One way cloths…what exactly does that mean? In simple terms, it’s exactly as it sounds: cloth is woven or designed in such a way that when parts of a garment are cut, they must all be running the same way. If they’re cut “up and down” as we say on the Row, you’ll end up in big trouble. Also, depending on the type of cloth and weave, especially if it has a nap or pile then consideration has to be taken into whether the pile is cut running down the garment or up. In the video below I tell a tale of when I fell victim to this mistake whilst at Anderson & Sheppard…not my finest hour.

Because of the nature of Savile Row tailoring we can be very specific on how we cut cloth. In the mass tailoring trade, cloth and garment style decisions are made for bulk orders. However, for Savile Row bespoke and made to measure tailoring, we have the luxury to make choices about how a length of cloth is cut and these choices can make quite a difference to the outcome.

The above paragraphs have probably got you scratching your head and wondering what on earth, I’m talking about. Well, if it’s any consolation, I’ve just written the above and I don’t think I’m making myself particularly clear either. However, the wonder of the iphone pro will save the day and I hope the video below will explain more clearly what I’m going on about. If you watch the video, you may learn a couple of tricks of the trade to consider. While I’m here, I’m delighted to announce that the three suit winners offered in my last post have been chosen out of the hat; well done to Daniel and Charlie from England and Steve from New York. Thank you to everyone who entered, it was lovely to hear from you and sorry if you weren’t lucky this time. I would say you can witness all the excitement of the draw in this short video. But I’m afraid it’s not short and runs for 26 minutes….but hey, you may still find it exciting.

So get yourself comfortable, make a cuppa, pull a pint or pour something stronger. Lock down is on so you may as well sit back and hopefully enjoy….we’ve all got time.