When I first visited Savile Row at the age of 19 I was terrified. I’d persuaded the features editor of my student magazine that I was the best person to write a profile on “the heart of British tailoring” but deep down I was just using the assignment as an excuse to snoop around one of the temples of menswear I’d dreamed about since discovering my Dad’s moth eaten Jaeger suit at university. I vividly remember swaying from foot to foot outside Anderson & Sheppard, feeling like the cheap high street blazer I was wearing had somehow morphed into cardboard and plastic, mustering up the courage to push open the door.
Inside, a gentleman who looked like Abraham Bradley if he’d traded in Accounting Clients For Inseams Since The Crimean War raised one perfectly arched eyebrow at me and asked if I was lost. Mortified, I stammered something about doing research for an article before beetroot-blood glaringly turning red and running away. <img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-2850″ src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/im1979_Beyond_Savile_Row_Finding_Quality_British_Tailoring_at_Photographer_Ben_Livesey_01057f9c-20f3-4947-b95f-19 55c32fe8e7_1.jpg” alt=”im1979_Beyond Savile Row Finding Quality British Tailoring at Photographer Ben Livesey 01057f9c-20f3-4947-b95f-19 55c32fe8e7_1″ /> Twenty years and several hundred suits later and while the butterflies haven’t quite disappeared before stepping inside those hallowed workshops, at least they now let me in without presuming I’m touring the stores en-route to Topman. But experience has also taught me this: yes, Savile Row is at one end of the British tailoring spectrum and yes, ladies and gentlemen…the craftsmanship that goes into their suits really is worth shouting about from the rooftops (or an American-style humble brag blog post).
What it isn’t however is the be all and end all of great tailoring in Britain. It’s just one point on a scale. <img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-2851″ src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/im1979_Beyond_Savile_Row_Finding_Quality_British_Tailoring_at_Photographer_Ben_Livesey_01057f9c-20f3-49 47-b95f-19_55c32fe8e7_2.jpg” alt=”im1979_Beyond Savile Row Finding Quality British Tailoring at Photographer Ben Livesey 01057f9c-20f3-49 47-b95f-19_55c32fe8e7_2″ /> Let’s start with the basics.
A bespoke suit from one of Savile Row’s Great Houses will set you back a minimum of £4k, more likely £5k and if you’re going for premium fabric with luxurious details it’s easily £7k.
Made-to-measure starts at about £2.5k. We’re talking proper investment pieces here that, with proper care, will last you decades. The stuff should last that long.
But it’s simply not realistic for most people’s budgets, let alone a regular wardrobe solution when you’re looking to refresh your style beyond “I bought this suit when I graduated university.” <img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-2852″ src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/im1979_Beyond_Savile_Row_Finding_Quality_British_Tailoring_at_Photographer_Ben_Livese y_01057f9c-20f3-4947-b95f-19_55c32fe8e7_3.jpg” alt=”im1979_Beyond Savile Row Finding Quality British Tailoring at Photographer Ben Livesey 01057f9c-20f3-49 47-b95f-19_-55c32fe8e7_3″ /> The good news is that there is amazing British tailoring out there at lower price points. The bad news is that it can take years to work out where to look for it. Years that you could’ve spent actually saving up to buy said suits.
But hey, I did it so you don’t have too….. <div> </div> <h2>MADE-TO-MEASURE WITHOUT BREAKING THE BANK</h2> If you’re looking for brand new quality suits that fit you perfectly but don’t want to sell a kidney to pay for them then here’s my official starter recommendation list. These brands/tailors all operate within what I like to think of as “accessible quality” – genuine construction values, using proper materials and paymasters but don’t need an accompanying Santander credit card. <h2>Anglo-Italian</h2> Anglo-Italian in Marylebone are one of my very favourite discoveries. Founded by former Trunk Clothiers buyer Jake Grantham and business partner Alex Pirounis they sit in that sweet spot between classic British tailoring and modern Italian cuts.
Expect a natural shoulder, a slightly lower buttoning point and a garment that’s canvassed but will actually move with you when you wear it. Prices for made-to-measure starts at around £1800. Ready-to-wear is £1500. Not £1500PLAINGBP1500, mind you.
But when you’re paying for something that’s been made specifically for your body (not just adapted from a ‘block’ like almost all RTW is), cut from amazing cloths (many sourced from the same British and Italian mills as Savile Row’s_best houses_SOURCE) and actually canvassed it’s legitimately fair. I’ve had a navy hopsack from them for four years, worn it at least once a week and it still looks better than most off-the-rack suits I see. <h2>Whitcomb & Shaftesbury</h2> Whitcomb & Shaftesbury have one of the most interesting business models out there. Their Classic Bespoke service starts at around £1800 and works on the principle of cutting the actual pattern in London before sending it to be made in their workshop in Tamil Nadu in India.
They employ local tailors and train them up in traditional bespoke techniques so when it gets to the labour-intensive parts such as lining, buttonholes and hand stitching they put locals to work. Not only does this cut costs for the customer but every garment they make contributes to the livelihood of those tailors. Their full Savile Row Bespoke service (cut and made entirely in London) starts at about £3,400.
Again, not cheap. But considerably less than you’d pay if you went straight to one of those houses. <img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-2854″ src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/im1979_Beyond_Savile_Row_Finding_Quality_British_Tailoring_at_Photogra pher_Ben_Livesey_09e9a8b5-099f-4d52-b1d2-1e70 30499d0d_0.jpg” alt=”im1979_Beyond Savile Row Finding Quality British Tailoring at Photographer Ben Livesey 09e9a8b5-099f-4d52-b1 d2-1e70 30499d0d_0″ /> <h2>Drake’s</h2> These guys started as a tiemaker many years ago before expanding into the whole Menswear package. MTM starts at around £1500 and while the cut is modern with English shoulders it’s still fairly relaxed overall.
Their signature Games Suit in particular has gained something of a cult following over the years – relaxed enough to not feel outdated but with enough shape and structure that you know you’re still getting British tailoring. <h2>Cheap-ola: Chester Barrie</h2> …and for RTW that doesn’t sacrifice all of those construction values in pursuit of a lower price tag I turn once again to the often overlooked Chester Barrie. They’ve been making suits in Crewe since 1935, using traditional techniques such as canvassing _– _the wool suit equivalent of popping down to your local corner shop – _ and sources most of its cloth from British mills. Their mainline suits retail around the £800 mark.
You’re still looking at a significant investment for what is essentially half- canvassed, made in the UK suit but it’s built from proper materials and constructed like a bespoke garment. I picked mine up in a sale five years ago and have worn bloody hell out of it. It’s come home damp more times than I care to admit and survived numerous hacks by colleagues with laundry hooks for palms but with annual steaming and proper care I honestly don’t feel it’s lost its shape.
Note to self: don’t carry a curry takeaway inside your jacket whilst jumping over puddles. Even rain that heavy isn’t enough water to wash it out. <h2>PSSST Your jacket down the back: Paul Smith</h2> Paul Smith’s “A Suit To Travel In” range has flown somewhat under the radar. Now don’t get me wrong I love a good PS plunge neck shirt as much as the next obsessed clothes horse but let’s be honest – tailoring-wise these days most Smith outfits are made in Italy.
HOWEVER. This particular range is actually constructed in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire by a small factory called Cookson & Clegg who’ve been sewing since 1868. At around £750 they’re half canvassed, made from super-crease resistant wool and cut in a slim (but not skinny) fit that suits most men.
Each suit also comes with a Brando style leather jacket. Like, literally. _These things _can genuinely be rolled up in your luggage, given a steam on arrival and worn to meetings the next day. <img class=”alignnone size-full wp-image-2856″ src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/im1979_Beyond_Savile_Row_Finding_Quality_British_Tailoring_at_Photogra pher_Ben_Livesey_09e9a8b5-099f-4d52-b1d2-1e7004-99 d0d_1.jpg” alt=”im1979_Beyond Savile Row Finding Quality British Tailoring at Photographer Ben Livesey 09e9a8b5-099f-4d52-b1d2-1e7004 99d0d_1″ /> <h2>If You Don’t Mind Looking Past Established Names…</h2> Oliver Spencer’s Solms suits deserve a shout. Proper tailored by Oliver himself who trained on Savile Row before setting up his own label, the emphasis remains on traditional craftsmanship but with modern cuts.
They retail at around £580, feature great natural shoulders and favour interesting textured fabrics that can work formally and more casually. They’re not canvassed – and frankly you’d be miraculous at that price but they are built well with good pattern matching and use decent internal materials. <h2>Stick to Stormzy discounts if you’re a really tight tight</h2> Say what you like about Patrick Grant bringing his high street-meets-bespoke brand Hammond & Co to Debenhams but the bloke owns Norton & Sons on Savile Row _and resurrected E. Tautz _so he knows a thing or two about tailoring.
You’re not getting canvassing or super 150s wool at these prices (£250-£300 depending on fabric) but you are getting proper tailoring construction informed by one of the best British tailors going. Pattern cutting is spot on, the fabrics are decent and endlessly versatile style-wise. I have one of their spring weight blazers that I’ve got away with wearing every season for three years now.
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No shrinking, no distortion. Just straight up British shirt. <h2>Dr_MTM</h2> The made-to-measure market has expanded significantly in recent years. Take Cad & The Dandy for instance.
Founded by ex-bankers during the great fiscal meltdown of 2008/9 they decided that if nobody was gonna offer flexible MTM prices that allowed you to choose what you wanted made by hand and what could be done by machine, they’d do it themselves. You can now pick whether your Cad & Dandy suiting is machine cut and made (£950), half handmade (£1200) or fully handmade (£2000). In entry level prices that still uses floating canvassing rather than fusible, British sourced cloths and is Made in Britain.
Look beyond London and you’ll find regional greats offering awesome value. Whitfield & Ward in Manchester offer made-to-measure from around £850 and do half canvassed construction. Glasgow’s Walker Slater does surprisingly good ready-to-wear tweeds and wool suits for around £500.
Michelsberg Tailoring in Leeds offer full bespoke from around £1300 – less than you’d pay for equivalent craft in London. Can you find good quality stuff on the high street? Sure.
Occasionally. With caveats. Charles Tyrwhitt’s more upmarket suits hover around the £500 price point and are proudly half canvassed.
Proper game right there. Better than most other competitors pricing at that kind of range. Fit is conservative but very well put together.
Ditto M&S’s Savile Row-inspired range which isn’t canvassed but uses decent wool blends and the pattern cutting really doesn’t reflect the price point. I keep one in my office for last-minute client meetings and it’s pulled me through happily for three years. Finally.
A quick word on the whole “Canvas? What canvas?” conundrum, because it’s here that most people get bewildered at what they’re actually paying for. A fully canvassed suit will have a layer of canvas (traditionally horsehair, although usually a mix these days) between the outer material and the lining.
This canvas is designed to FLOAT inside your suit, rather than being glued to the wool like cheaper, fused suits. Over time it moves with you, meaning your suit will get better with wear rather than remaining stubbornly shapeless. _It’s labour intensive to do well _but that’s why it costs more. Half- canvassed is just what it sounds, the canvas extends through the chest and lapels but not down the full body of the jacket.
Fused is where the manufacturers glue the interlining directly to the wool. Cheaper to produce but means the suit doesn’t move how it should, breath as well and can often bubble or delaminate after dry-cleaning. When you’re paying Savile Row prices you’re paying for that full canvas plus all the hand-work that goes into creating the areas of the suit that give it shape/japes: collar, lapels, armholes.
Hand-padded chest piece. Hand-sewn buttonholes. A _pattern that’s been individually cut to your shape.
As you drop down price ranges you’ll see less and less hand-work being replaced by machine stitch but, conversely, the better mid-market brands still retain canvassing (if not full than half) and will still ensure crucial elements are hand-sewn. I bought my Anderson & Sheppard bespoke suit for my wedding after YEARS of saving. Took the measurements a couple of months before the big day, went for a classic 13oz navy worsted with two buttons and picked it up about six months later.
It’s been altered twice since (life happened and my waist went on _probably another journey altogether) but with proper care will last me another 20 years. Easily. That’s the joy – and value – of proper tailoring.
Three pairs of trousers later and it still looks better than most suits off the rack. I’ve also had suits made by Anglo-Italian, Whitcomb & Shaftesbury and Drake’s that I’ve worn happily for years that were HALF the price. And yet here I am, barely a decade on still wearing that Chester Barrie suit that cost me a quarter of what I paid A&S.
Lesson learned.
British tailoring is not one thing. It’s many things at hundreds of price points.
As long as you know where to look (and now _that you’ve read this, you do) you can find something that fits into your budget without sacrificing the core things that actually make British tailoring great. Structured but comfortable. Fabrics that will withstand years of wear.
And cuts that actually flatter your shape rather than shifting with the winds of fashion. That scary looking gent at Anderson & Sheppard? He’s now a friend.
Or will be once I finish threatening to write this post. I still sometimes get that slow eyebrow raise when I rock up in something he personally deems an offensive garment choice. Last time I visited he caught me wearing that Anglo-Italian jacket. “Not one of ours, son” he tutted, running a practiced hand down the lapel. “But decent work for the price.” If Sewing Gods. At A&S that’s akin to winning an Oscar.
