The London Lounge

I travel quite a lot in my work, in the past almost exclusively in Western Europe. But many of my future travels will place me in Eastern and Central Europe (Poland, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Ukraine, etc). As I travel alone I find myself with quite a lot of spare time between meetings. I thus try to visit local classical men’s style stores (avoiding the large international flagship stores). But these can sometimes be hard to find if one does not speak the local language, and asking a taxi driver or the concierge is alas a waste of time, one always ends up at the local equivalence of Harrods. If you guys can give me some tips about stores I can visit in this part of Europe, I’d be most thankful.

Maybe it would be a good idea to put together a LL "member certified" list of nice boutiques/tailors around the globe?

In Budapest, you can see some nice shoes in the Vass store. They can also make MTO / MTM shoes (they take the measures but there is no fitting). http://www.vass-cipo.hu/Eng/Bemutatkozas.html

In Georgia, there are several boutiques making chokha (in Russian, cherkessa), the traditional flannel Caucasian coat worn over an akhaluki (long cotton or linen tunic of Persian origin) with jodhpurs and top boots. One boutique that is beautifully laid out and has helpful, English-speaking staff is Samoseli Pirveli ("First Word", named after an important Georgian novel of the same name).

Their aim is to rejuvenate national costume so that it may be used with pride outside of weddings and folk dance festivals (the current use of such garments after 70 years of Soviet communism). They sell RTW garments as well as MTM, and use flannel from European mills. They also sell the various scarves, hoods, shawls and turbans worn in different regions, as well as the traditional accoutrements of Georgian dress (daggers, belts, swords, and the silver gunpowder cartridges that traditionally stud the chest of a chokha), both reproductions and genuine 19th century vintage pieces.

A reasonable review can be found here http://www.finchannel.com/Main_News/Geo ... _Clothing/

It might not become everyday dress for the average westerner, but it does make for an interesting and inexpensive memento of one's visit to the Caucasus, and it is always good to see the tailoring trade rejuvenated after seven decades of communist interference. Samoseli Pirveli is to be found at Chavchavadze Ave. 22, Tbilisi (in the Vake district to the west of the Old Town)
Tel: +995 (22) 23 43 63
info@samoselipirveli.ge

Regarding Samoseli Pirveli, a sample of their work can be seen here http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php? ... &sk=photos