Spanish Bespoke.

[LabelKing]

Were there any illustrious Spanish bespoke tailors--or merely a tailoring tradition?

France has Camps; Austria has Knize; Italy has Caraceni; and of course, England has Savile Row, but did Spain have anything? Or did their wealthy travel for their suits?

According to H.Huntsman, one of their clients was the Spanish royal crown aside from the Dutch royals.

 

[Full Canvas]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Were there any illustrious Spanish bespoke tailors--or merely a tailoring tradition?

France has Camps; Austria has Knize; Italy has Caraceni; and of course, England has Savile Row, but did Spain have anything? Or did their wealthy travel for their suits?

According to H.Huntsman, one of their clients was the Spanish royal crown aside from the Dutch royals.

You must have an abiding interest in Spain with your mentions of Pegasso automobiles, architecture, and now tailoring.

Pictured below is La Jolla's Goodwill Ambassador to Alcala de Henares, Spain. He is el Señor Alfonso de Bourbon. He is a Spaniard by birth and (he claims) related to the Spanish crown. In a conversation several years ago, he remarked that he always went to England for his clothes until he came to America in 1959. His "companion" seems unconcerned with Spanish tailoring.

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[Jovan]

That bowtie is suspiciously neat and tidy... pre-tied?

 

[Will]

They may not buy their suits locally but Madrid impressed me as having a better than normal proportion (by U.S. standards) of well dressed men.

 

[LabelKing]

What I've thought impressive were that the Spanish men up until a time wore dramatic capes with their suits, at least during the colder months.

Full Canvas, I've always thought Spain a rather interesting culture. I also like how they have the most complex system of aristocratic names; it rivals the Teutonic system of academic titles.

 

[Sander]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

France has Camps; Austria has Knize; Italy has Caraceni; and of course, England has Savile Row, but did Spain have anything? Or did their wealthy travel for their suits?


Buhuu, Germany isn't even mentioned in the enumeration - i live in a sartorial wasteland.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by Full Canvas

Pictured below is La Jolla's Goodwill Ambassador to Alcala de Henares, Spain. He is el Señor Alfonso de Bourbon. He is a Spaniard by birth and (he claims) related to the Spanish crown. In a conversation several years ago, he remarked that he always went to England for his clothes until he came to America in 1959. His "companion" seems unconcerned with Spanish tailoring.
It is this kind of people that really turn mi anti-monarchic. I do not mind if people like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Bill Gates decide to go to London for clothing, at least they have made their money by working. But these Spanish aristocrats really screw me up. I do not know the Don Alfonsofrom the picture, but I have had some contact with Spanish aristocrats, and well, I have found them to be, I am not sure how to put it, quite challenged? Basically, Spain is a country where personal influence and contacts matter a lot, and a lot of these aristocrats basically manage to make a good living just by means of their relations.
Actually, one of the things that I like about my current boss is that he made it clear from the beginning that his firm was not run buy aristochrats but by hard-working professionals... Actually, that was one of my reasons for changing from one of the (many) aristocrat-owned companies to my current company. And I am very happy with the change!

Now, in Spain, clothing is considered important, and a lot of people try to dress nicely (another part of the population tries to distinguish themselves from those who dress up, and dress down, but that is another story). None of my Swedish friends and colleagues have their suits made bespoke or even MTM, as far as I know, but in Spain this is quite common. In Madrid, I have never heard about any tailor who is The Tailor to go to, but there are quite a few tailors around and a lot of people actually use them. I have tried some (alleged) bespoke at the bespoke department of "El Corte InglÃ

s", and I am quite satisfied, but I am no expert. Maybe I will post some pics and ask for opinions before deciding whether to go back or whether to try a new tailor. (Alleged) bespoke at El Corte InglÃ

s starts at around EUR 1200 (USD 1600, approx).

Now, if someone can advise me about a good Madrid tailor who can handle tall people and who is not much more expensive than El Corte InglÃ

s, I would be very thankful.

When it comes to RTW, young professionals at the beginning of their career often choose the economic business suits by Emidio Tucci (El Corte InglÃ

s). There is no popular higher end Spanish brand for business clothing, I think (brands like Adolfo Dominguey seem to make clothes more suitable for artists and "creative" people, and their suits do not reek of business, IMO). Those who look for higher-end RTW business clothing normally go Italian, I think, mostly Ermenegildo Zegna. In some nicer Madrid shops, like Pedro Munoz (excuse the "n", but I am using a German keyboard right now and I cannot find the Spanish "n" with the "~" above it), you also see a lot of Brioni and Kiton, but I do not see many people actually wearing those brands. However, I am not mingling with a lot of wealthy people, of course. If I manage to get wealthy enough to hang around with those rich people one day, I will check what RTW they wear and their tailors, and I will report back to this thread.

 

[pinchi22]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Were there any illustrious Spanish bespoke tailors--or merely a tailoring tradition?

Originally Posted by LabelKing

did Spain have anything? Or did their wealthy travel for their suits?

The Spanish don´t have official warrant holders, so I don´t believe there has been an official court tailor. Military tailor is another matter. I believe, however, that EchevarrÃa has outfitted the past couple generations of the royal family. I was told by the tailor at Leisman that they have furnished another Spanish tailor with exclusive Loro Piana cloths for the royal family.

BTW, Leisman purports to also be in Milan, Paris and London. Does anyone here know whether this is true?

I had a suit made at Leisman despite that assertion. I don´t particurarly admire those who live from birth at the expense of others, though I must admit the Spanish royals have good PR and a not-too-flamboyant style (in-laws aside). That said, the national press would never, say, report on the family´s extra-maritial love life a la Lady Di. Call it quid por quo for King Juan Carlos´ having helped to consolidate democracy.

I concur with Epa that Spaniards tend to dress well, if conservatively. A MTM shirt is standard with the middle to upper-middle managerial class. There is enough MTM shirt business to support franchises (Quellos, etc.) The excesses can be seen in the overweight nouveau riche real estate developer, whose fused Carolina Herrera suit perfectly matches his 6 series BMW. his Cohiba cigars and his wife´s oversized Carolina Herrera bag (with blazing CH initials). Don´t worry: he never graduated from high school, and can´t read this english language thread.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by pinchi22

There is enough MTM shirt business to support franchises (Quellos, etc.)

Two of my first MTM shirts I actually had made at Quellos. A terrible experience. I wanted MTM because I had dificulties in finding OTR shirts in Spain that were not to short (both the shirt body and the sleeves).

Quellos did not really do MTM, they just had a couple of different "shirt frames", so you had to try them on and once they found one that was supposed to fit you, they just provided it with collar and sleeves in accordance with the length of your arms and your collar size. At least, that was what they were supposed to do. In my case, they made the sleeves far to short. A real mess, especially considering that I wanted MTM just to get the sleeves sufficiently long. I never went back, and I always tell people that Quellos is bad stuff. Now, I recently saw that they have started making suits, also with Loro Piana cloth.

Originally Posted by pinchi22

The excesses can be seen in the overweight nouveau riche real estate developer, whose fused Carolina Herrera suit perfectly matches his 6 series BMW. his Cohiba cigars and his wife´s oversized Carolina Herrera bag (with blazing CH initials). Don´t worry: he never graduated from high school, and can´t read this english language thread.

True. Actually, currently the way to make money in Spain is: 1) Buy a piece of land on which no contstruction is allowed (that way, you can get it cheap). 2) Buy a couple of local politicians and get that piece of land reclassified by them, so that you can construct on it. 3) Construct a lot of flats on it, using non-qualified labour and cheap materials. 4) Sell the flats and get rich (even after sharing the profit with your friends, the local politicians; real estate prices in Spain are higher than in Germany, for example; the same is not true about the salaries...).

 

[pinchi22]

John Lobb has just opened up a shop in Madrid, so there may be new bespoke options. I´m not sure how many newly-rich real estate developers will be there.

 

[LabelKing]

I couldn't think of a German bespoke tailor with a "signature" look. There is Max Dietl in Munich though. Another well-known Austrian haberdashery is Zum Jockey Club, also from the times of the Hapsburg as is Knize.

The only really well-known Spanish accessories house I can think of is Loewe. There is also Carrera y Carrera the jewelers.

 

[Full Canvas]

I forgot to mention Bel y Cia previously. I understand they still do a significant bespoke business in Barcelona.

Bel y Cia in Barcelona. http://www.belbarcelona.com/homepage/

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[Sator]

Originally Posted by Mr Sand

Buhuu, Germany isn't even mentioned in the enumeration - i live in a sartorial wasteland.

What about Franz-Josef Radermacher in Dusseldorf that Bernhard Roetzel mentions in his book?

I am sure there was a time when all major European cities had decent tailors. I recently acquired a book on Russian early 19th C. dress and it is obvious that in pre-revolutionary Russia such a tradition once flourished there.

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by pinchi22

John Lobb has just opened up a shop in Madrid, so there may be new bespoke options. I´m not sure how many newly-rich real estate developers will be there.
Where about is that shop?

 

[epa]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

The only really well-known Spanish accessories house I can think of is Loewe. There is also Carrera y Carrera the jewelers.
I have the feeling that Loewe is quite expensive for its quality level, what do you think? Also, I find most of their stuff quite booring. Some years ago I bought some nice (I thought) Loewe ties (on sale), but last years collections have been horrible, I think. Also, I find that Loewe is one of these firms that tend to overload their stuff with large, extremely visible logos (yes, more or less like Carolina Herrera), in a way that appears a bit too tacky even for me.