Before springtime finally arrives, I'm putting up some parting winter photos of Savile Row from my most recent trip to London back in February:
Gieves & Hawkes
Maurice Sedwell
Richard James
The camouflage jacket on the right reminds me of a story a tailor shared with me recently about a customer who ordered a dinner jacket (i.e. tuxedo) in camouflage. Certainly not the first choice of a tuxedo if you're building your formal wardrobe. But there might be a satiric, albeit esoteric sense of humor at work here - a sartorial inside joke. After all, black tie is really about conformity to a standard - blending in so to speak. And camouflage is the ultimate fabric for blending in, isn't it? This is the sort of thing a dandy might do to "creative black tie" - live dangerously in the night.
WH Giddens / Schnieder
Just off Savile Row is the bootmaker WH Giddens owned by Herr Schnieder. I dropped by and had a pleasant chat on boots, vintage crocodile luggage trunks, riding and equestrian events.
Budd Shirtmakers
A trio of formal chamois gloves in the three traditional colors: white, pearl/lt grey and cream.
