The London Lounge

Has anyone used Franco Santoro on Kingly Street? Previously, I've been to Connock and Lockie on Lamb's Conduit Street (too expensive for me for the time being) and George in Marylebone (affordable, but a little basic). Since George has retired, I'm looking for a new tailor for the time being. I'm looking for someone to go to for the next five years or so for a few work suits, and perhaps some casual tweeds. I can't afford the full west end prices, so I'm looking for a good middle-ground tailor, and had been recommended F Santoro. I'd be grateful if anyone could give any comments on his work. I expect to be able to find somewhere about the £900 mark for a 3pce suit in an ordinary woolen cloth, e.g. H&S. Suggestions welcome. I know this topic has been aired before, but it's very useful to have an up-to-date reference.
Thank you for your help.

I believe you have used C Antoniou for alteration work in the past so do you not think he would be suitable for your current tailoring needs? I am particularly interested in your thoughts on him as I have had him make trousers for me and am toying with the idea of suits from him. Thanks in advance.

Regards Snapper

Indeed I have used C Antoniou, and have been happy with his alterations. He is close to where I work, so would be a good choice for that reason alone. I've never seen any of his suits being worn. Were you pleased with the trousers that he made? What did you ask him to do? I believe he is within the right price region. The other tailor in that part of town, and within budget, is Sims and McDonald - again I've no direct experience of them.

Other tailors who might be worth investigating are

Graham Browne (Wells court)
Chris Gerogiou (Kings Cross Road)
Paul Kitsaros (Cleveland St)

On the subject of Sims, they are my tailors, I own 3 suits and an overcoat, purchased over the past 3 years
I have to say I can't fault them, they are well known on the row. The shop is a bit more polished than Mr Antoniou
Dave Auton is ex Nortons (long time ago, well before Grant), along with Jon they have owned the business for neary 15 years.
They are ably assisted by cutter Celia who does a brilliant cloth consultation.

I also own a Graham Browne suit and would happily recommend them. Sims are just a bit more 'me'

As an old man I prefer traditional heavier cloths and am not so keen on light weight super 100s etc. So my first commission from Mr Antoniou was for a "sturdy grey flannel" He recommended Harrisons 74181PB at 18/19 ozs. He does not make trousers in house but told me he uses a tailor who makes for the Row. I gave him my brief for style, leg width, turn up size, pocket configuration etc and I must say all of these details were met perfectly and I am very pleased with the trousers.
A subsequent commission included "a repeat copy of the previous pair" but in order to meet my particular colour requirement Smiths 2542 at 10/11 ozs was chosen. Leg width came in marginally narrower than my original spec but all else conformed but, maybe because of the lighter weight cloth, they tend to crease a little by the end of a day.
As for his suits all I could say is that his 'work in progress' looks good and while in his shop I have seen several repeat customers. Hopefully some LL members who have had his suits may be able to give you their input. Best of luck whoever you go with.

A very interesting thread. Would it be possible to see any pics of the finished work? By the way, how comfortable is the Universal flannel at that weight?

Thank you for your replies. How many fittings did you have with Mr Antoniou? Would either of you be able to share any pictures of their work?

snapper wrote:As an old man I prefer traditional heavier cloths and am not so keen on light weight super 100s etc. So my first commission from Mr Antoniou was for a "sturdy grey flannel" He recommended Harrisons 74181PB at 18/19 ozs. He does not make trousers in house but told me he uses a tailor who makes for the Row. I gave him my brief for style, leg width, turn up size, pocket configuration etc and I must say all of these details were met perfectly and I am very pleased with the trousers.

As a young man, I much prefer heavy scratchy cloths, that drape better and make up well!

"As a young man, I much prefer heavy scratchy cloths, that drape better and make up well!"

Quite! However, I have to balance that with the requirement to wear either 3pce or db suits, with a gown, and often in a small 1970s court! I find that a 14oz worsted is about right for work suits, though might try a 16oz in a more open weave in my next commission. I'd still be very interested to see any pictures of the work of any of these tailors. Thank you in advance if you are able to do so!

No offence folks but I won't ever post pictures.
Sorry, but I find people that do post pictures of tailors work on forums do find themselves on the wrong end of a bit of tailor bashing.

Generally other members (who are not tailors/cutters) bitching on a tailors work. No thanks!

That is why I think it would be useful to have an amnesty section for posting finished outfits with the cloth refs....with a rule that there should be no comments other than how the finished piece compared to the swatch....purely as an aid to cloth selection. Those happy for feedback on the actual work would be free to post to the normal forum as well.

WhippingBoy wrote:No offence folks but I won't ever post pictures.
Sorry, but I find people that do post pictures of tailors work on forums do find themselves on the wrong end of a bit of tailor bashing.

Generally other members (who are not tailors/cutters) bitching on a tailors work. No thanks!

Dear Whipping Boy,

I have not posted pictures yet, but I will do so soon. And this has nothing to do with tailor bashing (which I see very rarely happening on the LL anyway). In case you are concerned: you don't necessarily need to disclose the tailor's name.

I have learned a lot from fellow members posting pictures for my own commissions, from the good ones of course, but certainly also from the more "problematic" ones. This is, in my understanding, a purpose of this forum: learning from each other and exchanging ideas. The bespeakers here like to get their hands dirty, as Costi says, and this includes taking risks...

Best regards, David

WhippingBoy wrote:Sorry, but I find people that do post pictures of tailors work on forums do find themselves on the wrong end of a bit of tailor bashing.

Wrong forum, perhaps?!
Only la creme de la creme gets whipped in our labs!

Rowly - I find the Universal flannel comfortable at that weight and, as I said previously, I like cloth on the heavier side rather than super fine 100s that seem to crease too easily.

Young Lawyer - there was no baste fitting for the trousers, they came in from Mr Antoniou's tailor as finished. Small modifications, such as the fact that braces buttons had not been added, were undertaken then and there while I waited. The need to have the leg length altered meant they had to be sent back to the tailor.

Whipping Boy - I understand your hesitancy to post pictures as nobody who has parted with a considerable portion of his income wants to hear anything bad about the product. When I first took pictures of the trousers it seemed to me that what I saw in the still shots did not truely represent what I believed I saw in the mirror or when I glanced at the dynamics of the trousers as I walked along, so I did not post them.
I grew up in the sixties at the time of the Peacock Revolution and as a Mod I wore the current outlandish fashions that changed almost weekly. After each shopping trip I would ask my father "do you like my new (shirt), (tie), (suit) ?" and although they were, in hindsight, terrible to his eye he would reply "Do you like them son?". Upon my enthusiastic "yes of course" he would always tell me "well then that's all that matters ". So I would say to you that if you do decide to post pictures from your tailor and they do elicit some, albeit well meaning, adverse comments as long as you are happy with the items "thats all that matters".

I will try to post my pictures as soon as I can have them taken and work out how to download them.

Thanks Snapper, I look forward to seeing your pics. I will have to make the effort and post some of my own before too long