Things What I Have Learned: 2021

Reflections

Another year older, but not too old it seems to be reminded that Saffron Darby is the font of all knowledge, and that never say never is still the maxim by which one’s life is governed. And if David Axelrod was the soundtrack to my Lockdown, then it is Baz Luhrmann’s Sunscreen that has set the tone for this years Birthday blog;

Take my advice

Organising your Wedding Suit is not more complicated during a pandemic: you are still either organised, or disorganised.

The battle against Covid-19 will not be won with tea and biscuits. Nor for that matter by simply sanitising our hands, although sanitising does reduce the risk of catching other nasty viruses, especially where children are concerned.

Physical exercise is perhaps the greatest antidote to mental health problems! It has taken a pandemic for me to act on the advice of my practitioners and to take up cycling - I have not felt better in years.

Never, say never: it is a sure-fire way of winding-up with egg on your face.

For example:

Knitwear

Saffron Darby has had designs on my knitwear for sometime. Whilst I have been sporting rollnecks for some years now and more recently gilets (aka sleeveless cardigans), SFD rather fancies me in a shawl-lapel cardigan. However, whilst I may have a Saxon body (longer in the torso and shorter in the leg), I find knitwear that is worn untucked i.e. cardigans, always disproportionately long.

But recently, one of our Italian counterparts introduced us to their new range of RTW & MTM knitwear. Handmade in their family workshop on Lake Como the range includes Pima cotton long and short sleeve Polo’s, fine-knit and chunky-knit merino wool Rollneck’s and, you guessed it; a shawl-lapel Cardigan.

Given the opportunity to design our own version, which is shorter in the body and has pockets on the front (useful for carrying one’s mask), my previous reservations were quashed; as you’ll see from our new range of knitwear which includes our take on the classic shawl-cardigan.

Denim

And if knitwear presents its own complexities of size and fit, then Jeans surely represent the Holy Grail. Personally, I gave up wearing jeans when I started tailoring my own trousers; I find them incredibly uncomfortable, not to mention unforgiving, but the final straw I believe was the appearance of back pockets behind the thigh; as opposed behind the bottom (‘seat’ in tailoring terms).

It only took one Customer making the right sort of enquiry to convince me that making bespoke jeans may be worth investigating; and invest we did, in some Japanese selvedge from Kuroki, some stretch denim from Candiani in Italy and indigo with integrity from Troficolor in Portugal. And while Candiani’s denim may counter some of the gripes I have regarding comfort, it does not address my reservations regarding the cut and ergo fit, which I find awkward at best and downright debilitating at worst - I find that the overlap seam at the rear rise puts too much pressure on the Bifkin’s Bridge. But, now that we can refine and improve upon an iconic design, as we do with tailored-trousers: I’m in..

Hi-waisted Trousers

A further development at Brown in Town and one designed to redress the balance between one’s Anglo-Saxon torso and one’s limbs, is Hi-waisted Trousers i.e. trousers worn at the navel or natural waist. Which gives the illusion of reducing one’s torso and ergo, increasing one’s leg length.

Now, to the ‘hip-slinger’ generation i.e. those that wear their jeans and chinos as a cowboy would wear his holster, hi-waisted trousers would be those worn at the hips (the anterior superior iliac spine/ASIS), which is where trousers have been worn since the 1960’s - when hipsters shimmied their trousers down to their hips. But to those of us who have been wearing our trousers at our hips since we discovered tailoring, this presents a new modus operandi and one which has taken some getting used to; not to mention a not insubstantial amount of pattern work and some trial and error - but we like the finished result, moreover the way our trousers hang and also drape.

In fact, it is quite often the inquiry of our patrons which inspires new developments; Italian tailoring, knitted polo’s, jeans and hi-waisted trousers were all seeds sewn over the years by our customers. To get the best results from one’s tailor, you must first establish a rapport, which by definition is a two way street from which all parties can benefit..

And Finally..

DJ Shout-outs are good for the soul, not to mention one’s ego: Find a DJ who plays your kind of music and who you can reach easily via the usual channels to let them know how much you appreciate their selection - ours is Felix Joy on SWU.FM

Good day one and all.

David.