The North by Northwest suit – as worn by Cary Grant in the 1959 Hitchcock movie of the same name – is probably the most iconic suit in movie history – Esquire voted it number 1 in a top 10 greatest suits poll. Readers of this blog will know that in 2016 we embarked on a mission to recreate this iconic suit – the journey described in a series of blogs. We also made an 11 minute documentary about the process which is published here for the first time. Enjoy.
“In his uniform of bespoke black suit and unbuttoned shirt, a look born from the same gothic imagination as his soul-stirring lyrics, Nick Cave is his own best advert. Ordered mostly from Chris Kerr on Berwick Street, Soho, this is a wardrobe that exceeds in nuance what it lacks in colour. The cowboy belts, forward-point collars, Chelsea boots and carefully cut flares are the work of a man, and his tailor, undictated to by trend. After all, wherever Cave goes, he leads.” Holly Bruce, Sub-Editor, GQ
Of late, Tweed has become rather cool – you see everyone from David Gandy to Guy Ritchie wearing it and hit TV shows like Peaky Blinders have lent it a roguish edge. Its commute from aristocratic country wear to the streets of Florence and Soho is well deserved. Tweed is a very interesting and adaptable cloth indeed.
Take Harris Tweed for example – you can only make it if you live on an island in the outer Hebrides and have a weaving shed attached to your croft. The result is a highly original and individual cloth – no two pieces are the same.
Harris is probably the most famous name in tweed but there are many other makers whose swatches display a surprisingly wide range of weaves and colours. There’s even a tweed for cyclists that has built in reflective qualities.
Tailors’ tweed swatches
Tweed lends itself to personalisation in other ways too – arm patches, patch pockets, velvet collars, chunky buttons. For a more conservative look, a black or dark blue tweed will serve you well in the chillier months.
Do you feel the need for tweed? Book an appointment with Chris here.
Most bespoke tailors offer a made to measure (MTM) option but what is the actual difference between bespoke and MTM? MTM costs significantly less than full bespoke – this much is clear, but are you getting a significantly lesser quality suit if you opt for MTM? (more…)
The fashion police is largely a figure of speech, but there is one instance in which it has a literal meaning, and that is the strange case of the hand-made cloth from Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. This is because the use of the name Harris Tweed is restricted, by a 1993 act of Parliament, to fabric woven on the rain-lashed isles of Harris, Lewis, North and South Uist, Benbecula and Barra.
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