Timothy Everest

Inspiration in all the right places

2012-02-09T12:28:00.001Z

We've had a rather busy start to the year, with a couple of very exciting (and as yet, very much top secret) collaborations in the pipeline. I can't say anything more at the moment, but all will be revealed in due course with a grand unveiling, or something along those lines.

For me, one of the most enjoyable parts of starting a new project is the research - scouring our studio library for that perfect image; sourcing the perfect colour palette; coining the perfect tagline. I have a selection of images and photographs that I always come back to when we're in the research phase. I'm not sure I could tell you exactly why these images mean so much to me - whether it's the overall look, or the shape of the lapel, or the way the shoulder falls for example - but they're iconic through and through. Here's just a small few I find inspiring...

Think I need to find a few more colourful images for Spring Summer...perhaps a visit to the David Hockney exhibition would help?

Speaking of colour, our new accessories collection is launching online tomorrow, so keep an eye out in the afternoon for some sparky coloured handkerchiefs, ties, braces, and leather accessories.
http://timothyeverest.co.uk/shop

The List...February

2012-02-06T11:12:00.000Z

My Little Black Book of monthly recommendations.

WEAR...
For business:
Pale grey flannel two piece suit, baby blue royal Oxford button-down shirt, chocolate knit tie, light gold silk handkerchief and tan Cheaney brogues.

About town and on my scooter:
Brooks John Boultbee Criterion jacket in mahogany, vintage Shoei crash helmet, cashmere lined leather gloves, stone Japanese denim jeans, with Grenson tan brogue boots with micro sole.

LISTEN...
Given to the Wild - The Maccabees
Henri Mancini
James Last
Andy Williams
Shinnamon - Thanks to you:

SHOP...
For Alexander Olch fabric covered books
At Cutler & Gross Bespoke
For bike stands for our studio - I like this wooden one from Quarterre Products... any other ideas?
For some prints at the Nobrow pop up shop in the Hayward Gallery

DINE AT...
Galoupet
Medlar
Life sushi restaurant on Old Street -
Riding House Cafe for the best pancakes in London on Pancake Day (21st Feb)
Story Deli on Redchurch Street

DRINK AT...
Galante

VISIT...
David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy
Lucian Freud Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery
David Shrigley at the Hayward
Men's File pop up shop at 47 Lamb's Conduit Street
The Experience Cinema at the Round Chapel in Hackney for Valentine's Day

WATCH...
Fitz Carraldo
J Edgar
James Bond 50th Anniversary Boxset
The Descendants:

READ...
Tim Krabbé - The Rider
South Pole: The British Antarctic Expedition
We Can Be Heroes
Harris Tweed - Lara Platman
Masters of Cinema Book Series
The Competition Bicycle Photo Book from Rizzoli

USE...
Mad et Len Scents

A Holiday in Threads

2012-02-02T12:02:00.000Z

What a lovely surprise to open my inbox last week and see these photos of Robert Elms sporting his most recent TE on a trip to Cartagena de las Indias, Colombia.

I wore my favourite light tan colour cotton suit when I was interviewed by Robert last year, which sparked of a conversation about our mutual admiration of Michael Cane's wardrobe in The Italian Job.

And here's the outcome: a stone cotton slim 3-button 2-piece suit with flapped patch pockets on the jacket. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous, of both the suit and the fabulous setting.

Saddle Soar

2012-02-01T12:16:00.000Z

For those, like me, who love a bit of performance pedalling, the lovingly-shot close-ups of handcrafted handlebars and carbon-fibre disc wheels in The Competition Bicycle: The Craftsmanship of Speed, a sumptuous new hardback from Rizzoli, amount to velo-porn. There are also profiles of iconic bicycles and their riders who've played an important role in the sport, but it's the exquisite, not to say fetishistic details that I keep returning to, in a not-at-all-grubby but perhaps-just-a-little-top-shelf kind of way.

Staying Alive in '85

2012-01-31T15:35:00.003Z

Now, I'm no dewy-eyed nostalgist. Like every supermodel and life coach worth their salt, I believe in the Power Of Now. But I just happened upon a blog by Jude Calvert-Toulmin – Turn of the 80s: The Clubbing Connection – which took me right back to the heady days of the Wag, the Blitz, the Beat Route and the Camden Palace, when I was fresh off the train from deepest Wales, working for Tommy Nutter, and rubbing zoot-suited shoulderpads with various movers and shakers, some of whom – Spandau, Sade, Steve Strange, Boy George – went on to become a little more than legends in their own lunchtimes. It was a more innocent time in some ways – it was before the advent of raves and super-clubs, and everyone sort-of knew each other, and everyone talked a good talk about making it as a designer/tailor/stylist/pop star/writer/photographer/artist, and many went on to do exactly that, from being snapped for i-D to being profiled in The Face. As Jude says about the Beat Route (“it's the place to shoot!” - Spandau Ballet, Chant No.1), “It embraced people who were individuals, didn't really feel like they belonged to a particular crowd or scene, and were comfortable being outsiders.” It's an ethos that informed everything I tried to do with my own business – to welcome anyone who was looking for a markedly different experience, “a break from the norm,” as those old Twix adverts had it. Anyway, here endeth the history lesson. I'm off to don a waffle cardigan (if not a puffball skirt) and see if I can ferret out an old Haircut 100 or Animal Nightlife 12-inch.

Visit Jude's blog at http://judecalverttoulmin.blogspot.com

Images copyright Jude Calvert-Toulmin.

Mighty Oak

2012-01-27T12:39:00.001Z

The 1970s? Not only a golden age for pop – I'm breaking into a Chicory Tip medley even as I write these words – but also for hunky-chunky watches. And they didn't come much hunky-chunkier than Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak Jumbo, a '72 number that still managed to exude class when paired with a cheesecloth shirt and embroidered loons. How fitting that it should reappear in these more sartorially enlightened times, with its unimpeachable bluish-grey dial and its subtle but crucial realignment of the AP logo from 12 to 6 o'clock. I'm joining the waiting list for the rose gold model pronto.

Tan-talising

2012-01-26T12:48:00.001Z

One of our clients just picked up this absolute gem of a coat. In tan cashmere with a brown shot lining and brown melton under collar, it's near enough the perfect winter to spring crossover coat. The one-button front gives it just a touch of Teddyboy too.

Prada Prada Prada

2012-01-24T13:45:00.000Z

Just one word for the Prada Mens' fall/winter 2012/13 in Milan; genius. The coats are sumptuous enough, but on the backs of Gary Oldman, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody...? It's the biggest catwalk coup since my own turn for Rei Kawakubo all those years ago. And Gary, Willem & co didn't have to contend with random lumpy bits bulging out of their garments.

Fitting Pretty

2012-01-23T15:40:00.002Z

I'm a very lucky man in so many ways, not the least of which is that I'm able to try on clothes in the studio or in our fitting rooms at my leisure (and much to the Diet Coke break-style delectation of the gals in the TE design team). But I understand that mere mortals occasionally have to stagger to ill-equipped fitting rooms with armfuls of garments. Tres tedious. So I was tickled to read about Swivel, a real-time virtual dressing room (not dissimilar to Cher's virtual closet in the movie Clueless, a perennial favourite at Everest Towers) where, by standing in front of a webcam or Microsoft Kinect device and waving your arm, Minority Report-style, over a lineup of clothes and accessories, you can digitally “try them on.” Swivel apparently takes into account your “unique body type” (even those types as unique as my own), lets you see the look in 360 degrees, and enables you to send an image of the outfit to friends for approval/gentle dissuasion. It'll be available later this year for in-home use, according to its makers, and will be a whole new excuse – as if another were needed – for playing dress-up.

Christmas Cheers

2012-01-19T13:58:00.000Z

Where, I asked myself, would be a suitably opulent venue for this year's Everest Christmas bash? There was only one correct answer; the lovely Delaunay, Chris Corbin and Jeremy King's follow-up to the Wolseley, and the kind of Viennese-style grand cafe where you could imagine Tante Hanneke gorging herself on sachertorte. We installed ourselves in the private room at the back, and marvelled at the multifarious ways in which the specified “cocktail” dress code had been interpreted: Julian's Riviera Gigolo DB blazer 'n' jeans combo; Holly's LBD accessorised with an enormous knuckleduster; Annika in strawberry daiquiri-scarlet (livid enough to give Chris de Burgh a coronary). The prawn cocktail was peachy (not literally), the spatchcocked poussin with salsa verde was flat-out delicious (literally), and the knickerbocker sorbet with chocolate sauce put the Bird's Dream Topping on the evening (absolutely not literally). We were happy to assure Jeremy when he came by that it had been a stunning success, for all the right reasons: marvellous food and drink, peerlessly presented (I particularly coveted the stepped, wide-rimmed glasses the prosecco was served in); stimulating conversation; no brawls; and Lloyd and Lee both made their last trains home (the days when they'd have been happy snoozing away the small hours in the nearest skip are obviously long gone). Special thanks go to Mrs E for pulling the whole thing together, and don't worry Stacey and Ruth, next year the karaoke after-party will be back, and we'll be working our way through the Queen songbook once again.

Hacking It

2012-01-17T16:02:00.000Z

As those of you who know anything about me will know, I'm watch-mad. Watch-crazy. Never watch-weary. Chunky 70s chronos, disposable Japanese digitals, they're all grist to my wrist, as long as they have a bit of a pop to them, which this concave-faced, prominent-disked offering from the industrial designer Michael Young certainly does. It's meaty and suave, it's called the Hacker (in hommage to Paul “privacy is for paedos!” McMullen, perhaps?), and it comes in six “colourways” (yellow being my personal favourite), though it might have to be rebranded before it wins Hugh Grant or Steve Coogan's approbation.

View more at http://www.dezeenwatchstore.com

Desert Bloom

2012-01-16T12:49:00.000Z

It's January, so I'm naturally thinking of getaways, and I'm putting the Hotel Lautner very high on my to-go list. It was built in 1947 by the famed architect John Lautner in Desert Hot Springs – doesn't the name alone almost banish the Jan Blues? - near Palm Springs, and it's a mid-century-modern riot; four interlocking units, iconic furniture pieces, outdoor showers, saline spas, and outdoor lounge with BBQ, perfect for grilling and star-gazing, all remodelled as a huge rental vacation/boutique hotel hybrid by designers Tracy Beckmann and Ryan Trowbridge. I think it might have the edge over Malia or Ayia Napa this year...

Bowie Keeps Swinging

2012-01-13T15:07:00.001Z

Can I be the last to wish Dame David himself a happy 65th birthday for last Sunday? I'd like to think he's got his NY Seniors' Bus Pass and he's cruising Manhattan with the f***-you elan of the old seen-done-had-it-all dowager he incarnates at the end of this, my favourite of all his videos. All together now: “Clothes always fit ya, life is a pop of the cherry, when you're a boy...”

Hit the January sales

2012-01-10T16:19:00.001Z

January. Bit cold and dark isn't it? But, in case you missed our newsletter yesterday, I've tried to brighten it up ever so slightly during this month with our Spring Sale.

Online, we have 30% off all accessories during January, including our green check cashmere scarves, now £77 (down from £110)…

…our cotton Prince of Wales check socks, now £10.50 (were £15)…

…our Deerskin gloves with hot colour forchettes, now £87.50 (were £125)…

…and our Sterling Silver cufflinks with semi-precious stones, now £105 (were £150).

Visit the online shop to view the full range.

We have raised our Ready-to-wear discount to 50% on selected lines. Pay Julian and Eebz a visit at our Bruton Place store, or call 020 7629 6236 for more information. Here's a taster of the suits, jackets, trousers, shirts and coats on sale…

Through January, we have 20% off all Bespoke orders. Call Lee at Elder Street on 020 7377 5770 to make an appointment or discuss your ideas. If you need some inspiration, take a look through the 'bespoke' tag on this blog for more images.

As always, you can call us on 020 7377 5770 or email us for more information.

Sweet on Sweetings

2012-01-06T12:03:00.000Z

How much do I love Sweetings, the fish restaurant and City of London institution where I recently had a fantastic Friday lunchtime feast? Let me count the ways...

1 It's only open from 11.30am till 3pm, Monday to Friday, and they don't take bookings, so you have to rock up early to bag a table...

2 ...and a lot of the “tables” are actually high “counters,” set back against the windows; inward-facing diners gain access via a hinged partition (like the one Del Boy didn't realise was raised when he did his legendary 90-degree topple in Only Fools And Horses), and each one is presided over by a dedicated waitress nestling amid the champagne on ice, ketchup, vinegar, Lea & Perrins, and huge tureens of tartar sauce.

3 With its wood panelling, mosaic floor, and City Gent caricatures adorning the walls, the interior's barely changed since it opened in 1889. The latest owners – only the fifth in its history – finally bowed to the inevitable and started taking credit cards in the mid-2000s.

4 The menu, likewise, is hardily perennial – I had the most delicious prawn cocktail which transported me back, Proustian-style, to the 1970s, followed by a mixed-fish grill – salmon, cod – with bubble and squeak, all cooked in the no-frills way that gets the City clientele breaming, sorry, beaming. I finished up with a baked jam roll which put the school-dinner icing on the proverbial cake, though if we'd had school dinners like this back in Tenby, I'd be even larger than I already am.

5 And finally, and to keep turnover brisk, Sweetings eschews serving coffee, much to the relief of the lines that are already forming at the reception desk by around 12.30. Instead, you can repair to one of the myriad flat white emporia in this part of town and reflect on the ethos that's made Sweetings a favourite of everyone from Francis Bacon to Fergus Henderson, and one they share with Malcolm X, no less: “No compromise. No sell-out.”

The List...January

2012-01-05T17:32:00.000Z

My Little Black Book of monthly recommendations.

WEAR...
Uniqlo heat tech thermals - for this unpredictable weather
Crockett & Jones chelsea boots
Knitwear from SNS Herning

LISTEN...
The new Black Keys album El Camino
Booka Shade
Noel Coward
The Sound of Arrows
Oscar Peterson:

SHOP...
Percival Menswear for lovely waxed jackets
Trickers x Norse Projects collaboration boots
Rockett Street for homeware prints
Boxpark Shoreditch
for Fred Perry x 6876 collaboration pieces

DINE AT...
The Delaunay for our Christmas Party meal
Sweeting's in the City - which has been there for years but is more relevant than ever
Larder on St John's Street
Mishkins

DRINK AT...
The Martini Library at the Arch
The Covent Garden Hotel

VISIT...
The Monocle shop-in-shop at Dover St Market
Ben Sherman's new store on Portobello Road
Sean Scully @ The Timothy Taylor Gallery (13th January - 11th February)
The iPad exhibition S[edition]

WATCH...
The Wallis Simpson Film
Coriolanus, directed by Ralph Fiennes
Meryl Streep as Mrs Thatcher in The Iron Lady
The Artist:

READ...
American Fashion Menswear
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carre
Sublime: New Design and Architecture from Japan
Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo

FOLLOW...
My friend Jared on the Kardashians!:

USE...
Jawbone Jambox mini portable speaker
Mignon Skincare Products
J crew x DODO iPad 2 case
An Hermes colouring book!

Spontaneous Construction

2012-01-05T13:53:00.000Z

Bespoke isn't always by-appointment. We made this jacket in oversized grey houndstooth check tweed with yellow overcheck for a client who simply knocked on the door at Elder St and presented us with the cloth himself. He'd seen some of the collaborations we'd done with Rapha and wanted something that would take him seamlessly from the office to the Tweed Run, so we cut a button-2, roll-3 sports jacket, soft construction and buggy-lined, with a melton undercollar to repel those crosswinds. All part of the open-door policy at Everest Enterprises.

Print Charming

2012-01-04T13:39:00.000Z

It wasn't not on my Christmas list, but only because isn't available til this month. The Little Printer links up with your smartphone to bring you a daily rolling tickertape of – well, whatever you choose, really; puzzles (which should get Alec Baldwin thrown off a few more planes), news headlines, stock prices, thoughts for the day, scurrilous gossip. You can choose the time and frequency of “delivery,” and it'll be like having your own personalised newspaper rolling off the press – or, more accurately, the cyber-cloud. I'd just like to point out that, while we might have missed the festive season, my birthday's coming up in April...

bergcloud.com/littleprinter

USA Trips 2012

2012-01-03T12:16:00.001Z

Straight into the new year, and we've been planning 2012's USA trips. Julian and I will be travelling on the following dates, so get in touch via email if you'd like to make an appointment:

21st February - 23rd February

17th April - 19th April

19th June - 21st June

18th September - 20th September

20th November - 22nd November

Costume Drama

2011-12-30T13:53:00.000Z

When I think of the ultimate New Year's Eve bash, I always think of Truman Capote's Black & White Ball – erroneously, as it turns out, because his “Party of the Century” was actually held at New York's Plaza Hotel on November 28, 1966. No matter – it still provides a wealth of black tie- evening gown inspiration for those swanking it on December 31st. The tuxes run the gamut, from the slim, shawl-collared Mad Men-style silhouettes favoured by Frank Sinatra and Cecil Beaton to the classic peak-lapel number sported by Capote himself, while the dresses range from Lauren Bacall's floor-skimming number to Mia Farrow's elfin mini. But seeing the pictures again reminds me that there's no ball like a masked ball, and if you're lucky enough to be attending one this season, I would highly recommend emulating the “his 'n' hers pussycat” look, as modelled by Mr and Mrs Oscar de la Renta; the “pre-dating Gene Simmons of Kiss by 20 years” look, as modelled by Penelope Tree; and the “alpine flora and fauna” look, as modelled by Marisa Berenson and her bovine escort. And if you're staying in this year? Well, you could still give the masks a whirl...but perhaps we'd better not go there.

Brown In Town

2011-12-28T16:03:00.001Z

I'm taking some time between Christmas and New Year to catch up, and I just happened up these photos which were taken in Elder Street recently. Isn't this brown donegal tweed jacket the business? Well, actually, it is, because we made it as part of a 2-piece suit for a client who wanted to embrace the concept of Dress-Down Friday whilst still remaining ineffably stylish. The bronze-brown satin lining adds a subtly dashing accent, and the fishtail-back trousers accommodate the buttons for his braces (another rule for D-DF; no economizing on the accessorizing). He'll likely wear it with a tattersall shirt and cashmere V-neck, and be the winner by a country mile in the Dress-Down Dress-Up league.

Snug Mug

2011-12-27T12:01:00.000Z

A late and suitably warming gift idea, now that Proper Winter has finally set in (but only if you're already fully stocked up on Everest cashmere scarves from our webshop, natch); a drink receptacle “sitting” in a cosy cable-knit sweater. Just add hot chocolate or cocoa - or even, as is not unknown in the precincts of Everest Towers, an “enhanced” Irish coffee - and feel those cockles getting balmier.

Available to buy from store.yankodesign.com/sweater-mug

T'was the night before...

2011-12-24T14:54:00.000Z

A quick blog to wish you all a very happy Christmas. Let's all try to not eat too much...

Pull up to the Pa-Rup-Pa-Pum-Pumper

2011-12-23T14:46:00.000Z

Bing & Bowie? Bah! Bieber & Carey? Bosh! The wiggiest Christmas duo EVER are Pee Wee Herman and Grace Jones, as evidenced in this clip from an acid-tinged Pee Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special back in 1988. Marvel at Grace's eye-rolling performance of Little Drummer Boy, and speculate on whether she might have had a mid-morning hit of Emva Cream, or whether her sculpted breastplate might be chafing her a little. As Pee Wee would say: “Hey, what's that? MADE YOU LOOK!”

He Shoots, He Scores

2011-12-21T12:43:00.001Z

Isn't this shooting jacket in Fox Brothers tweed just a blast? It's part of a three-piece suit (with waistcoat and plus-fours) that we made for a client who likes to go rough-shooting in Texas, and who wanted something that could take him seamlessly from office to ranch. The large suede front patch gives him added stability and protection when aiming and firing (he's a lefty), and we've added some jean-style cutaway patch pockets for ease of access. It also boasts half-lined bound seams cut on the bias, for added flexibility when stalking your prey, plus a blue undercollar for that true bespoke touch, and a high-viz orange band around the neck; a requirement in the US so that you can spot your colleagues in the underbrush and (unlike Dick Cheney) avoid shooting them by mistake. A direct hit all round.

Sale Away

2011-12-19T16:31:00.000Z

We're ringing out the old and ringing in the new with our TE winter sale – campanologists and all others welcome. Right now we're offering 30% off selected lines in our Ready to Wear range, including all cashmere knitwear including v-necks and cardigans, our double-breasted flannel Prince of Wales suits, our dogstooth jacket, our town coats (including our splendid double-breasted overcoat), all our cords, and selected shirts. Then, in January, we can help abate the depth-of-winter chill a little with 20% off all bespoke orders placed in that most unforgiving of months. Call in and see Julian, Eebz and James in Bruton Place for the RTW goodies shown below (020 7629 6236), and call Lee at Elder St for bespoke enquiries (020 7377 5770), and, in the immortal words of The Darkness, don't let the bells end.

By the way, we're closing for Christmas from Friday 23rd December 2011 until Tuesday 3rd January 2012.

Winter warmers

2011-12-19T13:20:00.001Z

Although it's a little late for the Christmas rush, I had to tell you about these absolutely beautiful gloves we've just had delivered, made of the finest quality brown leather, with yoke yellow leather inserted between the fingers. They are hand-stitched to finish in yellow, and lined in a sumptuous purple Scottish cashmere. All hand-made in Britain. £125.

Today's your last day to order for delivery within the UK before Christmas - click here to go to our online shop.

RIP Christopher Hitchens

2011-12-17T19:16:00.000Z

“Let's have a heated debate!” That phrase of Mrs Merton's would always pop into my head whenever Christopher Hitchens was around, and he was around, a lot, on TV, in papers, and in Vanity Fair, excoriating Mother Theresa, lambasting “Islamo-fascism,” getting himself waterboarded to see if it amounted to torture (he reckoned it did, and I'm happy to agree without the necessity of submitting to the process myself), winding up, tearing down, and living the life of the fag-fugged, single-malted bon viveur right up to the end. I'd highly recommend Arguably, his final collection of uncompromising essays, which should spark plenty of heated debates over the already-febrile festive season. It's what he would have wanted.

Our Winnie

2011-12-16T12:59:00.000Z

We threw a rather marvellous bash at Elder Street recently in celebration of Winston Churchill's birthday and his singular style. We took our theme for the evening from one of the eminently quotable colossus' eminent quotes: “I am easily satisfied with the very best.” With that lofty aim in mind, we collaborated with Fox Brothers – manufacturers of Churchill's original cloths – on an updated version of a military greatcoat that the great man himself was wont to sport on morale-boosting battlefield visits. Our version has a slimmed-down silhouette, mismatched leather and gold military buttons (inspired by 1940s “upcycling” virtue-of-neccessity methods when materials were in short supply), a contrasting scarlet melton undercollar, and a raised pocket and peak lapel, giving the contemporary-looking original flannel a 21st-century spin. It marks the beginning of a very special project which I'm hugely honoured and excited by - though of course I'm keeping tight-lipped for now. Watch this space for more details.

The Best of British Dunkirk Spirit theme was present and correct throughout the evening: Andrews Sisters lookalikes graced the Elder Street stairwells (and our very own Will and Annika could have stepped straight out of a Dig For Victory campaign); we toasted Churchill in exceptional Pol Roger champagne (supplied by our friends at The Wine Chap), thus appreciating just why it was his favourite tipple; we grazed on inspirational Churchill-inspired canapes – devilled quails eggs encroute, mini Yorkshire puddings with rare roast beef and horseradish sauce topped with watercress, mini chocolate gateaux with brandy cream – provided by our friends at The Arbuturian; and we rounded things off with a selection of exceptional whiskies from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, including the 40-year-old Arabian Nights (with musk, jasmine, and even – gulp – hemp accents), and the comparatively fresh-faced 20-year-old Dancing Dolls in Flower Meadows (chocolate, mint, coffee, and – yes! - Jaffa Cake flavours). Cigars were emblematically chomped in a special marquee, erected for the occasion in our outdoor patio, and everyone seemed infused by the Blitz spirit (both 1940s and 1980s versions). Was it one of our finest hours? To quote that other famous Churchill, embodiment of bulldog pluck: “Oh-ho, yusss.”

Making a list...

2011-12-14T10:53:00.001Z

I'm sending out our Christmas card this week. Email me with your name and address is you'd like to get one - I'll put your name on our database too so you'll get all our seasonal postcards.

timsblog@timothyeverest.co.uk

Bespoke Casual, off-the-peg, if you will (part 2)

2011-12-13T14:12:00.002Z

Following on from yesterday's Bespoke Casual Ready-to-wear announcement, here's James again sporting our brand new black dress Barathea Peacoat, today worn in a couple of more casual styles. Still looks pretty smart though, don't you think?

Firstly, worn with this brilliant new cornflower blue pleat-front bib shirt with a cutaway collar (not a usual casual shirt, but rules are there to be broken, right?!), and our Japanese denim jeans.

James is channeling his inner punk, quite possibly, with this skinhead red shirt from our new collection, our grey and black shawl collar cashmere cardigan, and our Japanese denim jeans. It's only rock 'n' roll but I like it.

The peacoat is on sale now at our Elder Street bespoke house, and our Bruton Place store, for £595. It's available in sizes M, L, XL.

Please call Lee on 020 7377 5770 for more information or email him at bespoke@timothyeverest.co.uk.

Bespoke Casual, off-the-peg, if you will

2011-12-12T18:15:00.000Z

Long term TE fans will know our Bespoke Casual collection and may remember the photoshoot I did with the brilliant Andrew Macpherson in LA when we launched the collection back in late 2009.

I'm pleased to now have the chance to tell you that we're developing an 'offshoot' collection for our Ready-to-Wear customers of our most popular pieces from Bespoke Casual, but sold off-the-peg. This 'capsule' wardrobe will be a selection of our key pieces, made in the finest fabrics and with all the classically twisty TE touches. We're beginning with our famous dress black Barathea Pea Coat, with more to follow in 2012.

We've styled it formally and casually - with the smarter look today and I'll follow up with a couple of other outfits tomorrow. Double-breasted in a classic naval peacoat stylee, we've modernised the style just a touch with curved lapel and collar edges, velvet undercollar, and touches of Prince of Wales check on the collarstand and hanger loop. The 'punk red' lining is brought along from the Bespoke version, though this time the jacket's buggy lined and bound in red satin. The red colour is used to stitch a lapel button and on Annika's hand-finished sprats head detail on the front hem.

Here we've styled the coat with a pair of black wool trousers, and concealed front shirt with cutaway collar, and a white bow tie...

...though a black bow tie looks just as lovely.

The peacoat is on sale now at our Elder Street bespoke house, and our Bruton Place store, for £595. It's available in sizes M, L, XL.

Please call Lee on 020 7377 5770 for more information or email him at bespoke@timothyeverest.co.uk.

Parka and Ride

2011-12-09T16:31:00.000Z

I blogged about this bespoke parka we were crafting for a client while it was in the throes of creation. Now it's finally finished, and, while it may not be adorned with the traditional patches depicting a marker board of concentric circles, it still really hits the target. We made it for a guy who wanted to combine his love of all things Mod and bespoke, and it's a faithful copy of his original Vespa biking jacket recreated in a Porter & Harding herringbone tweed. If the devil is in the detail, then our coat-maker Annika should also be known as Beelzebub; she added a quilted zip-off hood, a stand-up collar with kidney strap, a concealed front zip, and cuff bands beneath the sleeves. She even incorporated the original jacket's arm guards – to prevent elbow-shredding in the event of spills – via the gift of velcro. And it's been treated, nano-tech style, to be water and dirt resistant. The client's verdict? “The skill and craftsmanship that's gone into its instruction is exemplary.” I couldn't agree more, and if I had such a garment, I'd be hitting the A23 to Brighton faster than you could say Quadrophenia.

The Rolex-Factor

2011-12-08T13:39:00.000Z

Guest post by Simon Mills

First of all let’s deal with the magic, concrete poetry of the name; “Rolex.” While it might seem redolent of some deliciously wicked, globally ambitious corporation run by a Bond villain, the general consensus of opinion amongst watch obsessives is that the robustly industrial-sounding, world-famous brand is actually a portmanteau word combining the second syllable of “horologie” and the first of “exquise.” "Rolex’s founder also believed that the word had a neatly onomatopoeic quality, like the ratchety music sound of watch being wound. All of which is a nice and nerdy bit of trivia for the geeks but really misses the point of the Rolex name, because the marque’s crucial USP lies in the “X” factor.

Men have an enduring thing for the letter X. Of all the letters of the alphabet, X is the coolest and the most manly conveying action and mystery. X is the letter of superheroes, souped up automobiles and dangerous games. Stick an X on a car’s boot - X5, CRX, XR3, GTX - and its mojo motor gets an immediate turbo-charge. “X is magical,” the marketing genius Peter York explains, “Why? Simple. Because X sounds like ‘sex’,” Ergo; Rolex sounds like sex, too.

So, buy an Explorer, a Submariner or a Daytona, or a minimalistic Air King, as my mate Peter York explained to me, and you furnish your wrist with not just the marque’s classy, butch utility aesthetic, you gift yourself with the Rolex Factor, that unique Rolex-appeal.

Of course, this is not merely canny marketing. Rolex has the X-factor in its build, beauty and horological DNA, as well as its onomatopoeic brand name. Having established its maverick credentials as watch of adventurers with ground-breaking technical innovations such as the patented screw-down crown and the first wristwatch waterproof to 100 m (330 ft) Rolex set about garnering the unassailably cool roster of macho celebrity endorsements. Some, like Tenzing Norgay, who summitted Everest wearing a stainless steel Explorer, were sponsored by Rolex. Others - such as Steve McQueen, Che Guevara (who died wearing a Submariner Reference 5512), Royal Air force pilots and Connery’s James Bond (who wore Cubby Broccoli’s Submariner 6538), or Marvin Gaye (who gifted JFK a Rolex) – got hip to the Rolex Factor because it suited their lifestyle and mindset. Because a Rolex had the right profile and presence.

To fully understand why the Rolex portfolio of chronographs has gone the distance and still manages to get seasoned horologistas in a tailspin, it is important to put the Rolex design aesthetic in historical context. Back in the late 1950s and early 1960s whilst more dainty marques were busy perfecting slender, jet-set sports wafers, Rolex chose a different tack, casing its super reliable and bulletproof automatic movements in no nonsense, tough and engineered stainless steel casings. Somewhat surprisingly, customers decided that the uncompromising Rolex look could be versatile too, wearing their watches on formal occasions as well as for sport and leisure.

“Rolex took on board the idea that most men who could afford their watches probably weren’t adventurers or deep sea divers but men who worked in offices,” says watch dealer Danny Pizzigoni. “But even though the typical Rolex man might have a boring job, and spend his weekends watching TV on the sofa, he loved the idea that the watch on his wrist, say, a Submariner 5513 with it domed glass and 40mm case, suggested potential for action.”

Classic Rolexes such as the Sea Dweller became the dry martini of watches; dependable, timeless, stylish, elegant and edgy...and always looking great next to a crisply laundered Jermyn Street shirt cuff. “There are flashier, more complicated watches,” says Danny Pizzigoni. “There are far more expensive, more functional watches but a Rolex has that special something that other timepieces don’t.”

Now, more than ever, a well chosen Rolex makes savvy financial sense too. Unlike real estate or investment automobiles, a well chosen Rolex never loses its value. And the longer you keep it, the more it’ll be worth. It is not uncommon for purchasers to go into a Rolex vendor to buy a classic model for a grand adventure somewhere, knowing that it will not just look terrific, keep time, suffer knocks and repel moisture but confident also, if push came to shove, that it will provide solid financial collateral in an emergency.

But it would have to be a dire emergency, right? A true horologista would rather sell his house than his Rolex. In fact, he’s always looking to add to his collection, thrilling at every detail and every new innovation as Rolex strives to make its editions more reliable and shock resistance and, ergo, sexier than ever.

Already own a classic gold Daytona? Do you speak fluent Rolex? You’ll be after the new chocolate-faced version with the Monobloc Cerachrom ceramic bezel, its calibre 3187 movement now incorporating Paraflec shock absorbers and a non magnetic Parachrom hairspring. Well, of course you will. Stripy Nato strap, a la Bond, naturally.

Our take on a Christmas window...

2011-12-05T12:16:00.001Z

It feels like December has really crept up on us this year, don't you think? Christmas is right around the corner, so last week we put up our Christmas window, complete with fabulous red velvet Tommy Nutter-esque suit, and black bespoke tuxedo.

We've adorned the space with a selection of Christmassy accessories - cashmere and wool scarves, knitted ties, cufflinks and our signature Spitalfields Flower tie (available to purchase at our online shop - did I mention we have an online shop?! Click the links for more info).

This silver/black silk knitted tie is proving quite popular.

Pop down to Bruton Place, W1 for a closer look, and a natter with Julian, Eebz and James.

The List...December

2011-12-02T12:19:00.001Z

My Little Black Book of monthly recommendations.

WEAR...
The perfect bib front evening shirt with our new TE dinner suit.
My own vintage Bedford corduroy Town Coat, with TE grey flannel trousers, TE penny collared shirt and TE cashmere Prince of Wales check tie.

LISTEN...
Booka Shade
North Atlantic Oscillation
Onra
Sound of Arrows (who sound like a modern Pet Shop Boys)
Simon and Garfunkle - Bridge Over Troubled Water:

SHOP...
At the Aetherstream shop in New York - lovely interior.
At the Bowers & Wilkins pop up shop on Rivington Street

DINE AT...
The Delaunay for our Christmas Party meal
34 Grovenor Square
Pop up Turkish above the Ten Bells
Concrete at the Hayward Gallery
The Refinery

DRINK AT...
Karaoke for our Christmas Party party
Dita Von Teese's pop up bar in the Pigalle Club

VISIT...
Crazybear Stadhampton
Dalston Night Food Market
Boxpark
The Monocle Cafe in Hankyu Men's Tokyo

WATCH...
Spike Jonze:

The Jurassic Park Fenton video:

The Wall of Death by Beneditch Campbell:

READ...
Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography by Walter Isaacson
The Jersey Project
Jack Kerouac's first novel The Sea is my Brother

FOLLOW...
The Parisian Gentleman
The 100 Secret of Mackintosh series

USE...
A Mulberry leather personal organiser

DRINK…
Ballantine's whisky
Pol Roger Champagne

A tuxedo story, part 3

2011-12-01T17:04:00.000Z

The most classic, most formal, and most slick of our three tuxedo looks comes in the form of this black wool single-breasted suit with satin grosgrain lapels and taped seam trousers, £600. We've styled it here with a classic white bib shirt, £125, black grosgrain bow tie, £50, white pocket square, £25, and charcoal wool polkadot scarf (for sale on our online shop), £80. I like to wear my bow tie points tucked under my collar.

Contact Julian on 020 7629 6236 for more information on any products.

A tuxedo story, part 2

2011-12-01T16:42:00.000Z

Here's a slightly more casual, and slightly brighter, take on the classic velvet dinner suit, which we styled yesterday with bow tie and white bib shirt.

We've dressed the beautiful navy velvet jacket (£450) here with a purple penny collar shirt, £125, a navy knitted tie (available to purchase from our online store), and a pair of TE Japanese stretch denim jeans, £300.

There's lovely...

A tuxedo story, part 1

2011-12-01T16:00:00.001Z

Winter's rapidly closing in on us, the nights are drawing in, and that means only one thing: Christmas parties. I'm sure you're overrun with invites, naturally, so best get those outfits planned sooner rather than later. Here's a few pieces from our ready-to-wear collection that would sit well at any drinks, dinner, or indeed dancefloor.

The first of our three looks is a navy shawl collar velvet blazer, complete with velvet covered buttons, £450, styled here with a white bib shirt, £125, black wool taped trousers, £175, purple tweed bow tie, £125 made to order, and purple Prince of Wales check handkerchief (available from our online store), £25.

Our purple leather driving gloves finish this elegant ensemble, £85.

New Era Introducing...

2011-11-30T13:28:00.000Z

I was lucky enough to recently be asked to judge the finalists in the New Era Introducing competition. The awards ask for entries from around the world, looking for the most original reworking of a New Era cap. The winning entry was by 23 year old Lina Al-Amoudi from the United Arab Emirates, and her design, along with selected other entries, will now be shown in an exhibition touring the globe. A fine achievement! Watch the video below to see some of the highly-commended entries...

RIP Ken Russell

2011-11-29T11:12:00.000Z

Those of us Of A Certain Age have all got our list of Eye-Popping Grand Guignol moments from the films of Ken Russell, and I'd just like to share mine with you. 1) The naughty nuns, tearing off their habits and coming over all unnecessary in The Devils; 2) Alan Bates and Oliver Reed skinny-wrestling in Women In Love; 3) Ann-Margret writhing in a cocktail of foam, chocolate, and baked beans in Tommy; 4) The vampiric Amanda Donohoe grappling with a decidedly phallic giant pale invertebrate in The Lair Of The White Worm. All thrillingly transgressive, and proof that the word “excess” didn't figure in his personal lexicon. I think heaven's home movies just got decidedly saucier.

Wheels within wheels

2011-11-28T15:03:00.000Z

No, this isn't what I'm confronted with when I open my garage door – this is a fabulous installation called Forever Bike, created out of more than 1000 two-wheelers by the celebrated Ai Weiwei, and currently on show at Taipei's Fine Arts Museum. Ai says it's a comment on China's changing social fabric, but we all know the problems that he's been having with the Chinese government, so maybe this is just his way of telling them to get on their bikes.

New on the TE Online Shop

2011-11-25T17:10:00.001Z

The TE elves have been hard at work this week, pimping and priming these new items ready for our online store. Do let me know what you think!

First up we have these rather delectable Lambswool scarves, printed with paisley, and available in grey or charcoal-black, £80.

Another couple of colourways have been added to our best-selling cashmere scarf range, including this plain navy and navy/cream herringbone. They're incredibly soft and we've a colour for everyone - from the brightest pink, to mid-tone camel, to dark navy. £130.

My personal favourites at the moment are these silk knitted ties. New colours include silver and black, but I've got my eye on the red, if you're listening Mrs Everest...

Speaking of Mrs E, she's been toiling away producing another round of her famous scented candles. If you've ever visited Elder St, you'll know how wonderful her aromas really are. The candle's I mean! Shhh. This one has been especially designed for Christmas, with burnt orange, cinnamon and clove essential oils, and 100% organic and natural. £39.50.

Head over to the store for a look at our full range.

Candid Camera

2011-11-25T16:31:00.000Z

Ken Regan sounds like he should be a middle manager for the southern region of an energy company, but he's actually one of the best rock photographers around, as All Access, a weighty collection of his work for Rolling Stone and The New York Times, among others, proves. Ken's been at it since the early 60s, so we run the gamut from a heartbreakingly youthful Elvis, an impossibly cool Dylan playing backgammon, and the Stones goofing off on a leatherette sofa, to a face-off with Run DMC and – my personal favourite – a fully-made up Kiss hopelessly failing to arouse a group of worthies that could either be their parents or the winners of Saga magazine's “Meet Kiss” competition. A timely reminder that God Gave Rock 'n' Roll To Us.

Insight Editions

Suit boop-de-boop

2011-11-23T14:08:00.001Z

I was lucky enough to go along to a preview of My Week With Marilyn, the new movie about the affair that Marilyn Monroe had with a lowly Third Assistant Director during the fraught making of The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier in the 50s, and, yes, Michelle Williams is mesmerising as Marilyn – va-va-voom and vulnerability in one scintillating package. But my eye couldn't help but be drawn to the gorgeous costumes worn by the male protagonists – as Monroe's beau, Eddie Redmayne rocks the tweedy, V-necked, straight-outta-Eton-and-into-the-pages-of-Take-Ivy look, while Kenneth Branagh, as Olivier, carries all before him in impeccable chalkstripes, flannels, and a peerless navy DB blazer. He might even bring in the monocle back in from the style wilderness...

Remembering Chianti

2011-11-22T16:49:00.000Z

It was a little while ago now, but the onset of cold weather has certainly made me long to be back in Italy at L'Eroica (though perhaps more at the wine bar than riding the treacherous gravel roads)...

L'EROICA (english version) from Edouard Sepulchre on Vimeo.

Red Velvet

2011-11-18T12:45:00.000Z

Our beautiful red velvet suit, inspired by the legendary Tommy Nutter, was photographed for a shoot we styled in the latest issue of the Rake magazine. We shot the images in the Tommy Nutter exhibition that was at the Fashion and Textile Museum here in London.

Here's a sneak peak of the photoshoot, courtesy of The Rake and photographer Andy Barnham! The suit will be in our Christmas window, going in next week.

The same issue has an article about the Safari Suit we made for editor Christian a few months back, that I blogged about here!

A nostalgic note

2011-11-17T15:36:00.003Z

I recently received an email from a customer with a story too lovely to not post:

"You made me a black suit with a silver lining in about 1994 (look it up!) just before I emigrated to the USA. I wore it on the beach in Oregon on my 30th birthday.
I dug it out recently (I got a new job as a Marketing writer and I have to wear proper clothes) and it still fits. Feels nice too. No glue, right? I just got up to Google you because I found the original article in which I discovered you, by Peter Howarth, from Sept 1993."

I've just celebrated my 20th year of TE, and I've had many similar messages this year from customers who came to me right when I started the business. It goes to show that bespoke really does last.

How very patriotic!

2011-11-17T12:58:00.000Z

If you've happened to take a stroll around Mayfair recently you may have noticed our latest shop window - and it's quite difficult to miss with this fabulous sofa that Bentley's Antiques have very kindly lent us.

We draped the sofa with our accessories (including socks and scarves now for sale at our online shop), and added looks from our Autumn/Winter RTW collections - that mignight blue overcoat on the right is absolutely gorgeous.

As with all the antiques we borrow for our window displays, the items are available to buy from Bentley's.

A window for the Criterion

2011-11-15T17:51:00.004Z

I've just popped up to Present on Shoreditch High Street, where they've dressed the new window with our Brooks collaboration jacket the Criterion. There's also the limited edition Brooks-Pashley Guv'nor in gunmetal, which compliments the jacket tremendously. Take a look if you're in the area.

www.present-london.com

Bicycle Repair Man

2011-11-14T17:54:00.000Z

"Is it a stock broker? Is it a quantity surveryor? Is it the church warden? No! It's bicycle repair man!"

Vision On

2011-11-09T14:06:00.000Z

For a fashion mag, Visionaire has always had big ideas. Now it's putting its foolscap where its mouth is by producing the heftiest, Guinness world record-accredited magazine EVER, at 36 x 49.48 inches, with the suitably bigger-than-life Lady Gaga, dressed as a goth mermaid, looming up on its cover. As if that weren't gargantuan enough, a limited edition version comes in at 57.48 x 79 inches. As the accompanying video shows, it's not exactly back-seat-bus reading, though I'm liking the counter-intuitive move toward volume while everything else shrinks to head-of-a-pin size. And when you get through perusing it (glasses not required), you can re-deploy it as a character picnic blanket.

Wood you believe it?

2011-11-08T11:52:00.000Z

I've been an Ed Wood fan since seeing a double bill of the heroically pitiful movies he directed at the Scala some years ago: the sci-fi car crash Plan 9 From Outer Space and the shlock-horror transvestism expose Glen Or Glenda (both of which are widely cited by film buffs as among the worst examples of the medium ever made). Tim Burton's biopic of this Pharaoh of fiasco, starring Johnny Depp, didn't stint on his descent into alcoholism and penury, but his full psychosexual excruciation is now laid bare in Ed Wood's Sleaze Paperbacks, an exhibition of the jackets of the porn-pulp novels he churned out under a variety of pseudonyms in the 50s. You don't have to be Dr Freud to identify the demons that Wood, a practising trannie, was attempting to address with titles like Death of a Transvestite (“let me die in drag!”) or Drag Trade (“society's outcasts flaunt decency in bras and panties”). Other torrid titles include Purple Thighs, Gay Black, and Orgy of the Dead, and the jacket designs are a piquant mix of Russian constructivism and Readers' Wives. The show runs at Boo-Hooray on Canal St in New York till December 1.

Shop Online: TE-tail

2011-11-07T17:10:00.000Z

It's had a longer gestation period than a manatee, but, as Larry Grayson might say, I'm cock-a-hoop to announce the opening of the Timothy Everest webshop. It's going live from today, and it's in the pop-up style that I'm told is all the rage these days. From now until Christmas, you'll be able to web-browse and web-purchase a selection of the finest accessories from our Autumn/Winter Ready-to-Wear range.

That means: luxurious 100% cashmere check scarves, also in herringbone and plain wool; 100% cashmere ties in Prince of Wales check or Donegal tweed (with the Queen's Speech and Hogmanay in mind), or our hardy perennial Spitalfields flower-patterned silk ties.

Prince of Wales pops up again, quite literally, in our 100% silk handkerchiefs in livid hues, while our Sea Island cotton socks liven up calves (fatted or otherwise) in their rich, seasonal shades. Sterling silver cufflinks set with semi-precious stones will furnish you with some extra sparkle, while finally – my personal favourites – our deerskin leather driving gloves in purple, or black with blue highlights, give you all the breezy style of Ryan Gosling in Drive without (I'm hoping, at least) the attendant psychotic violence.

I'd say it was all perfect for seasonal gifting or anytime treating, but then I'm biased, of course. So from now until the New Year, happy accessorising.

Take a look at www.timothyeverest.co.uk/shop

A perfect, if untimely, summer jacket

2011-11-03T09:58:00.000Z

Guest blog by Simon Crompton from Permanent Style

I first started talking to Tim about having a summer jacket made about two months ago. It was the height of summer and I realised my wardrobe was sadly lacking in lightweight jackets. Lightweight suits, yes, but no jackets. That vastly reduced the dressing options when the weather climbed into the 20s, and was a particular shame given the trouser potential in summer: white jeans, tan linens and blue cotton gabardine to name but three.

The problem is, of course, that you should never order bespoke tailoring in the season you need it. Given that most tailors will take at least two months to finish a jacket, (unless you require or insist on no fittings) the need will have passed by the time it is ready. It is a good rule to thumb to think one season ahead – order at the beginning of spring what you will need for summer; as the leaves start to turn in autumn, order for winter. If you are a few weeks early, at least the experience is feverish anticipation rather than wretched frustration.

I picked this cloth because I wanted a strong check that would work well with both blue and brown. For this is the majority of what I wear outside a business suit – blue shirts and brown shoes. The pattern has both colours in the check, though in the whole it looks a little greyer than anticipated.

The (half) lining will be a baby blue, to accentuate that part of the check. And as a little experiment we are having curved, jetted pockets. So no flap, just a half-moon slice in the cloth. Finished off with a couple of sprat’s heads at either end. I love the handwork that sprat’s heads (hand-sewn triangles) show off.

Perfect with a blue, open-necked shirt and pale grey or white trousers. Brown accessories. Something colourful in the breast pocket.

Or it will be, in four months’ time.

The List...November

2011-11-01T16:37:00.002Z

My Little Black Book of monthly recommendations.

WEAR...
Uniqlo denim shirt.
Double breasted grey Fox Brothers Prince of Wales check (with cobalt blue overcheck) flannel suit.
Cashmere shawl collar cardigan from the Autumn/Winter RTW collection, which I've been wearing with a TE RTW grey hopsack double-faced SB jacket, TE Japanese denim jeans, penny collar shirt, knitted tie, my favourite Clark's desert boots, and one of our new scarves, available in the brand new TE online pop-up shop from Monday!

LISTEN...
The TE monthly playlist.
Monocle 24 Radio - http://www.monocle.com/monocle24
The Stone Roses.
Detroit Spinners - Rubber band Man:

SHOP...
For a Levis Made and Crafted bag.
At the new Topman shop on Commercial Street.
For the Gloverall Anniversary Car Coat
At the Darkroom - a concept store on Lamb's Conduit St

DINE AT...
Laxeiro Spanish on Columbia Road.
Hix for oysters.
Hotel Du Nord in Paris.

DRINK AT...
Coquine Bar on Old Brompton Road.
Cigar & Cognac Garden at the Duke's Hotel.
The Fourth Wall Bar…if you can find it!

VISIT...
Pipilotti Rist at the Hayward Gallery.
Tapped & Packed coffee on Tottenham Court Road.
Kawaguchi's talk at the Japan Society
Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum

WATCH...
Melancholia.
The Ides of March:

READ...
Le Metier 2 from Rouleur.
The Impossible Collection of Cars
Privateer Magazine
Michael Clark by Suzanne Cotter from Violette Editions
The Death of Ayrton Senna by Richard Williams.

FOLLOW...
How to be a Retronaut

USE...
Marvis Lavender toothpaste
Dermalogica eye gel, too much travel and far too many Karaoke nights!
La Clinica A Mano Muscle Massage Oil

RIP Jimmy Saville

2011-11-01T09:15:00.000Z

Now then, now then...Sir Jim's passing undoubtedly leaves a gaping, iridescent-tracksuit-sporting, medallion-dangling, cigar-chomping hole in the light entertainment firmament, and I thought I'd add my own personal tribute by recounting the time that I attended a recording of Jim'll Fix It back in the 80s. A little boy had written in asking Jim if he could have a bespoke suit made, and they'd called in Tommy Nutter, who I was working with at the time, to fashion a purplish-blue skinny number for him. Tommy asked me to come along to the studio “for moral support,” and there are three things I remember clearly: Tommy downing at least three sherry-and-tomato-juices before going on-set, “to settle my nerves”; the boy's shirt being so big – his mother had insisted, erroneously, that he took a 15 ½ collar – that I had to shove an eraser down the back of his neck to hold it in place; and Sir Jim, ever quip-ready, greeting his guest from his “magic chair” with a gruff “rock on, Tommy.” Truly, we shan't see his like again.

Right and Proper

2011-10-28T12:39:00.000+01:00

Does the world really need another menswear mag? Yes, if it's as proper as Proper, which doesn't just go “look, here's some cool stuff” - though it's actually chock-full of cool stuff – but gives an insiders' view of the thinking behind brand DNA, sorts out the super-proper from the merely proper, and asks all the important questions (eg “Are you taking the mountaineering look too far?”). Issue 11 features in-depth looks at Our Legacy, Heritage Research, and Velour – the titans of Swedish prep, rather than the woven velvety fabric favoured by Vicky Pollard – and it's currently taking pride of place in my ever-expanding magazine rack.

www.propermag.com

A Rapha for a Pearson

2011-10-27T10:03:00.001+01:00

It seems like we've done so much since we launched our Rapha collaboration bespoke Cycling Suit - actually, it was not even two years ago, how time flies - and it's always a pleasure for us to make one. This particular suit was made for a cyclist who's most definitely a member of the lycra-clad fraternity. We've added a couple of details he requested, including the elbow patches, half-belt at the back, and the angled flap back pocket.

The Zeit Device

2011-10-26T13:00:00.000+01:00

A few months back I was photographed with Felix and Martin from Urwerk to celebrate our collaboration, and the launch of their new pocket watch. The shoot was printed in this month's Revolution Magazine (a must for any refined horology fanatic), but you can have a sneak peak of the shoot here.

A Condo Moment

2011-10-25T13:22:00.000+01:00

Of all the big painting shows to savour in London this autumn – Gerhard Richter at the Tate, Leonardo-no-less at the National Gallery – the one that will measure up best on what Alan Bennett calls “the take it home test” (and not only because if I tried to take a Leonardo home I'd probably be hotly pursued) is George Condo's at the Hayward Gallery. I've been an admirer of Condo's style – Old Master portraits morphing into Picasso-meets-MAD magazine-style munchkins – for some time now, and the salon-style hang features everything from pinhead blue-collar couples to Ewok society ladies to our very own Queen Elizabeth with a frightwig and zombie eyeball. The show's called Mental States, which seems apt in every sense.

L'Eroica 2011

2011-10-24T12:33:00.000+01:00

Guest blog by journalist Simon Mills

Being British, and therefore in the distinct minority at this most Italian of cycling events, we decided to make a dramatic entrance.

It was 10am and we were already late, the keenest of participants, the ones attempting the insanity of the 200km plus challenge, having left at around 5am…in the chilly October darkness. Now bunches of riders - literally hundreds of them - all gussied up in immaculate vintage clobber and astride lovingly-maintained, classic bikes - were streaming down the road, out of Gaiole’s town square, hungry for their first taste of white road adventure.

But me, Timothy, Stephen and the German (who, being a rotten Hun, was cheating with a thinly-disguised carbon frame) were only just tooling up, fashionably overdue for our start-line rendezvous with Chikashi (prime camera-candy in tweed and a chic, bespoke jersey) and making no friends as a two-auto contraflow, against the relentless wave of oncoming rouleurs.

We were already too tardy to peruse the vast bicycle flea market at Gaiole so, desperately, we peered through our windscreens for somewhere to park in amongst the road side verges where earlier L’Eroica participants had left their motors, at all angles and elevations, pop festival style. Suddenly, as the front runner, I spotted a gap. Wide enough for two motors and only a short spin away from the town. We indicated left, wedged ourselves a window amongst the mass of jerseys and went for it. Oh dear.

In an ugly, very stupid but perfectly choreographed second, both cars were gently upended and beached - front wheels whirring pointlessly, brake discs smoking - in the deep grass gulley that had successfully put off previous, more sensible drivers. All four of us got out, arses of our cars sticking out onto the open road, volleys of cyclists swearing at us in Italian, as tyres swerved and rubber pads screeched on wheel rims. “Bischero!” they yelled. And much, much worse.

Vintage vehicles drove past – a Fiat 500 kitted out as a team car, an old military 4X4, more and more bikes. Then, out of nowhere a Toyota pick-up truck, with a winch on the front. Rescue! But the yute drove by, slowing down just long enough for the camera crew on its flat-bed to get some nice footage of the dumb, terminally uncool Brits. “Voi siete stupidi!”

With a bit of help, we pushed the cars free, parked somewhere less idiotic and made our way to the registration. From the corner of my eye, I saw a man beginning the ride with a very live, full-sized barn owl perched on his crossbar. The owl, - il gufo - the sign of bad luck in Italy. And we hadn’t even started pedaling yet.

The strade bianche of the annual L’Eroica isn’t for your namby-pamby weekend cyclist. If you are one of those blousy, poncy sorts who tootles an expensive carbon fibre bicycle around the park perimeter of a Sunday, all box fresh Oakleys and winter bootees (and only when it’s dry and sunny) this probably isn’t the ride or surface for you. Go home, Mr Sheen the curvy seat-stays of your S-Works and wait for the warm weather to come back again. If, however, you are made of sterner stuff, like the feel of merino and you happen to own a bombproof, pre-1987 steel-framed machine, the fabulous, white-knuckle, white-topped, hell of a ride that is L’Eroica might be what you and your bike have been waiting for.

What is the feared strade bianche actually like? Rutted, pitted, dusty, prone to pot holes and gulleys. It’s like cyclo-cross for hard nut fashionistas: never boring or predictable. You either thrive on it or get chucked off by it.

In last year’s Giro D’Italia, Garmin Cervelo’s David Millar, a sturdy, style-besotted, elongated girder of a Scot, won the hallowed Pink Jersey on the 191km stage from Piombino to Orvieto, the last 19km of which was mostly perilous white road. Despite the lovely Tuscan scenery, the stage wasn’t exactly a joy ride for Millar. He suffered an allergy attack from the all-pervading dust and took a nasty tumble in the final sprint. “It was a stupid fall,” he said at the time. “We knew the strade bianche would be dangerous. It’s important to make sure the ambulances are there.” Blimey.

So, before I set off for L’Eroica myself, I called David Millar and asked for his advice. “It’s certainly not for everyone,” he told me. “Guys like Cadel Evans (who used to be a world class mountain biker) are fine with it, but some of the more, how shall I say?… sensitive, pros can’t handle it all. They get to a rutted section and it completely throws them off.”

This is true. You can choose a decent line and be cheerfully hurtling along a smooth-ish downhill section - clattering vibrations juddering through unforgiving steel temporarily dislodging every joint in your body from the ankles upwards and distorting the oncoming terrain into blurry, triple vision – when suddenly, a corner of loose shale (sterrati the Italians call it) will appear out of the heat haze. A tentative feathering of the 30 year old brakes quickly turns into a panicky jab and your already skittish bike slides from underneath you. As you get your death-gripped handlebars to guide you away from a dangerous-looking, wheel-wide trough, you hear the sickening mangle of someone baling into the ditch behind. Somehow you regain control and you’re off again, dust and heart in mouth; hot, exhausted, a little bit scared but also thrilled and elated. Get used to that sensation. It’ll be happening every ten minutes or so.

L’Eroica has garnered a reputation as one of the greatest amateur cycling events for this and a number of other reasons. Firstly, it’s in irrefutably beautiful Chianti, Tuscany (the start town, Gaiole in Chianti,was recently voted number one in Forbes magazine’s most idyllic places to live in Europe survey) so it’s easier on the eye than, say, the Dulwich Dynamo. It’s also really tough. We rejected the 208km ride out of hand - it starts and finishes in the dark which means there’s no time for a leisurely breakfast and nice dinner…and come on, if you are in Italy, what’s the point of that? Then we vaguely considered the 120km ride but, on Tim Everest’s advice (he’d done the ride before) eventually signed up for the 75km stage.

Yes, I know. All that way just to cycle 46 and a half miles. It sounds kinda pathetic, right? Well, I’ve done plenty of 100 mile rides, heaps of iconic climbs and many wind-blasted sportives but believe me, this one was the real killer.

Another part of the challenge is that you are not on state-of-the-art gear. Why? Because the original intention of L’Eroica, now in its 15th year, was to raise awareness for the maintenance of the the traditional white, countryside roads and stop them from from being asphalted over. So, the rules of the ride are intended to be strictly old school, also. Only bikes made prior to 1987 can enter. Gear shifters must be downtube-mounted levers, brake cables have to arc over the handlebars (ie not integrated) and you must have old fashioned toeclips instead of SPDs. All 4000 riders are encouraged to dress in classic wool jerseys and leather shoes. To hark back to the glory days of Coppi, food stops are buffets of fruit cake, stews, and wine. All these details conspire to make L’Eroica the best catered and the most handsome ride in the world.

Accordingly, our bike portfolio wasn’t too shabby, either, including a couple of orange Holdsworths, and a nice pink Pearson for Tim E, all kitted out with honey leather Brooks saddles. We rolled them up the big hills slowly but surely, merino jerseys broiling us in the baking October sun. We were, very apparently, the last to arrive at most of the languid feed stops.

It was hardest on the long and winding, white road climbs around Volpaia. They went on for ever (“itsa all downhill from ‘ere,” the girls at the food stops lied) and being men of a certain age on bikes of a certainer age, we just didn’t have the sprockets or cojones to make it to the top without getting off and walking. Out of principle and bloody mindedness I simply wouldn’t give in and slowed down to a pedaled crawl. The more sensible chaps in our group got off and pushed...and got to the top just as quick.

Sad to say, we lost our German friend half way through the 75km epic. He reappeared at lunch, in the town square at Radda, having crashed on a fast and loose strade bianche descent (we suspected evil, “Breaking Away”-style sabotage at the hands of traditionalist carbon-haters) but flatly refused to dress his bloody wounds on resolute, hero-seeking grounds. Instead, the German posed for photos, tended to his dusty, pockmarked bike and drank a pre-prandial beer and, like the rest of us, promised to back next year…stronger, fitter and faster, wearing bespoke John Boultbee clothes and astride a nicer, classier, more rarefied bicycle.

Quadrophenia

2011-10-24T12:01:00.000+01:00

One of our customers recently set us a project for his winter coat. He proposed that we make him a bespoke version of his favourite scooter parker, with all the traditional parker details, but in a tailored tweed. This is the first baste, made to perfect the shape, cut, and fit of the coat, with hood, zip up front and tack stitches to mark the position of the flap pockets. The fabric is a fabulous 14oz herringbone from Porter & Harding that has been waterproofed ready for the winter months.

A Tribute of Sorts

2011-10-21T16:09:00.004+01:00

The Tommy Nutter exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum (that I was lucky enough to guest curate) ends today, so get your skates on if you're planning to see it!

To commemorate what has been a highly successful exhibition for the Museum, we've dressed the Bruton Place window this fortnight with a TE take on the Tommy Nutter double tweed 3-piece, as modelled famously by Ringo Starr. Also taking pride of place is our ready-to-wear dogstooth jacket and a pair of our Japanese denim jeans. Tim and Christopher of Bentley's antiques were generous enough to lend us the fabulous 1970s hexagon display table, in which we've put our new collection of socks. You might notice a couple of 70s Playboys sneaking in there, which, though at the time I'm sure were racy, make Mary Whitehouse look like a pornstar (in which case, probably makes them more than suitable for our window display).

Make your way over to Mayfair to have a gander at the display for yourself. I'll post a more in-depth look at our version of the double tweed soon.

Read more about Bentley's Antiques at www.bentleyslondon.com.

An Apartment Apart

2011-10-21T13:28:00.000+01:00

Doesn't this look like the ideal spot to lounge with a Caramel Manhattan while enjoying a secret tryst with a mistress or rent boy? Well, now you can do the former in the very spot where Edward VII and Oscar Wilde (respectively, I hasten to add) did the latter, thanks to the Jameson Apartment Pop-Up in Soho. Simply go online to get the password, look out for the doorman as you head down Greek Street, pick up the silver phone by the door, whisper the magic words, and you too could be ensconced amid the 20s décor enjoying film screenings or semi-regular Candlelight Club parties. It's only up till October 27th, but until then it's Whiskey Galore.

Stiletto Life

2011-10-20T12:20:00.000+01:00

Ah, the 80s...I remember them almost too well. I was Hungry Like The Wolf, I was out for some Love Action, I was a Young Gun (Going For It). But a new book of London street photography from that storied decade, Vintage 80s by Johnny Stiletto, brings home to me just how last-century it all was. Francis Bacon on the tube, AIDS billboards in Islington, old geezers selling the Evening Standard as opposed to giving it away...it's a very different-looking city from the brash, brand-tastic one we know-and-sometimes-love today. It's intriguing, it's revealing, and it's also a relief to report that none of the pictures of revellers passed out in doorways, in a Frankie says Relax style, appear to be of me.

Charcoal Donegal

2011-10-19T15:41:00.000+01:00

This single-breasted jacket is the ideal autumn-winter crossover jacket. Made in a fine cashmere donegal, we added a contrast punk-red buggy lining, with bound internal seams, creating quite an impact. I love the addition of the contrast grey donegal patch pocket inside.

Going Against The Season

2011-10-18T16:19:00.000+01:00

I find birdseye fabric among the most versatile for suiting. The subtle colour difference between the 'eye' of the pattern and the 'ground' allow you to style the fabric in many different ways. This absolute gem of a jacket was just finished for a customer, but is it brown or is it cream? Either way, it's perfect for escaping to the winter sun.

My Goodness, My Guinness

2011-10-17T11:51:00.000+01:00

I'm a bit late on this one, but still wanted to direct your attention to the (unwittingly?) hilarious profile of Daphne Guinness in the New Yorker a couple of weeks ago. The blogosphere went into overdrive with her remarks about eating (“I can't eat when I'm working, I'll eat when I'm dead,” she protests, as she has a huge bell jar placed over her head for a series of photos by Bryan Adams – yes, that Bryan Adams – for German Vogue) but my favourite quotes are her grandmother Diana Mitford's reported apologia for Hitler - “he didn't photograph well” - and this, when asked if she's ever had no money: “Oh God, yes, it happens that you forget your wallet or something. But you just make your way back. You find some way to do it. You walk.” I know the feeling, Daphne.

The Cut of the J Cloth

2011-10-14T12:05:00.000+01:00

J Crew's menswear is getting better all the time – their Ludlow suit, in particular, ticks all the trim, tailored boxes – and a clue as to why comes with a peek into the Brooklyn apartment (via Brooklyn mag) of the brand's menswear head, Amsterdam native Frank Muytjens. It's all as impeccably mid-century modern and distressed-patina as you might expect, but extra brownie points for the old copies of The Face and i-D, the dog-eared copy of Malcolm McLaren's Soweto (must dig his brilliant Paris album out for another play soon), and, of course, his gorgeous Hungarian hunting dog Viszla.

www.bklynmag.com

Feeling Blue

2011-10-13T13:47:00.000+01:00

We've just finished work on this beautiful electric blue mohair double-breasted suit for one of my most loyal customers. The Holland & Sherry cloth is slightly iridescent to give a sheen effect, matched beautifully with this cerise pink lining.

One For The Discerning Fashion Traveller..

2011-10-12T11:13:00.000+01:00

We're lucky enough to have been included in the 2012 Louis Vuitton London Guide. These visionary guides, which offer an insider's guide to the city, contain a comprehensive list of must-see historic residences, unexpected museums and secret gardens, and the best bars and restaurants here. The guide is available from 15th October from Louis Vuitton stores.

Eurobike

2011-10-11T13:39:00.000+01:00

Here's a short video from the Eurobike trade show last month, where the Brooks John Boultbee ladies' Criterion jacket won an award. The video shows the fabulous stand Brooks created for the show.

The Brooks blog has a selection of the best new bikes on show, all with Brooks accessories of course...

Windowpane

2011-10-10T12:48:00.001+01:00

If you've ever mentioned checks to a tailor, I'm sure you regretted it. Checks are notoriously difficult to tailor - the fabric has be cut with incredible accuracy for the check to match up, and to stitch the pieces together to line up perfectly takes a level of concentration last seen in Cern...well, very nearly...

I had to show off this gorgeous 2-button jacket that's just been finished for a customer. The cloth is a super 140s worsted wool and cashmere blend from Holland & Sherry in a waffle weave, with a charcoal windowpane check, perfectly matched by our talented tailors. Beautiful, isn't it? And even better in real life.

We have a similar windowpane check jacket in our new Ready-to-Wear collection. Click here to have a look!

Styled for the season

2011-10-07T12:51:00.000+01:00

Earlier this week we put together 4 looks from our Autumn/Winter 2011 Ready-to-Wear collection to show how the outfits can be styled. We've used pieces from our accessories collections to give you the full TE wardrobe overall, bringing out the subtle suit cloth highlights and lining colours with a sparky tie or sock.

Let's begin with this lovely Smith’s navy flannel 2 piece suit has a chalk windowpane check, £750.
Shown here with a very fine candy stripe shirt in lilac, £125, our signature Spitalfields flower tie in lilac, £85, and lilac/black fine stripe sock, £15.

This dogstooth check jacket (with striking yellow melton undercollar), £550, has been casualised with a black Sunspel 007 polo, £125, our black Japanese selvedge denim jeans, £300, and yellow Sea Island cotton socks, £15, and 4-colour yellow silk hanky, £25.

This two piece double-breasted suit is in a classic Fox Brothers Prince of Wales check flannel, with a fine skyblue overcheck and mother of pearl buttons, £800. We’ve added here a butcher blue poplin shirt, £125, a silk tie in black/blue/silver naïve print floral, £85, cotton socks in a fine stripe, £15, and these striking cobalt blue wool wide braces, £50.

For the chillier months, we have a couple of lovely overcoats to keep you toasty. This double-breasted coat with patch pockets is in a gorgeous Holland & Sherry wool/cashmere blend in a midnight blue colour, meaning it’ll suit both black and blue, £800. Styled here with a lilac cotton twill shirt, £125, mushroom Holland & Sherry cord trousers, £175, bright patterned cashmere blend scarf, £95, and lilac Sea Island cotton socks, £15.

And finally, a selection of our new season shirts, now in stock!

The collections are available now from our Mayfair store. If you have any questions, call Julian at Bruton Place on 020 7629 6236 or email brutonplace@timothyeverest.co.uk.

Seeing Red...

2011-10-05T13:52:00.000+01:00

This right little bobby dazzler has been laying in wait at Elder Street for its time to shine. It was made by Annika to coincide with the Tommy Nutter exhibition at the Fashion & Textile Museum in Bermondsey. The suit, with Nutter-esque wider-than-wide peak lapel, has straight deep pocket flaps (in the Everest style), and no back vents as is traditional with eveningwear. Made in a fabulous Rubans red silk velvet, the suit has slightly flared trousers with a single English shallow pleat.

The suit was photographed at the Museum for our most recent photoshoot for The Rake magazine, out in October.

The List...October

2011-10-04T14:08:00.001+01:00

My Little Black Book of monthly recommendations.

WEAR...
Clarks desert boots.
Three-button Shetland tweed jacket.
My vintage Cinzano cycling strip for L'Eroica this past weekend, and a new Rapha jersey:

LISTEN...
Azari & III.
PJ Harvey.
Soul II Soul.

SHOP...
Established & Sons – contemporary furniture.
Uniqlo for the last collection by Jil Sander for their J+ line.

DINE AT...
Hedone.
Bunga Bunga London.
Le Caprice - Piccadilly.
Casa Bataria.
Wolfgang Puck – Cut at 45 Park Lane.

DRINK AT...
The Jub Jub Bar.
Barts SW3.
Momo.

VISIT...
L'Eroica.
The Power of Making exhibition at the V&A (6 September – 2 January)
Masks – exhibition by Ben Newman (16 September - 11 November).
Frieze Art fair (16-18 October).
Duncan Campbell exhibition at Hotel, London (10 October - 20 November).

WATCH...
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
The Day The Jackal - again!
Midnight in Paris:

READ...
Le Snob: Tailoring by Simon Cromption
Baedeker Guides.
Café Society – Thierry Coudert
Tomorrow We Ride – Jean Bobet
Selection of Japanese magazines such as Freeview.

FOLLOW...
Letters of Note.
Andrew Kolb’s illustrated version of David Bowie’s Space Oddity.
Stylelist.com.

USE...
The Strava app to track my cycle rides
1978 vintage Pearson racer for L'Eroica.
Waterman fountain pen
Our new stationary.

Working for Tim: Julian Hallam

2011-10-03T13:34:00.000+01:00

I'm Retail Manager at Tim's Bruton Place store. I've spent most of my adult life in retail. My first job was in a high-end fashion store called Limey’s based in the Midlands – we sold the likes of Paul Smith, Armani, CP Company, Hugo Boss - where I worked from the ages of 18 to 27. I became manager there at 22. I successfully set up and ran new branches in Leicester, Sheffield and Birmingham. This was in the late 80s through to the late 90s. It was all ready-to-wear; a lot of our money came from lads that went to football, and the resurgence of casual wear for the terraces; Armani jeans, Stone Island jackets, Hackett caps, etc.

I then left England because I wanted to see a bit of the world. I was really interested in scuba diving and water sports, so I spent a while on various islands in Thailand. I hung out with a bunch of cool people and was going through courses to become a qualified dive-master. For a period of time it was an idyllic lifestyle, bumming around on beaches and boats, chasing women and partying.

I met a Danish girl and decided I'd move to Copenhagen with her. The first job I got there was working at the Hard Rock Cafe selling t-shirts to tourists. It was a completely different experience my previous retail experience. We'd get cruise ship parties descending on us; it really was a “been there, bought the t-shirt” kind of thing.

I felt like I needed a skill beyond being a sales manager, so I started working in the Hard Rock kitchen with a view to becoming a chef. I then went to the Hilton Hotel in Copenhagen for four and a half years, starting as a breakfast chef and going on to lunch, a la carte and desserts. It was interesting, but my heart was never really in it. Working in a commercial kitchen is very gruelling, a far cry from celebrity chef glamour. It’s not particularly well paid, and you've got lots of mental people screaming and shouting at you, most of whom are your workmates.

So I moved back to the UK and was putting my CV about. I bought a copy of GQ, and found an advert for Timothy Everest that was headlined “Climbing Everest.” I hadn't actually heard of Tim at this point; I had my eye on the more traditional Savile Row houses. I'd always come down to London to get clothes made at a Soho tailor called Mr. Eddy. I've always loved the James Bond movies, plus Get Carter, The Italian Job, and Quadrophenia, and the whole sort of classic, British, sharp, mod/gent look that went with those films. Tim's ad intrigued me, so I phoned up and spoke to Lee who works at Elder Street. I went for an interview, and I landed my current position in January 2007.

My arrival coincided with Tim's desire to push the ready-to-wear side of the business a bit more, and to have a dedicated space in which to do that with Bruton Place. I've tried to develop a distinct personality for the shop. It's open and approachable; you don't have the sense of foreboding or mystique that you might experience at more traditional tailoring houses. We get a lot of regulars dropping in, for a beer and a chat. I want the service to be friendly, but still professional, and I think that clients enjoy being treated in an honest manner. We have an excellent made to measure business and the bespoke side of the business is growing all the time. So I'm able to build up solid personal relationships, which is very important at this level of retailing. I also do the New York trips with Tim, which I love, because you meet a whole different bunch of clients, who are always glad to see you, and I love to travel.

Tim's clientele is very varied, as is his workforce. That’s partly down to the fact Tim has an eclectic mix of interests, which has also helped develop the bespoke-casual side of the business and brought in new clients. A good example would be cycling, and recent collaborations with Rapha and Brooks. I cycle to work every day, so those ventures are of interest to me.

It’s the style and general aesthetics of tailoring that really interests me. Making people look good in clothes, which you have helped design and style is the most rewarding part of the job. I also have input into the ready-to-wear; I help choose the fabrics, and put ideas forward to Tim, who takes a lot of them on board.

I see the Timothy Everest aesthetic as being very British and slightly quirky, with an emphasis on playful use of texture, colour and pattern. There's a question I get asked at least once a week: what is the house cut? I always give the same answer: we will cut you exactly what you want.

Presenting...Ready-to-Wear for Autumn (part 2)

2011-09-30T14:36:00.000+01:00

Continuing on from yesterday, here's another peak at the stand-out pieces from our new ready-to-wear collection, on sale now...

This soft grey stretch worsted flannel jacket is double faced and buggy lined to show off it's powder blue houndstooth check inside. 2-button, notch lapel, with patch pockets. £450.
Styled with a powder pink shirt, £125, a micro-floral aubergine tie, £85, and a lilac Prince of Wales check handkerchief in the pocket, £25.

This classic pinstripe 3 piece will see you through every formal (or business casual) event of the season. £750.
Worn here with a white twill shirt, £125, a monochrome silk tie, £85, and black-edge white hank, £25.

Our new 100% cashmere cardigan with this lovely fish scale black & grey pattern, £325.

Please contact Julian at Bruton Place for inquiries: call 020 7629 6236, or email brutonplace@timothyeverest.co.uk.

Presenting...Ready-to-Wear for Autumn

2011-09-29T13:45:00.004+01:00

By the looks of it, we're set to have a beautiful Indian summer here in the UK, though it's a given that soon enough the autumn weather will be drawing in. With that in mind, I wanted to give you a peak of our new ready-to-wear collection, which went on sale today. We're just waiting for the last few pieces to arrive, so expect a couple of posts with the full collection early next week, but I wanted to post a couple of the stand-out pieces to whet the appetite...

(Click the images to enlarge)

This single-breasted 2-button jacket is in a gorgeous worsted flannel, with notch lapel and patch pockets, finished with a sculpted facing and striped lining, £450.
Worn with a traditional white and blue Bengal striped shirt, £125, and a cerise pink knitted tie, £85.

Inspired by the tweed additions to our Bespoke Casual collection, this grey donegal fleck suit buttons up to the neck to show off a yellow melton undercollar. It has a black-on-black paisley lining with sculpted facing. £800 for the suit.

I've definitely got my eye on this soft construction, buggy-lined, 2 button sports coat, in this lovely stretch Prince of Wales check wool. £450.
Worn with a powder blue gingham check shirt, £125, and a knit tie, £85.

I'm heading to Italy now for a weekend of cycling in Tuscany (it's a hard life), but there'll be more RTW tomorrow...

Please contact Julian at Bruton Place for inquiries: call 020 7629 6236, or email brutonplace@timothyeverest.co.uk.

...Check out

2011-09-28T14:28:00.000+01:00

As promised, the finished gingham jacket that we recently made for my journalist friend Stuart. Isn't it dreamy? Stuart reports that, the first time he wore it out, a friend remarked that he looked “part indie band, part bookie from an Ealing comedy,” which he was delighted with. Now he just needs that winter sun break to show it to its best advantage. I'm recommending Cape Town or Palm Springs.

Check in...

2011-09-27T17:42:00.000+01:00

Gingham – rhymes with “swingin.'” Well, almost, and almost certainly in the case of this beautiful navy/white gingham jacket we recently made for my journalist friend Stuart. He wanted a stand-out lightweight summer jacket that would look equally good with jeans, shorts, or linens, and even – best-case scenario – take him from a washed-out August through an Indian September. The cloth is a Scabal 80z cool wool 2-ply, and we added patch pockets, a dinky double-button cuff – should he want to push those sleeves up, Miami Vice-style – and a deep navy lining. This was the fitting, and I think you'll agree it's already putting the daz in Cote d'Azur. I'll post the finished product tomorrow.

Tales of Tommy

2011-09-26T13:30:00.001+01:00

I promised you I'd share some stories of my young-buck days, training under the beady – and occasionally bloodshot – eye of the Savile Row legend Tommy Nutter. With the Tommy retrospective finishing next month at the Fashion & Textile Museum in Bermondsey, it's all come flooding back to me...

I was working with an uncle in Milford Haven, in Hepworths, in the early 80s. I was very keen to come to London. I was very into music and clubs and dressing up. I was reading New Sounds, New Styles, The Face was just starting, New Romantics were just getting glossed up, and that was the scene I wanted to be a part of. My sister was already here, hairdressing. So the first thing I did when I got here was to apply for a couple of jobs advertised in the Evening Standard. One was “Young Salesman for bathroom fittings company.” The other was “Boy wanted on Savile Row.” I got turned down for the first one, but went to meet Tommy for the other one, after many abortive phone calls - “Mr Nutter's on holiday, Mr Nutter's in a meeting, Mr Nutter's in Brighton.”

Tommy interviewed me, plus this girl called Catherine, who was his factotum at the time, and who is now my wife. I got taken on for three months initially. I wasn't really that interested in working on Savile Row at the time – I thought it was unbelievably stuffy. I wanted to get into fashion and meet people like Antony Price and Katharine Hamnett. This was when Tommy was running his own house again, backed by a guy called Alan Lewis, and was looking to grow the business. I didn't really know anything about Tommy, and thought I was slightly above it all – the arrogance of youth - but he showed me all the pics of him with Mick and Bianca, and the Abbey Road sleeve, and all that stuff, and I changed my tune.

I thought Tommy was cool, stylish, not super-confident. He'd taken some knocks by this point, but he covered that with humour and charm. He was still a Name, and an icon to some. He called me “doll” - he called everyone “doll” - and we worked really well together. He'd let me work up designs and encourage my flights of fancy. The whole place was done out in chocolate-brown carpet, with creamy-tan sofas with zebra-print throws, and thick chrome fittings with smoked glass. We worked ridiculous hours; there was a boardroom hidden behind these two-way mirrors on the shop floor, and we'd spend a lot of time drinking what Tommy called Judy Garlands – aka lager, apparently her favourite pre-stage tipple, before moving on to vodka – and Jim'll Fix Its, which was some lethal combination of spirits that, unsurprisingly, I can't recall now, and by then we'd be a bit more than tipsy. We were supposed to be selling ready-to-wear, as well as taking bespoke orders, but we were actually getting very little made, so all these clients would be coming in – bankers, The Thompson Twins, Ultravox's manager – and we had very little to offer them. A lot ended up asking for copies of my prized Prince of Wales multi-pleat trousers that I'd actually bought from Demob, down the road. So we were a little adrift, which was fine in one way, because you had complete creative freedom, but worrying in another, because you had no real direction. I was there for three and a half years, and the main thing I picked up from Tommy was the amazing way he interacted personally with his clients, and how business relationships were just as important, if not more, than the things you made. That's why it affected him so profoundly when people, both clients and friends, started to sort of drift away from him – he prized loyalty, but he wasn't always vocal enough when it came to asking for help. He covered that with drink, though he was never drunk at work. In fact, he was always bang on time in the mornings. But he'd be looking for things to distract him from the business. Including me. We'd go clubbing on what we called “girl's nights out,” and I'd work my hair up into a huge peroxide quiff, do these funny dances that were one or two beats out, like Les Dawson's slightly off piano playing - quite difficult to do actually - and there were some evenings where, for instance, I'd end up on a podium wearing a red shift dress. What can I say? It was the 80s.

I loved Tommy's sense of humour. When he was focused, he was a great subverter of tradition. Look at some of his key styles – he was a great Art Deco and Clarice Cliff collector, so he was looking at the 20s and 30s, but refracting those styles through a 70s prism. He loved mixing things up and bending rules, but he was also very modest. I hope the exhibition will help people appreciate that he was the first of the “new” Savile Row renegades that extends through myself and Richard James and Ozwald Boateng, and on through to E Tautz and Spencer Hart today. Just think of the impact that Mick Jagger's canary yellow suit had in 1970 – everything on the Row had been very dour and kitchen sink since the end of the Second World War, really. And I hope that people will realise he was an innovator who inspired, and continues to inspire, a lot of other people, in the business and beyond – a tailor's tailor.

I'll be giving a guided tour around the exhibition on 6th October. Go to the FTM website for more information.

Fantastic Man: The Skate Off

2011-09-23T11:15:00.000+01:00

You might know that I'm a regular cheerleader for Fantastic Man, and their latest issue is no exception: interviews with Raf Simons (so that's what he looks like) and Johnny Marr, and a piece on the joys of wild flower buttonholes. But I also love the Daily Recommendations on their website, especially the series they've just run of super slo-mo (2000 frames per second) films of figure skaters modelling key autumn/winter “pieces” - lurex Prada jumpers, leather Hermes jumpsuits. It's a long way from Kerry Katona on Dancing on Ice.

The Upright Catch-foot Spin from FANTASTIC MAN on Vimeo.

A Party for Pearson

2011-09-22T10:49:00.003+01:00

Pearson will be holding an official opening party for the brand new Pearson Performance store this Friday 23rd September, from 5.30pm. I'm heading home from Japan today, so I'll be there, if a little jetlagged...

Tailoring Tinker, Tailor

2011-09-21T17:16:00.002+01:00

I was thrilled to be asked to create some suits for the new big-screen adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy for all kinds of reasons: it's one of my favourite books; it's already garnering Oscar buzz; it's got my name (or at least my profession) on it. But more than that, it's enabled me to play a small part in two long overdue comebacks; that of leading man Gary Oldman, who plays George Smiley, and that of the 70s silhouette – three-pieces, double-breasteds (for double agents?), peak lapels, pleats, turn-ups – to match the era in which it's set. For Gary, we made a sports jacket in charcoal grey with a royal blue and wine-red overcheck, to give it an almost tweed-y feel, plus a three-piece in a dark grey Holland & Sherry birdseye; meanwhile, we made sure that man-of-the-moment Benedict Cumberbatch was above sartorial reproach as gentleman conspirator Peter Guillam, in a three-piece Holland & Sherry grey herringbone and a three-piece brown, coffee-coloured flannel. Benedict was so enamoured of his wardrobe that he's actually been wearing it to a slew of premieres, and if he wants a bespoke duster coat for the new series of Sherlock, our door is always open...

Best Possible Taste

2011-09-19T15:43:00.000+01:00

As, in French & Saunders' timeless phrase, a “lover of le food,” and also as a tireless culture vulture, I'm always slavering in anticipation of each new issue of Gastronomica, the US magazine that chucks both those things in a blender and purees them into a delicious, nutritious brain-shake. But I must say that the Fall 2011 issue has got my juices going like none before it. If the banquet on offer inside – a look at old Esquire “Man the Kitchenette” food columns from the 40s, a sit-down with Meret Oppenheim's ultimate Dada object, the fur-lined teacup and saucer – doesn't sate, then the amuse bouche cover image – an octopus cube, something the Oxo mum almost certainly never envisaged – should stimulate at least three of the senses. Yummy yummy.

British-ish

2011-09-16T11:37:00.000+01:00

Golden-boy Joshua Osborne, creator of our brilliant film to promote our Autumn/Winter 2011 TE Bespoke, has been selected for an exhibition at the V&A Museum during the London Design Week. "British-ish" is curated by Giles Deacon, and celebrates the best work from this year's University of the Arts graduates, across all design disciplines.

The exhibition runs from 17th - 25th September at the V&A in South Kensington. If you haven't yet watched the film, well, where have you been? Go to the TE YouTube channel or click the video below:

Knees and Elbaz

2011-09-15T12:48:00.000+01:00

It's already “gone viral,” as the youngsters say, but that's no excuse not to further celebrate the fabulous Autumn/Winter 2011 Lanvin promo video, shot by Steven Meisel, in which Karen Elson & co. throw some crazy shapes to Pitbull's I Know You Want Me. I love the spooky twinning of the David Lynch-style salon it's played out in, I love the array of millinery, but most of all I love the fact that head honcho Alber Elbaz, who makes an arresting cameo at the end, is an even gimpier dancer than me. All together now: uno, dos, tres, quatro...

A Quintessentially British Wedding

2011-09-13T12:40:00.001+01:00

You may have seen that the ever charming Ben Elliot was married over the weekend. Owner of Quintessentially (who curate the charity rides I've taken part in the last two years), Ben asked me to make his wedding day ensemble.It was a nice opportunity to do a modern, sharp take on the traditional morning suit, leading with Ben's inspiration of Prince Charles.

His outfit was full TE bespoke: a black herringbone jacket with fine braiding, a buff grey hopsack double-breasted waistcoat with white picquet dress slips, a baby-blue stripe shirt with small stiff detachable collar, a micro-dot silk tie, cashmere stripe trousers, finished with a silk handkerchief, blue Sea Island cotton socks, and black shoes from Cheaney. Doesn't he look sharp?

The jacket from finished on the inside with this beautiful traditional quilting stitch visible on the lining - a true sign of bespoke.

Congratulations Ben and Mary-Clare!

(Photos 1 and 2 from Daily Mail website)

A Flag for 4th Floor

2011-09-12T14:09:00.000+01:00

I've just received a copy of the book produced by 4th Floor to celebrate their 20th year. Earlier this year, owner Richard Stepney asked several clients of his to contribute imagery, thoughts, or something else representative of the company to the book. So, flexing my creativity muscle, we designed a flag incorporating all the necessary information: a '4', an 'XX' for 20, and of course the company's signature colours.

The flag was made first as a baste by our tailors, which was whisked off to the last remaining royal flag-makers in London to be recreated as the genuine article. It now flies proudly on the terrace, above the streets of Northington Street in Clerkenwell.

These photos were taken by Jeremy from North (who, incidentally, modeled our Bespoke Casual collection).

I like Ikepod

2011-09-09T14:41:00.000+01:00

I've been an admirer of Ikepod – Marc Newson's range of sleek, contemporary watches and hourglasses – for some time now, and was bowled over by their recent collaboration with Parisian retailer Antoine de Macedo on a pop-up shop on the left bank, which resembled an Old Curiosity Shop stocked with alien timepieces beamed in from a shiny, sheeny parallel universe. The pop-up has now popped back down, but I'm sure that its ancient-modern aesthetic will inspire others (including, perhaps, cutting-edge yet tradition-honouring tailors). It's a concept with legs as well as (in this instance, at least) hands.

Eurobike Bonanza

2011-09-08T17:47:00.000+01:00

I'm delighted to report that the Criterion, our new-generation cycling jacket created in collaboration with Brooks, just won a design award at this year's EuroBike exhibition. The awards honour top design in both bikes and accessories, so this really is vindication for the marriage of practicality and aesthetic innovation that we were going for with the Criterion. I'd like to think it was our elastic lanyard, or perhaps the ergonomic mesh interliner, that really swung it for the judges...

Tuxedo

2011-09-07T12:01:00.001+01:00

I was quite surprised, and rather flattered, when Casey Spooner sent me a demo of "Tuxedo", a song he'd written about me and one of the suits I'd made for him. He's just filmed this fantastic interview with Vogue Italia, wearing some of his TE bespoke. Watch til the end to see the suit that inspired "Tuxedo"!

Watch the video on the Vogue Italia website.

Getting Pearson-al (part 2)

2011-09-06T11:59:00.001+01:00

A quick post to say that the brand-spanking-new Pearson Performance shop in Sheen opened on Friday. Visit the shop at 232 Upper Richmond Road West.

Ahead of Time

2011-09-05T11:36:00.001+01:00

I like motorbikes. I also like watches. So imagine my exultation when I found that the two had been seamlessly and stylishly combined in this collaboration between Harley-Davidson and Bell & Ross; the Nascafe (not Nescafe) Racer. It's been finished in anodised blue and matte black to reflect the prestige timepiece, one of which is incorporated into the bike frame, just below the steering column, to remind us, in the immortal words of that incorrigible loner and rebel Mr William Shakespeare, that “pleasure and action make the hours seem short.”

The List...September

2011-09-01T11:36:00.001+01:00

My Little Black Book of monthly recommendations.

WEAR...
Three-piece FOX Brothers light tan check suit, ice blue twill shirt, lime knitted tie, crocus handkerchief, lemon socks, Clarks brogue desert boots, and a wry smile of course!

LISTEN...
Washed Out – Within and Without.
Dangermouse – Rome.
Moderat.
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love:

SHOP...
The Ikepod popup shop in Paris.
Paul Stopler gallery.
Labour and Wait.

DINE...
The Whistling Shop.
The Roastery.

VISIT...
Corinthia Hotel.
Wales – a few days out of London does a world of good!
Signs of a Struggle: Photography in the Wake of Postmodernism at the V&A
Eurobike.

WATCH...
Quadrophenia.
Super 8.
Superheavy - Miracle Worker (Mick wearing a pink TE):

READ...
The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
Blacks Essential Guide to Scotland.
Cycling Weekly.

FOLLOW...
The Collarbone – cycling photography.
The Wine Chap.

USE...
Lemon & limes from Truefitt & Hill.

DRINK...
Ginger beer shandies at the Golden Heart.

The Lunch Club, episode 2: Home House

2011-08-31T14:09:00.000+01:00

The second in my sporadic-and-not-exactly-onerous series where I get to have a languid lunch in a seductive setting amid convivial company. To wit...

Venue: Home House, the members' club in Portman Square; a riot of Georgian townhouse-ery, with Robert Adam interiors, that was once the London pied-a-terre of Anthony Blunt. During the summer months, the courtyard garden is thrown open for alfresco dining under a Raj-style mini-marquee, which this year was dotted with a miscellany of bronze figures – elephants, comely maidens – for added piquancy.

Full Disclosure: I'm a member of Home House.

Ambience: Though HH had a bit of a rep for erring on the starchy side, things have loosened up a bit recently with the opening of the new Zaha Hadid-designed bar, and the New Informality extended to the garden, where eyelids stayed defiantly un-batted as I arrived resplendent in full cycling rig.

Clientele: A few captains of industry number-crunching over their laptops at side tables, some members of the theatrical fraternity (at least I'm assuming that the distant diner who looked – and acted – like a butcher version of Paul O'Grady plied his trade in that particular sector), and, at the adjoining table, some Ladies Of A Certain Age who had almost certainly arrived via the cosmetic precincts of nearby Harley Street, if their facial paralysis and munificent lips were anything to go by.

Dining Companion: Tim Voegele-Downing, creative director at brand consultants Avery Dennison, and creative consultant to Rapha.

Food: Tim arrived breathless, having undergone the usual London ordeal of trying to find a parking space, but consoled himself by diving into foie gras with poached pears with relish (that's as in zest, rather than extra condiment). I made a summer concession – it was actually one of those hen's teeth-style balmy, sunny, English summer days – of ordering gazpacho, which was properly cool yet spicy yet refreshing yet gratifying. I went on to a starter-sized steak tartare with green salad, befitting my new, personally-trained, body-as-temple-while-still-calorie-friendly regime. Tim opted for the butternut squash risotto, which he was happy to announce had just the right creamy texture. I forewent pudding in favour of a double espresso, then gazed in unrequited longing at Tim's trio of sorbets.

What We Talked About: The vicissitudes of the recent London-Edinburgh sponsored cycle ride for Quintessentially, which Tim and I recently did (and for details of which, see elsewhere on the blog); the possibility of starting a Gentlemen's Cycling Club, and the arcane rules regarding eligibility for entry we would dream up if we actually ever got round to establishing such a thing; the new Pearson shop, opening shortly in Sheen (whose progress we were going to check on after lunch), the culmination of the informal rebranding work that Tim and I have been involved in for the company; and, from the well-travelled Tim's side, the difficulty of finding a decent nightclub in Oslo, eventually resolved following the intervention of a drunken, gun-toting woman who directed him down a high street past a store whose window displays featured amputee mannequins dressed in Nazi regalia (this increasingly voluble story attracted the attention of the Harley Street Ladies, but it was impossible to tell if the waxen looks they turned on us were amused or outraged).

Overall Impressions: If we hadn't had the Pearson appointment, I'd have happily whiled away a few hours in the garden, as outdoor oases of this sort are rare jewels in London. And one final tip; if you use the restroom, don't miss Anthony Blunt's toilet seat, lovingly framed on the wall by the door. It's the closest to a traitor's derriere that I've ever been (knowingly, at least).

Getting Pearon-al

2011-08-30T12:13:00.000+01:00

Some of you will be aware that I ride – and swear by – my Pearson bike, not to mention the brand. I met them two years ago, after my previous bike was stolen; my friend Richard introduced me to them, and I was intrigued by the fact that Guy and William Pearson, the directors, are fifth-generation bike-makers, and they're in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest bike shop in the world. We had lots of chats, and I started working with them informally earlier this year, along with my friend Tim, on designing a new brand identity as well as biking and clothing ranges.

The first fruits of our collaboration can be seen in their new store in Sheen, opening soon – the first time they've ventured beyond their native Sutton. It's a kind of concept shop – a non-stop pop-up with constantly changing models and ranges - and a huge opportunity for them to ride the new wave in cycling. I'll post updates as things develop, but it's been great to be able to take them from concept to paper bag – albeit a big paper bag, if you're getting a bike from them, which you most definitely should.

www.pearsoncycles.co.uk

Jag's Edge

2011-08-25T14:14:00.000+01:00

I was very gratified to be approached by Jaguar recently to be one of their brand ambassadors. They wanted me to try one of their cars, and the Everest tribe just happens to be in the market for a bigger conveyance at the moment, so they offered us an XKR convertible. It was so much better than I would ever have thought; really nice looking, well put together, incredibly fast – 510 brake horsepower - and a lot of fun. I asked my wife Catherine if she had any trouble from White Van Men when she was driving it, and she said it was completely the opposite – it was “respect due” from everyone, maybe because there are actually less of them on the road than something ostensibly flashier, like the Aston Martin DB9. I'd highly recommend trying it – my friend Ben is opting for one rather than a Range Rover. The first day we had the XKR, my wife and youngest daughter sort of enthroned themselves in it, adjusting their sunglasses and adopting their best Thelma & Louise poses.