Tim, I'm getting the same uneasy feeling about JS. The prices seem to have jumped recently and some of the clothing on offer seems a bit iffy to me. My recent made in London shirt, on closer inspection, did not compete favourable, manufacture wise, with mass produced Gant, RL etc.
Fred Perry is an interesting one to me.
I have never associated with Ivy. I see it as more of a mod revival brand these days. Just my opinion so forgive me if anyone is insulted
I know a few folks who say the quality is very good.
Someone asked what Sunspel now manufacture out of Nottingham and the answer is very little. But in fairness as the brand has expanded into other areas that weren't their specialism you can understand why. There is Scottish knitwear but I think the vast majority of their merchandise is Portuguese
JS …. hasn’t the price of everything jumped lately? I agree with some of the things that have been said but it should be remembered that many of the brands they once stocked are; no longer available (J Keydge, Liberto), seemingly available but not actually available due to ‘supply chain issues’ (Rancourt,) plus shipping costs and the current £ v $ exchange would mean that importing many US goods would not be viable.
Seems exactly the right time to major on their in house brand made in London - but it costs to have things made here and that reflects in the price paid by the customer. Some of their stuff has been hit and miss, but it’s a learning process and I would argue that, as an example, their madras shirts and chinos are as good as anything out there.
Despite all the economic doom and gloom there still seem to be people around who are happy to go in places like Drakes and Trunk and drop a grand or two, so the moneys out there I don’t think the original model of the shop would have made it through recent times.
JS for ever!
I'm not dissing JS and their made in London clothes. I want them to succeed. In my opinion they need to up their game. So far the products need a bit more quality control. I also have one of their Madras shirts and I remember I had to try on a few because the sizing was all over the place.
Alvey-For me the Fred Perry polo takes me back to the early 60s. I have a holiday snap with my dad, his apprentice and my brother all wearing made in England FPs. Not Ivy but London Mod. Maybe the brand became tainted later. I had a black FP with yellow tipping and my missus used to call it a wedding shirt because of a documentary on TV where some geezer got married in an indentical shirt. Later it became the polo shirt of choice amongst right wing Nazis in the USA. FP stopped distribution of that shirt in the USA for some time.
Great thread by the way. I love the accumulated knowledge of all posters.
Last edited by RobbieB (2022-11-04 15:47:29)
Just a couple of comments to add to this interesting thread,
I like the look of Drakes jackets, ( plenty of pre-owned, lightly worn ones on Marrkt), I can forgive the front darts, but I couldn’t live with, what to me ,is the ridiculous, unnecessary ticket pocket poking out of the front right pocket, I’ve seen Drakes jackets in the flesh and the pocket still looks unnecessary, As far as JS are concerned I think they do a great job in making items that you ( well for me anyway) can’t get anywhere else, Ivy jackets,overcoats and the Mingus jackets, I think you can get better shirts elsewhere , and TBH I think they’re overpriced, I’ve been toying with the idea of some Paraboots ( yes late to the party), and elsewhere online , ( Dicks Edinburgh and others ), I could find the same items 10% cheaper which is £35, not an insignificant saving, like most of us here I want JS to survive but I’m not prepared to pay a premium, just saying.......
Stax- Thanks for reminding me of Dicks Edinburgh. I'd completely forgotten about them. I think I got my last Keydge jacket from them. A jacket I didn't wear for years yet suddenly I'm wearing it all the time! That's why I can't throw anything out. I can suddenly start wearing something that has been pushed to the back of the wardrobe. Weird
Glad to be of assistance Robbie! Funnily enough I’ve been wearing my last Keydge a lot more recently ,
My vintage Alan Paine arrived and it’s great. Such a nice sweater from eBay and beats anything out there in stores now for quality and color.
I'd written a relatively long-winded post defending my comments on JS and of course, it got lost to the forum gods. The jist of it was that despite my faintly negative attitude toward them theses days, I still have a soft spot for them and wish them continued success. I hope to pay them a visit in February when next in my home town!
One of the brands they've recently started to sell is Ivy Ellis, I don't think I've seen them mentioned here yet. Scottish made socks, very much in the vein of the two-tone, slubby walking sock that Wigwam used to produce and Anonymous ism have become known for. Don't own any myself yet but they've been on my radar a while, having launched last year I think.
I like the look of the Ivy Ellis Sport sock. The 'claret white and blue' sport socks are on my wanted list. Didn't realise they are made in Scotland. Even better.
Community Clothing do a version of the stripped sports socks. Made in East Sussex apparently.
The Community Clothing website says that all their socks are knitted in Hathern, which is a small village in Leicesershire. The makers are J Alex Swift
https://www.jalexswift.co.uk/
The same socks are on their website and by and large you are better off buying from them direct (much as I admire C.C.) particularly as they offer free delivery whereas C.C. Charge a a minimum of £6.
Burgess Hill East Sussex for the CC sports socks.
FlatSixC- Agree that generally better to buy direct but I want CC to suceed
What I think is greatly overlooked is fit.
John Simons has what I call a real world fit. That is to say even a 55 year old Jewish guy with a craving for salt beef sandwiches and bottles of USA chard can comfortably fit into their jackets and shirts.
Drakes on the other hand is more fashion forward. In my experience this means nipped in jacket waists, collar sizes that aren't true to size and a too narrow silhouette. For some gym-honed bodies I'm sure that this works but shouldn't classic menswear follow more generic proportions.
On the sock front Corrymoor out of Devon are supposed to offer a sock similar in style to the old Burlington company.
They look very good especially the natural coloured ones that look like they'd be ideal with chinos and loafers.
Haven't bought any myself but am tempted.
+1 for Dicks Edinburgh.
Bought a lovely Vetra poplin blazer a few years back that is still going strong.
'I'm currently toying with the purchase of a vintage Bruar cable-knit in.. Burgundy! '
I have House of Bruar, three ply cashmere v neck (Todd and Duncan Scottish yarn).
I have one in a garnet red, that they no longer offer, and one in purple. Well cut and decent v neck - not one of those skimpy openings.
@Kingstonian I decided against, the seller uploaded a better picture of the label as per my request. Made in Hong Kong.
A few more Drakes shirts appearing on the Marrkt site. Made in England size 16 £77.
Missus caught me looking at the shirts and burst out laughing. 'Not more shirts, I thought you said the other day that you were not long for this world'
She can sell them back to Marrkt after you've popped your clogs.
HaHa. Too true
''Missus caught me looking at the shirts and burst out laughing. 'Not more shirts, I thought you said the other day that you were not long for this world'''
Can relate to that, yesterday had from this scoff from the missus ''What's that just arrived, another green coat or jacket?'' And she was right!