The London Lounge

Does any body know the history of the bespoke shirt? Including any names or dates of some of the first bespoke shirt shops? Or, when bespoke shirts became more readily available?

Any information that you have will help me greatly.

Thank you.

Jennifer wrote:Does any body know the history of the bespoke shirt? Including any names or dates of some of the first bespoke shirt shops? Or, when bespoke shirts became more readily available?

Any information that you have will help me greatly.

Thank you.

When you mention a "history of the bespoke shirt", are you referring to a book with that title?
I would guess that bespoke shirts existed BEFORE ready to wear. New and Lingwood, who are among the earliest English bespoke shirtmakers still extant, were founded in 1865.
Why not (just a suggestion) contact the major Jermyn Street shirtmakers, for a start, and ask them?
Frog in Suit

First of all welcome to the London Lounge Jennifer.

Frog in Suit has some good advice to check with Jermyn Street in London.

Another good source would be The Alan Flusser Custom Shop in New York.

I don't know how much help this will be but I found this by way of Goggle.

http://www.approvedarticles.com/Article ... hirt/42484

Hope this helps you out a little bit, and again welcome.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

Thank you very much for your response.

I have contacted some of the larger shirtmakers, both New and Lingwood and Turnbull and Asser, who have both been producing bespoke shirts since the late 19th Century. However, unfortunately, they could not supply me with any information prior to this.

I suppose bespoke shirts have been developed from a time when i everything was made for you, if you had the money, or by you, if you did not. Yet, i just wondered if anyone had any extra information, or views, on the history of the bespoke industry?

I understand i'm probably not making myself very clear, but any help offered will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you once again

By its nature, bespoke is not an industry. People have been having things made for them since time immemorial.

Perhaps most tailors consider shirts too simple and insignificant to spend a disproportionate amount of time on a bespoke shirt. So just concentrating on the bespoke aspect would result in ignoring the many technical changes and advances in shirt-making technology.

Still, there must be enough material to put into a respectable=looking book.

Apart from bespoke, there's still the customised alternative, where detailed measurements of the wearer are made; the difference between bespoke and customised is that the client has to undergo at least one fitting before the shirt can be ready for bespoke, while for customised the customer simply waits for the shirt to be made ready for collection .

I can't vouch for its accuracy, but perhaps this might be of some use to you:


http://www.goines.net/Writing/button_button.html

Ask the jermyn Street Association. Penny Scott Kennedy is their secretary and they all know who she is. Try New & Lingwood they have her contact details. If you draw a blank, so do I but just not to hand. Also, read Thomas Hood's poem The Song of the Shirt.
NJS

I really must admire the intelligence of ladies. To help protect their chastity, the shirt buttons are on the wrong side which makes it difficult for a man to unbutton their shirts with his right hand.

countdemoney wrote:I can't vouch for its accuracy, but perhaps this might be of some use to you:

http://www.goines.net/Writing/button_button.html

Thank you all so much. You really all have been such a great help!

Jennifer