Second British Bespoke, Part 1

I mentioned a while back that I had commissioned a second suit from Graham Browne in London. And after rather too much travelling lately (Milan, Madrid, Dubai in a month; and Hong Kong next week) I’ve finally got around to watching the first step of it being made.

It’s unlikely I will post quite so many photos of this suit in its construction and fittings, in that much will be similar to the last series. But whenever things are new, I will. Here, the most obvious novelty is the waistcoat.

The suit is in 13-ounce, navy, chalk-striped flannel from Hunt & Winterbotham. The weight of the flannel means the stripe is rather fuzzy, which is how I prefer all stripes in suitings. (The only stripe I like is a bead stripe – anything too precise and without texture seems to look cheap.) The jacket is three-button, rolling to two, and the waistcoat has notched lapels with five buttons, rolling a little at the top as well.

A new waistcoat pattern was cut for this suit, but not a new jacket pattern – my existing DB pattern being simply folded over to cut the SB jacket front panels. The waistcoat has a full, floating linen lining, something tailors rarely do these days. The linen gives structure and a shape that moulds to the chest, while not being too bulky.

Russell and Dan report a lot more waistcoats being ordered these days. (Perhaps people have been reading the Logical Waistcoat Theory.) In fact they say they’ve made more in the past year than the past 10 years together. Problem is, there aren’t many waistcoat makers around any more. Graham Browne uses one lady and she is overworked. Jacket makers can make waistcoats as well but they dislike it, as the work is similar for less pay.

The other issue with waistcoats is that men today wear their trousers a lot lower. The question for the tailor is: does he try and convince the client to have his trousers cut higher for a waistcoat, or make the waistcoat longer? Having a gap is not an option, but some men would resist the former, while the latter can make the body look too long. Russell says he leaves it up to the client to a certain extent, but there are limits.

Also if you plan to wear a separate waistcoat with a suit, buy that or have it made first. One client of Graham Browne’s didn’t tell the tailors that he already had a fancy waistcoat he wanted to wear with this suit, so the trousers were not cut high enough. Always best to bring the waistcoat along, so the trousers can be cut appropriately.

In the images here you can see the folded jacket pattern being placed on the cloth; the sleeve pattern being chalked on; the linen lining that will be used on the waistcoat; and finally the marked-up jacket.

In the last picture those three horizontal lines you can see at the top left are the button placings. The curved line coming up into them (from underneath the middle of the scissors) is the edge of the jacket. Notice how it meets the vertical between the first two buttons, to take account of the roll (you’re looking down the jacket).

Leave a Comment

May I Introduce Mr. Hare

You may already be familiar with Mr Hare and his wonderful shoes, but I suspect a greater number will not. So, I thought this an ideal place to highlight one of the UK’s newest and most talented shoes designers.

Of Jamaican descent, an Arsenal supporter and London based, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Hare at London Fashion Week. A chap on a mission, he describes himself as “Just a man with a passion for shoes who feels let down by a shoe industry that doesn’t really seem to care”.

As to his designs, his website carries the description “shoes you can attach some romance to”.  Shoes are named after various heroes - this season its authors - and it seems to work. The Mr. Fitzgerald, for example, leaps straight from the pages of ‘The Great Gatsby’.

He plays with texture and material in a way that manages to be both elegant and striking . For example, my favourite shoe  – the Mr Genet - combines leather, suede and velvet. While being highly original, all his shoes have a classic resonance which makes them easily recognisable. It also makes them easy to incorporate into a classic wardrobe.

Mr Hare is quite picky about who stocks his shoes, and is equally particular about their manufacture. Aside from the high quality materials all his shoes are handmade in Italy and blake constructed. They’re not cheap, but a fair price in my view.

Despite being a prolific blogger he remains a strangely elusive character. In none of his interviews will you find mention of his first name –I’m not going to spill the beans. Indeed, if all you knew of him was his shoes and his blog you might think he was a rather extravagant, even theatrical, man. The reality is that he is a softly spoken, polite and down to earth man who clearly enjoys his relative anonymity. In many ways this lack of flashy self publicity adds to the allure – let the shoes do the talking I say.

Subtlety of detail, elegant originality and high quality construction, the talented Mr Hare is someone you’d do well to become acquainted with.

Leave a Comment

The Ranchers Glove

Sunday was bitterly cold in London, which prompted me to think about winter time accessories.

It is often the case that you fail to appreciate those things which are common place to you. Therefore, I suspect that those readers from the US of A (which is the majority of you good folk) may not fully appreciate my long running obsession with the Rancher Glove.

Curiously, despite the welcome revival of American work wear as a trend, these gloves have been largely ignored. To me they’re as iconic a piece of American apparel as Bass Weejuns, button-down oxford shirts, Redwing boots or chinos. I can’t imagine Clint Eastwood without a pair –whether or not he actually wore them in any of his movies I don’t know. And other than a medieval gauntlet you’d be hard pressed to find a tougher and manlier glove.

Normally made of Deer Skin or even harder wearing Elk skin, they’re the perfect combination of form and function, designed for roping in cattle and laying out barbed wire on cold windswept prairies. Over time to patina changes, and they will become grubbier, which only ads character –rather like beaten up suede loafer.

There is also a curious resonance with gentleman’s apparel of the 20’s and 30’s. The colour alone is very reminiscent of those gloves often featured in Apparel Arts illustrations. With that in mind I’d wear them with anything from a Peacoat to traditional Covert coat.

Not only are they unavailable in the UK , it took me a fair amount of time to find out their proper name. I have found an English glove maker that will knock up a pair, at a reasonable price and of Deer skin. Somehow that seems just plain wrong, like going to Euro-Disney. You feel sullied, deceitful even; it’s just not the full Uncle Sam.

After 2 years of longing I still haven’t managed to get hold of pair. So those of you in a more advantageous position than I, enjoy what you have.

Leave a Comment

The Wonders Of Bicester Village

I am a sucker for a good deal. Indeed, if one were being unkind it could be said that sometimes being a bargain gets in the way of my actually wanting something. Anywhere north of 80% off and I start to feel giddy.

For a long time I’ve been a fan of the Designer Outlet just outside York. That’s where my in-laws live and it’s a nice excursion when I’m up there for a few days. But recently I discovered Bicester Village; York has rather paled by comparison.

I went to Oxford University yet I think I only went to Bicester once (the outlet is a just a few minutes outside Oxford, around an hour from London). It was a bit of a disappointment - small, damp and not particularly large discounts. How that has changed in the intervening 10 years.

Most outlets offer few options for men. Perhaps a Hugo Boss and a Hackett; Paul Smith if you’re lucky. Most men spend their time wandering around the luxury labels - Gucci, Armani, Prada - looking at the relatively small selection catering to them rather than their other halves.

Bicester has a great Dunhill outlet. Plus Ferragamo, Zegna and Pal Zileri. And Aquascutum, Brooks Brothers and Church’s, Burberry, Tod’s and Gieves & Hawkes (a sad endictment of Gieves that). It’s got everyone. Even Ralph Lauren, a regular in this kind of shopping outlet, has an oversized store here with extreme discounts. There was a Purple Label cable-knit sweater that still haunts me - £695 reduced to £89.

But my favourite discovery was Loro Piana. A extremely luxurious Italian cashmere label, I didn’t realise they had a discount outlet anywhere - indeed, I’m not sure that management is keen for people to know about this one. I picked up a true investment piece: a three-button leather jacket lined with cashmere, soft yet hardy, already imbued with the feeling of 100 winter walks. It was 80% off. I staggered to the till, a little light-headed.

I think the scale of the discounts at the moment is unusual and driven by the economy. According to a regular visitor, increasing numbers of shoppers has meant that the standard discount is not as large as it used to be. The Village is also dominated by Asia women chasing branded handbags and boutique designers, but it’s big enough for everyone to get around - just don’t go the Saturday before Christmas.

The train from London Marylebone to Bicester North takes 50 minutes and costs £23 return. Then there’s a mini-bus shuttle that costs a further £4.40 return and takes about five minutes.

Leave a Comment

Bring on the Camel

This time of year is perfect for textured jacketing like cord, providing elements of warmth and ideal for layering.

Dark browns, black and blue are perhaps the safe options this time of year. However, I think Camel works well as an alternative, particularly when combined with white jeans and pale grey knits. It’s not a combination I’ve used myself, but have long admired it on others -on those rare occasions I’ve seen it. These colours combined have a clean, crispness that I think suits this time of year.

Perhaps it’s the continental male’s ease with colour, or the milder continental winters but the use of white trousering in autumn/winter is particularly prevalent on the continent. It’s a look I expect to see featured on The Sartorialist more and more over coming weeks.

The inspiration for today’s post (the pictured jacket) comes care of London based Roderick Charles. A useful outfitters, their clothes are traditional in styling, but without the propensity to slim-fit or overt branding of Hackett and Ralph Lauren. I spotted the above needle cord jacket on their website, and reduced to £99 I thought it was a steal.

Having been founded in 1992 the company is a relatively new one. Born in the Square Mile it arose from a made to measure suiting business supplying City Gents with their uniform chalk stripe suits. It is a distinctly English company in styling and outlook. They pride themselves on sourcing British milled cloths for their clothing, which is reassuring from my perspective.

With a fully functioning commercial website, and international delivery, those of you living beyond the White Cliffs of Dover might find it a useful source for classic English kit…and a camel cord jacket.

Leave a Comment