The London Lounge

The new forum is much better by the way, so thanks Alden and team.

I used to be a made to measure customer of Stephen shirts but switched to Budd ready to wear. Although their ready to wear shirts are rather easy fitting, some would say overly so, I prefer their higher quality and more generous collar.

Budd now seems to use two manufacturing locations for their of ready to wear shirts. Their classic fit shirts are still made in England, but their slim and tailored fit shirts are now made in India, albeit the retail price is more competitive. Has anyone else noticed this?

Together with their new pop up shop it looks like a drive to capture a younger and more fashion consious audience.

I am not keen on very slim fitting shirts, but being of slight build a slightly slimmer ready to wear shirt could have been a good option for ready to wear. I shall stick with the classic cut ones for now, although all decent Jermyn Street shirts seem to be getting more expensive by the minute.

Always worth tracking, but be careful about slamming Indian garment quality. There is one shirtmaker, 100Hands, whose work is competitive with the world's best. And the workshop managed (and trained) by Whitcomb & Shaftesbury produces suits that are very hard to distinguish from SR standard-issue.

I am not necessarily knocking the quality, I have heard of 100 Hands. I do say buyer beware though. For a company that prides itself in cutting on the premises and making in its own UK factory, all is not always as it seems.

arch wrote: ↑

Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:51 am

I am not necessarily knocking the quality, I have heard of 100 Hands. I do say buyer beware though. For a company that prides itself in cutting on the premises and making in its own UK factory, all is not always as it seems.

There is a big difference between Budd's (or anyone's) bespoke offering and their RTW offering. If you go bespoke, one of three gentlemen will draft your pattern and cut it one floor above the shop in the arcade. You can walk up there and see it. Ready-to-wear is completely different. And you get what you pay for. Always.

The new shop in Chelsea is aimed at a different clientele from the shop in Piccadilly Arcade. There is a recognition that there is a different market to be served. The personal service and beautifully curated products available in the arcade store aren't going anywhere.

Their ready to wear offering always was of quality in terms of make. I hope their classic cut shirts will remain to be of high quality and UK made. They are priced accordingly, e.g at over £200 for a linen shirt. Of course you cannot ever compare fit with bespoke.

I for one am not keen on their recent forays into fashion guided marketing and I have definately nboticed a sharp increase in pricing over the last decade. I remember buying their ties at £30 each and nightshirts at £150. That was less than ten years ago. Their prices have trippled since then. On the other hand, if it keeps them in business and allows them to maintain their tradtional stock as well, it is probably a good thing overall.

I have lost my original point. In conclusion, don't be fooled by the traditonal facade. Budd are firmly embracing 21st century marketing. Many other great names have gone before, we can only wait and see how it turns out in the long run..

My reaction to the news: shock. Another bastion fell.

For a company that extols virtues of UK manufacturing and have boatloads of posts on their UK factory this is a cumbersome motion (to put it mildly).

Andrey

andreyb wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:14 am

My reaction to the news: shock. Another bastion fell.

For a company that extols virtues of UK manufacturing and have boatloads of posts on their UK factory this is a cumbersome motion (to put it mildly).

Andrey

With respect, I find this and other shocked reactions odd. If you don't want a shirt that is made in India, don't buy it. I have one of Budd's RTW linen shirts and there is nothing whatsoever wrong with it. Well, okay, it fits like RTW, but that's not a surprise.

Personally, I support whatever it takes to keep a treasure like Budd in business. And let's face it, it's not going to be by bespoke alone. If you want to know who cuts your shirt and precisely where in the UK it will be made (Andover), step up to the bar and commission a bespoke shirt. It's not mysterious and you will receive exactly what you pay for. If you want to pay less, you have that option. But don't expect a Porsche if you pay the Volkswagen price.

andy57 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 27, 2019 4:28 pm

Personally, I support whatever it takes to keep a treasure like Budd in business. And let's face it, it's not going to be by bespoke alone. If you want to know who cuts your shirt and precisely where in the UK it will be made (Andover), step up to the bar and commission a bespoke shirt. It's not mysterious and you will receive exactly what you pay for. If you want to pay less, you have that option. But don't expect a Porsche if you pay the Volkswagen price.

Thank you Andy, I could not agree more .

Cheers, David

davidhuh wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 28, 2019 6:32 pm

andy57 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 27, 2019 4:28 pm

Personally, I support whatever it takes to keep a treasure like Budd in business. And let's face it, it's not going to be by bespoke alone. If you want to know who cuts your shirt and precisely where in the UK it will be made (Andover), step up to the bar and commission a bespoke shirt. It's not mysterious and you will receive exactly what you pay for. If you want to pay less, you have that option. But don't expect a Porsche if you pay the Volkswagen price.

Thank you Andy, I could not agree more .

Cheers, David

+1

andreyb wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:14 am

My reaction to the news: shock. Another bastion fell.

For a company that extols virtues of UK manufacturing and have boatloads of posts on their UK factory this is a cumbersome motion (to put it mildly).

Andrey

The UK has been one of the leading purveyors of globalism in the world.

The UK stopped caring about their manufacturers decades ago when they decided to transition to a full usury economy. Now all that is left is the ‘city of london’ finance. The only way for UK firms to compete at this point is for a drastic devaluation of the pound. Products of similar or better quality than made in england sell for 30-70% less,on the continent. I think after brexit, england just becomes completely irrelevant.

...

'Usury economy'??

Goodness me...