Finally thrifted a proper country suit

This was bought from David Saxby at Old Hat in London in early May - I had it altered slightly in the seat, and had the trousers shortened significantly and the sleeves just minimally, and the waistcoat lengthened a smidgen. (The sleeves are still a bit long, but as the buttonholes are working, and I can't be arsed to go the long route of having the shoulders unpicked, I'll leave them as is.) It's completely unworn, and presumably never collected by the customer. Otherwise the fit is more or less as perfect as it gets, without going MTM. At a total price of about $500 I'm not complaining. Now, Saxby described it as seventies bespoke, and I trust him after a few very good previous buys. The cut bears this out; it's just slightly seventies in cut - it reminds of the suits John Cleese wore on the Fawlty Towers series. It's certainly got the odd measurements and quirks that bespoke clothes have: There's one inside pocket, there's scrupulous pattern-matching all over the thing, quite extremely slanted hacking pockets, etc. etc. I'm curious about the origins, though; the only markings on it is an embroidered label in the one (!) inside pocket, that says:

Tailored by L. Wallis Bath By appointment 12 Savile Row, London

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Now, I know that 12 Savile Row is where Thomas Mahon, among others, has his place of business now, but my theory is that these were provincial tailors, who took measurements and did fittings on the premises of some other tailor's or other shop at no. 12. Or what? Now, please tell me I did well.

Basil Fawlty's suits aren't that bad looking - I like the material on your suit.

That looks fun. I think you'll love it.

I've been collecting quite a few (actually, quite a few too many! ) country jackets and suits myself. Mostly from Scotland and England, a few from Ireland. It's fun stuff. I've stopped short of the plus-four suits, though.

That is a nice looking suit!

How I love country clothes. Any chance of a fuller pic, possibly of it being worn?

I second the call for full pics!

I like the fabric, especially the blue windowpane. I also collect Windsor-esque suits with patterns that are bold but I hope tasteful.

I've purchased a few 70s suits before and find I never wear them. Often they don't look floridly bad, but I just can't deal with the tight thighs, slightly flared pant bottoms, and wide lapels and pocket flaps.

Mas pics.

Looks very good- 3 piece ftw.

You did well. Please post a picture wearing the suit.

Fantastic. And you all who boast of closets full of these gems, please, don't let any go unworn for too long!

Absolutely, - I'll post pctures as soon as it's cold enough to wear it, which will probably be October, or so, and even then, I don't think I'll be able to wear the waistcoat without a brutal case of sweltering. (It's very heavy thornproof tweed.)

Will it be, the triple tweed threat?

Originally Posted by Lucky Strike

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Absolutely, - I'll post pctures as soon as it's cold enough to wear it, which will probably be October, or so, and even then, I don't think I'll be able to wear the waistcoat without a brutal case of sweltering. (It's very heavy thornproof tweed.)

I just received a tweed three-piece the other night and made the mistake of trying it on. Reminded me that it's still August.

12 Savile Row is the premises of Scabal, the fabric merchants. Darren Beaman once told me that they offer their premises as a courtesy for tailors to use for customer meetings/fittings. While I haven't been in contact with him for a while, Darren is still using Scabal's premises, as is Thomas Mahon. I do not know how long Scabal has been at that address, so that I do not know if the tailor mentioned in the original post would have been meeting at Scabal's. Perhaps a look at old telephone directories or the 1987 book Savile Row would be helpful.

What I do know is that many tailoring firms allow and allowed other tailors to use their premises for meeting clients and having fittings. Such was the case with Adeney & Boutroy, whose proprietor Ron Pescod would meet clients at the premises of Davies & Son. Steven Hitchcock has a similar arrangement, I believe, at the premises of Denman & Goddard. Further, certain non-Row or non-London tailors can arrange to meet clients at a given Savile Row address which could be any set of rooms on any floor of the Row, much as small businesses may have the option of using office space on Park Avenue or the Champs-Elysees for client meetings. Tobias Tailors, which has left the Row, can meet customers at an address on the Row by appointment. The continuing conundrum Whitcomb & Shaftesbury can do the same.

Originally Posted by RJman

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The continuing conundrum Whitcomb & Shaftesbury can do the same.

They've proved rather enigmatic, haven't they? Seems like forever ago when they first came up, and I still have seen no answers.