The Northern Irish company Glenaden has bought Coles this week.
Leon
Leon
Made in UK Shirts
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Leon
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I don't think Lewin is made in the UK.
I very much doubt current Hawes & Curtis has anything made in the UK. See above for the situation with Hilditch.
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Their black label shirts sold in the U.S. are made in Ireland.
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Another reminder that country of origin is not necessarily a determinant of quality.
Hawes & Curtis were bought by a large Turkish shirt firm. I have it on good authority that all of their shirts ar emade in Turkey.
I do know that Kilgour, Henry Poole and Norton & Sons still make a genuine bespoke shirt in the UK. There are two reputable shirt workrooms left in London and they are used by most of the genuine bespoke shirtmakers - now many more than half a dozen in all between Savile Row and Jermyn St.
I do know that Kilgour, Henry Poole and Norton & Sons still make a genuine bespoke shirt in the UK. There are two reputable shirt workrooms left in London and they are used by most of the genuine bespoke shirtmakers - now many more than half a dozen in all between Savile Row and Jermyn St.
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So Hawes & Curtis is no longer owned by the Fayeds along with Turnbull & Asser?
By Norton & Sons, do you mean Stephen Lachter? Kilgour's bespoke shirts (Washington Tremlett, if they still insist on calling it that) may be UK made, but I wouldn't be surprised if their RTW shirts were made in Italy or Slovakia.
It's best not to complicate this discussion with discussion of bespoke made in the UK -- it was originally about ready-to-wear, and I think most of the posts here apply to that. I think most of the Jermyn St makers still make what they call bespoke in the UK.
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Thomas Pink was founded by James, Peter and John Mullen, Dublin-born brothers. When they opened their first London store in 1984, the shirts were, indeed, made in Ireland ... and continued to be made there for as long as the Mullens owned Pink.
As so many things go ... Pink caught on ... was sold ... and began to change. In my opinion this change has not been for the better. To those who don't remember the original Pink but who love to bash today's Pink (and I can't blame you), there was a time when it offered a far better made, more tasteful and less expensive product (even when adjusted for inflation) than does Thomas Pink of today.
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I remember Coles when it was on Savile Row. Of course, I also remember Fred and Wilma ... personally.
Coles was quite a different shop back then. I considered trying them -- at the time Bowring Arundel (also on Savile Row) was making my shirts. However, before I managed to make it to Coles, they "disappeared" ... only to reappear later on Sloane Street ... and as RJman notes ... on Jermyn Street. I seem to remember them as being on Sloane Street before they had a presence on Jermyn Street.
EDIT: It must have been Jermyn Street first ... see post #37.
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Yes, and that was its cachet. Shops in Fulham and Sloane St, a Jermyn St-style shirt without the price. Acquired a bit of a rep as the shirt of estate agents and arriviste City Boys... then LVMH bought it and it really hit the big time. Production shifted offshore for the most part -- they may still make a few shirts in Ireland, but the rest are Morocco, Romania or somewhere else. Prices, of course, go up (perhaps the shirts travel first class?)...
One of the Mullens was spotted shopping in Tyrwhitt after he sold Pink. It's comparable quality at a much fairer price.
The Mullens have now launched a leathergoods endeavor called Sac Freres. Stay tuned.
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Not to strain the soup too thin but wouldn't "made in Ireland" imply the Republic. If Northern Ireland wouldn't they be required to say U.K.?
As an aside, I recall reading a few years ago that "legally" garments (or anything else for that matter) made in U.S. territories in the south pacific can be labelled "Made in the U.S.A" when in fact these are Chinese companies that set up shop and use indigenous and imported labor. It's funny just how much the "Made in _______" can be stretched an still remain legal.
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I recall being in Budd a few years ago ... having a conversation with the gentleman on duty. I mentioned the name Thomas Pink and was "reprimanded." The gentleman finished his comment by adding, "Not in the same sentence with Budd, please, and preferably not in our shop."
If you ask the people of the Jermyn St shop, they'll answer you that "the shirts are made in Turkey, but designed in England"
Eagle.
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Speaking of Coles, I bought about a half-dozen shirts from them 5 or 6 years ago when they were still maintaining the Jermyn Street premises but struggling and evidently in some disarray. The shirts, since donated to Salvation Army, were a bit of a mess: no gussets (even though the website boasted of these), gingham checks not balanced across the collar points (a mortal sin; I should have demanded a refund).
Recently I gave them another try, ordering two of the RTW slim-fit cutaways they are now offering. These are great shirts; a perfect cut for me, pattern-matched with precision all over like H&K shirts, and with beautiful gussets cut in the shape of a vertically elongated hexagons. They just need to start making more in my collar size! (which happens to be 18, if anyone from Coles management is reading this:icon_smile_wink
New management and the shift away from Jermyn Street's high rents and discount-mania seem to have done their products some good. And now they're resumed doing some modest discounting as well. I hope they do well, as I really like the shape of their cutaway collars plus their rounded double cuffs and horizontal bottom buttons.
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I'm glad PJC in NoVA brought this up ... I wonder if discount mania is ruining Jermyn Street.
Is it even possible to visit Jermyn Street when two or three or more stores aren't having a sale? I'm reminded of Persian Carpet dealers here in the U.S.A. This was not always the case.
The influx of less expensive made-in-only-God-knows-where shirts seems to be taking its toll on those shops offering better made shirts.
Jermyn Street's reputation seems to be sliding downward ... and has for some time now.
I wouldn't say that RSS. The street is still home to hatters, a tobacconist's, a few shoe shops, and the odd gallery and antique shop, a cheesemonger's, and a perfumery. A stroll along it, is still worthwhile.
Or do you mean "Jermyn St." as the home of the London shirt trade?
PJC, Could business have been all that good for Coles', having moved away from the West End, if they have been bought out?
Leon
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