Maurice Sedwell

[DFR]

Does anyone have any experience - good or bad or indeed comments on this Saville Row House?

[manton]

No experience as a client. I have been in the shop more than once, and always find it hard to leave. Mr. Ramroop is most generous with his time and enjoys talking about his craft, even with strangers. I was always mightily impressed by the quality of the work I saw there, in particular the sewing, which to my eye looks like the best on the Row. The designs tend toward the flashy side of SR -- not quite RJ or Boateng, but more aggressive than (say) Poole. The cut is very clean and sharp and structured. Execellent house overall, if you like the style.

[bry2000]

Andrew can certainly create flashy designs. The examples in his window are very flamboyent by SR standards. He is also more expensive than some of the larger houses -- Poole, A&S, and Dege for example. I have never been a customer, but I have walked by the shop many times.

[TVD]

I have never ordered anything from them, but they have a reputation, as MAnton rightly stated, for some of the best handwork on the Row.

[DFR]

Thank you for thjose comments - certainly a good testament to his craftsmanship.

What style would you ay he adopts for 'normal' suits - soft a la A and S or what?

[uppercase]

Sedwell has a talented cutter in the person of Davide who I believe was awarded first prize in 2005 as the U.K's most promising new tailor. I don't exactly recall the award details.... His prize winning coat was in the front window last time I was there some months ago and was infact what seduced me to enter the tailor shop and ask to have a suit commissioned.

Ramroop himself is very active in representing SR and I believe enters into international competitions representing the U.K. He is very engaging.

What does this mean in terms of producing a suit for you?

They are creative and willing to experiment; they are less hidebound traditional if that is what you require. They will take you where you want to go IF you have a srong sense of what you want in a suit and if you want something a bit out of the ordinary SR fare.

My sense is that they have quite a large foreign clientele base, seeking the less traditional, yet highest quality SR suit. They charge accordingly; their prices are higher than the SR average.

Yes, they can produce a very proper SR suit but if you are a bit adventurous, they are probably the most adaptable house on SR. If you don't have a strong vision of your suit, however, then you may feel a bit adrift as I don't believe that they have a clear, identifiable house style which you can point to and say, I want that.

I believe that they do most, if not all, of their tailoring work in-house. The tailors are right there on the premises for you to see.

Ramroop travels extensively and is often out of town. There may be downside to this as he's not been present a number of times when I had fittings; but Davide appears very competent though I would have preferred to have the owner present as well.

They are well known on SR for putting in the most man hours of handwork and tailoring to create your suit. You will probably get the best artisanship on SR at Sedwell.

The caveat to this commentary is that the one suit which I have had commissioned is not finished yet and so I can't honestly say that they deliver as promised though, based on the last 2 fittings, I am hopeful.

The best advice would be to walk into their shop and ask to look at some of the suits there, either finished or in progress, to get a sense if they can produce what you have in mind.

[hsw9001]

Any update on the outcome of your suit? Any pics? Thanks.

BTW this great coat made by his cutter Davide Taub is gorgeous. Just look at that curved back seam.

http://davidetaub.blogspot.com/2011/03/ ... -coat.html

[alden]

That is an interesting coat. It appears to be a Peacoat grafted onto an Ulster. I have seen large lapels like these on large Raglan topcoats that appear almost to be cape like, but never on an Ulster. Looks great.

Cheers

[Occam's Razor]

Ha! That coat looks familiar. I wanted to get a great coat made up for quite some time and the last cold, snowy London winter finally prompted me to visit Sedwell to push the idea forward. I had a general concept in mind but it was Mr. Taub who put the substance into the design and cut.

The cloth is a 22oz charcoal twill from the Thomas Fisher overcoat bunch and paired with a LBD dark green lining. Within the lining, there is some beautiful quilting around the chest area reminiscence of those found in traditional morning coats.

As one can see, it is a show-5, button-5 coat and the natural button point is one that is the second from bottom. Because the coat can be partially buttoned up, each buttonhole was finished on both sides. It is not clear from the photos but there are two darts about an inch apart at the front (per side) and the trick was to get them running straight and parallel to each other. The sleeves are each finished with guantlet style cuff and a single, hidden cuff-button which explains why the cuff-ends are slightly flared out.

In the rear of the coat, there is an inverted box pleat running between the yoke and half-belt, and below the half-belt, is the centre one-piece box pleat. Mr. Taub suggested the curved yoke and I think worked out very well especially seeing how the yoke seam lined up with the sleeve back-seam. Lastly, there is a nice touch of drape at the back - a more fitted cut might had made the coat look a touch feminine from behind.

With regards to the DFR's original question (apologies for hijacking your thread), I naturally would recommend Sedwell. Mr. Taub seems to favour a clean, structured coat with roped shoulders but the canvas is softer than one might expect. Interestingly, when we talk about different tailoring styles, he has a certain regard for spalla camicia with its gentle ripples around the top of the sleevehead. If I felt inclined to order such a coat, I would feel confident that they could pull it off.

- OR