Brooklyn Bespoke

[GSC]

An interesting article appeared in the New York Times today on tailors seeking to revive bespoke tailoring in Brooklyn:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/nyre ... e=Homepage

Has anyone any experience with any of these tailors?

[Concordia]

Not I, but Franco Ercole gets nice ink on the fora.

[old henry]

A writer friend of mine sent me that article and was telling me that there is a demand for authenticity and old ways. And I explained to him - yes there may be a demand but do they know what is the pure old craft ? Do they have the slightest clue as to the benchmark for the benchmade ? No. And as this article proves they think they are getting it. The writer has no idea. Bruce Boyer he is not.
You will see the blue jacket on the mannequin in the one photo with the two Tailors. It is pedaled as Bench but to my eye it is clearly MTM. The sleeve is pulling up ( sleeve too small because of an oversized MTM armhole. ) And the front is very poorly sewn by machine to the canvas as you can see by the billowing in front of the pocket and the wobbling front. Poor MTM. Probably Greenfield. I sit in my shop working the true old way and I’m slapping down all con men. As Raphael would say “Charlatans”. Lenny offers the only true bench in The nyc area.
☘️☘️☘️

[Concordia]

Is Cheo still in business?

[old henry]

I do not believe so. I know Eddy Hayes liked him.

[GSC]

If the demand for authentic work really is growing, it's a pity that so few remain who can actually deliver it.

Your comments, Frank, on the work in the story were very interesting. It's instructive to learn what you see. I received a link to a video (an ad really) from Gaziano and Girling but it has interviews with tailors on the Row and shows some of their work. .

https://www.gazianogirling.com/journal/ ... 0a8d5f046b

Any comments on what you see?

[old henry]

Yes I saw this Sir Gregory. %99 of tailoring is how the garment fits the customer. Style is a distant after thought. However, all these fine gents did was point out stylistic selling points on a coat on a mannequin. I’d have taken Mr Kirby to my cutting table and showed him my old cutting books with all the secrets and how to adapt them to the individual pattern. I’d show how I roll a lapel and apply a facing completely by hand. Set a collar. Set a sleeve. ( but I guess I wouldn’t be able to do that if my work is done in a factory in India ) The talk in this documentary was razzle dazzle Department Store talk. Used Bentley Salesmen’s talk. The Tommy Nutter guy seemed to know his stuff. I liked his coat too. The others not so much. The young appreciate stitching in the background stitched very nicely.
DO YOU FIND IT SUSPICIOUS THAT THERE WAS NO WORK ROOM FOOTAGE OF SEWERS SEWING OR TAILORS TAILORING IN THIS DOCUMENTARY ? Hmmm.

[GSC]

I always learn something from your posts. "Used Bentley salesmen " is perfect. I assume they have some people who have deeper knowledge and some who do fine work, but it was not the focus certainly. Sometimes I feel that customers need to be better educated, more demanding about what really matters, not just the superficial. It's getting harder and harder to do so, which is disappointing. Thanks very much for sharing your thoughts and contributing to my education.

[old henry]

My pleasure Sir. Yes, quite a useless video in my exceedingly humble opinion. Charlatans and smarmy Used Bentley Salesmen have taking the place of knowledgeable, soft spoken men with integrity.

[Mark Seitelman]

Of the four tailors shown:

1. Yosel Tiefenbrun (www.tiefenbrunnyc.com), "The Rabbi Tailor", was trained at Maurice Sedwell on Savile Row. I know someone who tried him and was happy with the suit. This customer is a long-time customer of one of the esteemed off-Savile Row houses.

2. Ercole. I know of a couple of people who have been pleased with the work. One of them is most particular and had tried a number of places before settling-in at Ercole.

[old henry]

1 You prove my point.

[old henry]

For more of my humble opinions on Raphael’s sacred craft
@thefrankshattuck

[Concordia]

1 You prove my point.

Don't like Sedwell's training?

[old henry]

what is Sedwells training ? Do you like Sedwells training ?

[Concordia]

Never worked for him. But many of those who care say his craftsmanship is among the best on the Row. (His sense of style is also a little too experimental for me to want to find out more.)