My made to measure (part one)

Ready for made for measure.

Long time readers will know how often I have dreamed of entering the world of bespoke and made to measure suiting. The thought of having a suit made to my own personal specification and desire has appealed to me for many years...now, thanks to my recent trip to Hong Kong the wait is finally over and the dream is realised. Despite being told of the numerous wonders of Hong Kong, I have always been drawn to the idea of exploring the countless little tailor shops scattered throughout the city. However, as my last minute post asking for your help demonstrated, I was more than a little bewildered by the abundance of willing and able craftsman at my potential disposal and I needed to make a choice between them. Thanks again for all of your recommendations, when I return to Hong Kong next year I will be sure to explore them fully (first on my list is the oft recommended W. W Chan) but I just ran out of time this trip. As it turned out I managed to stumble across the perfect tailoring shop to guide me through my first made to measure suit via an eye catching guide book, j.a. daye. I was intimidated by the choice of having to pick out my tailor but my find bridged the gap between what I am used to and what I needed. j.a. daye is my idea of what a good twenty first century tailor should be, a bespoke experience for a generation raised on the ease of ready-to-wear shopping, with classic styles made with a distinguishable modern point of view in unexpected fabrics. From the moment I stepped in to the store and met the owners I knew that this was the place for me. Having found my tailors, let me take you through my journey in to made to measure. Here I choose the suit, get measured up and work out the initial design features with my tailor but tune in later this week for the next stages...

Finding the suit that inspired it all...

The studio and store are both in the heart of old Hong Kong and all suits are made by a small network of expert tailors. After stepping inside their store it was not long before I had established the perfect suit to kick start my first foray in to made to measure tailoring. The suit jumped right out of the clothes rail and I knew that it would make my ideal lightweight Sunday best. Following a quick chat with proprietors Ellis and Alex, I discovered that the suit is made from a crosshatch-like weave which appears both traditionally Japanese and very modern at the same time. From a distance, it might be denim, but it is so fine and delicate to the touch that no doubt I will actually lament taking it off at the end of the day. Following this inspired choice I excitedly trotted off to the tailoring studio to get measured up.

The first measurements. Here I am being measured by the lovely Ellis. Fittingly, I am wearing my handmade in england shirt (closing down sale purchase from Jas M.B) for the very first time.

One of the reasons for choosing either a bespoke or made to measure suit is that the end result is certain to make the wearer look so much better than anyone else in the room. Not only will you look slimmer, taller and more pulled together, but you will move much more freely and feel totally at ease. You should feel as relaxed in it as you would in your favourite pair of jeans. To reach this level of ease, the first stage requires the tape measure. I have to confess to being a little nervous as the first batch of measurements were recorded.

Compiling statistics.

This was the first time that I had been measured up and I really didn't know what to expect. Thankfully, old hand Ellis soon made me feel at ease and I found the whole experience enjoyable whilst learning a thing or two. If you are a little unsure of the process, the pair have created a series of fourteen videos documenting how you can take the required points of measurement yourself. After the measurements were recorded the real fun began as Ellis and I began to sketch out our shared vision of what the suit could and ultimately would be...

Ellis sketches out our shared vision.

Prior to my Hong Kong visit I had given my ideal suit a great deal of thought and I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. That said there were a few points I needed the tailor's guidance on and Ellis was extremely talented at probing for my input and turning my responses in to something tangible. With pen in hand, his sketches soon took shape and I knew that he would create my perfect Sunday best.

Working out the finer details

There was so much to consider but as I chatted with Ellis my imagined suit took shape. As I had fallen head over heels for the cross hatch voile two piece in store I didn't want to change too much. In short, I wanted to keep the one button closure at waist, the three patchwork pockets at front and the three inside pockets. For me, this is relaxed tailoring at its finest. However, I had to inject my own personality in to the finish of the jacket in particular. After discussing the options, I decided that the sleeves would be lined in a polka dot silk and the body would be complimented with a striped silk. Having made this decision I could not have been more excited about donning this suit for the very first time. This of course had to wait. At least one fitting (more likely two) was required before the suit could be fully realised and created. to my specifications. We left the first meeting there and I left the studio eager to return for the next stage...

The imagine suit..soon to be realised...

You can't buy style but you can make it

This was the title of a recent entry on the sartorialist and upon reading this it made me feel guilty that I do not make/personalise enough of my clothes or accessories. I have a long list of accessory and garment ideas that i have penned into my trusty notebook but these ideas have never been realised and that is a little shameful. I thought about trying to hide behind the excuse that maybe it is because of my gender (it is true in the sense that I know countless girls who are thrifty and make their own clothes and no guys) but I had sewing classes back at primary school. I am just lazy. But I want to change! Is there anyone out there who regularly makes items of clothing? Are there any keen male knitters out there? I am going to see EJ this weekend and part of that weekend will be spent in her teaching me the difference between the knit and the purl. Photos will follow....

Readers Question - Affordable Bespoke

Hello Style Salvage,

I hope you are well. Love everything about the blog, a real refreshing (and adult) take on men's fashion. Just had a quick question which I was hoping you may be able to help me out with. I'm looking to get hold of a bespoke suit (a penchant of yours I know), but am looking to get one a little cheaper than the £2,000 price mark. Have been doing some serious reading on the askandy forum which has proved quite informative, with a few places coming highly recommended for a price of £1,000. My only slight concern is that they probably tailor for the professional classes and my 2-piece isn't for work (I work in TV so would prob be a little toooo much) but for lounging and wearing to dinner etc. Just wondered if you had any recommendations for places around the London area that may do a reasonable bespoke number, with a young-outlook. Plus, I'm tall and skinny, so any where you think they may be able to cater to that would be great. Anyway, any help you could offer would be gratefully received, even if it's just pointing me in another blog direction.

Thanks

Thomas

We love receiving readers questions here at Style Salvage (we still can't believe that people actually value our sartorial opinion) and the most recent question is my favourite thus far. I say this only because it is something that I have been questioning myself, where can I find an affordable bespoke suit without taking a trip to the Far East? I'm quite sure that there is nothing quite like dressing in bespoke. The comfort that comes from the perfect fit combined with the pleasure from owning a piece of true craftsmanship finished off by the quiet confidence you gain from knowing that there is nobody in the room better dressed. A bespoke suit is certainly worth the investment but it is taking that first leap which is quite daunting...I should know because I'm still standing on the edge of the board myself. However, receiving this question has reignited my desire to jump in to the wonderful world of bespoke myself. So as well as researching the options for Thomas I will be looking for myself as well. Over the course of the next week I will scour London and beyond for the best, affordable bespoke (and the best of the rest) solutions available which will presented to you in daily segments. There is a wealth of information out there but it is difficult to find and presented poorly at times and therefore we would like to present the ultimate guide to buying bespoke over the course of next week. In the meantime The English Cut has this great advice on picking a bespoke tailor which will hopefully wet your appetite.

Jimmy Fix it For Me

Apologies if I got you excited with the post name, this isn't a post about Jimmy Saville's style but I want to talk about the other Savile. From an early age (far too young to be even thinking of suits) I've wanted to be have a Bespoke Suit from Savile Row (yes I accept I was a strange child). For me and many others Savile Row is a symbol of the very best in men's dress. Bespoke tailoring can be seen as the Haute Couture of men's style and Savile Row has dressed every icon of male elegance from Nelson, Valentino and Astaire to Sinatra and Jagger. I will focus this post on one tailor in particular but I am sure to return to some others during my future posts. It is fitting to begin my exploration of Savile Row at Number 1 and at this address I find Gieves & Hawkes.

I won't bore you (too much) with the details although I find it interesting (I'm such a geek) but they do help illustrate the great history and almost institution like status of the tailors found along this street. The company formed from two businesses who were already famous in their own right, Gieves (which was founded in 1785) and Hawkes (which is even older, founded in 1771). Gieves & Hawkes has received Three Royal Warrants which has seen over 200 years unbroken service to successive monarchs. For any historians out there King George III was in power during the first warrant. Famous customers include Lord Nelson and The Duke of Wellington.

Tailoring has always been an intensely personal business. Today one of the challenges for Gieves & Hawkes is to provide the same personal touch to a fast-growing number of customers (the lucky ones who can afford it as prices for the full tailoring service begin at £2,250), adapting to their current lifestyles, to modern fabrics and to society's ever-changing ideas on how to look one's best. Helping them adapt and evolve is Joe Casely-Hayford, who helped define The Clash's military look and has dressed U2 and Lou Reed. As creative director Joe Casely-Hayford has now finished his third collection and is taking traditional English Tailoring and giving it a new twist and in the process is decking out new dandies in timeless elegance. Caseley-Hayford was also the first in what has become a long list of designers to collaborate on a diffusion line with TopShop, it is no longer only for monarchs or diplomats, the image and creative vision of the house is of beautifully made, bespoke clothing, one that would suit any gentleman (who save up for it!).

Tools of the trade... Sebastian Tarek

"It is a poor workman who blames his tools" is the oft recited quote in a discussion concerning blame but what does a good workman do? Quietly delighting in them of course whilst getting on with their job. In our latest feature series we aim to to showcase a cross section of the industry and shine a spotlight on their favourite tools. We'd like to begin with bespoke shoemaker Sebastian Tarek.

Ever since we first encountered the shoemaker's beautiful, bespoke and handmade men’s shoes in the eclectic surroundings of the NEWGEN MEN and Fashion East Installations AW11 we have kept a captivated eye on this craftsmen. Since the launch of his eponymous line, he has strived to to offer a bespoke service that created an altogether different type of shoe. An idea conceived and developed with his private clients in mind, a marriage of personalised service, comfort and luxury with a more relaxed and informal feeling. Here he introduces four of his favourite tools and we hear all about how some have 'become an extension of his working self'...

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Pattern Hammer

"There are no such things as absolutes in shoe making. Everyone has different names for items so it can be quite tricky. However, I call the first tool my 'pattern hammer.' It is sometimes called a 'french hammer', and in truth this one is French. Now, some things have to replaced because they have a set lifespan but items like this should last me my entire career. I'd be really upset if it didn't. I use it for many different jobs but this is the only tool that I use to hammer the upper of a shoe with so I'm so protective of it, the surface has to be super smooth so I'm careful with it. There's a story behind it actually. My Father came over from Australia and had a few appointments in Paris during the men's collections, one of which was with the Chief Bootmaker at Hermes 

At this time, I had just started an apprenticeship back home in Australia and my Father told him about me and my need for tools. He asked him where I should go to find tools because I was struggling back home. Thankfully he agreed and wrote out half a dozen items and detailed where to get them. My father procured a number of them for me, some were very specific to bootmaking so I'm yet to really use a few but the others have become an extension of my working self. The pattern hammer is one of the best examples, it's a part of me now. My old man, the massive blagger that he is, even managed to get a catalogue for the recommended French tool company and even though it has long since changed and they no longer stock most of the items detailed inside but I still use it as a reference."

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Shoe rasp

"Rasps are a nightmare to find. Some of my favourites are no longer made and it's a real problem because they are a tool that need to be replaced every year or so. I'm either using a rasp that's really had it or one that's not entirely appropriate for the job. Someone went to Japan recently and returned with this shoe rasp. You might call it a 'heal rasp' also I guess. in short, it's a 'rasp', from japan, hand cut in fact. I've not been so happy professionally for a while it is ooh soo nice. There's something quite special and particular about Japanese steel. You could get philosophically involved with the merits of it, it's not even entirely want I need or want but it has made me reflect on my work and altered how I work. It's a pleasure to work with."

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Knife

"This is my go to 'knife'. It's pretty important but there's not much more I can add. It's a 'straight knife' made by a well known German manufacturer. In my experience, the Japanese and German makers tend to be the best."

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Travelling foot measuring stick

"This is my 'Finchers of Birmingham folding foot measuring stick'. I only picked it up a few months ago. It's actually travelling one that I'm going to take with me to Australia when I go back in a couple of weeks."

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"There's another part to my Hermes story which is a nice way to end it. As the Chief Bootmaker was soon to retire he amazingly wanted to gift me something to help begin my career with. He past on his heel hammer which clearly, he had used for well over fifty years. I would never dream of using it myself but it is a mascot. From one old craftsmen to a new one, these tools are built to last. It also acts as a reminder for me not to retire. He worked right through in to his 80s, retired and died a few months later. I'm going to die in this chair, that's a bespoke shoemakers life."

Sebastian Tarek on the life of a bespoke shoemaker.

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Pattern Cutting as Art: A study on Anansi

To coincide with the Frieze art fair Paul Smith will be exhibiting the latest body of work from Hormazd Narielwalla entitled ‘A Study on Anansi’ from 10th to 21st October at his Furnishing Gallery. The exhibition will consist of a set of ten artworks drawing inspiration from two sources, Savile Row tailoring patterns and traditional African Anansi tales to create a new body of work.

A Study on Anansi is a celebration of the popular character from West African and Caribbean folklore brought to life using the discarded patterns. "Anansi", the trickster, is the wise and clever Earth God but I have to confess to turning to my trusty friend google, for answers. Despite my ignorance, many aspects of these stories have trickled through to Western society and into children’s stories, super-hero characters and fictional literature. In some versions of the stories Anansi created the sun, moon and all the stars. This attribute of the stories makes it through into Narielwalla’s work where Anansi dances, teases and entertains himself with his most prized creation, the sun.

I first came across Hormazd Narielwalla's work at EXIT Gallery's "A Fairytale About Fashion" exhibition. Narielwalla's Dead Man’s Patterns was a design story, beneath the trappings of menswear into the book, the man, the pattern, and his images really captured my imagination. and I just had to post about it. The artists work originates from sets of bespoke patterns, which of course belonged to former customers, now deceased, from a by-gone era. These patterns have recorded a history of intimate dialogues of customer measurements and fittings over a lifetime but no longer have any practical use to the cutter and are often discarded. The talented Hormazd takes these fragile pieces of parchment out of their original context and breathes fresh life in to the creases and careful folds, along finely traced pencil marks and measurements. Opportunities are created by giving these pieces of discarded paper a chance to breathe, simply in the act of extracting, giving them a new lease of life as art objects.

For this work, Narielwalla's uses scans, photography, his own sketches and digital composition to create a set of playful artworks that have a traditional look and appeal. Creating bespoke clothes for the rich and powerful has made Savile Row iconic but in this evocative work Narielwalla is showing us tailoring patterns, as they have never been seen. The patterns are reinterpreted and resurrected; the lives of people measured through tailoring are brought back to life as works of art through even older tales from another world.

For the past year and a half Hormazd has had the opportunity to work closely with Dege & Skinner's cutters and tailors. It is in this private tailoring environment that he truly began to consider tailoring as Art. Hormazd has recently been awarded an international scholarship to read a Doctorate in Philosophy at London College of Fashion and his main focus will be on pattern cutting as Art. The artist is currently working on the memoirs of Master Tailor and Chairman of the firm, Michael Skinner. Skinner's story will be narrated through his own pattern cutting journals whilst studying at the prestigious Tailor & Cutter Academy. I can't wait to find out more information on this project and as soon as I do, I'll share it with you. In the meantime, enjoy the selection of artwork above.

Style Salvage Speaks to... Lodger (Part Two)

Following on from where we left off yesterday, please make yourself comfortable for part two of our interview with Nathan Brown. In part one we talked about how his passion for shoes developed in to Lodger and how the last nine months have been. In the concluding part we talk about balancing traditional craftsmanship with the very latest technology and kit, the idea behind the Gentleman's Corner and finish off with a few recommendations.

The custom fit starts out with a 3D laser scan to build a virtual model of each foot. Above is the scan of Steve's feet.

SS: We love how Lodger strikes the right balance between beautiful, time consuming handcrafting, traditional shoe making machinery and the very latest technology and kit. Was this balance a key facet of your vision for Lodger?
Nathan Brown: With the laser scanner, it was my view that there was all this technology but no one really knew how to apply it. You could go out there and say you want to revolutionise shoe making but I think that is a very dangerous thing to say. The way we pitch our technology is that it is an additional benefit. However cool the scanner is, if you are a size nine and have a regular width it can't really do anything more for you but if your foot is like mine it comes in to play. We can take six different widths and nobody else can stock that. It was very much about starting off the company from scratch, not accepting the standard fair. Like shoe trees for example. A proper shoe tree will make your shoes last longer than anything else you could possibly do and the shoe companies know this but they use it as an excuse to sting you for another £50 to £75. I thought this was a bunch of crap. We just price it in now and don't take a margin on the shoe tree, which is why we include them with every pair. The shoe bags are made out of bamboo, because it is better for the environment, it is shaped for less waste etc. We design everything, from the images on the shoe boxes to enable you to see what's inside.

Aside from just the tech it was us reimagining and taking nothing for granted. Reimagining from the ground up. What it is built around is twofold. Firstly, we are passionate about shoes and we want to show that we have thought about all the details and secondly, we like people so the experience in the shop is all about the product whilst relating to people. The rest of it, we don't really give a shit about, we don't have the attitude which comes with luxury sometimes. We love sitting down and having an espresso with a customer and chatting about shoes.

The July shoe of the month on display with a few sartorial options.

SS: Gentleman's Corner is an extension of that idea. What frustrates us about many shop/label blogs is that they tend to be pointless aside from updating people on stock and new products. Whilst talking about product design, Gentleman's Corner discusses other brands that you admire and ones which you think your customers might be interested in which is extremely rare.

Nathan Brown: Originally the Gentleman's Corner wasn't a blog. The idea was to have a corner of the shop devoted to things that we like and that is where the gentleman's corner started but by the time we got going we decided against doing it in the shop and turned to the web instead. The concept was formed in the real world but then applied online and I think that is why it has a different feeling, it wasn't "let's do a blog" but "let's find a way to talk about the things we like".

SS: Do you think you'll go back to having a physical corner in store?

Nathan Brown: We incorporate elements of it in to the store now. We have the display table which currently has the Scabal suit on it because we want to show the shoes in context. With that blue striped shoe alot of customers told me they liked it but they just didn't think they could wear it. So a lot of what we are going to do with the photography of the Gentleman's Corner is going to put the shoes in to context. The blog has become an organic part of what we do. We only serve the booze that we like, we only show the clothes on the table that we like and wear, the magazines we like. At the moment we are stocking Man About Town and the Rake. The Rake is a great magazine and I thought that it was stupid that you couldn't get it in this country and now we are pretty much sold out of it. The reason we sell Man About Town is because I love Hugh and the magazine, I felt guilty that we would be stocking a different title so called him up and asked for a few copies. We big up things we like and things we think are good. We don't make a penny on the magazines but we like showing off cool things people might not see otherwise.

Issues of the Rake and Man About Town on sale in store.

SS: Having grown up literally surrounded by trainers, have you got any desire to explore that area with Lodger?

Nathan Brown: Quick answer: yes. Longer answer: yes but. Haha! The thing is, most of the trainers that shoe companies put out are awful, they are heavy, they are poor, they are what an old fashioned shoe company thinks a sneaker looks like. So I definitely want to reinvent. We were actually doing something with one of the big three sneaker brands about doing bespoke, English made trainers and we've got a couple of prototypes in the office. I can't talk about it but they are freaking gorgeous, they are stunning. We are going to do something at some point but it certainly won't be the usual, traditional shoe company trying to make sneakers.

SS: What are you thoughts on the current state of the shoe industry? What excites and infuriates you?

Nathan Brown: Firstly, I'm a lover not a hater. I've got as much of a shoe collection as my large feet allow, so I genuinely love other brands. Starting Lodger wasn't because I thought that there was nothing good out there but I thought we could push it further. I'm certainly coloured by my perspective which is why we do shoes which are classics with a twist rather than full on fashion. I just feel that luxury brands in general aren't moving with the times, a lot of luxury brands, whether that be Savile Row or Luis Vuitton, became world beaters because they were exceptionally innovative in the products they did one hundred years ago but it feels to me that many are resting on their laurels a bit now. The fear to embrace online properly, the fear of letting go of control of your brand... all of the things that the younger brands are doing. If you go to Pitti Uomo, there is a completely different sense of energy between the luxury hall and the young fashion hall. My feeling is if you just jam those two feelings together, that will be really cool. I am trying to mash up those two energies with Lodger, to bring that enthusiasm, relentless innovation, keep pushing and push it some more.

Each pair comes packaged with a shoe tree inside a bamboo fabric bag with a product shot on the label.

SS: It does seem that many luxury brands have been coasting on cruise control...Nathan Brown: And taking the piss out of customers. All of my friends are demanding customers, maybe because we work in the industry, but why would a customer let a "luxury brand" get away with charging you thousands of pounds for a bag simply because there is a short run of forty. Now there is no reason why there can only be forty. For the Kudu shoe we are releasing, we can only make twenty five pairs because there is only that much leather available. So many brands however, create illusionary limited numbers and it is so frustrating.

SS: Finally, harking back to the idea of Gentleman's Corner, we always ask our interviewees for recommendations, who would you like to big up today?
Nathan Brown: As a wine fan: Oregan Pinot Noir. It is on the same latitude as Burgundy France, same soil type, is it amazing... you just have to find it.

Hairdresser: Although long overdue, I always go down to Olivier at Gentleman's Tonic on Bruton Street because he takes very good care of me.
Tailors: If I'm on the Row I do a lot of stuff with Scabal because I think they just have the most beautiful cloths in the world. I got married in suit cut from Scabal cloth so I personally like it a lot. The problem I have is, being in such close proximity, if I name one I need to name quite a few but a cloth merchant I can just about get away with. I'm happy to make personal recommendations.
Shops and Labels: Albam, Smedley, E. Tautz, I'm sure we'll do some stuff with Carolyn Massey so congratulations to her on her place at New Gen Men. Those are a few of my favourites. I spend half my time in denim and the rest in suits so that is a good mix. I like giving personal recommendations to customers. For international travellers, typical Bond Street guys I always recommend that they should walk down Lambs Conduit Street and you can go to Oliver Spencer, Folk, Pokit, It is such a nice street and for someone who spends a lot of time in Mayfair it is an eye opening thing but for readers of your blog they know all about the street.

Style Salvage Speaks to... Lodger (Part One)

We have previously hinted that we were thinking about launching a series of posts celebrating great British craftsmanship and the more we both thought about it, the more we wanted to do it. There are a number of inspiring brands showcasing great British craftsmanship but we'd like to kickstart the feature with an interview with Nathan Brown of Lodger Footwear.

Nathan Brown and his team at Lodger have an irrational passion for beautiful shoes and we think this should be applauded. The mix of continuous design, in combination with cutting edge technology and traditional craftsmanship makes Lodger a truly unique shoe company. After we posted about the July shoe of the month Nathan dropped us an email to thank us and invited us to the store for a chat over a glass of wine or two. We might just have had a little too much fun which is why we have had to split the interview in to two parts. In part one we discus his love affair with shoes, the catalysts for launching Lodger and his favourite shoes thus far. Come back tomorrow for the concluding part where we will talk about the balance between technology and traditional craftsmanship and Nathan will share his recommendations.

Style Salvage: You are undeniably a shoeist. Was there a particular pair you saw/owned which kicked off your love affair? How did this passion develop over the years?

Nathan Brown: It is quite simple really: two things. One: my father was an accountant so he certainly wasn't a fashion guru but he was old school. He bought quality shoes which he polished every week, as a man is judged by the state of his shoes. So I was taken out to the garage when I was about twelve and taught how to shine my shoes. But then I grew up in Beaverton, Oregan, which is the world headquarters for Nike and US headquarters for Adidas and I've worked for both of these brands. Growing in Beaverton it was a ten minute jog to either of these headquarters, we were right in the middle. I got in to shoes from clothing really. I used to make my own clothes because I couldn't fit in anything, so I'd make my own patterns.

SS: Did you have any formal training?

Nathan Brown: My Mom taught me. Not fashion but mainly for snowboarding. I'm 6ft9, 145 pounds. Back in the day, they just didn't make anything so I had to make my own clothes. So I got in to apparel initially, got in to shoe companies and then it grew.

SS: Did the size of your feet come in to play?
Nathan Brown: Sort of. It is really hard to get hold of good looking shoes in a size thirteen/thirteen and a half UK, size fifteen US. I am a product guy so I'm sure that it had something to do it and I love making things. It would have been a lot cheaper to buy a bunch of bespoke shoes than to start Lodger!

SS: Tell us about your background and how Lodger evolved...
Nathan Brown: I was running Adidas global tennis apparel business in Germany and my drinking buddies were the guys who launched Adidas Originals which went from nothing to about three billion Euros. It was launched by five guys and they've now become the Head of Advanced Design at Nike, Head of Lifestlye for Reebook in Tokyo, Head of Development for Reebok in Boston and one of them is turning around Le Coq Sportif. So, we would just sit around and get drunk on cheap red wine and talk about doing our own thing, "let's come at shoes from taking the design, innovation and technology from sneakers and apply it to classic shoe making and give that a kick up the ass, wouldn't that be fun?!". So we started talking about that in 2000 and I just kept building on it and going back to it, then I just decide to it as a hobby with one of my mates who happened to be working in London at London but he got a great job when Nike bought Reebok so off he went to Boston. So I decided that I was working in a job which I didn't care for much and so I thought "fuck it, I am going to take a punt and try and get some backers, if it didn't work at least I tried". Fortunately I got some great backers and I get to do this!

SS: The store is sandwiched between Bond Street and Savile Row on London's Clifford Street. Having grown in Beaverton, Oregan, what brought you to this great location in the style heart of London?

Nathan Brown: It took about a year to get this shop specifically. It used to be an art gallery run by a crazy Irish artist. The deal fell through three times but I was a like a dog with a bone, I really wanted this shop but it took over nine months of negotiation. I loved the space here but meanwhile I was looking at every other street in the area, I could be an estate agent. I looked at Mount Street which is a great street but it is mainly for women, not nearly enough passing trade. I just loved this neighbourhood but I love this shop, it is only six hundred square feet with a the two floors.

SS: The size of the store combined with the split levels, fits well with the two Lodger offerings...

Nathan Brown: We tried really hard to find a store with two levels or at least two clearly defined rooms where we could segment the ready to wear and then have an area where we could have a drink and relax because this experience is so important to our other offering.

SS: How do you balance the two experiences?

Nathan Brown: It is quite organic really. Usually the guys sitting down on the couch with wine or an espresso are the customers who keep coming back. That being said there is a certain kind of new customer who is up for sitting down and talking. So if people are up for it we could be sitting down here for a couple of hours with a new customer but it tends to happen over time when customers get a little more comfortable... but we want it to be a relationship with all our customers.

SS: You've been open now for nine months, how are the relationships building?

Nathan Brown: It has been great. My thoughts were on building relationships with guys and bringing them back. I did a quick analysis when we were six months old and 30% of our customers had already come back for a second pair of shoes or more. At that point we had one customer who had bought seven pairs of shoes! Now we have one customer who has got about a dozen pairs in nine months. Having such a high repeat hit rate is, I think a testament that people are liking what we do. It feels great that people are beginning to collect our shoes.

SS: Did your sneaker background inspire the shoe of the month, the desire to consistently release new models while the rest of the shoe industry moves with the seasons?

Nathan Brown: The whole shoe of the month thing was a calculated thing. Number one, I think seasons are artificial for shoes, black suede is not a six month thing but brogues should be around for ten years. So the shoe of the month addresses this, shoes are released for exactly the right month. Secondly, the biggest assets Nike and Adidas have are their back catalogues, the old school models they can release. It was a calculated idea that we wanted to generate a catalogue that we can mine in an intelligent way quickly. It is exhausting to do but it allows us to test new ideas before we put them out on our ready to wear collections and gives us a lot more information, we get immediate feedback. In nine months we have done around a dozen models which would take around six years if we did it the standard seasonal way.

SS: Out of the twelve have you got any personal favourites? I know it must be like choosing your favourite child...
Nathan Brown: You want me to pick favourites from my babies? Well, there a couple of pairs I just couldn't get; I can't justify having every model but kind of wish I could. I loved the Spectator but couldn't get a pair. They are beautiful shoes. I have a pair of the Oxford George boot but I just can't bring myself to christen them yet. Those are a couple of my favourites and I have to say that the white tennis shoes are spectacular, I've worn them so many times and they are still white and something else. None of those were our best sellers but they are my favourites, although the tennis shoe was our second biggest seller.

SS: Are there any which you just can't wait to release?

Nathan Brown: The thing with the shoe of the month is we can be very quick so we've not really thought beyond September but I'm excited by the Kudu work boot, made from the twenty five year old Kudu which is going to be spectacular, lined with purple Velvet- stunning.

SS: And of course you are working on the boat shoe...

Nathan Brown: Yeah. It will hopefully be released for February next year so we can drop it in early Spring and it is going to be gorgeous. We went back to the drawing board because I think it's good but we can completely blow it up, we can make is something else, so it is going to be a fun one to release. I can talk about all of them, it is so hard to narrow them down. Annejkh is the best show designer out there, she understands sneakers but she is obsessed with men's classic shoes so she understands the aesthetic. She is a sneaker head- I think a lot of us have not grown out of that and it affects how we address shoes, how we wear them and how we style them.

Hand to hand combat with a ball of wool

Oh my, am I rubbish. But less of that and more posting!

Although you may not consider this post to be strictly about style, it is a topic close to my heart. I want to write today about knitting, and specifically men who knit. I learnt to knit late last year and was pleasantly surprised by how easy (not that I can knit anything more complicated than a square or scarf yet) and relaxing it is. I've found it to be the ideal thing to do while listening to music or watching rubbishy tv (I have great difficulty doing just one thing at once) and making things yourself is the ultimate in bespoke.

I keep hearing about a rise not just in women knitting (the so-called craft revolution has done wonders for wool shops) but also a subsection of cool male knitters.

All over the web there are brilliant knitting sites, and some really great ones dedicated to male knitters.

Men who Knit

Men Knit (ok, maybe they're not very creative when it comes to naming.. though I love that there's a men's knitting group called 'Dicks with Sticks')

A great issue for men from Knitty.com

That last link has some great patterns including a brilliant baggy sleeved cardigan. The way I see it though is even if you're not ever going to get to the level where you can knit cool stuff like that, how great is it to be able even to make your own scarves in the colours you love the most?

If you don't know how to knit yet, you may want to check out the following link for some helpful videos.

How to knit a scarf courtesy of VideoJug

Hello there.

Oh why is Russell Crowe on our blog? Damn that neanderthal and his poor sense of style. other than that I love the post. You need to teach me how to knit. I want some arm-warmers because I've seen them worn really well under coats and want to emulate the look. Next time I visit you in Manchester you have to teach me the basics. I could learn from online videos or by abducting an old lady but I would prefer to have your wise words and demonstrations rather than from someone who smells funny. I stumbled across the look on luisaviaroma and even I wouldn't spend that kind of money on a pair of arm-warmers so why not make them. If I fail I can always buy a cheaper version but I want to try. What fun we will have in Manchester!

The Savile Row Cutter

The last few weeks have whizzed right by me leaving little but a confused, exhausting blur in its wake. However, one recent bit of post sent from blog friend Hormazd Narielwalla has helped provide a much needed change of pace. Whenever I've been able to grab a few moments rest, I've reached for The Savile Row Cutter to help transport me to a different world, the enchanting world of bespoke tailoring.

Now, regular readers should be familiar with the captivating work of Hormazd Narielwalla. After successfully completing a Masters in Fashion Enterprise & Design at Westminster, he assumed a position at the prestigious Savile Row civil, military and sporting tailor, Dege & Skinner, where he soon developed an appreciation for bespoke tailoring. I first encountered the work of Narielwalla gracing the walls of "A Fairytale About Fashion", an exhibition which ran during the festive season of 2008. His Dead Man’s Patterns project was a design story that took its inspiration from a set of bespoke patterns belonging to a deceased customer. In his quest for artistic creativity, he forages for forms in historic tailoring archives and through his visuals narrates previously untold stories. His second publication entitled The Savile Row Cutter takes his bespoke love affair one step further.

Released next month, The Savile Row Cutter documents the tailoring memoirs of Michael Skinner, Master Cutter and Chairman of Dege & Skinner. It charts Skinner's progress from apprentice tailor through to Managing Director and Chairman. Michael Skinner’s enthralling career started in 1952 when he joined the family firm as an eighteen year old and he has since trained a great number of the bespoke tailors currently plying their trade on the Row. Told through his craft and written ‘in conversation’ with Michael, Narielwalla's text provides a fascinating insight into the life and work of a Master Tailor who has been at the forefront of bespoke tailoring for more than fifty years.

London’s Savile Row is renowned for bespoke tailoring. It continues to be the focal point of gentlemen’s tailoring and the reason is dedicated craftsmen like Michael Skinner who help keep its tradition alive and standards high. For anyone as equally enchanted by the world of the Row and its talented inhabitants, The Savile Row Cutter is a must read.

Made for each other

While I'm aware that it's about time I did proper post for this place, I'm afraid that birthday fever has taken over and my tiny attention span is even shorter than normal. I thought that I'd just post quickly about a couple of articles that have caught my eye lately: this one about bespoke shirts and this one about bespoke shoes.

I love the idea of having all my clothes made just for me, but have reconciled myself to the fact that this is not possible just yet. I think what is interesting about the first article particularly is what he discovers about how clothes are meant to fit (as well as learning the terminology). It is shocking how many men you see walking around wearing clothes that are completely the wrong size. A friend of ours thought that- despite being extremely skinny- he was a size large or extra large simply because he was slightly taller than average. The fact that the shoulders of his t shirts hung close to his elbows and that his body was just swamped with excess fabric (and not in a trendy, deliberate way) did not trigger off any thoughts in his head that maybe- just maybe- these clothes were 3 sizes too big. So many people, myself included, will also sacrifice decent fit because they like something so much they're desperate to MAKE it fit. With me this just means I wear the item a couple of times, feel incredibly uncomfortable because it doesn't look or hang right, then shove it in the bottom of a drawer with a vague sense of guilt until the next charity shop clear out. Well no more! I say.

Don't worry, I'm not about to say we should all sacrifice our social lives and food budgets for half the year to afford four bespoke shirts (£700 seems indecent, but then I'm not wealthy) but it's time we stopped compromising on fit. Do it today! Go to that wardrobe and drag out anything that doesn't fit quite right. Trousers particularly are easy to fix- I would hope that the waist is right or, really, what were you thinking? If they're too loose, make sure you have a good belt that suits them, if they're too tight, chuck them, they look crap anyway. Look at the length: if they're too long, seriously consider getting them shortened. By and large trousers should break once on the shoe, not pool around your ankles- I'm sure you all know that by now, so why are we putting up with anything but perfection when it is so easy (and relatively cheap) to get them altered? Be ruthless too with your tops. I am aware that it's not so easy to get these altered and I know that a man's bond with his favourite shirt or his favourite t shirt is sacred but call me sacrilegious, looking really good is more important than a material posession if said material posession just isn't working. If you love the fabric of a shirt too much to get rid of it entirely, try using it in a different way, perhaps tearing it up to make hankies (sorry, pocket squares), patches or if you're really handy with a needle and thread, to line the inside of another shirt's collar and cuffs.

Hmm, I seem to have gone off topic a little here. I did warn you about birthday fever though.

The glory that is my 21st birthday cake- check out the long hair!

Exploring... The Chalk Room

"It's nice to meet and chat with customers," Charlie Casely-Hayford begins simply as he warmly welcomes me through the threshold of Hostem's emporium of menswear treasures and curiosities before leading me its wooden staircase to enter The Chalk Room. Periodically stepping out of the House's Dalston based studio, the designer navigates his way through the sensory kaleidoscope that is Kingsland Road and immerses himself in this mesmerising microcosm of made-to-measure. He revels in it. Dimly lit adding to a sense of intimacy to the occasion whilst encouraging daydreams of discovery, The Chalk Room shines it's spotlight on cherished craftsmanship, housing an array of handpicked artisans that have the store's signature spirit bubbling in their veins. Alongside Sebastian Tarek, Fleet Ilya, Globe-Trotter, Casely-Hayford's sartorial offering shines bright. Created by British design studio JamesPlumb, Charlie's home-from-home is filled with antique furniture, intrigue and possibilities.

Since the House's inception, Casely-Hayford have forged an eloquent handwriting of modern English style that has left the collective pulse racing. The father and son design duo have carefully crafted a signature style of relaxed masculine proportions and exquisite tailoring, whilst fusing it with an injection of the raw energy of London's dynamic under belly that constantly inspires them. With each season whilst cementing the House's ethos of 'Innovation through Tradition', they explore, play and experiment with the duality of English Sartorialism and British Anarchy like no other label could. They delight in the unique design dynamic. It has created the perfect environment in which an intriguing interplay between old and new, familiar and fresh, traditional and radical. As Charlie Casely-Hayford converses, measures, pins and makes notes, it is clear that The Chalk Room is an exciting extension of everything they have built. The whims and fancies of all manner of customer are now seamlessly stitched into their own signatures.

"When most men think about buying a tailored suit, they think of the stuffiness of Savile Row. With our space here, we wanted to create an antidote to those concerns. We wanted it to be a clean, modern, streamlined alternative that was true to our vision whilst allowing men to be more experimental with the traditional boundaries of a suit.

Ultimately we create suits for men that don’t need to wear suits but choose to. There’s a real freedom in that choice. They wear Casely-Hayford suits in the way that they want to, without the constraints of convention or tradition. Everybody we've had so far have been so different, from business directors to set designers, actors and a plethora of creatives. The set designer went for a classic suit with a stunning, rare, 400g Loro Piana fabric matched with a pinball machine lining."

Exploring The Chalk Room

As he recounts previous encounters, Charlie Casely-Hayford's face lights up the dark basement space. This is an endeavour close to the heart of the House. It builds upon all of their shared experiences, takes the hand of the secretive world of bespoke and made-to-measure and leads it into an alluring advanced area.

"We wanted to retain the price of a made-to-measure service but bring it as close to Bespoke as possible. We have spent the best part of the last year handpicking suiting fabrics from all of the best mills in the UK and Italy, same with the linings. We can provide the customer with over two thousand fabric options. It’s an utterly immersive experience. It can be daunting for some but we're here to guide the customer through everything. We can do almost anything. You can get made-to-measure suiting from various corners of London and we were keen to offer something different and therefore we partnered with a couple of English mills and part of our process, if asked to do so, is develop fabric that is tailored to your whims and fancies. That's obviously at the higher end of the pricing structure but it just shows that we can go that bit further. We're working on a swatch at the moment that has silhouettes of characters from The Simpsons, same with the lining. We're having quite a few requests for using football shirts and we can do that. I like the variety. Each suit should reflect each customers identity.

Rather than follow the structure of a formal consultation, I like to keep it more like a conversation in which I jot down a few notes. After the initial chat I take measurements, ask a few more questions, pair the customer with an existing suit silhouette from the range that works with their shape and preferences, shoot images to see how it fits them and pin as we go. I find it easier to work with images rather than just text and measurements and it also means I can discuss everything with my Dad throughout the process. We go through the details of each order at every step. His experience is such a useful asset and I'm learning every day."

Decisions, decisions, decisions... The conversation between consumer and creator.

It is the perfect collaborative contract between consumer and creator. Despite not being physically in The Chalk Room, Joe Casely-Hayford is still present. He sees through Charlie's eyes. The informal yet inquisitive designer delves deep with his questioning asking about the use of the suit, weight preferences, silhouettes and what if anything irritates the customer about suits already hanging in their wardrobes. Throughout the process his ears are pricked, gaze focused and mind filled with insight. What were my requirements? It soon became clear that I longed for a sartorial chameleon. A suit that could be moulded to my needs over the course of a full year and beyond. For me, it had to be single breasted, slim fit jacket and trousers cropped at boot level in a medium cloth that danced the line between utilitarianism in black and navy with a lining that captured my imagination. Once this outline took its shape, Charlie talked me through each stage of modification and detail personalisation. From lapels to pockets, buttons to vents, linings to inscriptions, the opportunities to mould the suit to your preferences and needs are vast with Charlie, reassuringly as guide at every step.

After a further fitting, a few more photos, adjustments and tweaks to ensure that it falls correctly, the suit was realised. The entire process lasted no more that ten weeks (including a holiday). Last weekend I slipped it on for a friend's wedding. It felt like an old friend itself.

Casely-Hayford made-to-measure suit worn with... 
shirt and boots by Casely-Hayford, pocket square by Muji and kilt pin by RTH.
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With prices from £1,250 the service isn't cheap but it is remarkably competitive. Continuing to delight in the duality between the realms of the tradition and innovation, Casely-Hayford are blurring the tailor's chalk line between made-to-measure and bespoke. This is an investment. An experience. A dream realised.