DAVID REEVES IS MY CUSTOM TAILOR IN NYC

Mr. James Henry. Occupation: Cinematographer. Wears: 3 Piece David Reeves custom suit shirt and tie.

 

BESPOKE VISITING TAILOR: DAVID REEVES TRUNK SHOW WASHINGTON DC?

Savile Row tailors and a lot of “off row” tailors have been visiting cities like New York, Dallas, L.A, San Francisco and Washington for about 50 years now. Regular readers will know of my trips to see clients in Boston but aside from that until recently I have generally stayed fairly NYC centric. last week I was emailed by a new client who lived in D.C. Always having a can do attitude, after agreeing on a minimum order of two suits, a few days later I made my first visit to the nations capital.

Unfortunately I was there and back in a day so the only sites I saw where at the airport. None the less I gained a new client and two new orders, namely a Dormeuil Amadeus grey stripe suit and a rather bold Loro Piana plaid flannel suit.

In March I am planning a trip to Los Angeles and I will no doubt be visiting D.C again very soon either to see specific clients or maybe to set up a full blown trunk show. If anyone is interested in a D.C, Boston or L.A trunk show do get in touch. If there is sufficient interest I will set something up and of course I am always open to seeing individual clients out of state or abroad, subject to timing and a minimum order.

On another note. not a lot of updates on the blog recently. There has been quite a lot going on this year, aside from being quite busy with a lot of new clients I have been refining my new MTM (made to measure) suit service. In the works is a MTM shirt service to complement the MTM suits and this should be available very soon as well.

David Reeves made to measure suits

RESEARCH WHITE DINNER JACKET

Good service in terms of Bespoke clothing is not just about delivering a quality garment that fits well and looks amazing. Its also about building a relationship with the client and sometimes being able to mentor that client through stylistic choices. Some clients may know exactly what they want, others will give me carte blanche and then most will want some advice to inform there decision making process. This may take the form of a conversation, simple drawings, cloth sourcing and sampling or a little bit of light research. This weekend I compiled some images of white DJs as inspiration for a client of mine. This is quite light research and not meant to be anything groundbreaking or really in depth but its just something I can do to save the client the time of looking at DJs online for an hour. I thought it would make for an interesting post:

Hi Jason. Here are some interesting white dinner jackets.

Okay this picture is pretty annoying but I quite like the look of the shawl collar. I wish it was one button though.

I think this satin trim is quite nice and the more cream color is good.

Its funny how you remember things Im  not really a fan of this narrow peak lapel.

This cut looks a lot like my dinner suit cut except I prefer more width on the peak. notice the link button?

I could not find many images of white DJs with black facing but here is an interesting example. A few more fashion brands seem to be doing this and its certainly a stronger look.

The classic DJ from Casablanca is actually double breasted and I think would be rather challenging to wear these days.

A White DJ with a nice shawl. This cloth is obviously more white than cream/off white.

The more cream color is looking quite attractive to me. The samples I will send you include a cream barathea. This looks very much like how I would do a peak lapel DJ.

I think I was actually responsible for this DJ. My inspiration was Bryan Ferry’s DJ (below) but its a bit more flash with the satin lapels. The lapel shape didn’t come out quite as good as the one below though and the button stance is higher. Its got a link button and the buttons are mother of pearl instead of covered.

This is just awesome love the shape of the shawl.

Too much to drink Dr Jones? This is actually one of the nicer ones I could find on the internet. Again I am more inclined to go for the wider lapel. If your wearing this in a more fashion way as a separate I think this will do the job better.

In summary I quite like the look of Bryan Ferry’s DJ and the Indy DJ. Both are quite classic but have a bit of attitude with the lapel width and shape. The cream Barathea is looking more refined to me as well. Of course its your DJ so its up to you. I am more leaning towards the Indy myself especially if your looking to maybe wear it in an informal way.

Best,

Dave.

ABOUT: DAVID REEVES MADE TO MEASURE

The latest addition to the David Reeves stable of  tailoring services here in NYC. “Made To Measure” is an excellent introduction to  the world of custom tailoring. A large range of custom options are available for made to measure such as side tabs, colored linings, functioning cuff buttons, slanted pockets and ticket pockets. Currently Suits, vests, trousers, sport coats and chesterfield coats are available through this service. Each garment is laser cut and made in England.

 

DAVID REEVES CUSTOM AND BESPOKE TAILORING NYC: WINTER 2011

POACHERS POCKET/NEWSPAPER POCKET OR “IPAD POCKET”?

Chesterfield overcoats usually come with a large pocket on the inside which is called a poachers pocket in England and a newspaper pocket in the U.S.A.

This weekend I discovered that my own overcoat’s poachers pocket was not just good for hiding pigeon carcasses and the New York Times but could fit an Ipad very nicely.

Check out the link below:

5ylb3z

SAVILE ROW SUIT MADE IN NYC

6000 hand stitches went into this Bespoke coat and 1 tailor spent 42 hours making it. A very unique and authentic British import, this is not tailoring we see much in the U.S.A. or even in London these days. Ill be posting more in depth about this Bespoke suit that we call  very soon but I couldn’t wait to post this. Pricing starts at $3500 and completion takes around two months with our current capacity.

CUSTOM TOSCANINI HANGERS: HAND MADE IN ITALY, FOR DAVID REEVES’ HAND MADE IN NYC SUITS

Bespoke and custom tailoring is not about making cookie cutter clothing. Its about the individual its about luxury, hand craft and attention to detail. With this in mind I am working on producing custom made hangers for every David Reeves custom and bespoke suit.

The hangers will be hand made in Italy by Toscanini. Today I got my first sample through showing the laser cut logo. All David Reeves garments should come with these as standard issue early in the new year and I will be posting about them in more detail then.

Custom made coat hanger sample for David Reeves by Toscanini

You can learn more about Toscanini and view there excellent products here: http://www.toscanini.it/home.php

THE LAST PILOT SHIRTS

Last week we got our sample military shirts for the last pilot label. “The Last Pilot” is a 30s and 40s inspired clothing label that myself, fashion brand strategist Ferdinand Alphen and Cinematographer James Henry are involved with producing. Its a fun project for us and something I have wanted to do for a while which is to produce high quality ready to wear at affordable prices. We hope to have a short run of these shirts available for sale at around $120 each before the end of the year and these will be available for purchase on line.

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY: ANTI FASHION TAILORING

I am eagerly awaiting the British  film “Tinker tailor soldier spy” being released here in New York. Based on the classic novel of the same name, the international thriller is set during the Cold War years of the 1970s. George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a disgraced British spy, is rehired in secret by his government – which fears that the British Secret Intelligence Service, a.k.a. MI-6 or the “Circus”, has been compromised by a double agent working for the Soviets.

Control, the Circus Chief, assigns the code names “Tinker”, “Tailor”, “Soldier”, “Poorman” and “Beggarman” to various senior intelligence officers under suspicion of being the Soviet mole, with the intention that should an agent called Prideaux uncover information about the identity of the mole he can relay it back using an easy-to-recall code the mole is unaware of. The names are derived from the English children’s rhyme “Tinker Tailor”. In the book and film, “Sailor” is not used as it sounds too much like “Tailor”. So there aren’t in fact any “tailors” in this film but there are some interesting clothes for sure.

Before we go on about the film though its also worth mentioning in addition to the novel this film has some big shoes to fill in regards to the excellent T.V series adaptation from 1974 starring Sir Alec Guiness. If you have the opportunity you should watch this as well but beware its very complicated and makes Inception seem like Police Academy 4.

Then: Sir Alec Guiness plays George Smiley in the BBC Adaptation from 1974

Now: Gary Oldman as Smiley 2011

Jacqueline Durran costume designer for the film deduced that the British Spies would have probably shopped on Jermyn Street, the Burlington Arcade and Savile Row. The clothes in this film are very, very English conservative and rarely indicate the period in which they are set, theres no big flares or wide lapels except in moderation on some of the younger characters. Her thinking was that the characters had bought their suits 10 years ago in a classic style so they were immune to the disco era look. What we see is a rather austere look with very little glamour and this fits the subject rather well. These spies are not about James Bond glamour its about constant paranoia and deception with no means to achieve a final victory. Even so though this austere look can be very stylish because its so genuinely “Anti Fashion”.

Speaking of anti fashion and suits that last 10 years I just got the 16oz heavy weight Lesser book this Morning. I got it from a Russian contact, Code name: Fabric Czar.

Tinker tailor soldier spy is released stateside December 9th.