ASK GIEVE SAGE SARTORIAL ADVICE FOR THE MODERN GENTLEMAN vw
Dear Mr Gieve, I have wanted a bespoke suit for some time, and I have seen them advertised for £275 or £400. So why do Savile Row bespoke suits cost over £3,000? Are Savile Row's houses fleecing me? M. Russell, London SW1 Imagine that you are standing at the lights in Piccadilly say, or on St James's Street. Among the crowd of weary commuters on the pavement opposite, you notice one man, somehow standing out. It's not that he's particularly tall, or that his clothes are garish - far from it. It's just that in some indefinable way he seems more elegant, more confident, more pulledtogether than everybody else. That, Mr Russell, is true bespoke tailoring. That is what you pay for, and it can't be acquired on the cheap, or indeed any in any way other than traditional Savile Row Bespoke.
You'll see the word 'bespoke' bandied around at what look like bargain prices, but don't believe a word of it. Bespoke has a specific meaning, and the beauty of it is in this attention to detail. There are, for instance, 21 technical points that a suit must exhibit in order for it to be true Savile Row Bespoke. I suggest, Mr Russell, that you acquaint yourself with them (www.savilerowbespoke.com) so as to be armed against unscrupulous tailors.
The heart of the matter is that proper bespoke means taking your measurements and making a pattern unique to you. Fraudulent 'bespoke' will mean taking an existing manufacturers 'block' and altering it to fit you. It's not the same thing at all. It's not haute couture, and most important it will mean you remain one of the ordinary herd. If you are still to be convinced, might I suggest you at least take a step along the right path and have the very best made to measure you can get - Personal Tailoring from Gieves & Hawkes.
Exclusive to readers of The Spectator until 11 November 2007: Introductory 20% off a Personally Tailored suit from Gieves & Hawkes with a copy of this column. See website for your nearest store: www.gievesandhawkes.com GIEVES &HAWKES Nol SAVILE ROW LONDON
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