Exploring Bespoke 8: Forward Fitting and Finale by Brita Hirsch Tailor

This is the finale of the 8 part series by Brita Hirsch exploring bespoke tailoring. We hope that this has clarified what is true bespoke tailoring, so that those wanting to commission a garment can fully understand the extent of the work involved and how this differs from made to measure and off the peg.

Inspiration and result - see earlier parts of the series for the full story of this Norfolk jacket

Brita Hirsch writes: The forward fitting is the moment of truth for the cutter in charge of the fit, which should be nearing perfection at this point in time. A final opportunity to fine tune things like the fall of the sleeves, balance of the collar and roll of the lapel. This is also the time to discuss finer detail like choice of buttons and any special requirements, be it flower loops or monograms. Following this final meeting, all work is done for the cutter as well as the customer, who can now relax, sit back and look forward to the finished article.

With Brita Hirsch at a fitting

The finishing process with all the meticulous hand detailing is the skilled tailor’s responsibility - and their opportunity to shine. This is when the suit or coat truly comes into its own, different from any other garment out there, and truly a unique creation. Setting the sleeves, with cloth pattern lines matching both horizontally and vertically and the length just right (try that!), defining the final positions of button holes and angle of the collar - this is when a keen eye for meticulous detail and proportion comes into play.

An important and final part of the bespoke process is a well-yielded pressing iron: around a third of the overall time spent making the garment is dedicated to pressing the cloth in its various stages, but the finale is an intimate affair between the coat and its creator: shaping and smoothing the garment, the tailor will spend the time it takes until it is the best it can be.

The bespoke process is a journey, a piece of personal history created together. It takes weeks, often months to create that special garment, which is made to last - and delight - a lifetime. Patience is paramount to achieve a truly spectacular result: never rush your tailor, but enjoy the journey.

Grey Fox writes: At the conclusion of this series I'd like to thank Brita Hirsch and all who helped us (their links are below). It was an absolute delight working with Brita, whose tailoring skills are truly exceptional, and a privilege to have my Norfolk jacket tailored by her. It's a creation of great skill and a joy to wear. 

If you haven't taken the plunge into bespoke I can only urge you to do so. In my experience a bespoke garment is always way ahead of made to measure in terms of fit and comfort; but then it should be and no tailor would claim otherwise. Brita has shown us the immense amount of work that goes into a piece and this shows in the finished product.

For other features in the Exploring Bespoke series here on the blog, click here.

Links:

Brita Hirsch of Hirsch Tailoring

The Savile Row Association Standards and Bespoke Process

Adamley Textiles

Harris Tweed Hebrides

The Harris Tweed Authority

My trip to Harris Tweed: A Journey to the Heart of the Hebrides

With thanks to photographer Fiona Bailey whose images appear throughout this project.

The final product, my bespoke Harris tweed Norfolk coat by Brita Hirsh

Exploring Bespoke 7: Ripping Down and Building Up Again

We continue our exploration of bespoke tailoring with Brita Hirsch. The garment is now taking shape and we reach the stage at which the detailed and careful work which distinguishes true bespoke becomes clear:

Brita Hirsch writes:

"In the last chapter we explored the role of the first, or ‘baste', fitting as the first and most important opportunity for the tailor to gauge the fit of the bespoke garment. Next up is ‘ripping down’, taking the whole thing apart again - without batting an eyelid. 

Why? Because, despite all those hours spent stitching together the coat or trouser by hand, we only did it for chance to get a good feeling for the fit, the information we need to get to work and start shaping the garment in earnest.

Your bespoke tailor or cutter will have taken the opportunity to observe posture and every detail, large or small, that needs adjusting after the fitting. Once taken apart, any chalk or pin mark, every mental note taken during the fitting is taken into account and translated into new seam lines, feature positions, lapel proportions, etc. The garment starts taking on its own personality.

Part of the process of preparing the garment for the next, the ‘forward’ fitting is to add pockets and facings, internal details and lining. All largely hand-sewn, this stage of the bespoke process is where the meticulous, time-consuming work is done. The character of the individual commissions begins to shine through.

Once all features have been added, the lining now hiding from view the inner workings, the tailor sets out to - once again - join together the pieces with rough baste stitching again. 

This time round the fit should be near perfect, all figurative variations captured. The fitting is to confirm all this and offer a chance for fine tuning and a word on the accessories. This is when you can pick your favourite buttons and discuss final detail with your tailor. After that, it’s time to relax, lean back and look forward to the finished article".

For other features in the Exploring Bespoke series here on the blog, click here.

Links:

Brita Hirsch of Hirsch Tailoring

The Savile Row Association Standards and Bespoke Process

Adamley Textiles

Harris Tweed Hebrides

The Harris Tweed Authority

My trip to Harris Tweed: A Journey to the Heart of the Hebrides

With thanks to photographer Fiona Bailey whose images appear throughout this project.

Exploring Bespoke 6: The Baste Fitting

In the last chapter we explored the individual cutting pattern as foundation of the perfect fit and the floating canvas as the structural scaffold of the bespoke coat. Next up in the bespoke process is the first - baste or basted - fitting, which puts it all to the test: it is the first opportunity for the tailor to gauge how successfully she translated data collected - customer measurements and observations on figure and posture - into the garment.

At the first fitting the coat is held together by white thread known as basting

The term is borrowed from the process of sewing together roughly the parts of the coat with white cotton thread - known as basting - which has become synonymous with true bespoke.

The first fitting is all about fit and proportion. It will be generous dimensionally - surplus material can be cut away, but missing cloth cannot be replaced - and should be seen as an approximation, the beginning of the process of taking away, to find the ideal shape.

Brita and I discuss details from the old photograph which inspired the coat

I decide I want very unstructured shoulders, so out come Brita's scissors

First and foremost, the customer should be comfortable, there should be no feeling of physical restriction or limitation of their movement. Nor should there be discomfort with any feature that may not go along with their own idea of the garment’s design. By that I mean respect for the customers wishes when it comes to style and its elements. A massive peak lapel may be the tailor’s own idea of great style, but should not be imposed if the client feels uneasy with it.

Secondly, the garment should flatter their shape, whatever that may be, and this is where a trained eye for proportion comes in. Chiselling away at waist and back but adding where needed in shoulder and skirt, all the while making sure that the fit is not compromised, the craftsman makes the most of the opportunity: taking notes - often in chalk on the garment itself - on changes and adjustments that need to be made in preparation for the next stage - the forward fitting.

Brita pins the back and will remove some material for a closer fit

For other features in the Exploring Bespoke series here on the blog, click here.

Links:

Brita Hirsch of Hirsch Tailoring

The Savile Row Association Standards and Bespoke Process

Adamley Textiles

Harris Tweed Hebrides

The Harris Tweed Authority

My trip to Harris Tweed: A Journey to the Heart of the Hebrides

With thanks to photographer Fiona Bailey whose images appear throughout this project.

Exploring Bespoke 5: The Canvas - Not Blank At All

Brita Hirsch continues our series on true bespoke tailoring by looking at the crucial role of the canvas, the structural heart of a tailored garment. I know from the bespoke jackets that I own that a well-made canvas adds shape and comfort to the garment, adapting itself to the shape of the owner as time passes. Here Brita explains the part played by the canvassing.

From the plane to three dimensions: cut parts are being marked with tailor’s tacks before being joined to the canvas

Brita writes:

"The canvas of a bespoke coat or jacket is a mysterious thing, largely because it is rarely on show. Like an airbag, it takes an accident to bring it into view - or a curious client, who wants to know how ‘bespoke’ their commission really is.

The canvas, in tailoring terms, is what makes or breaks the fit of the garment. It is its supportive understructure and its form-giving, albeit non-inverted mould. From the plane of the paper pattern (which I wrote about in the previous chapter in this series here), the skilled tailor creates a three-dimensional husk with quaint materials like horsehair, linen and cotton wadding that serves as the inner scaffold, providing structure and shape to the garment.

Hand pad stitching is used to join three different materials together for the canvas

Joint together by hand ‘pad’ stitching, the layers of material are shaped during the same, time consuming process. Each stitch must penetrate all layers, and the way to know is to prick - lightly - the probing finger on the underside.

Once it’s all done, the chest piece covered in rows of chevron stitches, the iron comes into the process to help press the canvas into shape. It is now that the tailor begins to introduce the customer’s upper body features into the garment.

Shape in place, canvas and fabric panels are joined together with large, white cotton stitching - a process known as ‘canvassing’ - before other parts are added for the first (or ‘baste’) fitting.

The canvas is joined to the front panel with baste stitching, introducing shape in the process

Why all the fuss and time spent on a manual process that remains hidden to the eye? Because, if done right, the effect is that of lasting structure and individual shape, the very quintessence of bespoke. Astoundingly, the flexible nature of hand stitches even means that the coat shapes itself to the body of the wearer over time.

Fusing, gluing or any heat induced joining technique doesn’t even come close to this and has no place in bespoke tailoring".

For other features in the Exploring Bespoke series here on the blog, click here.

Links:

Brita Hirsch of Hirsch Tailoring

The Savile Row Association Standards and Bespoke Process

Adamley Textiles

Harris Tweed Hebrides

The Harris Tweed Authority

My trip to Harris Tweed: A Journey to the Heart of the Hebrides

With thanks to photographer Fiona Bailey whose images appear throughout this project.

Exploring Bespoke 4: It's All in the Pattern

In this the fourth of our series exploring the details of genuine bespoke tailoring, Brita Hirsch looks at one of the essential requirements of a true bespoke garment: the pattern. If you visit a bespoke tailor you will see paper patterns hanging in storage. Each represents the size, shape and style of a customer and is used as a template to cut the cloth components which are stitched together to make the final product. 

Brita Hirsch chalks up my pattern onto the Harris tweed cloth. The paper pattern is used as a template

The pattern will be cut by a cutter, from many careful measurements taken from the client. The cutter then works with a tailor/coatmaker/trousermaker to complete the garment over a series of fittings with the client. In Brita's case, she does all these things herself.

Brita Hirsch takes up the story:

"I enjoyed discussing style, and how to capture it, from a philosophical angle but feel the topic deserves a further, more technical chapter. Here we are talking about the cutting pattern, the very foundation of the bespoke process.  

It’s a delicate topic: the individual paper pattern, the provision of which is one of the Savile Row Association’s standards for members [link below], has become an endangered species. It takes skill and time to draft an individual pattern by hand: around eight hours for a three piece suit. The underlying data is totally unique: the customer’s measurements, information about their posture and any deviation from the symmetrical, plus the important style elements. 

Brita applies my pattern to the cloth before chalking up and cutting. The use of the cloth has to be optimised

Skill and time are precious goods and you will find that it is wide-spread practice today, including in some ‘bespoke’ houses, to take a shortcut and use standard sized ‘blocks’ instead of individual patterns. Discernible by the fact that they are cut from cardboard rather than paper (for frequent use), blocks are sets of standard size patterns that are used by large clothing manufacturers for industrial style production. 

A skilled cutter might know how to 'tweak’ the block, produce a reasonable fit and let the process appear bespoke by conducting a number of fittings; however the end result will never be what a truly bespoke garment should be: an absolute delight to wear, fitting perfectly and encompassing every style aspect you are looking for. 

The way to find out if your tailor is about to produce the real thing is to ask to see your individual paper pattern. It should include a full set of panels, which should all bear your name and the date of your commission. If they don’t hesitate to show you the pattern, you are in the safe hands of a bespoke tailor deserving of the name".

For other features in the Exploring Bespoke series here on the blog, click here.

Links:

Brita Hirsch of Hirsch Tailoring

The Savile Row Association Standards and Bespoke Process

Adamley Textiles

Harris Tweed Hebrides

The Harris Tweed Authority

My trip to Harris Tweed: A Journey to the Heart of the Hebrides

With thanks to photographer Fiona Bailey whose images appear throughout this project.

The coat comes together at a basted fitting

Exploring Bespoke 3: Style and How to Capture it

In this the third in our series, tailor Brita Hirsch talks about the important topic of style and its consideration in the bespoke process. Those of who who've followed the series so far (link below) will know that Brita made me a Norfolk jacket from Harris tweed in order to illustrate the remarkable skills of true bespoke. Clearly both customer and tailor need to have a common vision of what the final product will look like.

Brita and I study her pattern and the Harris tweed cloth before she begins to cut

Brita takes up the story:

"If you are considering the commission of a bespoke garment, you likely know what you have in mind with regards to style. If you know your style, you also know how hard it is to find it off the shelf, and that, of course, is where bespoke tailoring comes in.

David already had the material for his coat, a deeply textured Harris Tweed, and an idea in mind as to what he wanted it be made into: a classic Norfolk jacket, tailored after the blueprint of a 1920’s image by German photographer August Sander.

During the course of our conversation, we also established further style elements David was looking for, all adding to the wholly individual brief that is the very essence of each bespoke commission: soft, unconstructed shoulders, a slim fit and the incorporation of vintage leather accessories.

How does all of this detail, the half-formed ideas and concrete specifications, together with the hard data of the customer’s measurements, translate into the garment? The answer is a cut that entails both the technical ‘framework’ of the dimensions and the proportional aesthetics of the customer’s brief. And then some.

The individual cutting pattern is to the bespoke garment what the last is to the handmade shoe, with one notable exception: drafted from scratch, not derived from a ‘block’, it encompasses every aspect of the commission, however in two dimensions only, at this point.

Like a classical artist, who starts with a block of marble and a concept in her mind, the bespoke tailor begins her work by transferring the outline of the design to the cloth, with added allowances for future changes. The cutting of the parts, then, is only the beginning of a creative process that, in many ways, resembles the sculpting of a bronze statue".

First fitting and we decide to soften the shoulder line

It's clear from what Brita says that the bespoke tailor has huge flexibility in designing the final product, much more so than in made-to-measure where a pre-exising block restricts the options. Reading her account reminds me of a point at one fitting when I decided I wanted an even softer shoulder line. Brita, who had sewn some padding into the shoulder of the basted coat, ripped off the arm at the shoulder and simply pulled out some of the padding - job done - well, not quite as she had further work to do, but at times the bespoke process can be amusingly hands-on. The aim is to make the final product perfect - and this is what Brita did for me.

In the fourth instalment Brita will look at the bespoke process on more detail. For other features in the Exploring Bespoke series here on the blog, click here.

Links:
Brita Hirsch of Hirsch Tailoring
Adamley Textiles
Harris Tweed Hebrides
The Harris Tweed Authority
My trip to Harris Tweed: A Journey to the Heart of the Hebrides

With thanks to photographer Fiona Bailey whose images appear throughout this project.

Exploring Bespoke 2: The Choice of Materials with Brita Hirsch Tailor

In the first instalment of this fortnightly series exploring the elements of true bespoke tailoring, I introduced my collaboration with bespoke tailor Brita Hirsch to explore and describe the skills of bespoke tailoring by designing and making a Norfolk jacket made from Harris tweed. Any such project starts with selecting the best materials. 

The inspiration and the end product - choice of materials is the first important step

Brita takes up the story:

"First stop on the journey to a truly bespoke coat is finding the right material: choosing it wisely is key to everything I do. When it comes to fine cloth and rustic tweed, I'm fortunate to have the world’s best producers on my door step: the best fine wool cloth available to the global market is still produced in the long established woollen mills of West Yorkshire, only an easy drive away from my workshop in Macclesfield. I source my fine worsteds, frescoes and flannels from the knowledgable local cloth merchants who work closely with these mills.  

Scotland, with its accomplished hand weavers, is not far away, either, and I buy my tweeds directly from them. Courtesy of Harris Tweed Hebrides, David was the proud owner of a length of beautiful, conker coloured, richly textured tweed. His idea was to have a coat that is steeped in tradition, a Norfolk jacket, tailored for him.

Harris tweed from the Harris Tweed Hebrides mill (L) and the Adamley design for the silk lining (R)

A classic coat for outdoor pursuits, the Norfolk calls for a lining that is hard wearing, breathable and quintessentially British to perfectly complement the weather-resistant tweed. It might come as a surprise to some, but not to the connoisseur, that the material of choice is silk. The toughest natural fibre available, coming with a molecular structure that is similar to that of wool, silk combines toughness with excellent climate balancing properties, whilst being soft and lightweight. 

But what about the 'quintessential British' part? Well. Macclesfield, in official UNESCO terms the Western end of the historic Silk Road, is home to wonderful silk printers Adamley Textiles. The company supplies many of the big names in the fashion world with the most beautiful silk fabrics and is proud guardian of the David Evans [no relation to Grey Fox's David Evans!] archive of graphic print designs. What, then, could be more appropriate than to use a silk lining for the Norfolk and let David pick the design for his custom print?"

So, we selected tweed and silk as the main materials of the coat. I told the story of Harris tweed here so there's no need to repeat it here. Brita mentions the silk lining from Adamley Textiles. I was surprised when she suggested a silk lining to the coat as I hadn't understood just how tough a cloth it makes, but its robustness, ability to take bright designs and colours and its breathability make it an ideal lining material. Brita and I visited Adamley in Macclesfield (for centuries at the heart of the English silk industry - see images below). 

Brita and I look through the David Evans silk design archives at Adamley in Macclesfield

Screen printing at Adamley Textiles

I looked through dozens of old archive books and I selected a fox head silk dating from first half of the last century. Adamley very generously redrew and printed off a few meters of silk, using the traditional silk screen method, for the lining introducing the colours we specified to go with the conker-coloured Harris tweed. In a future feature I'll show just how perfectly this lining matches the tweed.

The next in this series will be the measuring and cutting stages of the bespoke process.

For other features in the Exploring Bespoke series here on the blog, click here.

Links:
Brita Hirsch of Hirsch Tailoring
Adamley Textiles
Harris Tweed Hebrides
The Harris Tweed Authority
My trip to Harris Tweed: A Journey to the Heart of the Hebrides

With thanks to photographer Fiona Bailey whose images appear throughout this project.

Exploring True Bespoke Tailoring 1: Introducing a Collaboration with Brita Hirsch Tailor

I've recently had the huge pleasure and privilege of collaborating with Brita Hirsch, tailor, to make a Norfolk jacket designed to show the best of bespoke tailoring. Over the next few months we'll use this project to illustrate the extraordinary craftsmanship, time, materials and skills that go into making a true bespoke garment.

Brita Hirsch, bespoke tailor, at work

Brita and I met a couple of years ago with a view to producing a suit made from British-woven cloth made from wool from British sheep. That project wasn't completed, although Brita has recently produced a British merino cloth (but that's another story: see The Great Northern Cloth here and also on the blog here).

The term 'bespoke' is much abused, often used to describe made-to-measure products which are produced without the handwork, time and skills found in bespoke tailoring. In this series, which starts with the image below, Brita and I will describe the making of a truly bespoke garment.

The photograph above, one of my favourites, was taken in the 1920s by German photographer August Sander. It shows a provincial schoolmaster with his dog. I loved his Norfolk jacket. He's clearly very comfortable wearing it. The soft slope of the shoulder with a slight roll at the top of the sleeve, the elegantly crumpled tweed and the superb fit all suggest a skilled tailor. After some discussion Brita and I agreed that working on a similar piece would give her ample opportunity to illustrate a tailor's skills.

I was keen to have a wool coat that I could wear outdoors from the fells of Cumbria to our local park in London. I'm outside every day for at least two hours, walking Harry, my labrador retriever. I need a coat that's warm, breathable and water resistant. Harris tweed provides all these properties, while having the potential to be tailored into something far more stylish than much of the modern outdoor wear available on our high streets. 

The Norfolk jacket has a long history as an outdoor coat for country sports and mountaineering; an early example of a technical garment with a very practical purpose, to keep the wearer warm and dry, while providing mobility through its construction and storage in its large pockets

From the Harris Tweed Hebrides mill came the cloth for our Norfolk coat - Image Grey Fox Blog

Early last year I visited The Outer Hebrides at the invitation of The Harris Tweed Authority. That visit was described on the blog last year (link below). I came away with a few meters of beautiful conker brown tweed from the Shawbost mill of Harris Tweed Hebrides, full of the colours of the Hebrides, from the white of the sandy beaches, the blue of the sky, the orange of the heather and the yellow of the gorse. This tweed would be used to make the coat and this process will be described in detail over several instalments here on the blog.

We've also been able to collaborate with Macclesfield Adamley Textiles who kindly gave us access to the David Evans (no relation) silk archives so we could select a silk which they then redesigned and screen-printed for the coat's lining. Brita and I are very grateful to them for their generosity and support. Full story next time.

So our project began and in the next instalment of our series Brita covers the first aspect of the bespoke process; the choice of materials.

For other features in the Exploring Bespoke series here on the blog, click here.

Links:
Brita Hirsch of Hirsch Tailoring
Adamley Textiles
Harris Tweed Hebrides
The Harris Tweed Authority
My trip to Harris Tweed: A Journey to the Heart of the Hebrides

With thanks to photographer Fiona Bailey whose images appear throughout this project.