A British Wool Tweed Suit: A Collaboration with Woven In The Bone & McCann Bespoke

Sam Goates of Woven in the Bone weaves cloth in Scotland. She has wide experience of the industry and designed merino wool products in Australia before returning in 2007 to Scotland, where she was born. While developing training for Harris tweed weavers, she experienced at first hand the Hattersley looms (see last week's blog feature on Harris tweed) which, despite (or perhaps thanks to) their Victorian engineering, enable craftsmen to weave high quality cloth at home. She decided to bring together all her experience to weave cloth herself.

Above Sam Goates at her loom and the British wool tweed

I was lucky enough to meet Sam and we decided to collaborate to produce a British suit, made from wool produced from British sheep. Originally the plan was to have the suit entirely made in this country. In the event it was beautifully tailored by McCann Bespoke (see below), albeit not in the UK, giving me a suit that represents the multiple skills that go to make a suit, from the farmer who raises the sheep, the shearer, the industries that wash, dye, blend, card and spin the yarn to prepare it for weaving to, finally, the skilled weaver, warping the yarn and then, in the spinning process, adding the weft and producing a cloth of beauty and character for clothes, interiors or other uses. (All links are at the end of this feature).

A suit from British wool, woven by Woven in the Bone, tailored by McCann Bespoke

Sam, who still spends some of her time at Harris Tweed Hebrides, is a master of her craft. Her cloths are being discovered all over the UK, and from Savile Row to the provinces, tailors are discovering her products. She also offers bespoke design and manufacture and the rich colours and patterns of her clothes give the possibility of owning a suit made from a cloth made to your specifications - a novel and unique side to suit ownership.

I asked Sam to tell me more about marketing her cloths: 

"From my perspective, I hope that what I am offering to tailors and ultimately their clients, is complimentary to the traditional cloth offering from the British cloth merchants, encouraging clients to explore options for bespoke tailoring outside of traditional city suits.

"My cloth is handcrafted using traditional, artisan skills and production mthods, but provides a contemporary alternative, offering a softer, more relaxed Saxony tweed reflecting the trend towards more flexible office/social wear.  

With personalised and transparent small batch production, it is ‘cloth to connect with’…. for added value to a truly bespoke experience. I offer a design service to tailors & their clients and custom-design cloths in lengths from 6m-60m can be commissioned for those looking for a truly unique and individual piece or for a business wanting to develop their own house cloth".

I selected a beautiful oatmeal herringbone tweed for my suit (pictured above). Undyed, its colours are from the natural colours of the fleece. As Sam describes it:

"I think the “Native” quality cloth that David selected works particularly well for promotion of bespoke suits for the huge market in more rustic, ‘field weddings’... Its made from 100% naturally coloured British wool and in an authentic British classic herringbone tweed that comes straight from the land (I’m tempted to sa, with no artificial colours or preservatives!)"

McCann Bespoke (link below) is on Shaftesbury Avenue London and Neil McCann has a healthy clientele among professional sportsmen, who appreciate quality when they see it. As with many tailors, they offer different grades of tailoring, with the higher end, fully bespoke, involving a very high percentage of hand stitching. 

Images taken at the basted fitting of the suit at McCann Bespoke

They made my suit beautifully, the quality of construction, fit and stitching is very high. Their shop is a lively and fascinating place and at each fitting I bumped into a well-known sportsman. Tweed suits are becoming popular for weddings in particular and McCann's enthusiasm for my slightly unusual request - a suit made from Sam Goates's artisan tweed - was positive and genuine. I can't recommend McCann Bespoke more highly and their flexible pricing enables you to have a suit made at a variety of price points.

Tailoring detail and the finished suit

This feature was a collaboration with Woven in the Bone and McCann Bespoke. All views are mine alone.

Country Attire - outdoor clothing made in Britain

It's always a pleasure coming across a supplier of British-manufactured menswear. Country Attire sells a wide selection of brands which importantly include its own range of country wear (marketed as Country Attire) made in the UK from Scottish tweed and British Millerain waxed cotton. They sent me a few jackets to try and I took them up to Cumbria, in north west England, to see how they got on in the environment for which they were designed. 

The weather veered (as it does up there) between pouring rain, sleet, mist and glorious sunshine. I found that all the waterproof jackets kept out the water and all were well-designed and made. Careful thought had gone into placing zips, poppers, buttons, neck closures, pockets and belts to ensure the best fit, practicality and closure against the elements. Some are at reduced prices at the moment and offer excellent value (see below).

Crosby Slim-fit Jacket - Country Attire

The Crosby slim-fit jacket (shown in the above two images) was one of my favourites. Designed in that popular motor bike jacket style so favoured by Steve McQueen, it's stylish, comfortable and useful for town or country. Reasonably lightweight, the exterior is made from waxed cotton with a waterproof lining, Milair 5000, made by British Millerain.  It would be ideal with a vintage Tootal spotted scarf, jeans, boots and a thick roll-neck jumper on colder days. The sizing is surprisingly small on this one; check carefully as you may have to order a size or two higher than normal. I'm wearing a 40" chest (normally 38") and it still only just takes a sweater underneath. Price: £155.97 (reduced).

Ventile Shooting Coat - Country Attire

More practical in style, the Ventile Shooting Coat is a serious country jacket (above) with huge pockets, knitted cuffs, detachable hood and a wonderful robust construction. While this was designed as a shooting jacket, I'd wear it on a cold day on the hill, in the forest or walking the dog in the park. Made from Ventile, the historic fabric originally designed for RAF pilot survival suits, the closely-woven cotton is water proof but quiet, so you can move more quietly that when wearing many modern waterproof fabrics. This is a great, classic jacket for any outdoor enthusiast. Wear with wellies, tweed cap and robust trousers. Price: £389.97 (reduced).

Corby Wax Jacket - Country Attire

Next, the Corby Wax jacket (above) is made in the traditional British outdoor waxed cotton style, but with Milair 5000 waterproof lining. A huge corduroy collar, detachable hood, good-sized pockets and a robust feel mean that everything is as it should be for this country classic. I suspect this is a coat that will last many a decade. Price: £155.97 (reduced).

William Clean Tweed Jacket - Country Attire

Finally, I was very impressed by the William Clean tweed jacket. I wasn't sure how to classify this one. It's not a blazer-style sports jacket, nor purely a tweed country jacket, but it has all the makings of a Harrington-type tweed/outdoor/casual coat which would be suitable, properly layered, for colder weather in town or country. An interesting one this, and one I liked for being a little different. Wear with jeans and brogues, Red Wing style boots or desert boots. Price £329.95.

It's good to see such well-made classics manufactured in the UK and following a long tradition of durable British outdoor wear. See Country Attire for their range of men's and women's wear. Country Attire stock many other brands, including Barbour, Hackett, Loake, Drake's, John Smedley and many others.

[Note: Prices are current at time of writing this post. Country Attire has given me some of these jackets.]

Many thanks to Kirsty and Tom for helping with this post. 

Marwood SS15 - menswear accessories made in the UK

Marwood's gentle made-in-England accessories appeal to me because they are different. Their look book for their SS15 collection features John Tebbs of The Garden Edit which sells highly stylish goods to the keen gardener. Marwood's soft colours and textures go well in such surroundings. The photography is by Arianna Lago.

To see Marwood's collection of exquisitely-made British accessories, including ties, bow ties, scarves and pocket squares, click here. 

Kingsman: Mr Porter's first own menswear collection - Made in UK for spies of all ages (and film trailer video)

One of the highlights for me of London Collections:Men this week was the launch of Mr Porter's first menswear collection, Kingsman. I liked what I saw; not only because it's made in the UK and is linked to the film, Kingsman: The Secret Service, but because I would wear any of it.

Colin Firth in Kingsman: The Secret Service outside fictional Kingsman in The Secret Service.  Photograph: Allstar/20th Century Fox

The collection launch took place at Huntsman, Savile Row. The store had been transformed into a traditional London tailors as a set for the film. Early in the life of Kingsman: The Secret Service, the film's writer, Matthew Vaughn, and costume designer, Arianne Phillips, liaised with Mr Porter to produce the menswear collection. (Images below from Mr Porter).

The sixty-piece collection is inspired by the Savile Row tradition, and made by the best of British production including: Bremont timepieces; Cutler & Gross eyewear; Drakes ties and pocket squares; Corgi knitwear; George Cleverley footwear; Mackintosh outerwear, Swaine Adeney Brigg bags and Turnbull & Asser shirting.

Quality tailoring and British made

The film has its première today and is released by 20th Century Fox later this month. It stars Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Michael Caine and emerging-actor Taron Egerton, is based on the comic book and directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick Ass, X-Men First Class). It tells the story of a secret spy organisation that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid into the agency’s ultra-competitive training programme just as a global threat emerges from a twisted genius. 

The collection is being sold through Mr Porter online. And I can't resist including the trailer for the new film, enjoy it:

Norton & Sons make a Museum of London tweed suit for Tinie Tempah

The Museum of London's curator of fashion, Timothy Long, is on a mission to establish London as the historic creative centre of menswear. I mentioned the development of a Museum of London tweed, designed for the current Sherlock Holmes exhibition, in a previous blog post. For London Collections:Men, starting on Friday this week, a suit has been made for Tinie Tempah from Museum of London tweed by Patrick Grant's Norton & Sons of Savile Row.

Tinie Tempah with Patrick Grant at a suit fitting, image Museum of London

Tinie took a major role in the design and the suit features a horseshoe waistcoat, tapered trousers and a slim-fit single-breasted jacket with a flash of golden-yellow lining. He will wear the suit at LC:M and it will then be acquired by the museum for their fashion and textiles collection (which now contains over 20,000 objects and records London's place at the centre of the development of modern menswear).

Museum of London
Norton & Sons
London Collections:Men

Tom Clinch: the search for ideal boxer shorts and their maker, PeterBarnett of Twickenham, England

A few weeks ago I had the massive pleasure of visiting a factory making clothing just a few miles from my house. The purpose of the visit was two-fold, firstly to catch up with Nicholas Clinch, the creator of Tom Clinch, whose men's boxer shorts I've tried and liked, and secondly, to meet the maker of Clinch's products, Peter Barnett of the Factory in Twickenham, situated in the shadow of the huge England rugby ground.

Peter Barnett (L) and Nicholas Clinch discuss the finer pints of boxer shorts

Nicholas has contacted me some time before to tell me how his search for decent boxer shorts which provided support, rather than allowing the manly assets to flap around uncomfortably. 

He felt that boxers are far more flattering for a middle aged man than other types of underwear, but wanted a twist on the inside that he hadn’t found in any shop. Nicholas searched the internet at length, rang every manufacturer he could find and visited as many shops as he could but drew a blank, until he stumbled upon Peter Barnett. Peter loved the idea. He then sketched out some pairs, made a sample, in fact many samples! Eventually he and Nicholas agreed on a design that he could make and fitted with Nicholas’s original idea. 

Tom Clinch boxer shorts

Nicholas was adamant that the only colours would be white (everyone's favourite) light blue and pink; no patterns or silly designs here! Understated and top quality fabric was purchased, mother of pearl buttons and the softest lining fabric Peter could find all arrived within a few weeks. Initially the plan was Nicholas should have forty or fifty to sell to friends and recoup the cost of manufacture, but the reaction from everybody was so good that all were sold within a month and so an order was placed for some hundreds. Once that was decided, the task became one of selling to the wider public and the company was born. 'Hung like a hero' is their catchphrase.

Tom Clinch boxer shorts are beautifully-made and their unique design, using a tactically-placed pouch, makes them more comfortable and supportive than any other boxer short I've tried. See Tom Clinch website for more information and to try. A laundry bag will join the collection soon

To contact Nicholas Clinch, telephone +44 (0)1243 773223

Flying the flag at Peter Barnett, Twickenham

Peter Barnett's factory is a fascinating place. He has been manufacturing in Twickenham since 1992. When I was there he and his staff were working on an order for Victoria Beckham, so this little place is a destination for brands large and small looking for a quality manufacturing service. As a centre of British manufacture, this is an example for many.

Contact Peter Barnett for more information.
The Factory
61 Haliburton Road
St Margarets
TW1 1PD
Telephone: 020 8892 9748

Making Tom Clinch boxer shorts at Peter Barnett's factory in Twickenham

Friday Favourites - Men's t-shirts and underwear special: Robert Owen, Hamilton Hare, The White T-Shirt Co.

Robert Owen

Made from bamboo fabric (rayon) mixed with elastane (Spandex), Robert Owen's undershirts are made in London, England. The fabric has a soft, silky feel and comes in four colours and five sizes. I find them very useful as the weather turns colder and, unlike many thermal undershirts, they stay  reasonably odour-free in warmer weather. Prices from £22.

For more information, see Robert Owen's website.

Hamilton and Hare

Hamilton & Hare's men's boxer shorts are now made in the UK. The Frank collection takes inspiration from the original boxing short. Made from 100% two-ply cotton, they're priced at £35, the shorts can be personalised, as mine were.

A donation of 10% of proceeds from profits from the collection is given to Carneys Community, a London charity that gets disadvantaged and excluded young people away from crime through community boxing projects. 

For more information see Hamilton & Hare

The White T-Shirt Co

Makes just that; organically-made cotton t-shirts in white. A wardrobe staple, these shirts are simple and ethical in concept and design. Price £35 for men and women. Customers can trace the complete supply chain and see the workmanship that goes into each t-shirt on their website (see below).

See the website for more information or to buy.

Buy British Day launched - Friday 3 October 2014

Yesterday Best of Britannia unveiled Buy British Day which is to take place on Friday October 3rd 2014 to coincide with the first consumer day of the annual Best of Britannia event. The Day will focus attention on the provenance and quality of the huge range of great products produced in Britain.

The panel included Timothy Everest (left) and William Church of Cheaney Shoes (2nd from right)

I will revisit this event later in the year. As I've said many times in my writing, it is ironic that British products (menswear in particular) are appreciated more overseas than at home for their quality and heritage. Buy British Day has been launched to change that.

It was wonderful to see so many of the made in Britain brands I've had the privilege to mention here on Grey Fox, including, Walsh Trainers, Cheaney Shoes, Age of Reason scarves, Cherchbi, Susannah Hall Tailors and others. Some I know, but haven't yet talked about here, like Chapman Bags and Carradice cycle bags. Others, excitingly, were new to me and I hope to write about them in future, such as Jessica de Lotz jewellery, Doe Leather and Caterina Belluardo shoes. There are many other brands involved, of course.

Please support Buy British Day on the 3rd October by seeking out the fantastic range of British-produced goods on offer throughout the UK or at Best of Britannia.

Cravat Club - Grey Fox talks to a British-made menswear label on its first birthday

Due to a skilled use of social media (there's a lesson here for many menswear brands), I've known about Cravat Club for most of its existence. I'd been wondering how it was getting on reviving the cravat, when by chance I recently bumped into (see image below) Jenny Meguro, who runs the company. She kindly answered some questions about the business on its first birthday (see below). 

Cravats are back, with Cravat Club leading the way

I'm not yet a cravat wearer, but I'll be trying some of Jenny's lovely products over the next week or so. Will I be converted? I've tried a couple and have a suspicion that cravats will now form part of my life, but I'll let you know in a future post.

Jenny offers a very impressive range of colours and designs of cravat and pocket square - all made in Britain. See Cravat Club for more information.

Grey Fox bumps into Jenny Meguro at L'Eroica Britannia

Here is my conversation with Jenny -

I'm intrigued as to how you came to be selling cravats. How did you get started?

Initially, my business partner Julian came up with the idea of Cravat Club as a sort of side venture, as his main profession is painting restoration. He had always been a fan of cravats and he felt that there was a lack of choice when it came to designs and finding a good quality product, as most cravats he found online and in stores had a tendency to either have very uninspiring patterns or be made very cheaply abroad which lacked quality. So he decided to fill this gap in the market by sourcing silk mills here in the UK and have good quality cravats made in more interesting patterns and colours. Julian then had a simple website made as the platform to showcase and sell these products.

Some of the many Cravat Club designs available

After 5 years in Japan, I came back to the UK last year, and while I was looking for work in marketing, I came across Julian’s business venture and was really intrigued by his idea of bringing the cravat back into fashion. I have always been interested in fashion; had previously studied textiles, and men’s fashion was always something I was curious about. It was eye-opening to experience the varied fashion trends in Japan and I also observed how the majority of men in Japan dressed so well and immaculately; a little different to here in the UK! It’s about paying attention to the smaller details and presentation is paramount in Japan, which is where a little accessorising comes into play.

I was keen to ensure that Cravat Club’s image steered away from the stuffy and outdated undertones that cravats have traditionally had, and that a slightly edgier and more contemporary touch would be ideal for today’s market and to appeal to a wider audience, not just for the more mature gentleman! So I revamped the website using more ‘off-the-wall’ imagery, I then had a plethora of designs made up to appeal to both the younger and older target market, and took over the online and social media marketing side of the business. 

Pocket squares

Has there been a revival in the cravat? 

There has been a huge resurgence of the well-dressed modern gent in the last few years, and popularity of men’s accessories have escalated hugely with the bow tie, pocket square and boutonnière being part of a man’s wardrobe, and cravats are steadily emerging onto the scene too. Cravats are the perfect accessory to complete an outfit for the sartorial chap bearing comfort and style at the same time, and as every woman knows, a well-dressed man is certain to stand out from the crowd and turn heads at social events! 

British manufacturing has also been increasingly sought-after as consumers in the UK are striving for well-made products from artisan and independent specialist businesses, as opposed to products being constantly churned out on a factory line abroad in order to cut costs, meaning quality and heritage becomes diluted; thus losing its charm and calibre. And so for us, the concept of a British made silk cravat was the epitome of quality and heritage rolled into one.

Where are your cravats made? Please tell us something about them and their design.

All of our products are manufactured across England. We have two types of cravats and pocket squares; jacquard woven silk and printed silk.

The woven silk is made in the Midlands from high grade raw-yarn silk. After we have requested and selected our designs and colourways, the silk goes through preparation, dyeing, and weaving stages to create intricate, lustrous and colourful patterns.

The printed silk is produced in the North of England from the finest raw-yarn silk, which undergoes various processes, and is then treated with steaming and stenting after being printed with our carefully chosen eye-catching designs and colours.

The material is then cut and made into cravats and pocket squares in the Midlands and the South Coast of England before ending up at Cravat Club HQ!

 Who and where are your main markets? How would you like to see these develop?

Even though our main market is in the UK, we offer free worldwide delivery so we are also popular across the globe, and have sold to over 30 countries so far, including all across Europe, the US, Canada, Brazil, Northern and South East Asia, Australia and the Far East, (and to my delight, this includes Japan)! It’s quite exciting for us when we receive an order from a country we haven’t sold to before, so each time we put a flag pin in our world map on a cork board in the office – it looks a bit like we’re planning for world domination! 

Our target market ranges from men in their late 20s/early 30s to, shall we say, the more mature gentlemen! There is a generation gap between Julian and myself, and I think that works well because we see fashion and designs from two very different perspectives. That’s why we have over 100 products on our site ranging from traditional to contemporary patterns, to classic designs with a twist - so there’s something for every gentleman’s taste!

We would like to see more men who haven’t tried a cravat before take the plunge and go for it, they would be surprised how comfortable it is to wear, and paired with the right outfit, how stylish it looks. You don’t have to make a huge statement wearing a cravat, you can show as little or as much as you like depending on how you tie and position it under your shirt, and there are a variety of ways you can wear it for different occasions, so you can dress it up or down. 

What inspires you in driving the business? What are you favourite moments in running the business?

Well, we’re only officially a year old but a lot has happened in this year!

Apart from wanting to see more and more men dressing well and taking pride in their appearance, I relish on the exciting thought that the cravat is on the precipice of flooding the men’s fashion scene. It feels like Cravat Club could potentially, or is already starting to have an effect on today’s fashion. 

I thoroughly enjoy running the business as it’s so varied, from planning and co-ordinating photo shoots, having input with the designs, communicating with customers and people via social media, to researching what’s trending and constantly thinking about the business and coming up with new ideas…and I love being my own boss, that helps too!

Click here to go to Cravat Club's blog.

Man/Men: Manufacturing Menswear - Journal of British Craftsmanship launched

Some months ago I was approached by renowned photographer, Jonathan Daniel Pryce, to help him with a project to produce a journal, Man/Men, celebrating British-made menswear. Readers will know my enthusiasm for this subject; my database of suppliers of UK-made menswear and accessories has become a major, and much-visited, part of Grey Fox Blog.

Combining Jonathan's skills with the camera and my contribution towards the text, Man/Men is planned to be the first of a series of celebrations of those who genuinely manufacture menswear and accessories in the UK. We have uncovered fascinating stories of people and businesses working hard to rebuild the UK's world-renowned manufacturing skills. The journal looks great, combining superb images with informative text.

Here is how Jonathan announced the project on his blog GarconJon. His  comments mirror my thoughts on the subject -

'I'm excited to finally be sharing a new project that's been in the making for over the past 6 months. MAN/MEN documents a journey across the UK to factories and studios looking behind the brands who manufacture in the UK. For the past few years I've been particularly interested in labels that make in the UK, buying basics from Sunspel and shoes from brands like Grenson, but it was really at the first London Collections: Men in summer 2012 that my brain began ticking over about what brands are truly British. 

There are three key driving factors behind this MAN/MEN project:

- Legally any brand can label their products as 'Made in the UK' if the finishing treatments to the product are completed here. For example, a jacket could be constructed overseas but if the buttons are added here, it's 'Made in the UK'.
- In the past 10 years the push towards 'heritage' has been huge, meaning brands with months of history slap an 'established in' logo in serif font.
- There's a real lack of understanding and appreciation of design crafted in the UK by British men. My international peers, particularly those from Japan and South Korea, have a great love of British design and a deep knowledge of which brands produce where in the UK. This fetishisation of British style has not returned home.

These three points have come up in conversation time and again over the past few years. There are many great blogs doing factory visits but there isn't one location where all this information is shared.

I'm excited to also be working alongside David Evans from Grey Fox Blog, a man with great knowledge of British brands and a discerning eye for style. Together, we'll be showing a selection of our favourite brands - those manufacturing menswear with integrity that doesn't compromise design. 

Next week a new blog ManMen.uk will go live - a platform we'll be updating with new factory visits, interviews and photoshoots. We'll be officially launching at London Collections: Men with a free journal handed to show-goers on Monday 15th June.

We're hosting a pre-launch event and exhibition on Thursday 12th in Private White VC on Lamb's Conduit Street. As the PWVC brand makes all their clothing in Manchester, they're the perfect location for the MAN/MEN journal launch. If you're available, come along and say 'hello' - RSVP to Riccardo@FinchandPartners.com.'

In the meantime, follow up at @ManMenUK on Instagram and Twitter. We're always looking for new suggestions of great British craft so let us know who you appreciate.

Jonathan and I look forward to seeing many of you at the launch on Thursday.