Custom shirtmaker CEGO’s Carl Goldberg shared a few garments from his father’s wardrobe with us, one of which is a DB jacket (pants long lost) made by Gilbert Feruch, some time in the seventies, I think. I gather he was something of a futurist, and the V&A museum has a Nehru suit that he made on display. Other than that, I know practically nothing about him. What I find most interesting about this garment isRead More
Month: March 2011
The image above is the wrapper for an old spool of gimp, “vergolina” being the Italian word for gimp, and La Milanese being the brand name. I am guessing that this is how the French came to know gimp as “Milanaise”, and thus the Milanese buttonhole would have found its name. Conjecture, but likely. I’ve discussed this buttonhole a few times, mainly because I didn’t know how to do it and that was driving meRead More
I’ve linked this video before, but here it is again. Sometimes promotional material can push the envelope a bit in order to look good, and I admit that a few moments during this video I found myself thinking “Oh, really?” Well, yes. Really. Thanks go out to Des Esseintes for donating this coat from Francesco Smalto. A few posts back I remember lamenting the fact that certain houses get way overhyped and others don’t haveRead More
If you happen to be in Chicago, I highly recommend the Festival des métiers, or celebration of craftsmanship, going on at Hermès on Oak Street until Wednesday March 16 (right across the street from Despos *ahem*). A craftsperson representing each of the product categories is on hand, making their product, largely by hand. A leatherworker sits making a Kelly bag, whose handle alone requires 4 hours of work, and 18 hours in all to hand-craftRead More
The latest sample I purchased on ebay thanks to a tip from RJMan. Maurice Sedwell enjoys an excellent reputation and its proprietor, Andrew Ramroop, is very keen on explaining the many reasons why. Of course, one of the first things I look at when examining a garment are the buttonholes and buttons, and these are very good. The buttons have been beautifully shanked and stand up to attention like a row of horn soldiers. IRead More
I am beginning to wonder if the 1980’s were just dark years for West-End tailors. The latest dissection candidate, (donated by mack11211, thank you) is a piece by London’s Fallan and Harvey, dating to 1984 and it is, at best, underwhelming, coming from one of a group of tailors who are supposed to be the finest in the world. Let’s assume, however, that the garment fit and the customer was pleased and that the nit-pickingRead More