Part of our business is making made-to-measure clothing. We have a library of patterns to which almost two hundred alterations can be done to account for size, posture, preference, etc. The alterations are pretty comprehensive but there are limitations and parameters. The pattern can only be stretched so far before you have to draft something from scratch, not something that is generally done in the industry because of the amount of time involved in gettingRead More
Year: 2014
I’ve posted a number of videos made by Andrew Yamato showing the work of Rory Duffy, which I enjoyed. Last weekend I was working a show in Brooklyn, where both Rory and Andrew are located, so I had the great opportunity to meet them both. Rory is Savile-Row trained and I have spent most of my career in the RTW industry so we were sharing notes, which proved to be very interesting. Rory provided someRead More
April is a month full of film screenings, it seems. The first up is a documentary called I Colori di Antonio, about the Italian tailor Antonio Liverano. The screening is being hosted by our friends at The Armoury New York and will take place in Chelsea on April 3 at 7 pm; it will be followed by a Q&A with Antonio Liverano and Gianluca Migilarotti, moderated by Bruce Boyer. Details and tickets can be foundRead More
Kim has asked several times about it, so here goes… The sewing machine I use at home is an industrial Brother high speed single needle straight lock stitch machine. What a mouthful. I used to have an industrial overlock as well, but those suckers take up a lot of room so I got rid of it in favor of a domestic Husqvarna overlock/coverstitch machine. Industrial machines are typically cheaper than the fancy domestic ones thatRead More
I had an accident over a year ago which affected my ability to sew, among other things. But my visit to the company’s archives last week made me want to try to start again. We have a lot of old frock coats that are very fitted through the back, most with a type of princess seam and a waist seam, both details which I chose to incorporate. Also, the seams are being raised with aRead More
I’ve been thinking a lot about heritage lately. I work for a company that has been in business since 1887. It’s occasionally humbling to think of the generations of people who have held my position in this company over the many years, but yesterday I was able to put my hands on some of the tangible evidence of that history. We have a collection of about 75 garments, some of which date all the wayRead More
Vicki Vasilopoulos’ long-awaited film has arrived! The Custom Tailors and Designers Association is hosting a men’s wear industry cocktail reception and exclusive preview screening of MEN OF THE CLOTH for retailers and buyers on Sunday January 26th at the beautiful Auditorium on Broadway, just north of Columbus Circle, NYC. Vicki will participate in a Q & A following the screening; contact info@menoftheclothfilm.com for more details or you can buy tickets here.
I was discussing techniques with a tailor by email and was having trouble describing something so I thought “blog post”. We typically find two types of tailored sleeve in men’s suiting- English tailors often cut what is known as a 50-50 sleeve, whose under sleeve is roughly the same width as the top sleeve. More common today is a sleeve with what is known as a “false forearm” because the forearm seam is offset fromRead More
The Anatomy of a Suit is an exhibit now showing at the London Museum and apparently dissects suits, some historical, to show the innards. While they sadly did not appear to proof their material, it would still be an interesting thing to see. Running until June 2014 Also, a reader points out a new source for Agreman gimp, my gimp of choice for hand made buttonholes. This can be bought at WAWAK sewing supplies. ThanksRead More
A few years ago I dissected a pair of Henry Poole coats and was somewhat surprised to find that the lapels and collars had been padded by machine. Rory Duffy, who trained in coat making at Poole’s, recently visited with his former master and had some news. Owner and President Angus Cundey has since insisted that all of their garments be hand-padded in order to maintain the traditions of Savile Row tailoring. While I haveRead More