The London Lounge

Compliments of the season to all members.

I'd be very grateful to receive the thoughts of fellow members on the advantages of the above items. I'm 5ft 8 inches tall, of average build and have only ever bought ready to wear ties (often on sale from various companies). I've always been happy with these.

One of the prinicpal reasons for this choice is a reluctance to spend £150 plus per tie. I suppose my key question is how many members possess such items and do they feel they were/are worth the investment?

Many thanks.

The advantages are that you get the construction, length and knot size that you prefer. And if you go to Sam Hober they cost less than half that.

Wow. Just had a look at their website. Many thanks Will.

Will wrote:The advantages are that you get the construction, length and knot size that you prefer. And if you go to Sam Hober they cost less than half that.

I can only agree with everything written here.

David can help you select the right interlining to get the feel you want. (At the risk of making this thread into a Sam Hober infomercial) I had no idea that some ties could be distinctly pleasant to wear.

At GBP 150 though, I think I'd pass unless only they offered a pattern I absolutely had to have.

Will wrote:
The advantages are that you get the construction, length and knot size that you prefer. And if you go to Sam Hober they cost less than half that.

Also at Marinella ,at least in his Naples Premise,You can get a bespoke silk tie with the above features at less than half the 150 Pounds price.

Angelo

I regret the demise of Sulka. Anyone else remember them? Bespoke or ready to rock and roll - just something else - ties, smoking jackets, gloves, shirts (eat your hearts out Charvet et al. ) - now gone forever; rubbed out by the competitor who bought them just to let the name, and all that went with it, be forgotten. With patrons as divers as Winston Churchill and Rudolph Valentino: requiescat in pace - except for the few that we have left and which we wear from time to time; but only on very, very ... special occasions.
Nicholas.

I meant 'diverse' not 'divers'
Nicholas.

Sulka was wonderful: not only for the sheer luxury and variety of its offerings, but, perhaps more, for forming a living link with the best dressing of my grandfathers' day (well, alright, only the financially better-off of my grandfathers actually shopped there: but the spirit of the place was embodied in the ways that each man dressed). Even as I conserve my remaining shirt and few neckties -- to the point of almost never wearing any -- I scarcely can believe that the shop is gone for good.

Sad.

I've undergone the process. Although my length requests were met, artisans often steered the process into their respective default shape and width settings.

Pogson and Davis, of which i am an open fan, will also do bespoke ties.

sam hober is a terrific fellow to do business with and make a very good product; He has recently greatly increased the range of patterns he has and seem to feel that he can offer a broad range of ties in Ancient Madder.

The custom ties have terrific knots and I like mine very much. I just got four.

The only issue is that you don't see them, you order them off a computer so you don't see the fabric and the colors are not usually true.

He will send swatches, probably after you become a customer, and that is very helpful.

I suggest you start with ties that are basics and that you are very confident you will like and then be a little more daring.

No, I am too poor. If I had extra money I would spend it on a new mac book pro 15" to get me through my university education.

edhayes wrote:He will send swatches, probably after you become a customer, and that is very helpful.

I suggest you start with ties that are basics and that you are very confident you will like and then be a little more daring.

That's definitely smart advice but David, AFAIK, will send swatches when you're thinking about becoming a customer.

I agree with storeynicholas and RWS about Sulka. I too have such fond memories, and can hardly believe that this institution is gone.

My father first took me there on one of his visits ... many years ago now. Interestingly ... my father's initials are RWS. Couldn't be? No! I'm sure LL's RWS is too young!

I know that many love to complain about Sulka in its later days saying, "It's not what it used to be." True, it wasn't. But even at the lowest point, it was far superior to so many others at their best.

As for Sam Hober ... is there a brick & mortar shop?

Scott wrote:As for Sam Hober ... is there a brick & mortar shop?

No-- in fact, I don't even know if he has a totally fixed address at this point. His family has interests in Thailand and (I think) France, and he had been living in Colorado.