(savile row under a rare covering of snow)
That time of year is here again, which comes round astonishingly quick. Not that I’m complaining as it’s a lovely time of year especially when you can spend time with your friends and family. Strangely the older I get the less time I seem to have which seems to be the way.
We’ve been so busy not only with the bespoke but also our new mtm range. We’ve had two launches, one in London and the other in New York. After the Christmas break I’m back to our workshop in Japan to oversee the completion of our initial orders that I personally measured for.
It’s exciting that we’re going to be able to offer English Cut suits to more people. Needless to say I’ll always carry on with the bespoke but with the success of our new venture it’ll give us time to invest in training new apprentices to ensure the crafts survival.
Yesterday the trade pretty much finished up and myself and friends popped into the Windmill to toast the coming season. I was reminded how when I first started to write English Cut I always let you know about the life of a Savile Row tailor that you don’t see. This article I posted in February 1995. I’ve updated it a little but not much has changed. We’re a bit older and fewer so harder to spot. Merry Christmas to you all and a very happy, healthy, new year.
Tailors will frequent all the drinking haunts of the West End. But tailors will always drop by for a pint or two at The Windmill or over the road at the Masons.
It’s sometimes difficult to spot the difference between tailors and cutters. But here’s a couple of tips:
They’ll both be in suits. However, if you look closely the Tailor’s suit is better pressed. This is because he only wears his suit to and from work. When he’s in the workshop he’ll wear his “Sittin’ Drums” (old clothes). The Cutter will have been wearing his suit all day, tending customers in the front of the shop. They’ll drink as heavily as each other but I think it’s fair that the cutter’s will be a bit more noticeable by ahving an air of confidence about them. This air of confidence will be described by the tailors as an air of something else that probably smells but that’s another story.
If you’re not experienced enough to spot a bespoke suit from a single glance across the bar, a really simple guide is to check out the lapel hole. On bespoke, it’ll be dead straight and look a bit longer than your used to seeing on ready-to-wear i.e. it should be an inch and 1/8th, exactly.
If the lapel hole is like that, chances are you’ve got someone in the trade. Savile Row bespoke only has the normal, short “keyhole” lapel holes (with the little round bits on the end) on the actual buttonholes. With a bit of luck, he’ll be drinking the sales tax off that “Bit o’ Private” he’s going to make for you.
(the welcoming masons arms)
If you’re not wanting to meet tailors or get a discount suit using the “folding stuff”, they’re still both great places. And the food and drink is as good as you’ll get anywhere; particularly well-known are the fabulous steak pies in The Windmill. Lovely.
Happy hunting.