The London Lounge

Just tossing out a question for your advise:

I have never been in London long enough to indulge in buying a Bespoke jacket.

I was told that H. Huntsman has a line of 'ready-to-wear' , I think they call it 'Hand Finished' jackets and so I am thinking of buying one next week, when I am in London. Has anyone purchased said jackets from them?

Many thanks,

H.E Lewis

I have several Huntsman RTW that were sold via Barneys and were made by Chester Barrie. I'm not certain that these correspond to those you reference and, unfortunately, C. Barrie I believe has breathed its proverbial last breath, so I'm not certain who is making them for Huntsman today.

The garments I have are good enough, in that Barrie was a very good maker, but I don't know that they were inherently superior to other Barrie garments but were likely priced significantly higher, given Huntsman's reputation. The suits I have do have perhaps a bit more defined shoulder than other Barrie jackets, but they are not 1 button and don't really seem all that unique.

I guess I would really inspect the garments and see if they really are what you want. They will not be anything like a bespoke garment, I would say.

This has probably reached you a little late but may be of interest to others. Huntsman RTW range was made by a company called Cheshire Clothing, who used to be Chester Barrie. Unfortunately that company has a reputation for good workmanship but has crashed and re-risen from the ashes more times than the most flammable of phoenixes. When the company last went under, which was at the beginning of this year, everyone made a beeline for the factory, grabbed any work that was in progress, and jumped on the next plane to Italy to get their work finished.

The company has resurfaced with a new owner and backers as 'Cheshire Bespoke' but some tailoring companies are wary to return having had their fingers burnt. What I don't know is whether or not Huntsman have returned to Cheshire, but they will only have their clothes made in England or Italy. This requisite is driven by their US customers who visit the Row.