Under a photographic lens.
The cloth inverted:
The cloth un-inverted, if there is such a word!
It is Seersucker!
And here it is in its beauty:
Experimental fabric photography
To the naked eye………
Preparing it for the camera…….
Under the microscope…..
Photography: Petra Exton: www.petraextonphotography.com
Cloth: Holland & Sherry / Harris Tweed
Grey Herringbone Shooting Jacket
Shooting jackets made to order by our skilled shooting jacket makers, adding an air of confidence to that shooting shot! Made from the world famous Harris Tweed. Call us on 020 7837 1452 and a Henry Herbert Savile Row Tailor will be happy to discuss your needs for a tailor made shooting jacket, made to order.
Bespoke Suits London
Just how bespoke can bespoke be? We try to accommodate every request and we are always thinking of innovative ways to involve the customer as much as possible in the bespoke suit making process. Perhaps what better way to than to invite the customer to cut his own cloth…..if he wants to!
Expressions of a Tailor
Tailored suits. Be British. Be Tailored. By Henry Herbert Tailors
Tailored suits bring an air of confidence to every man. The feeling of freshly cut cloth, a pattern made to exactly your measurements and the bespoke service that should go with every tailored suit do what every tailored suit should: make you feel good.
The biggest test of any tailored suit is whether it makes you feel good. If it does, that is all that matters.
Entering into the world of tailored suits and bespoke tailoring can feel like stepping onto the set of “Mad Men” or “A Single Man,” the film-directing debut of the men’s wear designer Tom Ford. But your tailor is there to help you and guide you through the vast selections available to you.
Tailored suits. Be British. Be Tailored. By Henry Herbert Tailors who working to the high standards of Savile Row.
The Pocket Square
There is only one thing that can be said…….more people should wear one!
Beat the January Blues! How to dance Gangnam Style wearing a suit……….
Join the Campaign to Wear Double Breasted Suits
The V-shaped man in the double-breasted suit is making a comeback, adding stylish swagger to city streets and cool tailoring to corporate offices. The double-breasted silhouettes and swooping lapels, broadened shoulders and extra chest, are once again making a resurgence. And Henry Herbert Tailors have started the campaign to start the comeback.
Each year we hold a DB-Day. The next one will be in December 2013.
From Start to Finish: A Special Request
This is hopefully a gentle journey for you to read and look through. It is one of the recent and more unusual commissions we have been asked to do. We are proud of every suit and shirt we make and as we say to all of our customers, ‘there are no rules – just preferences.’ A young gentleman in London asked us to make him a two piece tail suit for a special occasion and the photographs below are the journey we went through together with him.
1.
September 2012
He bought with him a tail coat he liked. He wanted us to model his new one on this.
This is the photograph of him wearing his ‘model’ coat.
We went through the measuring and he choose a red fabric – for both the trousers and the coat itself.
2.
After he left, we ordered the fabric. It arrived the following morning.
The fabrics we order are quick to arrive – we make our suits here (in England) and we use British fabrics.
This fabric came from Taylor & Lodge.
You can see this in the small detail on the ‘shelving’ of the fabric.
3.
The fabric was cut and prepared for a basted fitting.
At the bastedfitting, we discuss with the customer the fit of the suit and how it can be tweaked to perfect the fit.
4.
October 2012
The tail coat is prepared on a mannequin ready for the arrival of the customer for the basted fitting.
We wait with baited breath, watched upon by one of our customer’s overhead (a retired General holding his gun)…..
5.
November 2012
The tails are finished and ready for the customer for his special occasion.
Henry Herbert Tailors, “At Your Service, Sir!“
The English gentleman
Bespoke suit fabric: Blue wool
Fabric source: Peebles, Scotland
Suit Cut: Slim, Single Breasted, Two button
Bespoke suit occasion: Everyday suit
Notes: A blue suit made for a young gentleman in West London. A great hard working wool for an every day business suit – but still finely cut to offer a tailored finish.
Just when is bespoke, well, bespoke?…..
Just what does bespoke mean?
It is a term that our industry is constantly challenged by. To many people it can mean many different things. It can range from the absurd arguments – something being made in the Far East versus in the United Kingdom, to a battle between theorists about the number of hand stitches that go into every garment. Very respected tailors have offered their thoughts before, suggesting the word bespoke comes from the word bespoken (to be-speak your cloth).
However, a qualified tailor in China can be just as good as a tailor on Savile Row. And what if the tailor on Savile Row is Chinese? And the tailor in China is British? As strange as it may seem, it happens. Where does the argument about garments being made overseas conclude in those circumstances?
Similarly, there are tailors who insist on a minimum of five, six or even seven fittings for every suit they make. But what if the customer doesn’t need it? Surely the process is there to serve the customer, not the tailor. Similarly, what if a tailoring house has only one house style….is that really a bespoke service for the customer? There are some fabulous tailors, but they may only offer one house style cut, albeit in any size and figuration you may wish. But is that truly bespoke?
Cutting the cloth and who cuts the cloth is often the crucible of many arguments. And what if a machine cuts the cloth from measurements the cutter has decided? A laser machine cuts much more finely than garments which are hand cut. Hand cutting leaves lots of loose threads and room for many complaints from a customer, but some prefer it. So why not let the customer – with guidance – cut some of his own cloth. Surely a customer cutting his own cloth would be truly bespoke?
Additionally, but just as importantly, I firmly believe that a bespoke garment is not just about providing a unique pattern and size to each and every customer. It is about providing a truly bespoke service. Is bespoke when a customer is expected to meet a tailor between 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday and at just one location: the tailor’s shop? Is it a truly bespoke service when a garment is being sent to a customer, that the customer cannot choose the exact hour and even minute they want it delivered? Should a customer not have the mobile telephone number of their tailor, so that when something does go wrong – a split hem or a loose thread – that the tailor can have it fixed in an instant for that all important meeting or cocktail party?
A truly bespoke suit or shirt can only so called, I believe, when it is complemented by a truly bespoke service.
Please do email me your thoughts at cc@henryherbert.com
Written by Charlie Baker-Collingwood, Proprietor of Henry Herbert Tailors