Recent posts

Pages1 2 3 ... 10
#1
General Discussion / Re: Charlie Watts - great Tail...
Last post by Schneiderfrei - Today at 09:30:28 AM
Quote from: Hendrick on April 28, 2025, 06:19:26 AMIn the end, Saville Row is also a fenomenal marketing springboard for tailoring in general.

And now the truth has been revealed that the Saville Row is a hotbed of espionage, saving the world from the ravages of disorder and destruction - as per the documentary Kingsman
#2
General Discussion / Re: Charlie Watts - great Tail...
Last post by Hendrick - Today at 07:40:58 AM
Quote from: Gerry on April 28, 2025, 08:20:29 PM
Quote from: Hendrick on April 28, 2025, 06:19:26 AMIn the end, Saville Row is also a fenomenal marketing springboard for tailoring in general. The concentration of houses present, with their different history, has sparked the interest of many also younger people in tailoring an maybe timeless dressing.

Absolutely, the high concentration of businesses along the Row means that standards have to be kept really high to remain competitive. If they cut corners customers will simply go to the shop next door.

The only thing that gets tiresome is that some establishments (not all, I hasten to add) think they're the only ones in the world creating decent suits. And some are a little disingenuous when claiming to use only natural materials. Really? What about the polyester thread, nylon banrol and other occasional plastics that creep into their work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMj4oy1zo6s
#3
Drafting, Fitting and Construction / Re: Shirt *Construction* techn...
Last post by EvanTA - Today at 12:17:02 AM
I also found this series of videos, haven't watched it yet so not sure if it's any good but they do seem to go into some detail so at a glance it seems promising

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLs3ihQo3hpIOICdxZtg8yovp-fSZTFsfb
#4
Drafting, Fitting and Construction / Re: Shirt *Construction* techn...
Last post by EvanTA - April 28, 2025, 11:56:23 PM
Quote from: Gerry on April 24, 2025, 02:00:38 AMThis popped up in my youtube feed. Haven't watched it yet, but should be good:


Oh perfect, I want to watch his collar construction/attachment advice. I'm doing more practice before trying a dress shirt and I want to get the collar right. On the shirts I've made, casual denim shirts so far, I didn't try anything fancy, just lined up the collar pieces and sewed them flat. They're fine enough but obviously they don't sit quite the way you'd want them to, and again on these denim shirts it doesn't look all that out of place. On a dress shirt, though, I want to get it *right*.

Started a practice one this morning on some scrap fabric, my approach was to cut the two collar pieces exactly the same size, then lay them on top of each other and pick one to be the under collar, and then trim off .2cm along the edge (except the bottom that is inserted into the collar stand), then stretch/curve as I sew them together. So, now it's pulling a bit on the undercollar side, and if I make sure it's all lined up correctly when sewing onto the collar stand presumably it'll be the shape I want. I'll see what the DPC video says (seems to be a collar portion around 30min in), but if anyone else has any tips let me know!
#5
General Discussion / Re: Charlie Watts - great Tail...
Last post by Gerry - April 28, 2025, 08:20:29 PM
Quote from: Hendrick on April 28, 2025, 06:19:26 AMIn the end, Saville Row is also a fenomenal marketing springboard for tailoring in general. The concentration of houses present, with their different history, has sparked the interest of many also younger people in tailoring an maybe timeless dressing.

Absolutely, the high concentration of businesses along the Row means that standards have to be kept really high to remain competitive. If they cut corners customers will simply go to the shop next door.

The only thing that gets tiresome is that some establishments (not all, I hasten to add) think they're the only ones in the world creating decent suits. And some are a little disingenuous when claiming to use only natural materials. Really? What about the polyester thread, nylon banrol and other occasional plastics that creep into their work.
#6
General Discussion / Re: Charlie Watts - great Tail...
Last post by Hendrick - April 28, 2025, 06:19:26 AM
Quote from: Gerry on April 27, 2025, 07:53:53 PM
Quote from: Greger on April 27, 2025, 04:55:00 PMGerry,
I to believe the best tailors. Genius and expert skill, doesn't only come from SR. Claiming that SR are the best tailors is another marketing ploy. After all the Germans think they are better. Nowadays there are few tailors around any country. In the past there were thousands just in the US. Hostek said that he hired tailors from many different countries. Some were incredibly good. SR doesn't own everything. Wonder how much history they have forgotten. Because of the lack of tailors today, perhaps they now can accurately claim to be the best. In the past they couldn't because tailoring is an art. Artist are born anywhere. Different cultures have different art expectations.

The workshops of the Row are, and always have been, a melting pot of nationalities. To claim that the style of the Row is uniquely English is, therefore, a little simplistic; especially bearing in mind that some of their most influential cutters, such as Scholte, weren't even British born.

Outside of London, there are still provincial tailor shops that offer the same standard of tailoring as the Row. Likewise around the globe. The only thing the Row can say with any certainty is that they produce some of the most expensive suits in the world. Having said that, I admire the tradition of the place and they do help to maintain a standard across tailoring.

In the end, Saville Row is also a fenomenal marketing springboard for tailoring in general. The concentration of houses present, with their different history, has sparked the interest of many also younger people in tailoring an maybe timeless dressing. That said, no they do not hold the technical ownership of the trade as such. But then again, with such a concentration of "names" on just over a square mile or so it's only logic that it is a manget for talent. My dad always said that the best of tailors and bootmakers came from the triangle Venice, Budapest, Vienna, just saying...

Cheerio, Hendrick
#7
General Discussion / Re: Charlie Watts - great Tail...
Last post by Gerry - April 27, 2025, 07:53:53 PM
Quote from: Greger on April 27, 2025, 04:55:00 PMGerry,
I to believe the best tailors. Genius and expert skill, doesn't only come from SR. Claiming that SR are the best tailors is another marketing ploy. After all the Germans think they are better. Nowadays there are few tailors around any country. In the past there were thousands just in the US. Hostek said that he hired tailors from many different countries. Some were incredibly good. SR doesn't own everything. Wonder how much history they have forgotten. Because of the lack of tailors today, perhaps they now can accurately claim to be the best. In the past they couldn't because tailoring is an art. Artist are born anywhere. Different cultures have different art expectations.

The workshops of the Row are, and always have been, a melting pot of nationalities. To claim that the style of the Row is uniquely English is, therefore, a little simplistic; especially bearing in mind that some of their most influential cutters, such as Scholte, weren't even British born.

Outside of London, there are still provincial tailor shops that offer the same standard of tailoring as the Row. Likewise around the globe. The only thing the Row can say with any certainty is that they produce some of the most expensive suits in the world. Having said that, I admire the tradition of the place and they do help to maintain a standard across tailoring.
#8
General Discussion / Re: Charlie Watts - great Tail...
Last post by Greger - April 27, 2025, 04:55:00 PM
Gerry,
I to believe the best tailors. Genius and expert skill, doesn't only come from SR. Claiming that SR are the best tailors is another marketing ploy. After all the Germans think they are better. Nowadays there are few tailors around any country. In the past there were thousands just in the US. Hostek said that he hired tailors from many different countries. Some were incredibly good. SR doesn't own everything. Wonder how much history they have forgotten. Because of the lack of tailors today, perhaps they now can accurately claim to be the best. In the past they couldn't because tailoring is an art. Artist are born anywhere. Different cultures have different art expectations.
#9
General Discussion / Re: Charlie Watts - great Tail...
Last post by Greger - April 27, 2025, 04:37:28 PM
Maybe Levi was the first on the west coast. Or maybe the first where each employee did one and passed it to the next etc. Ford was the first assembly line auto maker.

The author Tom Wolfe didn't know anything about tailored clothes. As a beginning author one of his heroes looked at his coat sleeve and reacted unfavorably. No hand made button holes. He must have done some research to find out what that was about. Later that is all he wore for those kinds of coats. Around here as a child it seems everyone knew about tailors. Obviously there were areas where people didn't know throughout the US. And from area to area it depended upon what the tailors would make. Some won't touch the lower classes. If you have too many customers you don't have time to make cheaper clothes, unless you have apprentices.

Bespoke is at least two fittings until a good pattern is established. At least one thereafter, because cloth is different.
#10
General Discussion / Re: Charlie Watts - great Tail...
Last post by jruley - April 27, 2025, 01:22:45 AM
Quote from: Greger on April 25, 2025, 12:59:25 PMMade to measure didn't exist until the 1920. Levi started Mass-produced.

For the history buffs among us, here are two great places to visit:


https://www.1856.com/


https://www.fws.gov/refuge/desoto/steamboat-bertrand


Both of these house the remains of steamboats which sank in the Missouri River, one in 1856, the other in 1865.  The river changed course over time and boat boats were excavated in the 20th century.  For those interested in what was moving on the rivers in those days, they are time capsules.

Both boats contained large quantities of men's clothing, much of it well preserved under the mud (though cotton shirts had mostly rotted).  In addition to shirts, hats, shoes, boots and other accessories there were large numbers of coats and trousers.  No, these didn't belong to the crew and passengers, they were stock on the way to dry goods stores.  This is before Levi Strauss.  He may have popularized mass produced clothing, but he didn't invent it.

The US Army in 1861 had only about 15,000 officers and men.  Most were clothed by arsenals on the East Coast, using handworkers in an effort to provide welfare for soldiers' widows and orphans.  By the end of the Civil War in 1865 something like two million men had served in uniform.  The arsenal system was completely overwhelmed, and the Quartermaster Department had to contract for large quantities of clothing.  Who were the contractors?  Many were clothiers who had lost their Southern markets due to the blockade.  Clothing production had almost disappeared in the South before the war, since it was cheaper to have clothing made in the New York area using immigrant labor.

Best available evidence is the Army issued uniforms in four sizes, according to a fixed "tariff" or proportion of sizes per bale of 100 coats, trousers, etc.  These were cut to standard measurements, although no original patterns are known to survive.  This would not have been possible if tailors were incapable of making made-to-measure and ready to wear clothing.

Some famous American clothiers got their start in the ready to wear business.  Brooks Brothers, I believe, started as a manufacturer of cheap sailors' "slops" in the 1830's.

MTM and RTW go back a lot further than some may want to think...
Pages1 2 3 ... 10