22nd-24th April Los Angeles - staying at the Sunset Tower Hotel at 8358 Sunset Boulevard.

24th-26th April Vancouver - staying at the L’Hermitage on 788 Richards Street

27th-29th April New York - where I shall be staying for the first couple of nights in a wonderful apartment in Greenwich village and then at The Benjamin at 125 East 50th Street

I don’t even have time to get jet lagged, its like I outwit myself by getting back to London before arriving in the USA. Clever old me.

As I am increasing our capacity back at the Windmill street headquarters I am happy for any introductions to fans of British tailoring so if you can think of anyone, do spread the word that there’s a tailor in town!

As usual I advise you request an appointment with plenty of time as I get very busy very quickly and do like to avoid disappointment.

With best wishes and about a hundred people calling me, I look forward to seeing you soon!

Jonathan Quearney

I will be in:

LOS ANGELES

Late afternoon of Sunday 23rd
All day Monday 24th
Morning of Tuesday 25th

Like last time, I am staying in the Sunset Tower Hotel at 8358 Sunset Boulevard after a very enjoyable stay.

VANCOUVER

Late afternoon of Tuesday 25th
All day Wednesday 26th
Morning of Thursday 27th

I am as usual staying at the L’Hermitage on 788 Richards Street

NEW YORK

Late afternoon Friday 28th
All day Saturday 29th
Morning of Sunday 30th

As usual enjoying the hospitality of The Benjamin at
125 East 50th Street

There is still a lot of work to be done so please send your positive wave to Japan!

www.wearewithyou.eu

]]> http://www.jonathanquearney.com/wb/archives/2011/07/return_to_tokyo_1.html http://www.jonathanquearney.com/wb/archives/2011/07/return_to_tokyo_1.html International Travel Fri, 29 Jul 2011 08:47:17 +0000 Increasingly in ready to wear, you see wool advertised as “Super 100s” etc. What does this mean? Super numbers define how thin wool yarn is – the higher the number, the finer the wool. We have seen how cotton Super numbers are defined by rather an archaic formula: with wool it has been reduced to a simple measurement.

The width of wool fibres are measured in microns (one millionths of a metre). The table below shows the different grades of Super numbers:

The theory is that the thinner and finer the wool, the softer and more refined the garment is. However, many of our customers actually opt for a Super 90s or even 80s fabric, such as a Dugdale plainweave.

This is because thicker yarn has some advantages: the extra weight in the cloth helps it to drape better; the thicker yarn makes it more resilient; and thicker yarns hold a crease better as well. Delicate fibres should be packed close together in a good tight weave, otherwise the cloth will be very weak. Heavier yarns can be in a tight close weave or they can be used in a more open weave allowing great breathability while retaining their durability.

The customer can judge softness by touch but the quality of construction is very hard to find out until a year or two down the line when it is too late. The quality of British weaving is second to none and it focuses on longevity and durability. The bottom line is that you shouldn’t be seduced by the feel of a cloth or Super numbers, and every cloth has its good points and bad points – and trust your tailor to guide you!

I will be in:

LOS ANGELES

The afternoon of Sunday 15th
All day Monday 16th

This time I am staying in the Sunset Tower Hotel at 8358 Sunset Boulevard after a recommendation.

VANCOUVER

Late afternoon of Tuesday 17th
Most of the day on Wednesday 18th

As usual staying at the L’Hermitage on 788 Richards Street

NEW YORK

All day Thursday 19th, Friday 20th and Saturday 21st May

As usual enjoying the hospitality of The Benjamin at
125 East 50th Street

Although a more formal outfit than most of the other attendees his relaxed demeanour seemed to offset that. As you can see, the lining of his coat matched his tie – although teaming the blue tie with the blue shirt is slight matching overkill!

As many of you have remarked, we haven’t had any new posts recently – with the new trip to Japan my time has been really stretched, but I promise there will be more from now on!

Over the last year or two, we have started to travel to Vancouver and now Tokyo simply because of customers who have dropped in the shop ) or been in the area. We build a relationship with our customers and then they suggest good places to visit where they know people will appreciate what we do. This has led to us growing organically – first to Vancouver and now to Tokyo and if anyone can think of any other destinations, then let us know!

Tuesday 30th November: 8.00am to 3.30pm - NEW YORK (The Benjamin)

Wednesday 1st December: 8.00am to 3.30pm – TORONTO (The SoHo Metropolitan)

Thursday 2nd December: All Day – VANCOUVER (L’Hermitage)

Friday 3rd December: 3pm to 9pm – LOS ANGELES (Petit Ermitage)

Saturday 4th December: 8am to 8pm – LOS ANGELES (Petit Ermitage)

Sunday 5th December: All day – NEW YORK (The Benjamin)

Monday 6th December: 8am to 6pm – NEW YORK (The Benjamin)

As some of you may notice, I am not going to San Francisco this year – Vancouver and Los Angeles have proved so popular that something had to give, and unfortunately that something had to be San Francisco.

In Vancouver, I am trying out the L’Hermitage at 788 Richards St rather than the Wedgewood and my hotel in LA is the Petit Ermitage at 8822 Cynthia Street, West Hollywood.

So please get in touch if you would like to come along, even just to have a look at some fabrics and have a chat!

But in the article (which I am sure you don’t need me to translate...), he says that his favourite was a baby blue suit we made for him which he also wears on stage:

It’s always fun to make clothes for customers with special requests and this was no exception!

Does My Brain Look Big in This? Page 1 Does My Brain Look Big in This? Page 2 Does My Brain Look Big in This? Page 3

It mostly focuses on our re-modelling work, but the blue suit in the first picture is also one of ours.

We have paired it with one of our own white shirts and red ties. We are finding that the classic day collar is becoming popular, rather than a cutaway, and the nice small knot on the tie works really well with this collar.

The cloth itself is an 11oz, mid-grey, extra-fine merino flannel from the Smith Woollens ‘Luxury Flannels’ bunch. As you can see from the picture it is made-up of many different contrasting greys, which gives it a lot of activity and texture. These very traditional cloths are enjoying a resurgence, as people do not see them as old-fashioned but timeless. The number of greys and the construction of the cloth shows how much thought has gone into what looks like a relatively simple cloth - and this is the mark of a top quality British cloth.

With fashion and styling by Clare Richardson and photography by Neil Gavin, Jonathan is wearing a blue worsted flannel 3 piece suit. We have found that more men are moving towards a true blue suit, rather than navy or midnight, and this one of Jonathan's is woven with five different blue yarns to create a really intense deep blue. We particularly recommend the H Lesser and Caccioppoli blue flannels.

Of course, as I am only in each city for a short amount of time there are limited appointments available – although we do give customers as much warning as we possibly can. After the appointment, it takes about 9 weeks for a custom-tailored suit to be made and sent out to North America. For a bespoke suit, I make a first fitting for my next trip and then finish the garments after that and send them over. So for custom-tailored, you get your suit in 9 to 10 weeks, but for bespoke, it can be as much as 7 months. So is it worth it?

Yes! Some people are surprised that I have customers willing to wait that long for a suit, but on reflection it isn’t so strange. There is a real demand for top quality Savile Row tailoring because of its longevity, quality and uniqueness. I do not trade on the history and heritage of Savile Row (although it is undoubtedly important); I need to compete with North American tailors and the department stores and for all customers history is not enough. Then how do I differentiate myself from these competitors? Skill, quality, passion and service are the four reasons why my customers keep on coming back for more.

The increase in time is inevitable given the distance and the logistical issues, but you still get a garment which will last a lifetime, so a month or two shouldn’t matter too much!

In 1765 Ferdinand VI of Spain gave some Escurial merino sheep to Prince Xavier the Elector of Saxony and these were then interbred with the Saxon sheep to produce the Saxony Merino or Electoral Merino. These sheep produced a very fine, dense, soft yarn which made German wool famous as the best in the world.

Many Saxony merinos were exported and they form one of the bloodlines for many of the extrafine merino strains today. Germany is no longer considered a source for the finest Saxony type wool - that is now produced in Australia and, to a certain extent, South Africa. By using Saxony wool, mills can get a lovely soft handle on the cloth which is preferred by some who think that wool is a bit scratchy. ]]> http://www.jonathanquearney.com/wb/archives/2010/09/saxony_wools_2.html http://www.jonathanquearney.com/wb/archives/2010/09/saxony_wools_2.html Technical Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:08:54 +0000