Savile Row: The Master Tailors of British Bespoke

This color-illustrated fashion book for students and general readers reveals the world of Savile Row in England, famous for bespoke tailoring, the making of hand-crafted suits. The book details the history and major industry leaders of Savile Row and bespoke tailoring, and shows how Savile Row has interacted with historical and fashion trends, from war times to Hollywood to the Savile Row revival of the 1960s. There is also a chapter on the makers of gentlemen’s accessories, such as hatters, shoemakers, and stickmakers. About 15 pages of appendices illustrate the anatomy of a suit and the making of a suit, and provide a glossary of the language of Savile Row and a Savile Row cloth directory. Color and b&w historical and contemporary photos and illustrations are included throughout. The book was first published in 2010. This edition contains a new preface by the author, with info on recent developments. Annotation ©2017 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
The skilled tailors of Savile Row in London have dressed kings, movie stars, rock legends, billionaires, and even a few regular guys. A Savile Row suit remains an enduring and highly individual symbol of the finest a man can buy. From its origins close to Britain’s main royal palaces, the Row has grown from clothing aristocrats to military men, and more recently it has been revitalized by a renewed appreciation of personalized, handmade goods and by a new generation of modern sartorialists.Told through eight chronological themes, this beautifully illustrated celebration brings together Savile Row’s highlights and low-lifes, the dramas and private tales, the suits and their accoutrements, the fabrics and the cuts, the history and future. Each chapter charts a stage of the Row’s development and its contribution to men’s fashion and culture. Throughout the book are dispersed twenty-six profiles of today’s master tailors, providing insight into what makes their work, relationships, and clothes so special. The book is finely detailed with reference sections on the anatomy and making of the perfect suit.
The definitive story of the tailors, customers, and clothes of Savile Row, the international destination and renowned epicenter of gentlemen’s style