Help, savile row tailor? english shoes?

[threadman]

Have any of you heard of a Savile Row bespoke suitmaker by the name of Bailey and Hughes. They apparently ceased operations about 40 years ago but one of their master tailors with the last name Crossman contiued to work under their name. He is now retired. Anyone familiar with this tailor and his work?

Also I have come across a bench made in England shoe named Sir James Warwick. I suspect it is made by one of the major English shoe makers by am not sure. Anyone heard of Sir James Warwick shoes?

 

[marc39]

If you're looking for a good London tailor, check out Darren Beaman who works with John Kent. Another name is Joe Morgan of Chittleborough & Morgan.

 

[clarinetplayer]

Chittleborough & Morgan.

Chittleborough.  What a name.  Right out of Dickens.  I love it.

 

[banksmiranda]

I hear the name Tommy Nutter mentioned - that he served some of the Beatles, among others. I think that Timothy Everest was an aprentice to Tommy Nutter. Tommy Nutter supposedly worked at Kilgour French Stanbury for a period as well. What was Tommy Nutter's style? Were his creations of good quality/workmanship, or was he simply more flambuoyant and different from the rest of Savile Row, with its conservative reputation? I came across Nutter's Ltd. at 19 Savile Row. Does anyone work under the Tommy Nutter name? How about Anthony Sinclair?

 

[masterfred]

banksmiranda, I believe Morgan & Chittleborough are surviving members of the original Nutters; Edward Sexton was the head cutter when it was in its heyday. Nutter's been dead - what? 10-15 years or so. His style then was the sort of thing you'll see on the cover of "Abbey Road": waisted coats with wide lapels, flared flat-front trousers, wide shoulders. Interviews with current Savile Row tailors who knew Nutter indicate that they make a crucial distinction between 1960s-era Nutters and the current crop of celebrity bespoke "designers" in that Nutters & Co. actually cut and created their own suits to their own designs, and didn't farm out the entire process to factories (i.e., in essence offer a MTM suit and call it "bespoke"). The original business fell apart sometime in the 1970s, Sexton struck out on his own, and Nutter worked for Kilgour for a while; he then started up his own firm again, with an exaggerated version of the 1930s look: very broad shoulders, wide lapels, lots of drape, and very full-cut pleated trousers. I've read somewhere that an Italian tailored-clothing manufacturer was considering making a line of Nutter-inspired suits and jackets. Many of Savile Row's tailors credit Nutter with helping the Row's tailoring tradition survive, and having inspired some of the current crop of young tailors to take up the profession.

 

[offshore observer]

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[banksmiranda]

Thanks guys for all the info. How was Sinclair, quality-wise? From Connery's Bond it seems that he made jackets with lapels on the narrow side(maybe the style of the time). Anything else distinctive about Sinclair? Who else would you consider "legendary" on the Row?

 

[marc39]

Based on my recent visit with Joe Morgan, of Chittleborough & Morgan, I'd say Joe's "house style" (at least his own suit) is close to that of Anthony Sinclair: simple, minimalist lines, slim-cut trousers, form-fitting coat (jacket). Joe comes recommended by someone who works for a highly-regarded shoe purveyour in London. Joe is a very nice fellow and seems to know his stuff as a bespoke tailor.