UK Department Store Tailoring

[Mr Tickle]

Just wondered what the consensus is, or if there is a hierarchy, of ready to wear tailoring you can buy in mainstream UK department stores, like M&S, John Lewis, House of Fraser etc.
I am sure it is several levels below the type of thing that the real clothing connoisseurs here spend their money on.
But a some of the stuff you see there (if you avoid the obvious bargain-basement polyester filled stuff) seems fairly decent to my untrained eye.
When you take price into consideration, they tend to be half the price of "fashion" brand suits you get in branded stores like Hugo Boss or Gant. And a quarter of the price of heritage-brand readymade(which I guess is classed as entry-level here).

 

[Panama]

They all use the same suppliers, search for Berwin and Berwin, Baird, and Wensum.

 

[Mr Tickle]

Interesting ! So from my research, it seems those companies supply all of the mainstream department store brands as well as more upmarket labels such as Austin Reed and Jaeger, and own brands outright that I see all over the place like Lambretta and Paul Costello.
And none of them are even big or well known enough to get their own Wikipedia page!
They probably provide more tailoring than anyone else to UK consumers and I've never heard of them till now.

 

[Panama]

Interesting ! So from my research, it seems those companies supply all of the mainstream department store brands as well as more upmarket labels such as Austin Reed and Jaeger, and own brands outright that I see all over the place like Lambretta and Paul Costello.
And none of them are even big or well known enough to get their own Wikipedia page!
They probably provide more tailoring than anyone else to UK consumers and I've never heard of them till now.

Berwin and Berwin went into administration a few years ago and were bought by Edinburgh Woollen Mills, who had bought Austin Reed and Jaeger out of administration. Wensum has just gone into administration and were owned by the owners of Gieves and Hawkes.

 

[Panama]

You also have Bagir of Israel and Prominent Europe of Japan. M&S had relationships with Baird, Dewhirst and other companies. Dewhirst are still producing suits.

 

[Panama]

The former Chester Barrie factory in Crewe supplied upmarket suits.

 

[Mr Tickle]

Chester Barrie , Paul Costello,Lambretta - these are all names I'm used to seeing in TK Maxx but hardly anywhere else.
I guess the names of tailoring companies get bought up by private equity groups when they go bust, and used to churn out cheap stuff with a known label that then ends up in discount stores and outlets. Is this about right?
Although - hang on - Lambretta is (was?) An Italian scooter maker. Not sure what's going on there.