Tailoring for Women

What a superb opportunity.  The chance to be interviewed by Jenni Murray alongside Lou Taylor, Professor of Dress and Textile History (University of Brighton).

Although I have spoken on both MidWeek and Start the Week in the past, Woman’s Hour is such an iconic programme it was my dream that one day I would be given this opportunity.  Thanks must go to Jaeger too who first put the proposal forward to the BBC.

It really is a fascinating, almost ‘other world-y’ type of experience.  All very efficiently executed by the production staff who had to co-ordinate our own contribution with that of the other speakers, and all within their strict time allocation.

In preparation for the interview we discussed a wide range of possibilities.  In reality, however, it was something of a task to condense the history of tailoring, and at the same time include the crucial intricacies of the ‘shoulder to hip’ profile of a woman’s figure, into the confines of a 10 minute slot.  Jenni Murray was extremely deft in co-ordinating our input.

Unfortunately it may be the case that some of you outside of the UK can’t listen to the extract because of licensing restrictions.  I hope not.

P.S.  it was quite nice to see one of my jackets on the BBC Website too!

It’s been a busy week so far.  I was thrilled to be featured alongside Sir Martin Sorrell and ‘Dragon’s Den’ Duncan Bannatyne in Business Sense Magazine, the National Westminster Bank’s national periodical.  The rest of my time has been spent focussing on my presentation at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) with Jaeger.  The process of tailoring is something which tends to take place away from public scrutiny, so being given such a prominent platform demands careful thought about why the art of bespoke is so unique.

It seems to me that the distinctive experience my clients seek is comprised of the knowledge and integration of three important and fundamental elements. Physiology, technique and …psychology.

Physiology is all about understanding the shape and proportions of the body, not as an object frozen in time, but as a dynamic entity that changes and flows as it moves.  Most textbooks illustrate body types in 4 or 5 basic postures, but the devil is in the difference.  I have yet to find a client whose shape fits these proportions precisely.  I often give group seminars and set the participants the task of finding someone in the room that matches their own body shape.  It hasn’t happened so far!

Technique is something which takes time to develop.  It’s said that it takes 10,000 hours to reach a competent level of skill in any chosen activity.  This may be so, but I find that I still look to expand my own skills base, and that is after over 20 years in the trade.  The art of tailoring is still grounded in techniques that were developed in the 19^th century, although the records show evidence as far back as the 13^th century.  Modern materials, the change in life styles and modern body proportions all influence the ways in which these techniques have to be applied so they have to be constantly revisited and refreshed.

Tailoring is a relationship business.  We have to dress the body and the mind.  So, the psychology of the relationship with ones client is paramount.  This is all the more so as the current changes in society affects the role of women and how they wish to be perceived.

I was speaking with a former CEO of a global PR firm the other day who mentioned how he always emphasised the need for his staff to think of the image they portrayed when they visited clients.  “They have to realise that if they are charging a four figure sum per day, the first impression they give their client as they walk in the room is vital, and this is dependent largely upon how they look”.

A potent statement when you consider how this simple matter can undermine the huge investment that has gone into training the company representative.

We reached a milestone recently.  One that you helped to create. For just over a year we have been writing about tailoring for women, and it is incredible to see how our audience has grown.  Our goal was to try to create a hub of information that addressed some of the prevailing practical issues for women when it comes to selecting tailored clothing, and to help you make better informed decisions.  Judging from our Google rankings it has reached way beyond our initial expectations…and cultural boundaries.

From India to Canada interest has been stimulated, and not only amongst our immediate client base.  Discussions have been opened with other craftspeople from the trade, a regular stream of apprentices and work experience students has materialised, opportunities for exchanges between clients and non-clients have been created, and our blog has acted as a talking point for several internet based forums.

This resource has also led to the creation of a number of opportunities for extending our business.  In September we will be visiting clients in New York City, October will see a feature in National Westminster Bank’s ‘Sense‘ magazine, and in November we have the exciting opportunity of opening the seminar on women’s tailoring at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London alongside Jaeger and Evie Belle.  As a result we have received mentions in the online magazines for both Vogue and Elle, and the influential Fashion United blog.

Some of our most popular items to date have been Dressing the Fuller Figure, Restore, Refurbish, Restyle, Resurrect, Remodel…and the A Word, Variations on a Seam, Folding a Jacket, and more recently Trouser Roles.  The credit crunch too stimulated a number of posts, and there appears a regular stream of visitors to the more technically based features in Briefing for Bespoke.

So, thank you all for making this possible, and finally, do let us know if there are any subjects you feel we are missing!

Photo: thanks to Media Bistro

We were sifting through the archives of press cuttings and images the other day.  I am preparing to speak at a seminar for the V&A later this year and I was searching for pictures of some of the ‘old guard’ in Savile Row.  It is extraordinary how much I have forgotten over the last two decades of working in London.

And what an interesting journey, going right back to the beginning when I started with a clientele made up almost exclusively of performers.  I set out very quickly to learn the techniques of making a tail coat and suddenly found myself kitting out the violinist Gil Shaham, and the conductors Barry Wordsworth and Tamas Vasary.  I later made a much more feminine version for the singer Hilary Summers.  You can see Hilary here with the Michael Nyman Band in another outfit we made for her.

More recently came the coverage for the Commonwealth and Olympic shooting teams, and the British Embassy magazine in Japan.

Dealing with press exposure is an illuminating process.  A number of my clients come from the corporate communications and PR sector, and I have learned a great deal from them about the expertise that lies behind an effective press campaign.  It is one thing to get a novelty item in the Evening Standard about dressing a teddy bear, quite another to make a consistent impact in the fashion pages!

It may appear strange that I lead off one of this week’s blog posts with mention of a man’s magazine, but there is a reason for this.  Man’s World is one of the leading mens lifestyle magazines in India, and I was asked to submit some of my thoughts about the Savile Row tradition and how women fit into the scheme of things.

These are some of the questions and my responses.

What about suits for ladies on Savile Row? Most male tailors believe that female clients shift the goalpost much too often. Is that the case and if so, how do you tackle it? What do you think about doing suits for men?

The female form is far more complex than that of a man.  The journey from shoulder to hip, and from hip to floor needs a wholly different approach in both measuring and the balancing of proportions.  Also I question too whether the traditional fabrics used in the inner workings of the jacket are always best suited to the female form.  Some of the new fabrics have interesting properties that I find quite intriguing and perhaps more suitable.

As for doing suits for men.  I still occasionally make them and enjoy the experience, although the challenges are fewer because a man’s suit is something that has evolved over a long space of time and which fits into a well established pattern .  The women’s suit, that is to say something created specifically for women, is still in a process of evolution. Although there are exceptions, generally speaking  I find that women tend to get a man’s suit that has been cut for a women.  Quite a different proposition.

Can you define bespoke?

What do you need, we will make it, and you will feel supremely confident in wearing it.

Can you define Savile Row?

Savile Row is the contemporary manifestation of a highly skilled tradition that stretches back more than 4oo years.  Isn’t it interesting that the Japanese word for a Western business suit is… sebiru-ro… Savile Row!!

Is Savile Row fashionable?

An interesting question.   If you look at any of the fashion magazines you will see constant reference to tailored garments and how fine tailoring can make a fashion house really stand out.  Also you will find that tailors around the world want to align  themselves with Savile Row whether they have any authentic connection or not.  Savile Row has a unique position as a luxury brand without a single owner, and it is something that people aspire to be a part of whether they are makers or wearers.  Asking whether or not it is fashionable is really forgetting that it is actually one of the few constants in a world which is beset by the whims of the fashion industry.

Is it elitist? What would be the most honest reaction of most SR addresses to a person walking in with trainers and torn jeans?

Sadly most tailors would fail to see the opportunity for educating a new client.  Also people dress differently these days.  The fact that someone wears jeans doesn’t necessarily reflect the true reality of the person wearing them.  As research shows, we judge people first by the way they look, not by what they say.  Maybe we need to reflect on this a little more.

Today, is Savile Row mere geography? What about Hong Kong, Thailand or even Hounslow?

Savile Row has two elements.  a) The physical space in Mayfair and the community that is built around it, and b) its universal recognition as a benchmark of quality and service.

What is the biggest change you have seen in the world of men’s fashion? What is the biggest change in Savile Row?

Cheaply available suits that seduce people into believing that they are getting something that they not.   See our post ‘The credit crunch, suits, and a pricing conundrum’.

So if you were in my shoes,  how might you respond?

Photo: thanks to Man’s World, India