Introducing: Escorial Tweed
August 28th 2019Today, the question I get more than any other is: what cloth should I use for a sports jacket? Selecting cloth for a jacket is not easy, at least once you’ve gone beyond the navy blazer. Compared to a navy or grey suit, there's a dizzying ran...
A guide to high-twist bunches
July 1st 2019This is a summary and analysis of the high-twist wools available from different mills and merchants. As with the linen one we did last year, the aim is to set out most of the range so that bespoke customers know if their tailor is missing something...
A guide to high-twist bunches
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Yes, it would be one or other of those. The darker one would be a little bit more business-like, the other a little bit more casual/unusual. But both would be lovely. If in doubt go for the darker...
Video: Douglas Cordeaux and Gianluca Migliarotti ...
June 12th 2019Why did the Japanese spend all day screaming at Douglas? How does Gianluca think Italian artisans are being dishonest? This conversation between myself, Gianluca Migliarotti of Pommella trousers, and Douglas Cordeaux of Fox Brothers, I think qualifi...
Video: Douglas Cordeaux and Gianluca Migliarotti ...
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I'm sure it was Fox Brothers, but other than that I don't know, sorry...
Ciardi jacket in vintage gun-club tweed, from Laf...
June 10th 2019I was very excited when I received this jacket a month ago. Primarily because of the shoulder. Enzo Ciardi is fast becoming one of my favourite tailors. I like him, I like his roomy Neapolitan style, and everything he's made for me has been good: on...
Ciardi jacket in vintage gun-club tweed, from Laf...
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Sorry, HF10...
The guide to synthetic and performance cloth
May 20th 2019[This is the latest in a series of posts on Cloth that has now built into something very substantial: browse the others on the dedicated page here] The use of synthetic fibres in cloth for tailoring is generally frowned upon by consumers, ...
The guide to synthetic and performance cloth
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Alright, at least there was slightly more elastane in it. Thanks, Simon....
The best cloths of Spring/Summer 2019
March 22nd 2019This is the latest instalment in our series highlighting my favourite new seasonal cloths - providing a heads-up to readers on those that will mostly only be around for six months. It’s interesting to see how the ranges develop. While Cacciopp...
The best cloths of Spring/Summer 2019
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I do understand. No worries. Thanks again Lindsay...
The Guide to Performance Shirtings
March 1st 2019Performance fabrics are very in. Every retailer seems to be offering travel shirts that resist wrinkling, staining or soaking. Fans of classic clothing are usually sceptical about such fabrics. This is largely because they can seem like a ...
The Guide to Performance Shirtings
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Personally I really don't mind having slightly wrinkled shirts, though I rarely travel with menswear so it never gets all that bad. In the case of linen, I quite like the rumpled and typical look of it. Unfortunately not...
The Joshua Ellis mill: Factory visit
February 15th 2019The Joshua Ellis mill is just outside Batley. That’s not a name many readers will associate with British cloth. They’re more likely to know Huddersfield for suits, or Scotland for tweed and cashmere, and with the recent popularly of Fox,...
The Joshua Ellis mill: Factory visit
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For a scarf? Yes I do think Begg is superior, but it's small and also varies with the materials used - eg Begg scarf in a cashmere/wool mix or in a different weight or weave wouldn't be as soft as one elsewhere. Often th...
Milano Unica: My first visit to the cloth fair
February 11th 2019They said Milano Unica was like Pitti without the peacocks. That was partly true. Certainly, there are no photographers, so even though many of the same people visit Milano Unica (MU), they're not on display. Everyone is noticeably more relaxed: the...
Milano Unica: My first visit to the cloth fair
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Oh good, nice to know thanks George...
Olive-green corduroy suit – from Ettore de ...
December 28th 2018You know when you think you’re not part of a trend, and then see everyone wearing the same thing? As a clothing snob that likes to think he’s different to everyone else, it’s very annoying. I had admired Michael Hill’s green-...
Olive-green corduroy suit – from Ettore de ...
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Hi Antoine, Two fittings, though it would have been three if it were my first commission...
The guide to overcoating cloths
December 17th 2018When selecting a cloth for an overcoat, what should you look for? This might seem like a pretty easy question: you want warmth. That’s what an overcoat is for. But how much warmth, and where it comes from, are not straightforward. As...
The guide to overcoating cloths
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Yes I think so, on both counts...
The best cloths of Autumn/Winter 2018
October 19th 2018This is the second post we've done highlighting our favourite cloths from new seasonal bunches. The first, on Spring/Summer 2018, is here. Unfortunately the bunches come in late in the season, but there's still probably time to use these recommendat...
The guide to cashmere and precious fibres
October 1st 2018Luxury fibres like cashmere or vicuna can make lovely, indulgent cloths for sports jackets. Having mostly stuck to linen, tweed or related mixes in recent years, I recently commissioned a jacket in 100% cashmere (from Eduardo de Simone) and it’...
The guide to cashmere and precious fibres
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Johnstons, Harrisons and the other English mills tend to be denser, which I like, but the quality otherwise is similar. Loro Piana stands out most for its designs and colours...
Paris: Lafayette Saltiel, Kenjiro Suzuki, Atelier...
September 19th 2018Samuel Gassmann Last week I was in Paris for two days, catching up with old friends and artisans, and seeing a few new ones. One of the most interesting things was an interview with Lyne Cohen Solal, the new head of the Institut National Metiers d&r...
Paris: Lafayette Saltiel, Kenjiro Suzuki, Atelier...
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I think Kenjiro Suzuki has closed his business. His instagram is down, and I came by the shop the other day, it was closed at 11am....
Suit Style 5: Selecting colour and pattern
August 10th 2018This is part of a long-running series of articles known as the Guide to Suit Style, covering everything from the number of buttons on a suit to the difference between made-to-measure and bespoke. It will continue to be added to over the next few ...
Suit Style 5: Selecting colour and pattern
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Thank you so much!...
Popular at the pop-up: Hollywood tops, linen shir...
July 25th 2018Given the heat at the moment in London, it shouldn’t be surprising that linen is the most attractive thing in the pop-up up shop, which has been going wonderfully so far. Edward Sexton’s Hollywood-top trousers (above) have been particula...
Popular at the pop-up: Hollywood tops, linen shir...
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No, the A&S will be better, but that's clear from the price too. And the difference will be mostly in the fineness of the linen, so it depends whether that matters to you...
A guide to linen bunches
June 15th 2018This is the second in our series presenting all the cloth bunches currently available for bespoke, summarising what they contain and picking out our favourites. The summaries should help determine which bunches readers need to see, or request. And t...
A guide to linen bunches
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They're all going to wrinkle, so if it's a suit I wouldn't worry about going lighter, like 9-10oz. If it was just trousers I'd perhaps risk it and go with Irish, to see how that feels. Bear in mind that coolness is a lot...
The Guide to Linen
May 28th 2018Linen has long been a favourite for tailoring intended for hot weather. Its prime appeal is it’s cool to the touch (a lot more than wool, and a little more than cotton) because the fibre is a good conductor. Metal feels cool for the same re...
The Guide to Linen
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There are no shortage of dark green linens out there, try W.Bill Irish linens bunch or Dugdale's Natural Elements. But if you're looking for something particularly lightweight with all the casual character of linen then ...
The best cloths of Spring/Summer 2018
April 16th 2018Great as our Guide to Cloth series is, it deliberately doesn’t recommend specific cloths in specific bunches. This is largely because bunches change regularly (sometimes every six months) and if we did, the Guide would quickly be out of date. ...
The best cloths of Spring/Summer 2018
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It depends a lot on the trouser. With high-twist wools, no. With flannel or tailoring cottons, yes quite a lot...
The Guide to Tweed
April 2nd 2018In many ways, tweed should be the perfect material for a modern man. It is practical, hard wearing, and can be dressed up or down, from almost-formal to definitely-casual. On the formal side, a navy tweed jacket, grey worsted trousers and button-dow...
The Guide to Tweed
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Not really Brian. You get more textured summer materials that are sometimes referred to as tweedy merely in having more texture, but they're not really tweed. And they're certainly different to fresco, which is a hard, s...
Fox re-weave my ecru cavalry twill
February 12th 2018*Cloth now sold out. Fox are taking pre-orders for the next batch* At our pop-up shop back in April 2017, Fox Brothers brought up some vintage bolts to offer readers, including a rather beautiful ecru cavalry twill. I bought a length myself, and s...
Fox re-weave my ecru cavalry twill
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No, mine wasn't a worsted...
The Guide to Flannel
December 18th 2017A couple of years ago, a friend asked me for advice on dressing down his normal suit-and-tie wardrobe. Like many men, he wore suits (in worsted wool) to the office, and jeans or chinos at the weekend. The office was becoming more casual, however, and...
The Guide to Flannel
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The bagging, or not holding a crease so long...
Caccioppoli, cloth merchant of Naples
September 11th 2017Caccioppoli, the Italian cloth merchant, was Jamie’s favourite place to photograph when we visited Naples over the summer. The aesthetic appeal is not immediately obvious. The Caccioppoli building is big, taking up most of the city block and c...
Caccioppoli, cloth merchant of Naples
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Hey, I don't and it's unlikely it would be available anymore, but I think it's very similar to this one?...
The guide to summer jacket cloths
July 24th 2017In some ways, summer trousers are more challenging than jackets in terms of cloth, and therefore more interesting. Trousers present the challenge of having something cool, but with enough body or crispness to hang straight. Jackets are les...
The guide to summer jacket cloths
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It's really hard to say on both counts I'm afraid Jack. The colour is hard to get a read on, and no I haven't had anything made up in a fabric like that...
Olive covert-cloth suit, from Sartoria Vergallo
May 31st 2017It's hard not to feel that the future of the suit lies in more practical cloths than the fine worsteds of the past 30 years. We may move towards a situation where these cloths will be reserved for formal wear, while everyday suits and jackets are ma...
Olive covert-cloth suit, from Sartoria Vergallo
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It definitely will be. It was very much an old fashioned blazer cloth, where something could be very sharp and hard-finished because everything else was that smart - it wasn't a sports jacket....
