The London Lounge

Hello everyone and thank you for having me, I heard of this forum through seeing it mentioned on Ask Andy About Clothes and was very keen to join it since it seemed to focus on the bespoke aspect of clothing. I am a young man in his twenties and I am going to live in Paris very soon to study art and I'll likely live there for many years as well. Now, I know that London is the true capital of bespoke but I was hoping that perhaps the membership of the London Lounge would be able to help me to find a tailor and a shirtmaker in France.
My means are modest but no ready to wear clothes ever fit me and so I am willing to make some investments in better quality clothing. My average budget for suits would be around the 900 Euro Mark and for Shirts I suppose I would not want to spend more than 600-700 Euros on the initial order. I am after just a student but I like things that last and fit well because in the long run you end up saving money. I know these are modest prices but I was hoping that french tailors would charge much less than the ones in savile row. Style wise I like a bit of drape, I want my garments to be comfortable at all times, I am not very tall so I like my garments to make me look taller and older (I know this must be hard to achieve while keeping enough drape?), I favour double breasted coats, and suits. Shirt wise I like blue and white stripes, sky blue shirts, pink shirts, white shirts. I like my garments comfortable, tough and long lasting rather than luxurious and fragile. My casualty is my elegance. I want to be able to do anything and still look good which is why I will often wear a tweed jacket and jeans, a thick shirts and some loafers. I occasionally sport a tweed cap but otherwise I don't wear hats very often.
Thank you for your time,

All over the world


PS: I named my username after the Francoise Hardy song.

Dear All (over the world ),

Welcome to the Lounge and enjoy your time here! Your approach sounds excellent to me - a small wardrobe made up of individually tailored enduring garments that allow you to pursue all your interests stylishly, while always being comfortable at it. Perhaps the Parisian members might advise you on a tailor / shirtmaker (don't count on it being cheaper than SR, though... but perhaps there are still hidden gems that can meet an honest demand at an honest price point).

Costi wrote:Dear All (over the world ),

Welcome to the Lounge and enjoy your time here! Your approach sounds excellent to me - a small wardrobe made up of individually tailored enduring garments that allow you to pursue all your interests stylishly, while always being comfortable at it. Perhaps the Parisian members might advise you on a tailor / shirtmaker (don't count on it being cheaper than SR, though... but perhaps there are still hidden gems that can meet an honest demand at an honest price point).

Thanks for your welcome!
I would be very grateful indeed if any French members could advise me.

What about Paul Grassart, who posts over at Cutter & Tailor? His blog can be found here:

http://www.paulgrassart.com/

His "Petite Mesure" (MTM?) starts at ~1200 Euro.

There is a mountain of information on tailors in Paris on the LL. You might do a search to find the posts.

Cheers

Michael Alden

Hello Michael,
Thanks for accepting my registration to LL. I did do a search but unfortunately I only found mentions of Charvet (which I know as a bespoke silk artisan) but no mention or tailors in Paris. I did find a post in which you said there weren't many tailors in Paris which seems a bit odd to me considering that Paris is considered the capital of cloth? I am certain that the best tailors in Paris are probably a well kept secret but they must surely exist, I was at the Cercle de l'Union Interalliee the other day because my London club has reciprocity with them and I saw a few very well dressed french gentlemen.

alden wrote:HI JS,

Welcome to the LL.

I recently went on an expedition to Rouen in Normandy where I found two excellent tailors: one French and one Sicilian. Bespoke tailors in Paris are pretty dear. The work I saw in Rouen was very good for a fraction of Paris prices.

Michael

you can find the other French bespoke tailors here:
http://www.thelondonlounge.net/forum/vi ... 137#p54137

but all will be above your stated 900 euros.

I lived in Paris for a handful of months with pretty much the same starting point as you. I am afraid you won't find bespoke in Paris at the price you seek, however, if you have time for a Rouen holiday, Michael has said positive things of André Marcel (http://www.andremarcel.fr/presentation.php) and it would be highly interesting to see what he can do.

On the shirt front things are brighter. I had some shirts made by Edouard Courtot in Rue de Rennes which I was quite satisfied with. Prices were very reasonable.

I think your best bet will be to program some Eurostar trips to London and look there for MTM services in the price range you have specified. You may find some good MTM in Paris but it will be more dear, in the 1200-1500 euros range.

Cheers

Michael

Thank you all.

Right now my priority is to have a very tough double breasted coat made for next winter. I am looking for longevity and toughness above all as I will be wearing it in rain, snow and whatever else God sends my way.

I would say either Black or Blue, with horn buttons of course, red lining. A bit lower than knee length I think.

Where do you suggest I go if I were to go to the UK considering my limited means?

Gentlemen,

I kept a little behind with the London Lounge these times, since I have a lot of work and much less time to Internet...

First, I want to give thanks to the members who have recommended me here, that is very kind of you.

Then, I'd like to talk a little about parisian tailors. On a general rule, I think prices in Paris are dearer than in London. So don't come here if you want a bargain. I may be wrong, but I think parisian tradition includes a lot more detail, hand sewn work in the coat, which means more work and more expensive prices. Italian tailors too have beautifull finishing, I'll never understand how they can offer their prices (or why they do it, since they could easily charge more). Please understand that by saying this, I am not despising londonian tailors, it's more that we have a different view of the garment, it is a cultural fact. I remember Mr Alden posted a very nice exchange between a londonian, a parisian and an italian tailor, where this was explained very well.

That said, there are many "gems" indeed in Paris, meaning independant tailors, whose work is much more affordable that the usual "big names" of Cifonelli, Camps de Luca, Arnys or Stark and sons (or, in the "new generation", Djay, David Diagne or Jean-Luc Rambure). And there are a few tailors elsewhere in the country who agree to come to Paris to meet their customers.

Many of those "gems" are known only to the initiates. They have a lot of work, and their customers keep them a secret. I know some of them, but hear about another one from time to time.

People looking for a tailor in Paris should feel free to get in touch with me. I take pride in making introductions, finding a solution for every price range.



Mr Alden knows many craftmen in France (I know we have many common "friends"), maybe we could work together to write a series about them and get them better known.