Reputed to be the founders of Savile Row as well as the creators of the tuxedo, Henry Poole has a long and proud history of tailoring. Their website has a good amount of information about them so I won’t get into it much, except to say that they have also been known to be among the more flexible and progressive on the Row. They even had a female cutter as early as the sixties, IIRC.Read More
Year: 2009
A notice came today indicating that the post office is holding a parcel for me. That must be the Henry Poole coat so I had better get the Huntsman finished! This suit was cut for a very short man, but in typical English fashion, the trouser is cut with a very high rise and a fishtail back. Intended to be worn only with suspenders (or braces, as they would refer to them), the waist isRead More
This one’s for the tailors. Tiny little details that I obsess over….. I have always operated under the assumption that there were two basic methods of setting the breast welt pocket (with many variations on the methods, but two global methods). The first being the hand-made method, in which the welt is constructed (usually by hand), sewn to the front, then the ends felled or slip-stitched in place by hand. This is how I haveRead More
Since my last post, a reader emailed me to tell me that the initials of the cutter would be found on the label, those initials being “TH”. I assume this must mean Terry Haste, former MD of Huntsman, but was he there in 2000? I’ll have to go back and read the book again. Or do some more homework. But in any case, we’re not evaluating the cutting here, only the sewing. It’s just funRead More
I just finished reading Richard Anderson’s recent book, Bespoke: Savile Row Ripped and Smoothed. It tells of his apprenticeship and work as a cutter at H. Huntsman, widely regarded as the Row’s best and most expensive tailor, and how a change of ownership and some questionable practices led him to leave and start his own bespoke house, Richard Anderson, Ltd. I rather enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone who has an interest inRead More
I got an email from my Gutermann rep; Germany, it seems, has relented and will now allow me to order my gimp by the spool instead of by the box per colour- a box containing 5 spools of 100m of gimp which would make, I guess, about thirteen thousand buttonholes. That’s too much. Now if only they would relent on the silk twist as well. UPDATE If you are located in North America and areRead More
Since my next suit will have a softer shoulder than I usually wear, Lynn has asked for some details. The drafting of the shoulder seam itself will depend on the amount of padding, if any, used. I have sloping shoulders so I will use some padding and structure, but it will be a much more commercial shoulder than the usual pagoda and rope. For a pagoda shoulder I will start with a straighter line andRead More
A parcel came this morning. I decided to try out another English cloth merchant, Dugdale Brothers. From what I gather they are a smallish, private cloth merchant in Huddersfield who will deal directly with tailors selling cut lengths. Their prices are very good (for English cloth, mind you) and they stock a range of trimmings as well, trimmings which are getting very hard to find over here. They have an attractive website here I initiatedRead More
OK so here are the finished garments. The navy is Harrisons and the charcoal is J&J Minnis. Aside from the differences in lapel, the Minnis was drafted using Whife, with no side body (which I think contributes to that wobbliness on the front) and the Harrisons was drafted using the Mitchell system. Each system has its strengths and weaknesses, but I definitely vote for separate side body- it’s far easier to get a good fitRead More
On this latest suit, I decided to try a German draft that Schneidergott translated for me from the Rundschau. I made a few minor changes to the draft itself, had quite a bit of fitting in the seat to do, but otherwise a rather painless fitting process. The balance of the rear of the leg is different from my usual draft and I find it hangs straighter with less fuss and manipulation. Observe the stripesRead More