The London Lounge

Grettings All:
Cufflink79 here, has anyone brought the Henry Poole book yet? I was woundering what other LL members thought about it in general such as photos, story line (if any), and overall construction of the book. I am thinking of buying it to add to my haberdashery book collection.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

I have it, but have not done much more than glanced at it.
I can tell you that it is well made. I can also tell you that there does not seem to be much discussion of the technical or stylistic aspects of their tailoring. It is largely a business history or biography of a firm. I have read through a similar book on Gieves & Hawkes that I borrowed from the library. The photos in the Poole book are marginally more interesting if you are interested in the clothes, but are predominantly of a historical nature. If you like having collections of books on tailoring or Savile Row or are interested in the history of the Row then I would recommend it. If you are interested in the hows and whys of the making and styling of men’s clothing, then this book will be of less than minimal interest. Truth be told, I would buy the Gieves book too if I could easily find it, but I found both less than fairly written.

I hope this is a useful description. As for advice, you need to know your own tastes.

I fully agree with dopey's assesment.

I read this book from cover to cover, and in one word it is... just boring. Very little about actual tailoring, but passages after passages about family, inheritance and royal warrants.

Andrey

Thanks for replys so far, I still might invest in this book. How about the photos in the book, any good? When dealing with the subject of haberdashery or tailoring pictures are the best way.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

Cufflink79 wrote:Thanks for replys so far, I still might invest in this book. How about the photos in the book, any good? When dealing with the subject of haberdashery or tailoring pictures are the best way.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

The best advice I can give you is as follows:

If you “still might invest in this book,” you should do so now and stop asking questions. The more you ask, the more I would be forced to tell you that it is only for people who are really interested in the history of Savile Row or who want a large collection of books related to men’s clothing and haberdashery regardless of actual subject. The photos are overwhelmingly historical rather than detailing items made by Poole. Occasionally, a nice garment is slipped in as an example or on a customer. They are not frequent, detailed or large enough to be a reason to buy the book.

All that said, I own it.

This book contains absolutely nothing about the technical aspects of tailoring, and, as Dopey said, it's not particularly well-written -- the prose has a self-congratulatory whiff about it. Nearly all the illustrations and photos, while many and nice, are of period clothing -- breeches, frock coats and outdated lounge suit styles. It does recount some amusing anecdotes about Poole's early period that make it interesting, though (stiffing the tailor is apparently a time-honored tradition). In this vein the book is of greater use to a reader interested in a slice of London history, than to a reader interested in tailoring. Poole sold me a copy for $4000. Of course, it does come with a free suit.

I enjoyed it, and it is an excellent companion to Walker's Savile Row.

I found it particularly interesting discussing the fortunes and follies of the founder and his family. It gives a rather good explanation as to how the leading Savile Row firm's fortunes went up, up, down, up, down, down, and up enough to surive another generation. Poole could have joined the Savile Row graveyard. Its continued existence is as much a tribute to the generations of owners as the entire cottage industry of the Row.

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There are only a couple of photos in the book which might provide inspiration - they come from a 1930's catalogue.

Spinola

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Thanks for tips I will go get this book. I have Walker's Savile Row Book and glad I got it.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79