mack11211
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2004
- Messages
- 6,554
- Reaction score
- 122
Dear Folks:
Article in the NY Sun today, a paper from which I write sometimes. I am not the author of this one.
Apsley tailors is a old HK outfit that opened a branch in London in the late 90s. Now they have some designs on NY as well.
NY story follows. Headline confuses SoHo and Soho House, a branch of the London club in the Meatpacking District.
In SoHo, Apsley Channels Savile Row
By TOM TEODORCZUK | April 22, 2008
From a suite at the Soho House, Apsley Tailors is planning a sartorial revolution; the British company is offering New Yorkers Savile Row-quality bespoke suits at off-the-rack prices. Until recently, if locals wanted an Apsley suit (from $1,400) or dress shirt (from $100), they would have to cross the pond. Now, they need only head to a private club in the meatpacking district.
Together with tailor David Chu, the company's director, Arshad Mahmood, spends about three days at a time taking measurements for his New York-based customers. The suit is cut in London and then sent to Apsley's factory in Hong Kong for finishing. Six to eight weeks after the initial measurement, the duo returns to New York for fittings.
Mr. Mahmood said he seeks to secure factory and showroom space in New York within six months; that, he said, would allow Apsley to cut down on the lag time between measurement and completion. In England, the process takes about two weeks. (Apsley holds the Guinness World Record title for the fastest suit ever made; the ensemble was created in six hours.)
Apsley Tailors originated in Hong Kong as Punjab House in 1889. Mr. Mahmood renamed the legendary tailoring company in 2003 in honor of Apsley House, the home of the first Duke of Wellington, in London's Hyde Park Corner. He opened a flagship showroom in London's Pall Mall district, close to the capital's traditional gentlemen's clubs, whose members supply Apsley with much of its business. Apsley also has close ties to the military. "Of the five living British field marshals" "” the highest army rank in the United Kingdom "” "two are my clients," Mr. Mahmood said.
The British fashion press and public have embraced Apsley's quintessentially Savile Row style. (The Mail on Sunday called the company's suits "unaffordable luxury at affordable prices," and after purchasing an Apsley suit for himself and his son, Independent columnist John Walsh called the brand of tailoring "a considerable bargain, and a good deal cheaper than if we'd bought, off the peg, something that wouldn't have fitted us half as well.")
Mr. Mahmood said New York had so far been a good place to do business: "People who have been generally buying suits from between $3,000 and $6,000 are very happy to have me here "” they are really going crazy." Since establishing his New York satellite in January, he has even won over a Virginian, who flies to New York to get his Apsley suits, Mr. Mahmood said.
So how does Apsley keep his prices so low? "Through having my own factory in Hong Kong, I can control the quality and prices," Mr. Mahmood, a Hong Kong native, said. He added that Apsley's proper fittings and professional advice differentiate his company from budget Hong Kong bespoke tailors.
Asked whether Manhattanites dress properly, Mr. Mahmood responded: "Not the majority. Some suits are very big on the shoulder "” they look like they're American football players. You shouldn't wear a suit that's two inches bigger on the shoulder, with sleeves that are three inches longer, and not be worried about it. You need to dress a little better."
Mr. Mahmood, who returned to London last week, will be back again next month to do something about that.
Apsley Tailors (at the Soho House, 29-35 Ninth Ave., between 13th and 14th streets, 646-454-9838).
http://www.nysun.com/style/soho-apsl...s-savile-row-0
Article in the NY Sun today, a paper from which I write sometimes. I am not the author of this one.
Apsley tailors is a old HK outfit that opened a branch in London in the late 90s. Now they have some designs on NY as well.
NY story follows. Headline confuses SoHo and Soho House, a branch of the London club in the Meatpacking District.
In SoHo, Apsley Channels Savile Row
By TOM TEODORCZUK | April 22, 2008
From a suite at the Soho House, Apsley Tailors is planning a sartorial revolution; the British company is offering New Yorkers Savile Row-quality bespoke suits at off-the-rack prices. Until recently, if locals wanted an Apsley suit (from $1,400) or dress shirt (from $100), they would have to cross the pond. Now, they need only head to a private club in the meatpacking district.
Together with tailor David Chu, the company's director, Arshad Mahmood, spends about three days at a time taking measurements for his New York-based customers. The suit is cut in London and then sent to Apsley's factory in Hong Kong for finishing. Six to eight weeks after the initial measurement, the duo returns to New York for fittings.
Mr. Mahmood said he seeks to secure factory and showroom space in New York within six months; that, he said, would allow Apsley to cut down on the lag time between measurement and completion. In England, the process takes about two weeks. (Apsley holds the Guinness World Record title for the fastest suit ever made; the ensemble was created in six hours.)
Apsley Tailors originated in Hong Kong as Punjab House in 1889. Mr. Mahmood renamed the legendary tailoring company in 2003 in honor of Apsley House, the home of the first Duke of Wellington, in London's Hyde Park Corner. He opened a flagship showroom in London's Pall Mall district, close to the capital's traditional gentlemen's clubs, whose members supply Apsley with much of its business. Apsley also has close ties to the military. "Of the five living British field marshals" "” the highest army rank in the United Kingdom "” "two are my clients," Mr. Mahmood said.
The British fashion press and public have embraced Apsley's quintessentially Savile Row style. (The Mail on Sunday called the company's suits "unaffordable luxury at affordable prices," and after purchasing an Apsley suit for himself and his son, Independent columnist John Walsh called the brand of tailoring "a considerable bargain, and a good deal cheaper than if we'd bought, off the peg, something that wouldn't have fitted us half as well.")
Mr. Mahmood said New York had so far been a good place to do business: "People who have been generally buying suits from between $3,000 and $6,000 are very happy to have me here "” they are really going crazy." Since establishing his New York satellite in January, he has even won over a Virginian, who flies to New York to get his Apsley suits, Mr. Mahmood said.
So how does Apsley keep his prices so low? "Through having my own factory in Hong Kong, I can control the quality and prices," Mr. Mahmood, a Hong Kong native, said. He added that Apsley's proper fittings and professional advice differentiate his company from budget Hong Kong bespoke tailors.
Asked whether Manhattanites dress properly, Mr. Mahmood responded: "Not the majority. Some suits are very big on the shoulder "” they look like they're American football players. You shouldn't wear a suit that's two inches bigger on the shoulder, with sleeves that are three inches longer, and not be worried about it. You need to dress a little better."
Mr. Mahmood, who returned to London last week, will be back again next month to do something about that.
Apsley Tailors (at the Soho House, 29-35 Ninth Ave., between 13th and 14th streets, 646-454-9838).
http://www.nysun.com/style/soho-apsl...s-savile-row-0
