The London Lounge

I must share this with you- I'm not sure why. I'd bought a shirt and the sleeves (as always) needed shortening. The assistant brought out the alterations book from under the counter and duly wrote down my details - name, address and phone number. Above my name was one I remembered from University days ,40 years ago, although we never spoke as we inhabited different worlds -as we do now . He'd bought a Marcella- fronted evening shirt and was having the sleeves lengthened. His collar size is 15.5 I noted . Mine is 17. He's tall and thin and I'm short and wide. He 'd attended to Eton and Oxford prior to our meeting at University.I'd been nowhere near either of these two places.
Our names began with the same letter so I'd see his mail when collecting mine from the pidgeon holes in the commom-room at college where our post was delivered. His were mostly redirected from his home address in the grounds of one of the Royal Palaces..they were invariably in thick expensive envelopes and bore beautifully written handwriting and by their stiffness probably contained party invites. Mine were from my mother sending me news from home and a £10 note.
He married very very well..but I always thought he was a bit of a twit. I paid and left the shop and walked onto Piccadilly and smiled at the democracy that is St James.

Thanks for sharing.
If I may be permitted an off-topic, semi-political comment... judging by the performance of most of the known Eton old boys in this and other Governments, I expect that most anyone that attended must be a bit of a twit.

Miles from the product of the better London day schools.

This is a beautiful story. Thank you Charles

david

Presumably, the day after your visit, your acquaintance telephoned Budd and asked for the sleeves to be removed completely?
NJS

Presumably, the day after your visit, your acquaintance telephoned Budd and asked for the sleeves to be removed completely?
NJS

Or the book!

charles wrote: He'd bought a Marcella- fronted evening shirt and was having the sleeves lengthened.

I enjoyed the story and apologize for this anticlimax, but I have never found RTW shirts in regular sizes that fit my neck (16) with enough material to lengthen the sleeves to my 37.5. I resign myself to the limited options that tall sizes offer or most of the time have to go MTM or bespoke. How much can be added to a Budd shirt´s sleeve?

Écrasez l'infame!

Rowly wrote:

Presumably, the day after your visit, your acquaintance telephoned Budd and asked for the sleeves to be removed completely?
NJS

Or the book!

Eh?

NJS

Reminds me of my own poignant moment, similar to Charles', albeit without the bad history:

I was just taking the plunge into bespoke suiting, and the time had come to pick out fabrics. Most tailors are very hush hush about who their customers are, and mine was no exception. But as I looked at my chosen bolt of fabric, I couldn't help but see the note attached, reserving yardage for another client. The person just happened to be a graduate of my school, was a well-known captain of industry, and someone who I always thought dressed impeccably. Remembering how good he looked, and now learning that not only was I going to the same tailor, but had the same taste in fabrics, was just the little bit of reassurance I needed that I was in good hands.

the democracy of st james?! this has to be the funniest thing ive EVER read on a style site & there are some real corkers, admitedly on issues such as the merits of leaving a monk strap open or not, or whether you could get away with a 25 oz tweed suit in hong kong etc .. but this really takes the biscuit.

Democracy (wiki): Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows people to participate equally—either directly or through elected representatives—in the proposal, development, and creation of laws.

st james has to be one of the most expensive & elitist places on earth, how can it possibly be democratic if 99.9999 (recurring) of people in london let alone anywhere else cannot afford to shop there and therefore 'participate' in the wonders of shops such as budd in the arcade?

i have shopped in budd & last time i was there the assistant advised me tht a certain shirt would be a good choice when out hunting .. i think that sums it up nicely.

cant believe people on here are fawning over the democracy of budd?! as they cater for a wealthy priviledged elite. budd is not a great levelling plane of society. if you want to shop democratically go to M&S or even more democratic H&M. i believe they also have a fantastic shirt sleeve shortening system, although you dont need to write in a book or anything so tedious, you just stick your shirt in the washing machine for 15 minutes longer and the sleeves will shrink by 3 inches

old fruit

I take it you don't get irony then, old fruit?

Berwick wrote:I take it you don't get irony then, old fruit?

All this reminds me of the quotation that ``British Justice, like the Ritz Hotel, is open to all``.

Irony is understood less and less I fear.

Indeed. It is the democracy of money. Anyone with enough money can shop in St James. Unlike the places where only the upper class (or members of a club) are permitted. Admittedly St James has a few of them too.

Berwick wrote:Indeed. It is the democracy of money. Anyone with enough money can shop in St James. Unlike the places where only the upper class (or members of a club) are permitted. Admittedly St James has a few of them too.

It´s the possession of money; however it is come by: by birth (fewer and fewer) or endeavour (more and more). The days of stagers like Fred Astraire being ´declined´by Hawes & Curtis were over when the Kray twins started patronizing the gods´quad and engaging Lord Howard of Effingham (´´effing Effingham´´) as a meeter and greeter in their nightclub. Of course, it is also the disposition to spend the money in a certain way. However, I see little to encourage in the disparagement of exclusivity just because one is not inside the tent peering out.

The most unacceptable face of socialism is destructive envy: ´´If I do not have it and cannot get it or if I do not understand it, then destroy it.´´ It is just this attitude that whittles away at the fabric of society and leads to the dominance of the culture of crabby yobs and slobs.

NJS