The London Lounge

http://www.filmnoirbuff.com/article/kil ... e-row-real

Have yoou read the above? Your reaction?

Frog in Suit

PS: Am I being unfair in not speaking up first?

A link to a recent LL thread, with some background:

http://thelondonlounge.net/gl/forum/vie ... php?t=7617

Frog in Suit

I've never been able to finish one of his essays, and have not tried in at least a year and a half. Every single one I started was unrelievedly awful.

The only clear point I was able to tease out of them was this: he is upper class and I am not. I knew the second part already, but I can thank him for enlightening me on the first.

My question was not so much about the essay, which is in part made up of unmarked quotes from (presumably) a Kilgour source, plus long quotes from "Alice in Wonderland " or "Through the Looking Glass", but about the photographs and the style/look/appearance of the garments shown.
I tend to agree about the prose, but would sollicit comments on the clothes. In a nutshell, my first reaction was: "Egad!" . Others may wish to differ or amplify.
Best regards,
Frog in Suit

Inane post of the day?



Andrey

The inane post of the day is almost always on that forum, yet the poor clowns never win the prize. It must be heartbreaking for them.

Too much time on their hands, probably....

Back to Kilgour, if I may, and if anyone is interested. If not, I shall stop. The look of those polka dot suitings and shirtings (worn simultaneously, if you please), horizontal stripes on a shirt, together with discontinuous stripes on the suit,etc... makes me wonder how this firm can be part of something called "Savile Sow Bespoke" or "Savile Row" anything .
This look, to me, shouts "LOOK AT ME!", the exact opposite of Beau Brummell's stated ideal. It is pure marketing, aimed at people with more money than they know what to do with.
Forgive this rant, if you disagree.

Frog in Suit

I haven't looked at the essay, but I think Kiglour left behind its SR roots long ago. It used to be the most "continental" of the SR houses, lean and clean without being stiff, rather Parisian or Milanese in overall look. Some time ago, it went in a more fashiony direction. Dropping the "French Stanbury" from its name symbolized the change.

These days, to be honest, if I wanted an old fashioned Kilgour, French, Stanbury silhouette, I would go to Maurice Sedwell and ask Andrew Ramroop to make me his house cut, but with 100% traditional detailing.

Well, without weighing on the merits of FNB's essay, I think most of the pictures he displayed were of Kilgour ready to wear, while I have the impression he was writing about their bespoke. Understandably, there's a lot more pictures available of ready-to-wear stock than of garments made on a one-off basis, but I'd hesitate to draw conclusions about the bespoke from the somewhat flashy RTW line.

I do like the starlight tweed though.

rjman wrote:Well, without weighing on the merits of FNB's essay, I think most of the pictures he displayed were of Kilgour ready to wear, while I have the impression he was writing about their bespoke.

On of his first "essays" was all about Apparel Arts, but all the pics were from Esquire. I don't think he had any idea. It's all been downhill from there.

I do not like the look of the Kilgour collection and their use of the dots as shown on the home page. However I like the cuff links made from glass. I have therefore been in the main shop (they have two on SR now) a few times. Most of the suits one sees are plain light gray, navy and black. I tend to think that they use this design to create a image and get attention in a similar way French and Italian fashion houses often show creations very few would wear and then sell something more conventional. Just a thought.

I can't comment on Kilgour bespoke because I've never commissioned anything from them. I have read a number of articles over recent months however which conflate bespoke and RTW in a way which I think is misleading - ie, talking about RTW as if it is bespoke. Perhaps this is a deliberate marketing ploy.

I just checked and it appears, contrary to what I was implying above (apologies to all) that Kilgour are not members of Savile Row Bespoke. I confess to feeling relieved.

Frog in Suit

Coming late to the discussion, Frog, I've little to add. I like my solitary Kilgour suit, a fifteen-year-old double-breasted that (thank goodness) still fits me reasonably well, but the change in the firm was too much to lead me to a second suit. The very idea of wearing words or letters puts me off even more.

Of course, should I fall on very hard times I might reconsider the idea of letting myself out as a walking advertisement.

mek wrote:I do not like the look of the Kilgour collection and their use of the dots as shown on the home page. However I like the cuff links made from glass.

The cufflinks made from Murano glass are nice, although one can get very similar Murano glass cufflinks in Italy or on ebay for a small fraction of the price.