Hi Guys,
I've been reading this forum, but have not posted here before.
I've posted a similar question on AAAC, but I thought I might get your take on it too. Both Poole and Fallan & Harvey are coming to town and I'm thinking about have a a couple of suits made. Marc Grayson, I get the sense that you don't like F&H. Can you comment on the house style and construction? Also have you or anyone else have any experience with Poole?
Your insights would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks!
Jim
Marc, I appreciate your advice. One of the problems is that DC has slim pickin's when it comes to tailors. So if the tailors don't fly to see me, I have to fly to see the tailors. Eventually, I start to lose interest.
By the way, when people comment admiringly about my veddy English clothes, my response is the finest English tailor I've ever met is actually an Italian Jewish New Yorker, by way of Argentina
Maybe I should just head up to NYC. Maybe I'll be able to wear my suits in less than a year then.
Sounds like the start of a good joke - An Italian, Jewish, New Yorker from Argentina walks into a bar...
Jim DC,
I've tried both Henry Poole and Fallan and Harvey and I'd say Poole is the better bet between the 2 if you can fly over to London to order and to be fitted because chances are that you'll be met by a more experienced cutter. Otherwise I agree with Marc that think twice before using travelling tailors.
It's not that I'm totally against them like Marc, but you need to know more about who's going to cut and who's going to make your suit. I was told most of the travelling orders in the bigger tailoring houses are assigned to the younger cutters and tailors, if not outright apprentices. So the guy who takes your measurements might not be the one that responsible for your suit in the studio.
If you must use a travelling tailor I suggest try one of those who measures and at least actually cuts the suit himself. I have no problem with Mr. John Coggin because he's both a tailor and a cutter and he travels to see customers himself, therefore in theory there's no difference between seeing Mr. Coggin in either London or Frankfurt. I don't know whether he does US.
From Marc I understand Mr. Andrew Ramroop travels to US. I'd say if you can get him to make you a suit you won't be disappointed.
What is the top range of frequency for travel to the US by tailors in England?
Great advise from all. Thank you for your insights.
Why not just try Field Tailors in DC? William Field apprenticed on Savile Row and was highly regarded during his lifetime. His son is now in charge and sounds like a fine enough gentleman in the conversations I have had with him.
Last edited by sweetbooness2 (2007-03-08 08:37:41)
You can see Patrick Chu tomorrow or Saturday at the Captal Hilton, in Washington, DC, for WW Chan, Hong Kong, and get a very serviceable garment. Of course, you won't have the opportunity to be "seduced" by a London East End accent, listen to tales of the Empire, and so on, and so forth. You also won't get the poor dollar exchange, and the inflated SR prices.
I like the idea of "Raffaeli" an eponymously named tailor, known by only a single name, rather like Django or Satchmo. The joke alluded to earlier may end in something like "dress English think Yiddish." (or Cantonese, Mandarin, etc.). I would avoid English "travellers" based on my limited experience. The 'travelers' exploit the uniquely American weakness for getting confused by a British accent and mistaking it for knowledge.
Also, be cautious of certain fora posters' sartorial visions of grandeur, which have the potential to lead the innocent bystander into thinking they have sufficient garments made by a tailor or tailors to make an informed assessment of skills. Case in point is one gentleman who has been waxing poetic about the brilliance of his favorite bespoke tailor, when, in reality, his *1* suit from the tailor isn't even finished.
The fora idiotas are headed into full orgiastic mode recommending to JimDC London tailors "servicing" Washington, DC. Those of you with any experience working on a farm know the term "service" carries an entirely different meaning in that context. The moderator idiota is truly reaching down to the bottom of the barrel mentioning one tailor, whose services I, regrettably enlisted, who when I pointed out the trousers he made for me were too long to actually wear, suggested that a few trips to the dry cleaner might shrink the trousers sufficient to render them wearable. I fear for Jim as he inches closer to being sucked into the vortex idiota.
http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66600
Last edited by Marc Grayson (2007-03-09 12:53:15)
"Don't worry, sir. I'm sure they're ride up with wear."
"Break them in.." (oops, sorry that was for shoes)
Willpower be damned! Who am I to fight this destiny... Lets see, I've been disappointed by Hong Kong "made to mis-measure"'; American factory "bespoke"; and formerly employed Savile Row tailors now on their own and seeing (or not) clients at No. 12 Savile Row. Perhaps I've come to enjoy the disappointment. But still, I'm not worried - greater men than I have succumbed to the seduction of Savile Row, and lived to tell the tale. While its smart to learn from another's mistakes, most men learn from their own. And so must I. I have decided to try both firms. Foolish? Maybe. Costly? No doubt! But the fun I'm having along the way has some value. Perhaps this yellow brick road will ultimately lead me to a Jewish-Italian-Argentinian wizard in Emerald City. But first my little dog and I have some flying monkeys to contend with.