Ongoing Bespoke Projects

[sugarbutch]

A little, yeah. From what they told me (and I expect all the regulars) there area number of reasons that they decided to drop SF. It made a lot of sense for them personally and business-wise. I'll certainly miss the visits. For existing customers, they'll continue to do Zoom fittings. I don't have any immediate plans for new orders anyway, so I don't know what I'll choose to do. Maybe schedule east coast visits for when they're in NYC or Philly.

*hugs*

 

[twuthetiger]

Finalized product of this bespoke ulster coat from W&S. Loving fit after wearing it all day. The fabric is on the lighter side for coating but it is spongy and drapes well. Excited to get some good uses out it for the coming winter!

 

[comrade]

I always thought SF was one of their better cities and always worried about them dropping DC. But given the most recent article on permanent style I think a lot of people will be moving away from tailored clothing as a whole.

I’ve also been reassessing my current wardrobe and now want to focus on accessory pieces that can tone down my formal wear.

I hope they will be okay moving forward.

"But given the most recent article on permanent style I think a lot of people will be moving away from tailored clothing as a whole."

I am afraid that this has been going on for the past 15 years or so, especially in the
Bay Area.

 

[oldworldelegance]

I always thought SF was one of their better cities and always worried about them dropping DC. But given the most recent article on permanent style I think a lot of people will be moving away from tailored clothing as a whole.

I’ve also been reassessing my current wardrobe and now want to focus on accessory pieces that can tone down my formal wear.

I hope they will be okay moving forward.

I wouldn't say that people are moving away from tailored clothing as a whole. Suits for business definitely. This is a long-term trend that the pandemic accelerated. There are however many benefits for those that like tailored clothing:
- The association between suits and business (or worse 'the man') is weakening rapidly. This makes it easier to wear a suit outside of work, just to go out or for fun. It also makes it much easier to dress it down by wearing polo shirts, roll necks, hawaian or flannel shirts or even t-shirts (ideally knitted) with a suit. As the association weakens further the distinction between casual suits (ie. tweed, corduroy, cotton) and formal (worsted) will disappear, making it easier to wear sharp worsted suits in the evening.
- The more subjective 'rules' (those unrelated to fit) fade into obscurity. Few will think it's odd to wear brown in town for example.
- The availability of casual suits and jackets (corduroy, flannel, tweed) is increasing in lowish-priced RTW shops (ie Uniqlo, Zara, H&M). Regardless of quality, more availability of tailoring means more people will wear it.
- It's perfectly fine to turn up to work wearing a linen suit when before it would have been out of place.
- People interested in clothes but not necessarily in tailoring are discovering 'new' fabrics, such as flannel which they might have overlooked previously when they had a strong association with 'business'.
- More people are interested in wearing casual tailored jackets with any outfit. I'm amazed at how many DB jackets I see (in Sweden) these days used mainly as outerwear. Particularly among women. Tweed jackets are worn with jeans and trainers. More shops offer a wide variety of patterns (gunclub, herringbone, PoW, checks, windowpanes, etc). Regardless of whether one likes these looks, it normalises the use of tailoring making it easier to wear.
- Post-pandemic there's more of an interest to dress up for an occasion (which means different things to different people). It's unremarkable to turn up to a party wearing something that's not jeans and t-shirts.

 

[bernoulli]

I wouldn't say that people are moving away from tailored clothing as a whole. Suits for business definitely. This is a long-term trend that the pandemic accelerated. There are however many benefits for those that like tailored clothing:
- The association between suits and business (or worse 'the man') is weakening rapidly. This makes it easier to wear a suit outside of work, just to go out or for fun. It also makes it much easier to dress it down by wearing polo shirts, roll necks, hawaian or flannel shirts or even t-shirts (ideally knitted) with a suit. As the association weakens further the distinction between casual suits (ie. tweed, corduroy, cotton) and formal (worsted) will disappear, making it easier to wear sharp worsted suits in the evening.
- The more subjective 'rules' (those unrelated to fit) fade into obscurity. Few will think it's odd to wear brown in town for example.
- The availability of casual suits and jackets (corduroy, flannel, tweed) is increasing in lowish-priced RTW shops (ie Uniqlo, Zara, H&M). Regardless of quality, more availability of tailoring means more people will wear it.
- It's perfectly fine to turn up to work wearing a linen suit when before it would have been out of place.
- People interested in clothes but not necessarily in tailoring are discovering 'new' fabrics, such as flannel which they might have overlooked previously when they had a strong association with 'business'.
- More people are interested in wearing casual tailored jackets with any outfit. I'm amazed at how many DB jackets I see (in Sweden) these days used mainly as outerwear. Particularly among women. Tweed jackets are worn with jeans and trainers. More shops offer a wide variety of patterns (gunclub, herringbone, PoW, checks, windowpanes, etc). Regardless of whether one likes these looks, it normalises the use of tailoring making it easier to wear.
- Post-pandemic there's more of an interest to dress up for an occasion (which means different things to different people). It's unremarkable to turn up to a party wearing something that's not jeans and t-shirts.

Well said. Here, a couple of new commissions are funded (small adjustments, and I get them in a few days).

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

When u in dem chinese banquets the air con don't hit dem legs under the table ;-) yea savvy?

Jokes aside even indoors I find wool barathea overkill unless someone drops the mercury to 18. And then if you plan on dancing like I usually do, mohair is a godsend...

Only downside is mohair can be quite unforgiving after 10 course chinese banquet

I agree with this. Barathea is a very tight-woven and dense worsted wool. It'll run hot in Singapore. Wool-mohair blends will run cooler and will have just as much (or more) sheen as a barathea. Wool-linens will run even cooler, though they won't have wool-mohair's (or barathea's) sheen.

On edit: If the barathea's already being cut, one thing you can still do to make the coat run a little cooler is to get it quarter-lined. It'll breathe a bit better than a fully-lined or half-lined barathea. And barathea drapes quite well, so having little lining won't hurt the look in the back.

 

[jonathanS]

I agree with this. Barathea is a very tight-woven and dense worsted wool. It'll run hot in Singapore. Wool-mohair blends will run cooler and will have just as much (or more) sheen as a barathea. Wool-linens will run even cooler, though they won't have wool-mohair's (or barathea's) sheen.

On edit: If the barathea's already being cut, one thing you can still do to make the coat run a little cooler is to get it quarter-lined. It'll breathe a bit better than a fully-lined or half-lined barathea. And barathea drapes quite well, so having little lining won't hurt the look in the back.

Thinking aloud, would it be possible to do a linen mohair tuxedo? Never tried this, never considered it until this post. Thought popped into my head & figured I’d ask

 

[David Reeves]

Thinking aloud, would it be possible to do a linen mohair tuxedo? Never tried this, never considered it until this post. Thought popped into my head & figured I’d ask

I have never seen this kind of blend, it sounds like an odd mix to me which would negate both of the cloths strengths. If you are after something lighter you could use Dupioni silk or I have a nice mohair and Escorial blend that I deal in which I use for my own personal warm weather dinner suit.

 

[The Chai]

Thinking aloud, would it be possible to do a linen mohair tuxedo? Never tried this, never considered it until this post. Thought popped into my head & figured I’d ask

I had a linen mohair cream odd double breasted dinner jacket...wrinkled like crazy. Never again...

 

[David Reeves]

I had a linen mohair cream odd double breasted dinner jacket...wrinkled like crazy. Never again...

Doesn't surprise me. Linen and silk could be another good option.

 

[jonathanS]

I have never seen this kind of blend, it sounds like an odd mix to me which would negate both of the cloths strengths. If you are after something lighter you could use Dupioni silk or I have a nice mohair and Escorial blend that I deal in which I use for my own personal warm weather dinner suit.

Escorial and mohair, I gotta look into that. I have the London lounge mohair. No idea what the mix is, we’ll see how it makes up.

 

[David Reeves]

Escorial and mohair, I gotta look into that. I have the London lounge mohair. No idea what the mix is, we’ll see how it makes up.

Yes it's really good, one would think it would be a bad idea, but you get a light mohair that keeps its shape but still has a great stretch to it. So really you get the benefits of both.

 

[Testudo_Aubreii]

I had a linen mohair cream odd double breasted dinner jacket...wrinkled like crazy. Never again...

Was that from the 1st edition of Harrison's Sea Shell book, from around 2016-7? I remember people started complaining about its linen-mohairs soon after the book hit the market, although I think those complaints were more about the fabric peeling, or something like that...I now see the book's 2nd edition has seemingly pared it down to 55/45 poly-linen blends only. The poly cuts down on the wrinkles and repels moisture, the linen expels the moisture and makes the cloth breathe. Sounds worth a try for a daytime suiting.

Agree with D. Reeves that linen with some silk is a good option for hot-weather black tie.

 

[jonathanS]

Yes it's really good, one would think it would be a bad idea, but you get a light mohair that keeps its shape but still has a great stretch to it. So really you get the benefits of both.

Was the escorial mohair in the standeven bunches?

 

[David Reeves]

Was the escorial mohair in the standeven bunches?

It still is, I use it all the time.