If you had to start over again, where would you begin and which tailor would you pick?

[belimad]

If I go to a wedding I dress in a suit, if I go to a rugby match or a baseball game I will wear jeans and a bomber-style jacket of some sort. If I am out and about in San Francisco, New York, Florence, or London, I will dress however I please. And if that means I'll be wearing a suit and tie when all around me are in shorts and t-shirts, so be it. And why would I care what such people might think of me?

Couldn’t agree more

[Frans]

And if that means I'll be wearing a suit and tie when all around me are in shorts and t-shirts, so be it. And why would I care what such people might think of me?

When those people are between 20 and 30 and they're your friends or colleagues, I can see your point, Hristo. Too formal clothing might overshadow any discussion. It's definitely easier when you get older and you've had success at work of financially (or both) . Or when you've gained independence from work (self-employed) or from your wife (or both).

On the other hand, I agree with Mr. Alden. E.g. when young tailor Rory Duffy won the golden shears more than 10 years ago he was mid twenty and everybody would accept his way of dressing, because that was him. Very stylish people have been stylish from a very young age and have always expressed themselves through their clothing, it's not the clothing itself, nor the price of it, they'll look good in casual clothes too.

True, casual wear can be fine and why not coloured trousers e.g. salmon, mint green or preppy. In that case one hasn't have to look further than Cordings as there's no reason to go for formal trousers with pleats if you won't wear a sports jacket anyway.
Personally I wouldn't spend too much attention on coloured trousers, rather on colourful shirts then.

To me it sounds as if you're still searching Hristo. Can it be you have come to kind of a midway conclusion? Perhaps in a couple of years you'll think differently again? Then you might re-discover great jackets in your wardrobe

Re: those 20.000 guilders you've spent. Some people spent much more on car.s,..and nobody ever questions those amounts.

I agree with Davidhuhs always sound and friendly advice. Grey (or biscuit/beige) trousers and a navy blazer can be dressed up & down and you'll never look out of place. E.g. you could wear that combo with a polo shirt, roll neck or a salmon or mint green shirt and you will look young . But it must be you

PS Rory Duffy in his go-to-hell pants: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDtOu8dpwjd/

[andy57]

Didn't Rory Duffy turn out to be a conman or a fraud?

[Concordia]

He is back in Ireland.

Perhaps you're thinking of Darren?

[andy57]

He is back in Ireland.

Perhaps you're thinking of Darren?

Darren who? I was thinking of Rory Duffy.

[aston]

Darren Beaman?

[Concordia]

Unless we are sure, should be careful about dropping names in this context.

[andy57]

Unless we are sure, should be careful about dropping names in this context.

?

[Concordia]

If someone is named in full but not a con-man, that could present some legal trouble. With good reason.

[andy57]

Well, I asked a question about Duffy. There also seems to be controversy swirling around this Beaman character, but from many years ago. Neither was accused nor described as being anything. It seems to me that any interested person could simply google either name and while away a few minutes reviewing the stories featuring them, whether the stories are true or not.

As for an answer to the question: "if I had to start over again, which tailor would I pick?" I am not sure what my answer would be, but it certainly would not be either of the two aforementioned persons.

[davidhuh]

I would agree with Hristo on appearances and not drawing too much attention and not appearing to take yourself too seriously or holding yourself aloof. I think our view is somewhat based on our country of origin. The culture is very casual and if I am with a jacket, I am the most dressed up person. I feel most comfortable with a suit or at least a jacket and I think I picked it up in London, but people are always intimidated by this, even if in our sartorial “world” it’s the most casual dress.

Dear Anikolov,

some good thoughts here, allow me to comment, as I'm a bit familiar with those corners of Europe . When you go to a theatre, a concert, or a business meeting, you see people wearing suits nevertheless. I only hope yours are better cut
There are tracksuit people, I know. Treat them with respect. If you mix with colleagues, and you're the only one wearing a coat - who cares, if this is you and you feel comfortable? It might help you to ask yourself "how do I feel comfortable for me / my partner" when dressing for the day. If you stand out a little, make sure it's positive and you are a charming person and not an arrogant idiot - it matters a lot more than your bespoke coat.

There are essentially no black tie events except at embassies with official delegations.

You're absolutely free to wear black tie for an opera or ballet premiere, at a wedding or for taking another elegant friend to an elegant dinner. Just feel relaxed and do it...

I never discuss my clothes because it’s quite unacceptable the amounts we spend on clothes, it is often around an average salary for a whole year which in some ways I do find a repulsive and prefer to be dressed up when I am in London rather than Eastern Europe. I feel we don’t have the tradition in not feeling guilty that our lives are better than the rest and we can afford these luxuries.

Of course you don't go there, out of politeness and respect for the other. If I'm asked, I play it down or ask about Gucci and Tom Ford prices...

They want fast replaceable fashion and new clothes. I hate new clothes and feel comfortable in my clothes only I have worn them for sometime.

I'm all with you on this one...

In the beginning I did start quite aggressively to spend and got Several bespoke garments in a very short period but I have been largely disappointed with them even if they were from reputable high end makers. I do believe that with time I developed the eye for proportion and problems and the process has become much better. I am stopping myself a bit because I have found that the suits and jackets I use a lot less now than I did in London.

It is good to reflect on your experience. We never stop learning. Now that you have access to decent cloth from a different planet, spend some time thinking what to do with it. In my experience, you still find good old school tailors in Eastern Europe, at least in capital cities. Go and search a little, ask who is making white tie for the philharmonic for instance... Buy some grey flannel and get trousers done, start somewhere. You might develop a nice and productive collaboration with a tailor over time. Then you try using your LL cloth, and you might understand that you don't need a fancy instagram tailor from Naples or Saviie Row to look good and elegant - because the cloth quality already speaks for itself.

Cheers, David

Bespoke shoes were my biggest disappointment. Although beautiful, my Stefano Bemer are compromised in fit, they are essentially not better than my RTW, although 3-4x the cost. I have also been somewhat disappointed with Neapolitan trouser makers as they want to cut a modern tight silhouette and I want classic old English style. Right now I am only spending on LL cloth as I value the designs and quality and will be able to have them made up a bit later.

[Stobo]

Dear LL members,
If you had to pick a tailor on the row today who would you pick and why? When the dust settles with the ongoing pandemic, I would like to commission a suit from a row tailor and am wondering between Dege and Skinner and Richard Anderson (two button, straight flaps). I have had one off the row tailor with whom I wasn’t satisfied and one Neapolitan whose style doesn’t work too well with formal suit (even if it’s the most traditional old school Neapolitan). I don’t really need to buy into a name or reputation as nobody would know who my tailor is but I simply don’t want to keep commissioning items I am not satisfied with ( I have difficult shoulders).
Also, for discussion’s sake, where would you start? Which have been your go-to suit styles and fabrics?
Looking forward to reading your insights,
Alex

My first and my favourite garments remain the ones Richard has made for me. After speaking to him, I have always adopted his one button suit and jacket style when having anything done by him.
I have also had some lovely experiences with Steed, as echoed by others here.

[artyom.le.gall]

How I would start over would depend on the fabrics I could find of sufficient quality. I would look for cloth for a blue suit and a gray one with two trousers, a tweed jacket and a 3/4 coat in blue or gray. I would use my tailor

As for the suits cloth, would that be a plain cloth or a patterned one e.g. PoW ?

ALG

[alden]

As for the suits cloth, would that be a plain cloth or a patterned one e.g. PoW ?

Plains are most versatile if you are starting out and have few pieces. And you can wear the blue jacket with the gray trousers.

[whyescalar]

If I could wind back the clock I would have gotten everything made by Jose Maturano at Sastreria Cheverny. I wrote about him here many years ago, and was actually the first real tailor whose shop I stopped in, but not the first I used. I went to John Kent first when Darren was there, then Mr. Maturano, then Oxxford.

Since they are both now gone, the fellow I wrote about those many years ago who had everything made by Don Jose was Jean-Louis Dumas Hermes. I had lunch at his (J-LDH) neighbor's residence in Chantilly, a Thoroughbred trainer, which was part of the Chateau de Chantilly reserve where the other nobles used to live--if your name was Dassault, Hermes, or in this fellow's case, his wife's family, you could rent one of these homes indefinitely, and Dumas H's was adorned with modern and tasteful mobiles on the lawn.

Not because of his client's provenance or their taste in lawn ornaments, just obviously Mr. Matruano knew his craft and I wish I had more of it. If you find someone who does and hits the right chemistry, keep them until one of you are gone. Just like the bootmaker in Galsworthy's "Quality."