The name of Steed may be new to you. Currently run by Edwin De Boise, it was originally a partnership between two men. Edwin, who comes from a family of tailors and who had worked under the legendary Edward Sexton, met Thomas Mahon when he worked at Savile Row’s Anderson and Sheppard as a cutter. The two of them struck off on their own to start Steed, and when Mahon left to pursue other things,Read More
Thanks to an impassioned entreaty from Natalie (of the CTDA, I am guessing), I managed to track down the elusive source of the Perkins Tailoring Devices. The concept behind these devices are not new- this shoulder incline device dates to 1934 and this one was developed in Russia in the 70s These, however, only measure the slope of the shoulder. The full; kit of Perkins devices also include in incline device to measure the prominenceRead More
Don’t mind me. Just trying out some new video settings. Padstitching from Jeffery D on Vimeo.
Dropping the name Anderson and Sheppard into any serious sartorial conversation is like dropping a bomb; in the words of their former managing director, “You either swear by our coats or you swear at them”. For some reason, they inspire a lot of swearing. Founded in 1906 by Frederick Scholte’s undercutter, Per Anderson, the house has been fairly faithful to their house cut of a soft, draped coat. Depending on which sources you consult, thisRead More
A busy post box this week. A parcel came yesterday and today a notice that the post office is holding one; I’m hoping it’s the A&S I’ve been waiting for. In the meantime, I give you Saint Andrews. Thanks to HRoi for getting it here so quickly! Also known as Saint Andrews, Sartoria Santandrea produces garments for a number of better doors but is not so well known in North America except perhaps by fansRead More
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
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
