My daughter is getting married this summer. She has a beautiful dress (not that I've been allowed to see it) and Mrs Grey Fox is also going to look stunning. Not to be outdone, I'm determined to wear British-made from top to toe in my role as Father of the Bride. It will be a traditional wedding, so it will be morning attire for the gentlemen.
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| Spencer Tracey and Elizabeth Taylor in Father of the Bride (1950) |
I write much about British-made products on this blog so it's only natural that I should want to wear British-manufactured menswear. It's a very special event, so I've decided to have the morning coat and trousers made for me. I've selected a tailor and will follow the tailoring process in future features.
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| Wearing an Oliver Brown hire outfit last year. For my daughter's wedding I'm after a perfect bespoke fit |
I'll also be looking for UK-made shirt, shoes, tie, waistcoat to socks and underwear. It should be no problem putting together a British outfit. Follow my Father of the Bride adventures in future posts on the blog. If you supply British-made menswear and can help, do get in touch.
#FatheroftheBride
#FatheroftheBride
Grey Fox
ReplyDeleteWOW that sounds a great adventure. Hire clothes are usually just about good enough to get by with but one does not get a perfect fit (ie cats whiskers in the picture of your previous hire trousers) so bespoke is certainly the way to go. I guess the only draw back for most of us would be the initial cost versus the number of times it gets worn.
Please keep us all posted on every item you select and the reasons behind the choice of one maker against another.
Looking forward to future posts.
Regards,
Snapper
Congratulations. My daughter got engaged on Christmas Day 2014 and has still to name the day. I think the happy couple are considering 2020. You can’t rush these things!
ReplyDeleteBest of British luck with your search for 100% British attire. When I was married in 1981 I wanted to wear all-British attire. However I struggled. Called at Moss Bros, Austin Reed and Cecil Gee in St Anne’s Square Manchester to find the suits were then made in Continental Europe and this was before the sleeping giant called China woke up and the Iron Curtain in Europe came down. Eventually was fitted out at Marks & Spencer who still, at that time, boasted that most of their clothes were British-made.
Please can you also keep a tally on the source of the wool, where the material was woven, etc? I'm all for UK-made products, but I'm increasingly interested in looking through the manufacturing to the actual "ingredients" of the products we wear...
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have a morning suit made for me but would have very few occasions on which to wear it. We had an evening wedding and had Doug Hayward make me a DJ and trousers. It has been an excellent investment worn many times since. Doug Hayward had an excellent style which combined the classic English cut mixed with a bit of rakishness.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the rest of your attire how about some Oxfords from Ducker and sons and boxers from Sunspel?
Congratulations and I'm looking forward to the updates. It wasn't entirely British made, but I went for a classic (lounge) suit from Hackett for my own wedding, with shoes from Crockett and Jones (British made therefore). I can never understand why the modern groom goes for a hired four-button-frock-coat-thing with a wing collar and cravat (normally hideously patterned in an attempt to show personality). Classic and subtle is the way! As always a great 'blog.
ReplyDeleteRich (age 43)
Thank you all for the great ideas and thoughts. I'm sorted for shoes from Barker and underwear will probably be British Boxers - Sunspel is not a clear choice as, while some is made in the UK, much is not.
ReplyDeleteWatchnerd, I'll try to keep tags on the sources of wool and hope to use British-made cloth in tailored items. Whether the wool will be British is doubtful, but I am involved in another project looking at cloth from British-produced wool.
GF
I assume I'll have 3 Father of the Bride events over the coming years. While my own wedding garb was a morning suit (hire job - I didn't know any better), I doubt my daughters' weddings will be similarly-styled. While I'll watch for ensuing posts with interest, that interest will most likely be academic. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteTony
Can I suggest you get in touch with David Saxby, based on Fulham High Street? He makes beautiful waistcoats with proper Irish linen. Not sure the provenance of his morning suits (which I wore at my wedding six years ago) but he will no doubt have some interesting thoughts on the matter.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that not only your daughter, but you look so awesome with that style..
ReplyDeleteThe Fashion For Men
Grey Fox,
ReplyDeleteThe accessories you need will be quite easy, for instance :-
socks - pantherella
tie - Drakes
shirt - Budd of Picadilly, Sean O'Flynn etc
shoes - you know as well as I do all the bespoke shoe makers, Lobb etc etc
The suit will be the most interesting element. Theoreticaly any high end tailor should be able to make it for you but personally I would seek out one with a vast experience of making tailcoats. So you would be looking for somebody like Tom Brown of Eton who is renown for their tailcoat uniforms. Alternatively somebody who has made for the Royal Household. So Tom Mahon of "English Cut" springs to mind. Not only was he Prince Charles' cutter in his A&S days but I have read on his blog how he once added small weights in the end of the tails to keep them in place. One of his clients has given details of Tom's tailcoats on The London Lounge blog site.
Another A&S alumni is Edward De Boise, who I guess has also made tailcoats. The trousers should be an easy commission for any good tailor and don't have to come from the same coat maker.
Most Savile Row tailors with any history behind them would surely have made tailcoats in the past.
Many of us are looking forward to ongoing details of your selections and experiences.
Best regards,
Snapper
Grey Fox,
ReplyDeleteIs there any progress please on this project? Can you give us any updates yet please?
Regards,
Snapper
Hello snapper - yes, I'm accumulating products and will feature in a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteGF