The London Lounge

As Hesketh has duly remarked, l'Auberge de l'Ill is the grandfather of haute cuisine in France, and unfortunately, the place in my opinion is very much stuck in the 70s - creamy sauces, rich ingredients and horrendously stuffy staff. The only thing they have changed since Paul Haeberlin founded the ...

Dear DrT, I was in a very similar situation about a year or so back, turning 30 and planning to make the transition from MTM to full bespoke. As you may read have read in an earlier report that I posted on this forum, I decided to start with Norton & Sons because I liked their image. A traditional t...

Dear Monsieur Xu, Congratulations for such a great choice of location and restaurants for your holidays ! Having dined several times at both places, I know about the pleasures of eating at two of Europe's finest restaurants. Concerning the dress code, remember that both restaurants are in a remote v...

It looks like Patrick Grant has just started branching out into blogging. I just heard that he started his own column for GQ:
http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/comment/ar ... s-trousers

Supposedly that leaves even less time for running Norton & Sons...

Just a short update on the customer issues of Norton & Sons: I -and probably most other N & S clients- just got an email from Patrick Grant, acknowledging the problems that his tailoring house had in dealing with their customers: Those of you that have been in to Savile Row in the last month will al...

I also just got the invitation email for the E.Tautz sale. Dear Norton & Sons customer, As many of you may know, here at Norton & Sons we have a ready to wear line that goes by the name of E. Tautz. This collection, currently stocked in the likes of Harrods and Barneys is entirely handmade in the UK...

I just came back from bringing my suit back to the Norton & Sons shop for (hopefully) final alterations and finishing. I got to meet the new cutter, Stephen, who seems to be a very friendly and knowledgable guy. He was exceptionally friendly and promised me to get the alterations done as quickly as ...

I just found this video about the young apprentice cutter that seems to "run" Norton & Sons' bespoke operations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsB1gf-b5b0 Although he was not nearly as leading with my suit order as you may guess from this video, he at least did his best to rescue my dreadful Norton...

I was surprised to hear that you basically had the same experience which at least proves that I was not just unlucky. As it seems, Norton & Sons must be a pathogenic work place with all those tailors in ill health... At least the assistant cutter appeared to be young and robust enough to withstand t...

I do understand that businesses such as Norton & Sons have to earn money, and that just doing bespoke clothes may not be sufficient to keep the business alive (why else do most of the more famous Savile Row houses have a MTM and/or RTW line as well). I can also imagine that, being a new customer tha...

Does anybody here have any (positive) experience with ordering from Norton & Sons ? Unfortunately, I was utterly disappointed with the kind of customer care and service provided there and take the liberty of posting a report with my recent order from this tailoring house. I would hope that this prov...

I just had the pleasure to place my order. After discussing different styles with Mr. Lobb, we decided to go for a pair of brogues with a thicker 3/8 inch single sole. I discussed the topic of Cordovan leather with him, and he did not see a reason not to order shoes in Cordovan leather. He then laug...

I would stay away from cordovan if you have not worn it. People either love it or hate it. I feel that it is very uncomfortable and unforgiving. Since this is not an impulse purchase, buy and wear Alden cordovans for a few months to see if you like its feel. I own about five pairs of Cordovan leath...

Good afternoon ! Thank you very much for your suggestions. I understand that for a first pair of shoes, I should not go with Cordovan leather as it can no longer be obtained in a quality suitable for bespoke shoes. As I indicated initially, I will of course choose a very classic and simple shoe desi...

Good afternoon ! I recently got a gift certificate for a pair of bespoke shoes from John Lobb (St. James). Since I have never had any bespoke shoes made for me, I would greatly appreciate any input from you about what to consider when placing the first order. To be honest, I already got a nice colle...