Henry Herbert is a visiting tailor service, but for those customers which prefer to meet on Savile Row, we work from the Holland & Sherry showrooms. The photograph above (taken by the excellent photographer Greg Funnell for Henry Herbert) is a glimpse into one of the many cupboards of fabrics they house there. The Holland & Sherry office, at Number 9 Savile Row (on the 5^th floor), is run by two extremely friendly and helpful people Nick and Sharon. If you ever have a special or unusual fabric request, the chances are extremely high that they will have it. Simply telephone either Nick or Sharon on 020 7437 0404.

This is a great piece by the BBC (image copyright: BBC).“

“The way a man wears his trousers may reveal his age, research says. But when it comes to waistband placement, history shows there is no golden rule. You no longer have to eye his hairline to determine a man’s age. There’s a new way to figure out just how old he is: take a look at his beltline. A survey from department store Debenhams suggests that a man’s waistband rises and falls throughout his life. Trousers bottom out at the age of 16 with below-the-hip styles and peak at 57, just seven inches below the armpit. Young boys may wear their trousers at their natural waist while being dressed by their parents, but they generally don’t return to this style until they reach their late 20s.”

Henry Herbert recently visited Pitti Immagine in Florence. It is an annual fair which brings together a collection of young designers, fabric suppliers and tailors. It is spread amongst the glorious Fortezza da Basso. And there is one thing that the Italians are so good at: style. The three photographs below show three different approaches to making a jacket – all beautifully cut with stunning fabrics.

A small suburb of Brazzaville in Congo has become an unlikely style capital, thanks to its dedicated followers of foppish fashion. Dressed to the nines in bowler hats and tailored suits, a group of cigar-wielding ‘sapeurs’ have been strutting their stuff through the shanty town – and on to the pages of a glossy new book, Gentlemen of Bacongo, by Italian photographer Daniele Tamagni. Le Sapeurs, as they’re called, wear pink suits and D&G belts while living in the slums. Whether it be spectacles or bow tie accessories are very important for the sapeur, setting him apart from the less sartorially savvy crowd.

Why do we leave the last button of a waistcoat undone? We can trace this back to King Henry VIII. It was considered a huge insult to Henry because he couldn’t see his toes, let alone fasten the bottom button of his waistcoat. His courtiers took it as a style ‘initiative’ and followed suit, hence it becoming ‘the’ way to button a waistcoat. It remains a point of style even today and most well dressed men will leave their bottom button undone.

Henry Herbert recently visited Pitti Immagine in Florence. It is an annual fair which bring together a collection of young designers, fabric suppliers, tailors and other fashion retailers. It is spread amongst the glorious Fortezza da Basso. We were as impressed as much by the locals, as by the exhibitors. We say the locals because they have mastered the art of the broken suit: allowing gentlemen, who get it right, to blend together a jacket, short and trousers in different patterns which can all be worn together. Pictured above is one Florentine who looks spectacular in his combination. He also let us know a little secret of his: the best fish restaurants can be found on the stunning Cinque Terre.

When you think of the three-piece suit, you think of the Thomas Crown Affair, or Al Pacino in The Godfather Part II, looking as fierce as any actor ever. You think of high-powered attorneys and CEOs roaming the courtrooms and boardrooms of the 1970s. You think of Justin Timberlake onstage. The question is: Do you ever think of yourself in one? You might want to start. The three-piece suit no longer suggests you have the corner office (or a tommy gun); it suggests you have style. Of course, it’s not as easy as one two three. You need to know how to wear it and where to wear it. And their lies the beauty: a dismissal of the waistcoat and you have a two-piece, lose the trousers and you have a weekend jacket. All three put together and you have a razor sharp suit. It even has other uses as recently reported by the New York Times. Whatever your use for a three-piece, every well dressed gentleman should have one.