The shears being made in Italy have been cast and are ready for grinding. Then they will be tempered, then the holes drilled for the adjustment screw, then tuning, sharpening, plating, and final assembly. Of course, they are behind schedule, but some things are worth waiting for. Good shears are one of those things.
These days I’m working on a big project, converting a men’s suit factory from an entirely fused construction to a half-canvas construction. In fact, to be more technically correct, it should really be called a 2/3 canvas since the coat front we will be using is pretty much identical to a full canvas front but the lower 1/3 of the canvas is omitted. To do this conversion, and generally to bring the factory up toRead More
Just as some of my favorite internet reading is being wound down (RJdM will be sorely missed, until he finds a new home), a new and worthwhile appearance in the blogosphere: patterndesignanalyst.com Written by a senior member of one of the most recognized menswear teams in the world, and someone I have known for almost 20 years, he will offer a fresh new perspective on the discussion of the technical side of menswear, beginning withRead More
UPDATE: Men of the Cloth is available to stream on Amazon Prime! Men of the Cloth has announced screening dates for the New York area. Thursday January 8, 2015 at 7 pmCity Cinemas Village East189 Second Avenue at 12th, NY NY Wednesday January 14, 2015 at 7:30 pm423 Park Avenue Huntington, Long Island Sunday January 25, 2015 at 7 pm175 Wolfs Lane, Pelham NY
My shears are in production. And they look hot! There is now a possibility of a second run, and also the development of a 16″ model. Go to this thread on StyleForum to get in on that.
The group buy of shears has been initiated and I received the production sample photo showing dimensions. These are just over 13″. I hope to get some photos from the production process to share.
Roberto Cabrera’s book, Classic Tailoring Techniques is getting a revision! Cabrera’s textbook has long been one of the only references on tailoring, and certainly the best one available to novices. Stanley Hostek wrote a few exhaustive books but they weren’t as accessible to learners and Cabrera’s book. My one quibble about the Cabrera book was that some of the techniques were somewhat dated, and hopefully this revision will address those issues. Copies can be pre-ordered,Read More
The Wall Street Journal posted an article this week on the loosening up of the slim suit. http://online.wsj.com/articles/slim-suits-loosen-up-1416438021 One of the suit lines they mention is Todd Snyder White Label, something new to Nordstrom. I developed that fit for Todd (it’s being made in Chicago by Hart Schaffner Marx, the company of which I was VP Design until recently) and long-time readers of this blog (and StyleForum) may find this interesting since it involves aRead More
There is a discussion going on in another part of the internet and a question was asked which someone felt I may be able to answer. I would rather not wade in to that mess of a discussion, but the question still deserves a bit of an answer. For serious clothing nerds only. The question revolves around job titles in men’s tailored clothing, a business which is, in some respects, stuck in a bit ofRead More
Good shears are very difficult to come by- they just don’t make them anymore. One of the members of Styleforum has located a factory in Italy that still has the molds for 13″ shears and is willing to make a batch if they get enough orders. If you’re interested, check out the thread here and sign up.
