xxxThe following writer has been kind enough
to share his story with us.
xxxIf you would like
to contribute your story and photo to me, email them to:
xxxrob@easywaytowrite.com
xxxThank you.
xxxPete Bailey
I write to save my sanity, I’m a
manic depressive and I just can’t turn off the
internal dialogue, so I imagine situations and then write
them down. I write about my two great loves in the world,
the Mod scene and Savile Row tailoring. Both of my
loves are a bit eccentric and the surface very British,
although they draw on influences from Continental Europe
and the USA.
A proper Mod suit has to be tailor made; because each
suit has to be different from the next Mod’s suit,
it’s all in the details and the cloth. Savile Row
suits are the other side of the coin, and correct fit and
configuration are all important there, these tailors take
into account the fact that no human being is symmetrical
so each customer’s pattern is actually two or more
patterns, each made especially so the suit fits that one
individual perfectly and nobody else.
I have one leg longer than the other: one arm longer than
the other; a twisted back and my left shoulder is lower
and further forward than my right. A Mod tailor would
merely alter a ready made pattern to roughly my
measurements (Made to Measure,) where as a Savile Row
tailor would go to great lengths to improve on what
nature has given me (Bespoke) the word bespoke comes from
the term ‘to be spoken for’ because the pattern
doesn’t exist until the customer Bespeaks
(commissions his suit). I’m trying to turn my
thoughts into a Novel called Mod Meets Mayfair; it
follows the story of a Mod who becomes a Savile Row
tailor.
Mayfair is the district of London where Savile Row is
based; neighbouring Streets on the Burlington Estate also
count as Savile Row. The Burlington Estate was once the
country garden of the Earl of Burlington, and all the
streets on the estate have connections to the Burlington
family. Savile Row, (originally Savile Street) was named
of the Earl’s wife, Lady Dorothy Savile. The
tailoring community grew when the firm of Henry Pool and
Co moved onto Savile Row in 1846, although bespoke is
actually a 17th century term, used by tailors
in nearby Aldwych.
For a suit to be proper Savile Row not only should it be
cut from an individual pattern, but also over 50 hours of
work should go into its making. Roughly 40 hours of work
must go into the jacket – which is known as a coat
on Savile Row – and 10 hours of work for the
trousers, around 80% of the sewing, and all the cutting
and pressing will be done by hand, as per 1846 standards.
I write to save my sanity, I’m a
manic depressive and I just can’t turn off the
internal dialogue, so I imagine situations and then write
them down. I write about my two great loves in the world,
the Mod scene and Savile Row tailoring. Both of my
loves are a bit eccentric and the surface very British,
although they draw on influences from Continental Europe
and the USA.