Sharp Facts

Every time I read a book on men’s style, I underline facts I don’t know. Over the past few years, the number of underlinings in my books (and magazines) has got mercifully less. Fewer defaced volumes on the shelf.

But with Eric Musgrave’s Sharp Suits, the number of facts multiplied. I gave up 50-pages in, so criminal did it seem to write all over the book. The problem is, this is a history of menswear rather than a guide. And a history not only contains more facts, those facts come with quotes, anecdotes and supporting evidence.

I’d heard most of the stories about Edward VII, for example, but I didn’t know this quote from German Chancellor, Prince von Bulow: “In the country in which unquestionably the gentlemen dressed best, he was the best-dressed gentlemen.”

Equally, I knew Edward’s innovations included the dinner jacket, wearing tweeds at the races and leaving open the button of a waistcoat. But I didn’t know he was also responsible for the black Homburg hat, shorter tails on evening wear and turn-ups on trousers (to protect the bottoms from muddy ground).

I shall endeavour to scatter some facts from Sharp Suits throughout future posts. But for the moment here’s a few to be getting on with:

• A 1960 inventory of the Duke of Windsor’s wardrobe listed 15 evening suits, 55 lounge suits and three formal suits (all with two pairs of trousers).

• By 1849 Brooks Brothers had 1,500 people making its clothes, and could put a claim to being the first company to offer ready-made clothing.

• After the Second World War there were approximately 100,000 tailors working in Italy, dressing around 85% of the adult population. And yet it was the Italians that became the leading manufacturers of ready-made suits in the modern era.

• Hickey Freeman’s greatest innovation was to bring the various parts of suit production into a single factory. Up until then different tailors worked on different parts of a suit in different locations, often at home.

• The innovation of Hart Schaffner & Marx (which bought Hickey) was to offer proportioned suits with basic body types – tall, short, stout and thin.

• “Pierre Cardin was arguably the most influential menswear designer of the twentieth century…he changed attitudes to dress in men who had relatively little interest in their appearance” Colin McDowell. Cardin ruined this reputation with astonishingly promiscuous licensing.

• The hottest trend of 1962 was the suit silhouette worn by a group of public school boys that gathered around Le Drugstoe, a café on the Champs Elysées in Paris. They went to Marina, an old tailor on Rue Vernier in the seventeenth arondissement, who was the first to cut flat-fronted, wide-bottomed trousers with small cuffs known as marinettes.

I’m done. More reading to do now.

How My Ties Were Made

The men and women at Vanners were kind enough to send me pictures recently of how my bespoke ties were made down in Suffolk. So here they are, with explanatory captions.

The three-piece pattern for the tie is laid out on the woven silk, at exactly 45 degrees, having been made to my specifications in length and width.

The resulting pieces are laid out in bunches, ready to be sewn.

The silk tipping to the tie is then machine-sewn to the front and back blades, forming a one-centimetre edge or ‘mitre’ along the edge. I opted for self-tipping, with the same silk as the body of the tie. (There is much tradition around tipping – some brands, for example, deliberately tip all their ties with black in homage to the black-out curtains that were used for tipping after the Second World War due to a fabric shortage.)

The two blades and the neck are also joined together. And a smaller, hand stitch is used to close the tip of the tie to prevent any pulling at that point. Any excess fabric is also trimmed.

The tie is lightly pressed at the tips and seams.

The lining is then inserted into the tie and the folds carefully placed over the centre line. While this is referred to as a seven-fold tie, there are in fact 10 – here you can see eight of them, with two more tucked underneath.

(Ancillary fact on tie folds: Originally all printed ties were seven-folds as the silk came in lengths one-metre wide, and it had to be folded seven times to get the width of the tie. All woven silk came 28-inches wide, as that was the width of the hand looms, and so they were always made into four-fold ties. This was before the use of linings or ties that were made in three pieces. Thanks to the guys at Peckham Rye for that fact.)

When the folds are in place, the tie is pinned along its length to hold its shape prior to sewing.

The self-loop (a loop to hold the rear blade that is the same material as the tie) is then inserted.

Before a single thread is used to sew the entire length of the tie.

The tie is then gently steamed by hand and all its dimensions and measurements are checked.

The self loop and any labels are sewn on by hand before the final inspection.

Which is done by machine as well as eye, before the tie is packaged ready for delivery.

A Short Talk With Andrea Perrone

I’ve been a fan of Brioni co-CEO Andrea Perrone’s personal style ever since issue 2 of The Rake. Perrone was the cover star, part of a feature on Brioni and wearing a checked sportscoat with a dark cardigan, white shirt unbuttoned at the neck. Ever since I’ve loved wearing a dark cardigan under an odd jacket. Something about the shadow it creates, the quiet sophistication that echoes the waistcoat of a three-piece suit.

The photo shoot was in black and white so I didn’t know the colour of the cardigan. But mine is a deep, bottle green. Dark enough so that the colour isn’t really apparent from a distance; different without being showy.

I met Perrone last week at the launch of Brioni’s first fragrance in the London store. (He was wearing a suit in a tight Prince-of-Wales check, grey with a red line through it.) The fragrance is inspired by one first produced in the 1950s, called Good Luck. Although there is no record of the scent itself, the discovery of an old bottle was apparently inspiration enough.

Perrone agreed with me that perfumes are hard things to write about. No matter how much you list the various ingredients, the top notes and the base notes, it’s hard for the reader to really get an impression of what it smells like.

And his view is that it is very much a question of personal taste, of associations and memory. I’ve always liked musky scents, probably because my father wears them. Most light and classic male scents I associate with the cheap Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss fragrances that my friends used to wear when I was a teenager. Somehow, they all seemed to smell the same.

As to craft and quality, you can talk about the proportion of ground elements in a scent, and how much they are diluted by ethanol. But that is pretty much given away by the name of the substance – eau de cologne, eau de toilette, eau de parfum. Each has a range of concentrations, with some overlap.

For Perrone, the only thing worth going into in detail is the ingredients – in this case bergamot from Calabria and lemon from Sicily amongst others, which are all naturally sourced and produced. And everyone was given an oversized book to explain what the elements were and where they came from.

But most important of all, there was a sampler of the scent. So that people could try it for several days afterwards, and decide if they liked it. That’s pretty much all there is to perfume.

Something Different

Some men choose to use their spare time and money learning to play golf. Others learn sailing; car mechanics, DIY and one field sports or another. The least enterprising simply spend it down the boozer. But something interesting and very different came to my attention this week, and I’m sorely tempted to have a go.

On Thursday I visited Deborah Carré and James Ducker, who together form Carréducker Shoes. Specialising in beautiful bespoke shoes for men, and now women, the pair also run a courses in the UK and New York on which you can learn the art and artistry of English handsewn shoemaking. It’s an intensive full time course running consecutively over 12 days. And it’s very much hands on. You’ll be taught the 200 plus processes to making a hand made shoe. This includes selecting and preparing the leather for the soles; hand lasting, skiving and sharpening knives; making threads, hand welting and sole stitching; edge trimming and setting; building heels and finishing.

At the end of the course you’ll have a pair of English Derby shoes made under expert guidance with your own hands. And it’s amazing the kind of people that have been attracted to the course so far. Some are seeking a career change or are students of fashion, but many are people just looking to learn something new and create something beautiful.

Now, I don’t really do holidays and I love to learn things, particularly in relation to my interests. I spend hours reading books and blogs on the art of men’s clothing, but there is only so much you can learn by reading. There is a lot to be said for simply doing something.

A course like this isn’t cheap, but then neither is a fortnight on the Inca trail, or a set of golf clubs and lessons. At £1350 (London) and £1790 (New York) it’s comparable to all sorts of holidaying and free time pursuits. But you get quite a bit for your money. The fee includes full shoemaking notes for the course; a pair of leather uppers for the student’s shoes and a set of tools for the student to keep - lasting pliers, awls & handles, tape measure and knife. A pair of lasts will be provided for you to use during the course. All you have to supply is a heavy duty, long bibbed apron, pencil, ruler and notepad. They also suggest you bring a camera to capture the different stages of the shoemaking process. All the details are available on the Carréducker website.

Peter Chan Interview

Among the varied friends I’ve been lucky enough to make over my years, some thankfully have an understanding of, and appreciation for, sartorial standards that match and exceed my own. One such friend, a resident of Hong Kong, has a yen for remaining classic whilst taking steps forward and has often raved of his switch from some of the brightest new(er) names on Savile Row to a bespoke operation a little closer to home. Having spent the past few years surrounded by City workers happier with the fact that they saved money by going with Far Eastern tailoring than the often inaccurate fit and cut of the results, I was a little sceptical, yet willing to be convinced. After a number of opportunities to see the increasingly interesting products of W.W. Chan swathing his frame, I’m sorry I ever doubted him – the canvassing was little short of intuitive; the lengths spot on; the fabrics well chosen and exquisite no matter which aspects of his life they were chosen for. The popularity of the house amongst the leading (and ever exacting) menswear fora added that extra touch of credibility.

Considered one of the very best tailoring houses in Hong Kong, Chan was opened by its namesake founder in 1949 and continues under Chan’s son Peter today, creating a range of suits, sportcoats, slacks, overcoats and shirts. This week marks the firm’s first ever visit to London – it tours the United States thrice-yearly – and I decided to cross time zones and the language barrier to interview Peter himself in order to learn a little more about this best kept secret:

Barima: W.W. Chan has a strong reputation for its classic cuts but is also developing one for less conservative tailoring. Do you find it more or less challenging to offer such versatility? Is it part of an ongoing learning process?

Peter Chan: It’s much easier to stick with our house style; the classic cuts that we offer to most of our clients. However, it’s our motto that our profession is an ongoing learning process and so we enjoy and accept the challenge of developing younger styles as well. In fashion, most jackets now are very short compared to the past and nipped in the waist. We recommend not going too extreme so as not to become “unfashionable.” I think that in future, things will swing back a little towards conservatism, somewhere in the middle, perhaps.

What does the average customer want from a W.W. Chan suit?

Very similar things! They want comfort and appearance from a perfect fit, a unique style, fabric choices, a competitive price and the ability to keep a pattern on file for future mail orders. They also appreciate the quality of our craftsmanship.

Some clients occasionally make extravagant demands of their tailor. As a bespoke house, how closely do you work with a client on realising his desires?

We welcome extravagant demands if they’re within our ability to accomplish. We don’t mind following them closely, but sometimes the client has to convince us that his requests can be realistically satisfied and also look good.

That seems fair. Given the oft-exacting demands on tailors and off-the-peg clothing for attention to detail and a lack of cutting corners, how much work goes into the average W.W. Chan creation?

Our typical suit will have a full floating canvas with handmade buttonholes. It takes around 40 hours of work to produce one. 90% of the jacket construction is done by hand. The machine stitching comes after the basting is completed.

You’re rather popular in certain online circles. How useful is the internet in developing your business?

Years ago, it was extremely difficult to know the quality of a tailor’s work without having things made by him first. In recent years, the internet has allowed people to chat and share their feelings on the clothing made by their tailors. People often write about their good experiences with us and so we have connected with a lot of new customers through our reputation on the internet. However, we have been in business for a very long time and we had a good reputation before as well.

Despite the general tendencies of men today to dress down and turn away from elegance, W.W. Chan appears to be thriving at home and growing internationally. Are you finding it at all challenging to clothe men appropriately?

Though it is sometimes difficult to be completely aware of all fashion trends, we try to keep up by reading articles on the internet, in magazines and talking to our customers. We use this knowledge to advise the customer in their choices. It seems to work well so far!

Yes, and in addition to this, W.W. Chan’s relative affordability is a unique selling point. Do you find this helpful in attracting customers who have a comparable budget for ready-to-wear?

Yes, it is. Customers like to compare our quality and price with the high quality handmade ready-to-wear suits as well as those very expensive bespoke tailors. It makes us feel honoured but we want to keep doing our best.

You offer a wide variety of fabric books, from classics such as Holland and Sherry and Loro Piana to newer productions such as Dashing Tweeds. How do your selections compare to other tailoring houses?

We have one of the largest fabric selections of any tailoring house because every customer has different preferences. Some customers prefer crisper fabrics while others prefer soft. Some prefer fancier jacketings while others prefer conservative worsteds. So we have to have as large a selection as possible to satisfy customers. Zegna Trofeo is one of my personal favourites for warmer weather. It keeps its shape well and has a nice finish. We also like Dashing Tweeds a lot. It tailors well and the colours and patterns are always interesting but beautiful.

Finally, what is the average turnover time for a commission, both at home and internationally?

W. W. Chan & Sons has our own workshop and doesn’t farm out. Turnover is usually around 2 to 3 months though if you call ahead and make an appointment, it can be much quicker than that depending on our workload.

We’re very excited about this visit to London – hopefully, the first of many to come!

Tour Details

The tour takes place on October 22nd & 23rd (Thursday & Friday) 2009. W.W. Chan’s cutter Patrick Chu will measure customers and offer fabric samples for perusal. Appointments can be made over e-mail to: sales@wwchan.com and will be on-site at:

London Hilton on Park Lane
22 Park Lane, London

Pricing starts at USD 1,100+ for a two-piece using entry-level cloth. To inaugurate the tour, W.W. Chan will also be offering for the first time Dashing Tweeds. The cloths shown on the DT’s website are only a sample of the full range. Pricing is USD 1,500 for a two piece and 1,100 for a sportcoat.

Once a customer’s pattern is on file, Chan can and will take orders via e-mail and will dispatch fabric swatches for a customer’s consideration. Such off-tour orders are generally accomplished in around 3 months.

www.wwchan.com

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This is guest post by Barima Owusu-Nyantekyi, a freelance copywriter, marketer and researcher living in London. He is also an observer of popular culture, popular music and personal style who always dresses for dancing. His musings may be found at Style Time (barimavox.blogspot.com)