More from TK Maxx

Well, I did it again; I went to TK Maxx and bought a shirt, a pair of trousers and a pocket square. Just because I make and sell bespoke shirts does not stop me buying ready to wear shirts and this time it was a burgundy check button down from Hackett with a Brompton Collar for £30. A real steal in my opinion. The shirt is made from quite a nice Italian 100's fabric. No idication of the mill from which it was sourced, but Hackett do often use Thomas Mason. A great shirt which fits reasonably well, but looks great for days out at the weekend.
The trousers I purchased were a herringbone navy pair made by Acquascutum. Normally £99 i got these for £30. They were probably part of a suit originally, but I will be able to find a use for them. Again, a bargain for a really high quality article of clothing.
The pocket square does not have a brand on it, but it is a gorgeous blue and white polka dot made from particularly nice silk. the only thing letting it down is that the edges are not hand rolled, but machined. owever, for £4 what can you expect!

Creating an Image

I spent yesterday afternoon in the town of Stroud in Gloucestershire, not too far from me. I was meeting with Berith, an image consultant who has worked in the fashion and beauty industry for 25 years. Berith knows her stuff (not surprising after so many years in the industry) and amongst her offerings is a style and image consultancy service for men.
Trained by Colour me Beautiful, Berith has combined their system with some of her own ideas which, from speaking to her, sound really great.
I am often asked by clients what colour bespoke shirts they should buy from me (one of each of course :-), and whilst I can help inform them based on my knowledge and experience, Berith has the training and background to really help.
We have decided that we will be bringing to our respective clients a joint offer of style and image consultancy with first bespoke shirt/tie/cufflinks etc. More details will be available on the blog when known.
In the meantime check out Berith's website at http://www.b-image.co.uk/ and please tell her I sent you if you use her services. recommend her to your wife or partner too!

Quality Italian Handmade Ties - now available

We have been searching for some time for the perfect ties to complement our bespoke shirts (and made to measure suits) and we are pleased to announce that we have finally found them.

Today, we have launched our Luxury Tie range, made specially for us in Italy.

Each Sartorial Executive tie is entirely hand stitched by skillful craftsmen , and enriched with luxurious touches, such as the reverse loop , and self tipped with the same fabric of the tie . The inside lining is pure virgin wool, which ensures the tie will keep its shape over time and adds aluxurious feel to the tie. Only a very small quantity of each Sartorial Executive tie is produced.

Bespoke Shirts - a chance to do something different

We have today been commissioned to make a shirt for a client who is 6 foot 3 inches tall and very slim . He used to wear shirts that have the stripes running horizontally, but is unable to find them in the shops.

Normally, we would suggest use of horizontal stripes on a shirt is probably not a good idea but he knows what he wants and we will provide. An example of someone wearing a horizontal stripes shirt can be seen on the excellent Sartorialist blog at http://thesartorialist.blogspot.com/2007/11/on-streethorizontal-stripe-shirts-paris.html, and it certainly looks good.

We shall be making the bespoke shirt in the Acorn BC Green fabric with white collars and cuffs.

Look for pictures of the finished article here in a few weeks.

100's of new bespoke shirt fabrics available

We have recently added to our already vast range of bespoke shirt fabrics with the introduction of Ringhart fabrics. This is an absolutely fantastic addition to our range, with approximately 200 each of plains, stripes and checks to choose from. This UK based company fit in well with our current ranges with yarn counts from 30s x 30s Dyed twill up to a luxurious 2/140s x 2/140s Yarn dyed poplin. The colours and patterns in the range are great for more adventurous bespoke shirts than would be obtained using Alumo or Monti fabrics but at the same time there is a very English feel about the designs.

The prices for bespoke shirts from these fabrics start at £125 (the same as for bespoke shirts from Acorn), so for those on a budget this really increases the choices for your bespoke shirts.

Have you met Mr & Mrs Smith?

If you find searching for a quality hotel a bit hit or miss, or even tedious and would rather leave it to someone else, then can I suggest you look to Mr & Mrs. Smith? That is the name of a members' luxury and boutique hotel club which brings you great discounts on the price of luxury hotels for the fantastic price of less than £20 per year. You can also upgrade your membership to get many extra benefits thrown in.

Go to http://www.mrandmrssmith.com/ for full details

Online ordering relaunched

We have, today, relaunched our online made to measure shirt service. The site is now easier to use with a wider range of collar and cuff options; the price of the shirts is still a fantastic £95 for a genuine English made shirt using high quality English milled cotton.

The shirts are made to the same standards as our bespoke shirts using traditional Jermyn Street shirt making techniques including sigle needle tailoring, mitred split yokes, long shirt tails, butterfly gussets and beautiful mother of pearl buttons.

We are also able to ship our shirts internationally, we have already had orders from a number of European countries.