BESPOKE COUNTRY SUITS
HENRY POOLE & CO.

A visit to a tailor on Savile Row should be an occasion of calm and serenity. Here, of all places in the desert of this noisy and nasty world, we should find an oasis of civilization. Yet today, sadly, this is not always the case. There is at least one tailoring establishment on the Row which has transformed its premises into something like a discothèque. Such ‘progress’ might appeal to some. It does not appeal to me. But there remain some certainties in life, thank Goodness. One is that Henry Poole & Co. (founded in 1806) will never succumb to the temptations of such vulgarity. This is the firm, after all, which can justifiably claim to have begun ‘Savile Row’. To enter number 15 is to be surrounded by the Tailoring Virtues – decency, respect for tradition and fine craftsmanship. Today’s cult of scruffiness – to my mind, the result of moral, intellectual and physical laziness – has no adherents here. Small wonder that I was keen to have my country suit made at Henry Poole.

Please click here to read more

BESPOKE TWO-TONE SHOES
G. J. CLEVERLEY & CO. LTD.

“Why do you like Cleverley’s shoes so much, Mr Bown?” The speaker was John Carnera, and I was sitting in the upstairs work-room of the premises of G.J.Cleverley & Co. Ltd. I blinked and looked across at Mr Carnera. He was wearing his customary white coat and looked, for all the world, like a friendly consultant physician. But I was not in Harley Street: I was at number Thirteen, The Royal Arcade, Bond Street. I thought for a moment and then replied, “Because, Mr Carnera, they are wonderfully light, supremely elegant and truly ‘sharp’; and because I believe them to be the best shoes in the world.” These words – expressing, as they did, my honest and firm opinion – seemed to satisfy my interlocutor, so we proceed to discuss the details of my new shoes.

Please click here to read mor

BESPOKE SHIRTS
HARVIE  &  HUDSON

I know deep down that the ‘Great’ of Great Britain is there only to differentiate my land from the ‘Small’ Britain we now call Brittany. Yet, like most British folk of the more old-fashioned sort, I still believe somewhere in my soul that our ‘Great’ is there because of the noble history and remarkable character of this island people. In some ways, we are our traditions. And one of the happiest of those traditions is to dress well, in bespoke clothes made by true craftsman. Yes, I know that this tradition is now too often kept in the breach rather than the observance. But, Laus Deo!, it still goes on – which is why I decided to make my way to number 77 Jermyn Street, London, S.W.1. For there is to be found the noble firm of Harvie & Hudson, makers of bespoke shirts.

Please click here to read more