In a past life, I’m convinced I was one of the sun-worshipping Inca tribe down in Peru. God bless those healing rays and everything they stand for. Blue skies, short skirts, the crackle of Hendricks gin on ice and the whiff of Hawaiian tropic. Magical. Earlier on this month I was having it large in…
Yesterday, I was visited in my showroom by a man of the cloth. Not in a Dan Brown, cassock and collar kind of way, but as a purveyor of quality textiles to the tailoring trade. Introducing Simon Murgatroyd, who runs the cloth business for Brook Taverner & Co. Ltd We’ve been doing business together for…
The beard is back. Even my brother is growing one. A face full of fur smacks of swashbuckling “derring-do.” It’s testosterone on a chin. The hirsute marque of heroic daring. Beloved by World War two fighter pilots and pipe-smoking chaps who raced along country lanes in their Morgans, a bristling moustache embodied the spirit of…
“I find that alcohol, taken in sufficient quantities, may produce all the effects of drunkenness.” (Oscar Wilde) Sprawled on my Chesterfield, a glass of tawny port in hand, I couldn’t agree more. For those of you who haven’t seen his biography, “Wilde” is a decent film. Whilst my wife, and no doubt Stephen Fry, enjoyed…
The days of the Dandy are back and that’s a fact. Last week I clocked four young lads in Leeds on a Saturday night out, suited and booted-up to the max. Sharp threads breed confidence and like giants they swaggered past a group of shouty, red-faced Wetherspooners, wobbling into The Leopard Lounge for early-doors titillation.…
Ahhhh, the sun. It’s food for the soul. A big Greg Wallace cuddle of warmth and positive energy. No matter what the weather I always try and remain optimistic and my attitude to business has always been along the lines of Del Boy’s, “He who dares, wins.” I love to do something different, and my…
Summer has scoffed her deep-fried peanut butter sandwich and left the building. This morning my foot winced a little as it vacated the warmth of the duvet, leaving me reaching for a weighty double breasted number to brave a slight chill in the air that I’d forgotten existed. The rain lashed down as I left…
My name is James Michelsberg and I’m a suit-a-holic. It’s a nightmare. Every time I open the wardrobe door, she’s there. A sultry toned temptress from Narnia who flashes her legs between the pinstripes and whispers in my ear – “just one more James. Just one more.” This time I’ve gone for a double-breasted number,…
A business is only as good as the suppliers and people behind it and as far as my business goes, having a good relationship with the right cloth merchants is vital. When I was first starting out in the trade, some companies were reluctant to provide me with their bunches (swatches of cloth bound in…
Take the finest tailor in the world and give him a piece of polyester and it will probably end in tears. When it comes to making a bespoke suit, using the right cloth is vital. In my opinion, there is one animal whose fleece stands shank and shoulders above the rest and here’s one I…