Gilbert Feruch

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

Boutonnière milanaise, méthode Cifonelli

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

FRANCESCO SMALTO HAUTE COUTURE

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

Festival des métiers- HERMES

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

Maurice Sedwell

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

Vintage Fallan & Harvey

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