Savile Row – A Coat of Many Colors

First of all, regardless of what else I’m about to say, don’t you just love this photo? Seriously amazing – click for a larger version. I suspect Guy Hills (the dapper gentleman perched atop the postbox) to be the photographer, although I’m not 100% sure. The photo is from Savile Row: The Master Tailors of British Bespoke, the beautiful new book from James Sherwood. I’ll be reviewing it here in the next week or so. Expect good things.

So, back to the photograph above. I think it the perfect example of the spirit of Savile Row. It reminds me why I love the Row so much. Many people when they think Savile Row immediately think traditional, slightly fusty pinstripe city suits. But Savile Row offers much more than any single archetype. Whether blue, grey, or black, checked, striped, or plain, and even all of the above, Savile Row can do it. There truly are no limits. If you want slim and modern, head to Richard James (far left) for a razor thin suit worthy of the best modern gent. Soft and supple more your bag? John Hitchcock (third from right) at Anderson & Sheppard, whose traditional double-pinstripes look anything but fusty, has you covered.

For me, this photo does a fantastic job showing the underlying diversity of personality in Savile Row. There are two major things that define who each house is, their construction and their personality. One might even say that the former is largely a product of the later. Nick Hart (sunglasses, center) approaches tailoring from a very different place then Patrick Grant (right of Hart). Savile Row presents an amazing contradiction of unity and disparity that can’t really be likened to anything else. Saying everyone in the photo operates in Savile Row simultaneously scratches the surface and cuts the core of what they do. And some, such as the legendary Edward Sexton (third from left) no longer reside in the Row itself, yet it doesn’t get much more Savile Row than Mr. Sexton.

This ineffable quality, the animus of Savile Row if you will, is what makes it so special. It is, at the most basic level, about people. You, the customer, and a team of passionate people, each with your own ideas about dress and life at large, collaborate to create something in cloth that represents your joined perspectives. Whether you want to work with a man in long black coat or blue pinstripes (or a woman in smashing checks) is up to you, and what you walk away wearing can look like whatever your imaginations can cook up. But under the banner of Savile Row’s W1 street sign, you can be assured of one thing – your coat will contain more sentiment than stitching.