by Ross Furlong | Jun 17, 2015 | Bespoke Suit, Bespoke Tailor, Film & TV, The History of Bespoke Tailoring
Chris Kerr is the oldest bespoke tailor in Soho, now in its 56th year and third generation of Kerr family involvement.
The business was established in 1960 as Len Wilton at 52 Berwick Street, where it remained for 50 years (eventually moving to 31 Berwick Street in 2010). In 1963 a young Eddie Kerr joined as an assistant cutter and by 1970 had been made partner, eventually buying the business outright in 1990.
In the early sixties ‘Mr Eddie’ as he became known by customers began to make bespoke suits for the new pop & fashion scene emerging around Carnaby Street including stars like Matt Monroe, Procol Harem & The Swinging Blue Jeans. (more…)
by Mansel Fletcher | Jun 6, 2015 | Bespoke Suit, Film & TV, Style Icons
What would it take to capture the heart of one of the most famous and beautiful women of the Twentieth century, the actress Marlene Dietrich? Incomparable wealth, or matinee-idol looks? The French actor Jean Gabin had neither, but he did have what tailoring expert Michael Alden has called “nuclear levels of presence”. Like Fred Astaire, who’s clothes seem to exude the charm he’s said to have possessed, so Gabin’s incomparable suits seem to be a manifestation of his charisma. (more…)
by Bespoke Reporter | Apr 10, 2015 | Bespoke Suit, Bespoke Tailor
Buying your first (and possibly only) bespoke suit is what marketers call a ‘high consideration’ purchase, meaning that the average male will research the bejesus out of the market before ever stepping foot in one of the many venerable tailors shops this town is blessed with.
For many, the first search they’ll run on Google is for Savile Row Tailors – Savile Row of course being – by a stretch – the most famous street in the world for bespoke tailoring. When you buy a suit on Savile Row, you’re buying not just a suit, but into history, for example Winston Churchill commissioned his famous ‘Tommy Gun’ chalk stripe suit from Henry Poole & Co. (more…)
by Bespoke Reporter | Feb 25, 2015 | Bespoke Suit, Dinner Jackets
Congratulations to Eddie Redmayne, not only for his Oscar & BAFTA awards but also for sartorial performance at both ceremonies. If there was an award for best dressed recipient of a major film award, we think Eddie should win that too.
It’s not easy to digress from traditional black tie without moving into novelty territory – the zany bow tie, or wacky shoes, but Eddie’s midnight blue velvet dinner jacket by Alexander McQueen (worn properly with a black bow tie and patent leather shoes) was a classy, effortless take on what is actually a very classic British style. (more…)
by Bespoke Reporter | Nov 25, 2014 | Accessories, Bespoke Suit, Bespoke Tailor, Made to Measure, Suit Making
Imagine your house burnt down, and that everything went in the fire (for the sake of keeping this hypothesis pure let’s say that you were out jogging at the time). Even less likely let’s imagine that the insurance company promptly sent you a cheque for £10,000 to replace your lost clothes. How would you spend the money? Where should a man start when building a wardrobe?
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by Mansel Fletcher | Sep 25, 2014 | Bespoke Suit, Bespoke Tailor, Suit Making
For men who’ve never been to a tailor the price can seem intimidating, but in reality the cost is the least interesting thing about a hand-made suit. It’s as relevant to compare the price of a suit made by Chris to the price of a designer suit as it is to compare the price of a Rolls Royce to that of a Renault Laguna; while both cars will transport you from A to B they are entirely different in every other way. A shop-bought suit (even one with the name of a famous European designer on the label) is likely to be made in a vast Chinese factory, while Chris’s suits are cut, by him, at his board in his Berwick Street shop, and sewn together in Soho. (more…)
