retailer O'Connell's, which is based in Buffalo, NY. Be sure to check their Customer Pictures section, where the store picks out selected items from their sizeable inventory for display. They have some amazing new old stock Invertere storm coats (one vicuna lined, another alpaca-lined), which are unfortunately not in my size. Invertere Coatwrights (est. 1904) is a venerable English make that is apparently no longer in business. Creator of the "buffer coat", the company seems to have closed down and then attempted to relaunch (link to website placeholder and contact info).

The next bespoke frontier: China

This AskAndy thread on Henry Poole's recent expansion into mainland China has ruffled more than a few feathers. I have a different perspective. Assuming the original post is genuinely representative of Henry Poole's activities, I think the objections raised in the thread are rather missing the larger point. There are in fact emerging trends in supply and demand for bespoke clothing that make Poole's activities in China (as well as Kilgour's and Davies & Son's) quite justifiable and even savvy.

Consumer demand and growth. China is one of the fastest growing luxury goods markets in the world. According to this excellent Wharton article, China is already the third largest luxury goods market globally. China's growth will most likely follow the American model of postwar growth - middle-class driven and consumption-oriented. When the economy matures fully in the next two decades, it will probably be the largest market not only for luxury goods but for a wide swath of goods and services. Here are some numbers to think about. Currently, there are 400 million middle class consumers in China. The Chinese middle class alone exceeds the gross population of the US and that number is growing by 20-30 million per annum.

Replicating the supply chain - go for the trifecta. Skilled tailors are in short supply across mature industrial economies, especially Europe and the US. Let's not get into the reasons for this shortfall, except to say job expectations among the young in the workforce have shifted elsewhere. Where in the world are people willing (and eager) to learn a labor intensive skill? Ah yes, that would be China. Of course, there are cost efficiencies to be gained by locating in China. But the smart move for a tailoring firm would be to take advantage of all three factors: the available skilled labor pool, low wages and a potentially massive local market to fund growth and operations.

For example, Davies & Sons is behind this Anglo-Chinese effort to transfer Savile Row production methods to China. Although the pictures of their joint training workshops are interesting, even more intriguing is the fact that bespoke tailoring is part of an artisanal tradition as depicted by this tailoring museum in Ningbo. Given the right mix of trainers and tradition, I think it's quite possible for Savile Row techniques to be transplanted successfully.

In summary, if I were a Poole (or Kilgour, etc) director, I would most certainly have a China strategy, both for supply chain reasons and medium to long-term growth opportunities. To not have one would be very short-sighted.

Update: Interestingly enough, Sartoria Partenope, a Neapolitan RTW brand, is opening up a store in Beijing according to this AskAndy thread. Opportunity is knocking, as they say.

Additional links
- Wharton article on China's recent quality woes and the idea of quality fade
- An AskAndy thread on the apparent oxymoron of Chinese luxury goods

Bel y Cia update: Teba jacket

I normally avoid posting photos of jackets on hangers mainly because they often look rather lifeless or less than flattering. Nonetheless, below is a picture of my MTM Teba jacket from Bel y Cia. It has four buttons and displays an impressive amount of lapel roll (to second button). Keep in mind the Teba's practical and hunting heritage - hence the four buttons. There are also two collar buttons underneath the lapel that can be fastened. The jacket features a patch breast pocket, two patch pockets and one interior chest pocket. The color I chose was an olive-gray, which is swatch #24 (see photos of the two swatch books in my earlier entry on Bel y Cia).





In terms of construction, it is entirely unpadded and unlined except for a small area on each side of the upper chest. The shoulder is constructed like a shirt shoulder rather than a normal jacket shoulder. Buttonholes are handmade and straight seams appear to be machine-sewn. Since the jacket is MTM, I should also note that the armhole is larger than on my bespoke jackets.

Overall, I am very pleased with the jacket and will probably think about ordering a linen version for the summer. This I can order over the phone or email since I have no adjustments to make on the jacket. For anyone traveling to Barcelona to place an order, I recommend getting measured twice and being quite specific about waist suppression and sleeve length. I did both and these contributed to the end product. And don't forget to pick up the two swatch books for future orders.

Note: Spelling correction made from Tiba jacket to Teba jacket. Updated photo 12/8/08

Additional links
- London Lounge thread on the Teba jacket

New fabric: 3-ply glenplaid

I recently acquired a length of medium brown glenplaid with pink overcheck woven by an English mill. The ground is actually a bit darker than the swatch photo. Weight is 320g (11oz) and it's a robust 3-ply weave with a very firm yet feathery hand and dry finish.



Harold at Novex just recently finished completing a 2 piece suit out of it for me. Here's the finished product:


He prefers making a straight Roman-style shoulder and full cut trousers. The shoulder of this particular suit has about half of the usual shoulder padding he uses. The tie is made by Sam Hober and the shirt by Freddy Vandecasteele.

Vienna update: Knize, Netousek, Maftei, Materna, Balint

I came across this recent report on Viennese tailors and shoemakers by LL member smoothjazzone. He provides a nice update to my purely web-based reportage nearly 2 years ago on Knize and Netousek.

Cifonelli

Fellow blogger Will recently visited Cifonelli, the iconic tailor of the Continental shoulder, described in this entry. His visit confirms the presence of significant handwork and handpadding in their jackets.

Photo essay: A visual history of the blazer

Today is photo essay catch-up day. Take a look at this nice photo essay on the blazer by AskAndy member Doctor Damage.

Photo essay: Retail menswear circa 1916-1921

One of the little joys found on clothing forums is the virtual photo essay. Some of the essays can be real gems. This is an AskAndy thread showing the window displays of an early 20th century Buffalo retailer called Weed.

I especially liked the well-proportioned 4x2 and 6x3 double breasted jackets, sportswear (e.g. Norfolk jackets) and outerwear.