The unofficial Drake's London Appreciation Thread

[circumspice]

Thanks! Snagged a scarf that I think is leftover from last year, that I regretted not buying when I saw it in person....

Which one? Some of that stuff is definitely FW 19

 

[tim_horton]

View attachment 1507098
Drake's tie?

Sam Hober used to have them (and still might) in their regimental tie section.

 

[mbb355]

Sam Hober used to have them (and still might) in their regimental tie section.

Yeah I think that style of tie is a classic design called “artillery stripe.” It’s certainly not a Drakes original.

 

[mbb355]

Yeah I think that style of tie is a classic design called “artillery stripe.” It’s certainly not a Drakes original.

Whoops sorry, didn’t realize I was scooped by like five other people

 

[dieworkwear]

StyleForum guys when they can correctly identify a regimental stripe

 

[hpreston]

Which one? Some of that stuff is definitely FW 19

Beige Mughal print

 

[circumspice]

Beige Mughal print

Twins. I bought the last one at The Armoury NYC I think in January.

 

[hpreston]

Twins. I bought the last one at The Armoury NYC I think in January.

That is where I saw it!
I regretted not getting it then. When I did decide to to order it (last winter) it was gone.

 

[circumspice]

That is where I saw it!
I regretted not getting it then. When I did decide to to order it (last winter) it was gone.

Hah, they actually steamed the floor model for me (without asking) as it was part of a display

 

[mbb355]

StyleForum guys when they can correctly identify a regimental stripe

It is a great looking tie design! Great,’unique blend of classic and quirky.

 

[Slh]

Does somebody know who is the maker of the Shetland sweaters?

 

[hpreston]

Who makes Drake's shetland sweaters these days, Jamiesons?

Almost positive it’s Scott & Charters

Does somebody know who is the maker of the Shetland sweaters?

Looks like at least one person thinks it is Scott and Charters.

I am still curious why this topic keeps coming up. From what I understand there are only a handful of Scottish knitwear manufacturers, and they produce for a wide variety of brands. The company making the purchase (in this case Drakes) gets to make tweaks to the style of the garment, in the case of Shetlands, how much it is brushed, length etc. and gets to choose colors etc. Sometimes the colors are exclusive to that brand. (See The Armory shawl collar cardigan from Lockie (I think) that fits very differently from other shawl collared cardigans from Lockie)

So an S&C Shetland purchased from Drakes may be very different in style, fit etc. from an S&C sweater purchased somewhere else.

 

[TheShetlandSweater]

Does somebody know who is the maker of the Shetland sweaters?

No clue. Drake's says they are made in the Scottish Borders. If true, that rules out suspects like Jamieson's, Laurence Odie, and Harley (which would have been my guess otherwise based on the fact that they line up with Drake's in a number of other regards: shorter body, seamless construction, making "Shetlands" out of lambswool. Lockie makes in the Scottish Borders and they do make a lambswool "Shetland", but I have never seen them do seamless sweaters like the ones Drake's is selling. I think there are a good number of other makers in the Scottish Borders, but I don't know enough about them to comment.

Regardless, if you want brushed Shetlands and don't want to buy them from Drake's for whatever reason, there are a number of places that sell them.

Laurence Odie: get from J. Press (the Shaggy Dog), or End (Shetland Woollen Co.) or Northern Fells (also SWC)
Jamieson's: get from No Man Walks Alone, or Beige Habilleur
Harley: get from Bosie or a number of other places

If you want unbrushed Shetlands, then you have many more options.

 

[TheShetlandSweater]

Looks like at least one person thinks it is Scott and Charters.

I am still curious why this topic keeps coming up. From what I understand there are only a handful of Scottish knitwear manufacturers, and they produce for a wide variety of brands. The company making the purchase (in this case Drakes) gets to make tweaks to the style of the garment, in the case of Shetlands, how much it is brushed, length etc. and gets to choose colors etc. Sometimes the colors are exclusive to that brand. (See The Armory shawl collar cardigan from Lockie (I think) that fits very differently from other shawl collared cardigans from Lockie)

So an S&C Shetland purchased from Drakes may be very different in style, fit etc. from an S&C sweater purchased somewhere else.

I would be more likely to agree with you with other types of garments. There are a bunch of knitwear makers in Scotland and most are quite good and individual brands will choose what colors they want to stock and sometimes will play with other details. However, in my experience, other more nitty-gritty things are changed much less often. A Shetland from Laurence Odie (I have them from a number of brands but the specs are almost always the same) feels very different than the ones from Harley. They are thicker, denser, scratchier, and warmer. Harley ones tend to be shorter, seamless, softer, and a bit more open. I like them both, but they are very different, and I would want them for different things. For instance, Harleys, because they are shorter, thinner, and don't wear as warm, are better under a jacket. Could Harley make a sweater like Odie and vice versa? Maybe, but they don't, at least not in my experience. Perhaps this has to do with the machines they use, or how they like to set those machines, or the yarns they like to use. I don't know. Maybe all these things could be tweaked and various manufacturers just don't like to.

 

[Spaghettimatt]

I would be more likely to agree with you with other types of garments. There are a bunch of knitwear makers in Scotland and most are quite good and individual brands will choose what colors they want to stock and sometimes will play with other details. However, in my experience, other more nitty-gritty things are changed much less often. A Shetland from Laurence Odie (I have them from a number of brands but the specs are almost always the same) feels very different than the ones from Harley. They are thicker, denser, scratchier, and warmer. Harley ones tend to be shorter, seamless, softer, and a bit more open. I like them both, but they are very different, and I would want them for different things. For instance, Harleys, because they are shorter, thinner, and don't wear as warm, are better under a jacket. Could Harley make a sweater like Odie and vice versa? Maybe, but they don't, at least not in my experience. Perhaps this has to do with the machines they use, or how they like to set those machines, or the yarns they like to use. I don't know. Maybe all these things could be tweaked and various manufacturers just don't like to.

This is my exact experience with Laurence Odie v. Harley shetlands. I have 5 Odies and 4 Harleys in rotation, and the Harleys are all knit considerably thinner.

Do you have any idea why/how the Harleys are knit thinner than the Odies? I know they all use the same JC Rennie yarn, and the ply looks similar to my eyes. I think the Harleys are knit more “open” but how is this achieved? Less tension on the machine?