The London Lounge

A new bespoke shirtmaker is in London, and the name is... Pink, Thomas Pink. Yep, you read it right.

https://www.thomaspink.com/content/the-bespoke-service

What they say in the article linked above checks a lot of right boxes -- individual pattern, workroom in London, sample shirt (for which they charge -- which is fair), etc.

Anyone tried this?

Thoughts in general?

Andrey

Interesting.

It is a positive sign that it is branching-out into bespoke. It shows that the bespoke market is somewhat robust.

I bought a couple of Pink RTW shirts at least 10 years ago, and I was not impressed. It was definitely a mid-level shirt comparable to Brooks Bros. mid-level. Mediocre fabric, plastic buttons, cheap finishing, and those odd, adjustable French cuffs. The fabric was coarse and uncomfortable. I gave the shirts away rather then wear-them-out as I do with quality shirts, such as Turnbull, Cego, and Bruce Clark.

I would think that its bespoke service would score better on both fabrics and workmanship. And, of course, on fit.

It looks like Pink is another (yet another!) COVID-19 casualty: https://www.standard.co.uk/business/lei ... 57770.html

I guess nobody is mourning the death of another overpriced mid-range RTW shirtmaker here; however, this for sure also means death for their incumbent bespoke operation as well.

Andrey

I knew Peter Mullen quite well when they were setting up shop with Pink. They made excellent quality RTW shirts in Ireland, using good quality cloths, proper unfused collars and cuffs, with a high standard of make.

They sold to LVMH in late 1999; the family made a handsome profit. Peter went on to rescue a number of heritage British brands, including Hunter.

The rot set in after the sale; fused collars, make outsourced to remote outposts, compromise on cloth quality etc.

Typically though, the marketing machine also took over. Links to past glory, snazzy shops, expansion into underwear, sports coats, cufflinks etc, with ever rising prices and declining quality.

Have we seen this before? Such a shame.