William Westmancott

[ambrosebrown]

Hello,

Does anyone have any experience with these people: http://www.williamwestmancott.com ? I am considering a made-to-measure linen suit. Any other recommendations also welcome.

Regards,

Simon

[dopey]

See this thread on Ask Andy.
I have no experience with Mr. Westmancott, nor do I know anyone who has. I have, however, corresponded a bit with him and found him to be very helpful and knowledgeable. He is Dege trained, and if you like that look, which I do, and he is convenient to you, you should at least stop by and talk to him. You might also consider Desmond Merrion, who also does RTW in that price range. I have a bespoke suit in process with him, and so far, all appears to be going well. I wrote some progress reports on my experiences with Des here and here.

Please report back on what you do.

[Sammyo77]

Prices look high.

[Concordia]

Prices look high.

Um, yeah. For $8,000 his suits had better be good.

[rjman]

Prices look high.

Um, yeah. For $8,000 his suits had better be good.

I'm stunned. That's more than Huntsman. And like Mahon & Beaman, he meets clients at Scabal at 12 Savile Row, so he's not paying rent on a shopfront. That's a very high price for any tailor, let alone an independent tailor who is still to a certain extent an unknown quantity.

[Concordia]

Of course, he might really be in the MTM business. His bespoke prices may exist to give his other line credibility, while eliminating the risk of actually having to make a suit by hand.

[alden]

Dear Simon

If you look at the LL Certified Artisans Program list , you will find a good selection of tailors who are proven quantities at a more reasonable cost.

http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/vie ... php?t=6852

M Alden

[ambrosebrown]

Many thanks for all the responses - highly informative. I will report back here with the results.

Kind regards,

Simon

[edhayes]

8000 dollars is ridiculous

[ambrosebrown]

Regarding the quoted prices - I agree. I must have misread the web page originally - I'm not considering spending such a sum.

My latest thinking is go with a company called Grosvenor Shirts - they take measurements for made-to-measure, provide you with a selection of fabric and then send it to a company called 'Wensum'. They charge £925 for a three-piece suit. I've had a three piece green wool suit via this process and was very pleased with the results. I was interested in trying somewhere else for the experience, but haven't found anything compelling.

Regards,

Simon

[manton]

Prices look high.

Um, yeah. For $8,000 his suits had better be good.

I'm stunned. That's more than Huntsman. And like Mahon & Beaman, he meets clients at Scabal at 12 Savile Row, so he's not paying rent on a shopfront. That's a very high price for any tailor, let alone an independent tailor who is still to a certain extent an unknown quantity.

Has Beaman set foot in SR in the last 18 months? Anywhere in the West End? Has he even picked up a needle? Apart from a few feeble attempts to drum up new deposits from unwitting dupes, has anyone had any indication that he is actually still in business?

[couch]

Not I.

[Mr Westmancott]

Dear All,

It has been interesting to read the comments from everyone on this forum.

My prices have recently changed on my website in a significant way to reflect major changes in both the service I offer my customers and the quality of workmanship that you will find in my bespoke offerings.

As you will all be well aware, there can be a significant difference in quality of both craftsmanship and service from the variety of tailors along the Row, and even from different cutters in the same tailoring house.

I started learning my craft working with Anthony J Hewitt and Ravi Tailor before moving to work under Peter Ward Head Cutter at Dege & Skinner where I worked as a cutter for nearly eight years.

Savile Row today, is not the Savile Row it used to be.

Go back a few decades and there were hundreds of jacket makers and trouser makers all competing for work. Because of this immense competition, only the very best tailors got given work from the tailoring houses on Savile Row.
Savile Row attracted the best craftsmen from accross the world, who all came looking for work in the area.
Savile Row tailoring houses paid better money than houses out of the area, but even so the workmen were poorly paid and many badly treated.

It is only fairly recently that rents along Savile Row have really shot up and a lot of companies have found this commercial pressure hard to swallow. 60 years or so ago, fixed overheads for Savile Row tailors were not as high as they are now.

The average price of a Savile Row suit hasn't changed that much in real terms over the years. However, nowadays, there are very few coat makers and trousermakers working in the area, a tiny fraction of the number there were many years ago. This lack of craftsmen and women has meant coatmakers and trousermakers today get paid much higher wages than they ever did in the past. It has also meant that many coatmakers and trousermakers that wouldn't have made the grade back in the day are getting work simply because there is no alternative.
Coupled with this, even the very best coatmakers and trousermakers nowadays rarely put in as much work as they would have had to back in the day of stiff competition and poor living and working conditions. Why? Because they don't have to, and their time is a very valuable commodity, and few tailoring houses are willing to pay the extra to motivate the best craftsmen to put in that all important extra time into their work.

So, overheads have gone up. The cost of making a suit has gone up. The price of cloth is now higher as better quality wool is used nowadays in the average high end suit.
The average real time price of a suit has changed little. So, if Savile Row tailoring houses are making less money from the sale of each suit now than they were 70 years ago, is the customer just getting a better deal, or is the customer losing out on something that customers 70 years ago would have got?

I charge a very high price for my services.

I treat my coatmakers and trousermakers with the respect they deserve and the wages they deserve. As a result, they put their all into the garments they make for me.

I don't have the overheads of a shop. Instead, I visit the majority of my clients in their own home, or office, or hotel or the first class lounge at Heathrow. I am there for you, wherever it is most convenient. Not just in London, I will happily travel further afield to see you.

Not only do I visit you, but I will visit you at a time that is best for you. I am available for you, be it in the early morning, daytime, evening, dead of night, be it weekday or weekend.

I guarantee my work. I value your custom, and I will work day and night to make sure everything is up to scratch, and I won't accept anything but your complete satisfaction, or your money back.

The following may seem a little arrogant, if this is likely to offend you, please don't read on.

I have a special talent for making people look and feel amazing in their clothes.
I have worked extreamly hard, spending most of my evenings and weekends throughout my apprenticeship years working unpaid with some of the best craftsmen who have ever walked the Row, just because I wanted to learn more. Many of these talents are sadly no longer with us, but their skills live on.
I give 100% to my customers and the price I charge for the services I provide are far from unreasonable.

Many customers of Savile Row earn many times more per day than I or my craftsmen and women do. We are all at the very top of our game and some of the very best talents to be found anywhere in the world. I for one believe they deserve every penny they get paid for the amazing skills they have.

4500 pounds sterling is a lot, especially at the current exchange rate. Not everyone can afford the luxury of $8000 on a suit, but for those who can, it is money well spent.


William Westmancott
Savile Row, the way it should be.
info@williamwestmancott.com