. . . and trimmings, canvas, padding, linings, thread, needles, tape measure, . . .Anonymous wrote:If you do go to a Romanian tailor bring your own cloth and buttons.
Anderson & Sheppard Prices
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Guest
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Yes, RJ - I am beginning to think this tailor lures with his low fares unsuspecting clients who fall prey to his Transylvanian habits... 
A great cook is able to make a tasty and healthy meal out of almost anything. The availability of tailoring paraphernalia in Romania is one thing, while the competence and talent of tailors is an entirely different matter.
Cut is the critical element of a garment and, fortunately, the only necessary tools are a pair of shears and a piece of chalk. After that it’s all hard work for the Romanian tailor who does not benefit of all the artifices a western tailor can employ to make his garments look good when thread and needle don’t do it. These craftsmen know how to make clever use of very few auxiliary materials to achieve the needed effects.
As far as techniques and materials are concerned, I think tailoring (when practiced honestly) is pretty much the same as 100 years ago in Romania. Because of this (or thanks to this) Romanian tailors are very good at working with heavier and fuller cloths, that obviously require a different tailoring approach than the modern super numbers.
Romania is not a cheap but risky alternative to the costly but guaranteed SR – it is simply a different place in the world, where tailoring happens to have a different price. There are incompetent tailors (as everywhere in the world), competent tailors who lack respect for themselves and the client producing very poor results (of which I wrote at length in the past) and there is good tailoring practiced by capable and talented craftsmen.
That A&S charge what they do for a suit is, in my humble opinion, more a function of place, reputation and clientelle, because I am sure excellent quality and craftsmanship can be found elsewhere as well. As for their house style being inimitable, we must consider that A&S is not a one-man operation, a craftsman and his secrets; entire generations of A&S tailors have learned to imitate their predecessors, or it would not have been possible to perpetutate the style over a span of many decades. They continue to offer to a wealthy clientelle excellent traditional tailoring in the heart of London’s West End under a reputable name that requires earnest work to maintain and I see no reason why they should charge any less. It is not as if they had a monopoly on cancer medicines.
Is there any point in discussing their pricing, as long as their service is top quality and appreciated as such by their clients? Does anyone complain that trips to outer space are as expensive as they are? Do we need to count the money in A&S’ pockets? Or does it seem more wise to count the money in our own pockets and spend them where they can buy us what we desire.
Is it by chance that these debates are always conducted in the “Anonymous” section?
Costi
A great cook is able to make a tasty and healthy meal out of almost anything. The availability of tailoring paraphernalia in Romania is one thing, while the competence and talent of tailors is an entirely different matter.
Cut is the critical element of a garment and, fortunately, the only necessary tools are a pair of shears and a piece of chalk. After that it’s all hard work for the Romanian tailor who does not benefit of all the artifices a western tailor can employ to make his garments look good when thread and needle don’t do it. These craftsmen know how to make clever use of very few auxiliary materials to achieve the needed effects.
As far as techniques and materials are concerned, I think tailoring (when practiced honestly) is pretty much the same as 100 years ago in Romania. Because of this (or thanks to this) Romanian tailors are very good at working with heavier and fuller cloths, that obviously require a different tailoring approach than the modern super numbers.
Romania is not a cheap but risky alternative to the costly but guaranteed SR – it is simply a different place in the world, where tailoring happens to have a different price. There are incompetent tailors (as everywhere in the world), competent tailors who lack respect for themselves and the client producing very poor results (of which I wrote at length in the past) and there is good tailoring practiced by capable and talented craftsmen.
That A&S charge what they do for a suit is, in my humble opinion, more a function of place, reputation and clientelle, because I am sure excellent quality and craftsmanship can be found elsewhere as well. As for their house style being inimitable, we must consider that A&S is not a one-man operation, a craftsman and his secrets; entire generations of A&S tailors have learned to imitate their predecessors, or it would not have been possible to perpetutate the style over a span of many decades. They continue to offer to a wealthy clientelle excellent traditional tailoring in the heart of London’s West End under a reputable name that requires earnest work to maintain and I see no reason why they should charge any less. It is not as if they had a monopoly on cancer medicines.
Is there any point in discussing their pricing, as long as their service is top quality and appreciated as such by their clients? Does anyone complain that trips to outer space are as expensive as they are? Do we need to count the money in A&S’ pockets? Or does it seem more wise to count the money in our own pockets and spend them where they can buy us what we desire.
Is it by chance that these debates are always conducted in the “Anonymous” section?
Costi
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I have not participated in this thread, and I certainly shan't now, after that wonderful last post.
Bravo, Costi! Excellently put. Elegant arguments such as this are what makes LL such a joy to read.
-- Huzir
Bravo, Costi! Excellently put. Elegant arguments such as this are what makes LL such a joy to read.
-- Huzir
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Guest
Well put.Anonymous wrote:This is about elective affinity and shared tastes - therefore eminently subjective. That's the beauty of it.
C
DDM
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Yes, I agree: elegance is subjective.You keep pushing your "objective" buttons in vain, you simply lack the key combination I'm afraid. The topic here is not "clothes", it is "elegance"
That is why some love A&S, some hate it.
We cannot say 'objectively' that their silhouette is attractive or otherwise. Infact, it is best not to comment on attractiveness or suitability of clothing.
Some here have strong aesthetic preferences, but it is all a matter of taste and indeed, subjective.
Some are wont to critique, indeed, skewer the attractiveness or lack thereof, of clothing but this is all wrong.
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Guest
John Hitchcock is, I believe, the only coat cutter at A&S and his continued affiliation with AS is critical to maintaining its success.
There is currently a strong impetus from AS ownership to modernize the operation; this includes hiring new cutters, increasing production , shortening the tailoring process and increasing prices and indeed modernize the silhouette; all with the objective to increase profitability.
The client will suffer when Hitchcock;s steady hand is lost or his influence diminished.
Love it or leave it, A&S is, as are so many firms faced with succession issues, is quite vulnerable; obviously, a number of A&S cutters have already left or passed.
With the weak US$, American customers are getting hit with the prices but this really doesn't matter to its rich customers. More perniciously, A&S ownership is less smitten by the firm's silhouette, quality and traditions than traditionalists would like.
Pricing is just one area in which the profit imperative will impact the customer.
There is currently a strong impetus from AS ownership to modernize the operation; this includes hiring new cutters, increasing production , shortening the tailoring process and increasing prices and indeed modernize the silhouette; all with the objective to increase profitability.
The client will suffer when Hitchcock;s steady hand is lost or his influence diminished.
Love it or leave it, A&S is, as are so many firms faced with succession issues, is quite vulnerable; obviously, a number of A&S cutters have already left or passed.
With the weak US$, American customers are getting hit with the prices but this really doesn't matter to its rich customers. More perniciously, A&S ownership is less smitten by the firm's silhouette, quality and traditions than traditionalists would like.
Pricing is just one area in which the profit imperative will impact the customer.
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Guest
Anonymous wrote:John Hitchcock is, I believe, the only coat cutter at A&S and his continued affiliation with AS is critical to maintaining its success.
There is currently a strong impetus from AS ownership to modernize the operation; this includes hiring new cutters, increasing production , shortening the tailoring process and increasing prices and indeed modernize the silhouette; all with the objective to increase profitability.
The client will suffer when Hitchcock;s steady hand is lost or his influence diminished.
Love it or leave it, A&S is, as are so many firms faced with succession issues, is quite vulnerable; obviously, a number of A&S cutters have already left or passed.
With the weak US$, American customers are getting hit with the prices but this really doesn't matter to its rich customers. More perniciously, A&S ownership is less smitten by the firm's silhouette, quality and traditions than traditionalists would like.
Pricing is just one area in which the profit imperative will impact the customer.
Perhaps A & S can import some of those wonderful tailors from Romania? Or better yet, set-up a cutting and sewing room in Bucharest?
Seriously, I don't thing that we have to worry about A & S. It has such a strong following that it will survive in one form or another. Of course, the future of most SR firms is precarious, but A & S has a firmer footing than its brethern, and a going business always finds some way to continue and survive.
As one of the tailors said in Walker's History of Savile Row (which may be revised and reissued!), it doesn't matter which tailor a customer patronizes as long as he is not lost to SR!
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From my understanding A&S is priced towards the middle of the pack amongst the tailoring houses. Definitely not the cheapest, but nor is it Huntsman or some of the others. Has this always been the case? Has the price of A&S in relation to other tailors on the Row or elsewhere (be it Knize, some of the New York tailors, Caraceni, Rubanacci, etc.) remained constant or has it migrated toward the middle from somewhere else on the pricing spectrum?
- Jackson
- Jackson
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Not sure about Caraceni, but Knize, I believe, is a bit higher, Ribinacci is almost the same but prices VAT inc and the New York tailors are also similar.
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The success of a suit very much depends on its cutter, not the company name on the shingle.
If anyone is interested in getting an A&S suit, I would make haste while Hitchcock is still wielding the scissors.
If anyone is interested in getting an A&S suit, I would make haste while Hitchcock is still wielding the scissors.
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Guest
Yes, that`s right.I heard that Knize actually charges about EUR 7000 or GBP 4500 or USD 9000...
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