Bown's Bespoke
Independent reviews of the world's finest tailors & outfitters by the acclaimed critic Francis Bown and his team.
Independent reviews of the world's finest tailors & outfitters by the acclaimed critic Francis Bown and his team.
The nearest I am likely to approach to Heaven in this life is the acquisition of bespoke footwear from George Cleverley & Co. When I go to the shop in The Royal Arcade, just off London’s Bond Street, I go as a pilgrim to a shrine. I seek miracles, for I know others have found them here, and I too have found them at the altar where leather is transformed into Art. Redemption is bestowed by Beauty. So, with such ecclesiastical concepts swirling in my mind, it was appropriate that now I should seek a pair of Pontifical Shoes.
The acquisition of a bespoke suit is a delightful experience. But – like most of life’s more worthwhile occupations – it is not without its complexities. Many gentlemen, quite properly, have sent questions to me about this or that aspect of buying a bespoke suit. I therefore think it appropriate to offer the following observations – which, I hope, will be of some modest assistance to anyone who is about to embark upon this particular sartorial adventure.
Unless we subscribe to the heresy of Antinomianism, we know that we all need a few rules by which to lead our lives. Human beings are not made for chaos, but for order – of the proper sort. We do not want to be oppressed, yet we know instinctively that anarchy would probably be the worst oppression of all. Moses came down from the mountain with the tablets on which were written The Ten Commandments. In my own, rather more modest, fashion I wish to respond to those correspondents who have asked for some guidance about the proper way in which a gentleman can maintain a decent appearance in a world which can be depressingly indifferent to standards of the sartorial sort. I therefore humbly offer to readers my own version of The Ten Commandments. Most of the Commandments are to do with matters of dress, although a couple relate to aspects of behaviour. One of my heroes - the French writer, Anglophile and conservative, Maurice Druon (1918-2009) - was once denounced as "starched, outdated, reactionary, egotistical, haughty and sinister". If these Commandments prompt as noble a tribute from my many detractors, I shall know that my efforts have not been in vain.
