Transcription
So, a viewer question prompted this episode, and I thought that rather than answer myself, which would just be as interesting, but it would be probably a good opportunity to bring my own Taylor on and have her answer for us. So, let me introduce Natalie May from Fielding and Nicholson of Seville Row. Welcome, Natalie. How are you?
>> Thank you for having me. I'm very well, thank you.
>> It's my pleasure. Natalie is traumatized because my ompic keeps up my um my suit sizing. So don't be deceived by the don't be deceived by the by the sweet smiles.
>> [gasps]
>> So the question that we that that I got which which actually comes in various different types. It's it's actually quite a common question is which outfits and fabrics look luxury and which brand is best for looking luxurious and sophisticated? So from from where you sit, is that even the right question to be asking? I'm not even sure that it is because sometimes you can have the best brand and still look terrible in it. Uh, prime example logos, big Gucci logos, Versace labels. Obviously, people think great brand, expensive brand, luxury, but actually some of it can be quite cheap. Um, sometimes you'll see somebody walking down the street with, you know, big logo. It could be any logo, but if it's splashed everywhere, you're going to completely ruin a brand. Um, it's not just
>> this is it.
>> It's not just a small logo on a handbag or maybe a shoe or a tag. It can actually do quite the opposite.
>> When somebody walks into your fitting room for the first time, what tells you within the first 30 seconds whether they understand clothes, regardless of what they're wearing or how much it costs? Can can you tell within the first 30 seconds whether they understand clothes?
>> Yes. And it's it's more like 10 seconds.
>> It's >> you can see very quickly. It's about how um uh clothing is put together. So even if somebody doesn't have a huge budget, you can still put an outfit together really really well even on a shoestring. It's how how the colors work together with the accessories match. You know, you might have a tan leather loafer, but then a very dark chocolate belt or a black belt with a tan shoe or things that fight each other stand out a lot more. So, yeah, and the way somebody walks, if they're confident and they're happy with the way that they they're dressed, they'll they'll come in that way. Um, but yeah, it's it's it's apparent quite quickly when someone's not comfortable with something or even the way they stand. um you know uh people's posture can affect the way clothes hang and that makes a huge difference and it's quite easy to tell quite quickly.
>> So a lot of it then comes down to how comfortable they feel, how confident they feel in what they're wearing. I mean I think an awful lot of behavior comes down to how comfortable we feel in an environment or situation or what we're wearing. But what about fabric? What actually separates? Because you hear tailor talk about fabric a lot, right? What actually separates a luxury cloth from a good high street one? What like what would I feel or see if you put two different fabrics into my hands?
>> Well, typically tailoring is a natural fabric. So, it could be a wool or a mohare or a cotton or a linen. And they're all breathable. They're all natural fibers. A lot of what is on the high street, not all of it, but a lot of it is actually synthetic and it feels completely different. Um, sometimes I've had clients on a budget who have wanted the fit of a bespoke suit, but haven't had the budget for the luxury cloth and so they've picked maybe something that's got a polyester mixed into it or a man-made fiber um, as an alternative.
>> You've never shown me these cloths.
>> Cuz you wouldn't like those. [laughter] Uh I only get those out if I have to. Um but um and and it worked for that particular client and actually I I had a client who was vegan for example didn't want a wool and mohair um didn't want to wear a linen because um they wanted to look slightly smarter. So actually in that case a a poly mix was was actually appropriate because um wasn't harming any animals of any description. Um but it also looks actually looked smarter than a linen. So they do feel completely different. They also feel very different when they're on. Um, a wool, for example, this is a lightweight wool, which I can wear in the temperatures that we've been having. If I was wearing that weight of polyester in a suit, I would be sweating like a pig.
>> Is it true that um polyester mix or any of these synthetic mix suits hold their shape better or is that a myth?
>> They will hold their shape better. They will. Um, yeah, you can pretty much Um, it's the way it's it's basically got plastic in it. You know, some of these polyesters are derived from plastic. Some of them are made from recycled plastic bottles, which actually is fantastic for the environment. It will never biodegrade, which isn't great, but um, and you know, it's water repellent. Um, you could run it over and it probably still be okay. Um, but it's not as nice to wear. But for example, for hotel uniforms and um outfits for people that work in bars and things like that, they can be very useful cuz of course they're wearing them day in day out, day in day out. And often around food and drinks, actually having a nice wool isn't always advisable.
>> So you wanted to keep it shape. But there are fabrics though that look expensive but aren't right. And there are fabrics that are expensive but actually look nothing special to the untrained eye.
>> Like what? I mean absolutely. I mean some some of it is branding as well. Um I work with lots of different um mills across the board and some of them are your kind of heavily branded Laura Piana dorm scam and yes they do have some beautiful cloths. Um and then we use some house cloths from unknown mills or sort of unbranded mills that are kind of based in the north of England where the packaging won't be as kind of sexy if you like. It will just be in a very basic folder,
>> but it will still make a suit. It will just be a flatter fabric, a matt fabric, not so fine, but it will still be a perfectly good working suit. Bit like house wine. You know, house wine is drinkable, but there's always something nice.
>> Decent, but not but not special. Laura Piana have actually said that they're going to stop making cloth, haven't they? They said that very recently. I think at least I think that's public knowledge. I have to check.
>> Yeah, I I [laughter] don't I've not heard that. Maybe I might I might be uh I might not have heard that. I mean, they sell a lot of cloth. They'd be kind of silly um to do that. I mean, Laura Piana is very good at what they do. Um and actually their their cloth is cheaper than their their their ready to wear is extremely expensive.
>> Yeah, I've I've seen this. This is wild, isn't it? that you can actually have a Laura Piana suit made from Laura Piana cloth which is actually half the price of buying a Laura Piana suit.
>> Indeed. And it's it's it's a bit wild. I mean, we're we're we're based near near Bon Street and then and yeah, we get clients coming in who've seen a Laura Piana off the pegs who that's wildly expensive and then they're really shocked that they can have a bespoke one for for yeah half the price. Um,
>> do you know we hear terms, for example, like super 150s and most people, myself included, have no idea what the hell these numbers mean. So, we automatically assume that higher numbers mean better. Is that actually true or is that a number like an internal number that has been turned into marketing? So if we see something like super fine 150 and super fine 100 or whatever it is,
>> is it automatically better the higher the number? And what does that number mean?
>> So it's um the higher the number, the finer the cloth,
>> but actually when you say better or worse in terms of a cloth, it's very much what you need the product to do. Um, there's no point in me selling someone a 180 suit that's incredibly expensive if they're sitting on a grubby tube day in day out and it's a work suit. Of course they can,
>> but it's not going to last as long. It's more fragile. Some of the most expensive cloths, for example, um, Vikuna that comes from the little beard of a tiny goat in South America. Um, you need a lot of little goats to make this fabric. You know, I've priced up suits in excess of £100,000 for a suit. Now, that might be a really expensive cloth, but that's not better because it's so fragile. You'll be able to wear that um once I fall apart. Yeah, exactly. So, it's I very much ask the question, what what do you need to wear it for? A suit that you're standing around having cocktails in can be a more expensive cloth than your work suit that you're, you know, ruining on the tube and the train and taxis and your jackets thrown thrown over a chair in a pub on a Friday night. You It's about being kind of reasonably sensible about what you're looking after. And some Kashmir for example require an awful lot of looking after um you know, they need brushing you know um and and looking after properly and making sure that you know
>> they stay in shape.
>> It's interesting isn't it because um we automatically assume that more expensive is better but actually not necessarily. You don't want to be wearing a massively expensive cashmere suit that's going to be destroyed if it's your everyday workuit because first of all, if you're sitting at a desk all day, the ass is going to rub out of it, isn't it?
>> Exactly. [laughter] And some some cloths are not like Kashmir is not really suitable for trousers. So, you can have a small percentage of 1 to 2% with other fibers, but certainly 100% Kashmir, you can't make trousers from that. Same as same as bamboo. I mean, I have had a bamboo suit made and I just have to be really careful about how often I wear it. It's fine, but it's an occasional suit. A jacket is is perfectly wearable, but in terms of trousers, yeah. Um,
>> yeah,
>> you know,
>> you just can't I mean, fabric is one lever, right? How much of looking luxurious is actually fit? So if you had, you know, to weight fabric construction and fit, where does the real effect come from?
>> That's quite tricky. Uh I I think on first impression, someone notices fit. So, um, if if you're a tricky shape or you're not, you know, your standard 42 in chest, which of course nobody is these days, but that's the fit is the most noticeable area. And then second will come the construction. And then actually, arguably the the fabric possibly last. I mean, they all make they all they all have an important um part to play, but yeah, the fit is what gives you away. If you're wearing a terrible fitting suit, that's the that's the the first uh thing that you can see cuz of course you have to be slightly nearer somebody to actually see the fabric and and and see how the light hits it and you know how it hangs. So I yeah, I'd say I'd say the fit is the first. I had a chap. I was walking down Savo the other day and I I think he'd had a suit made, but his trousers were so short and they were they were sort of that off his shoe and they weren't they also weren't tapered in a sort of Italian cut. Like if you're going to have a short trouser, kind of make it with a loafer and make it look Italian and and it it wasn't. It was very sort of British cut. So the trousers were just sort of straight and then very short on top of a bro.
>> He looked as if he'd grown out of them.
>> Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And I thought, oh,
>> the the um the propensity or the I suppose the the when you're fat as I am, the sometimes you feel that wearing a baggier suit is going to be better than wearing a well well-fitting one because it hides more. Um, but this is not true at all, is it?
>> No, it's not. It's not. No, no suit is is is Well, actually, no clothing is really great if it's not fitted. A lot of my clients that might be bigger or feel bigger or don't, you know, aren't comfortable in their skin,
>> want to hide, want to hide under clothes. And actually, it's the worst thing you can do if you follow a silhouette. And and it could be a check. You know, some people are afraid of going for for loud checks or stripes or but actually if it's cut for you and it's fitted to your shape and everything's in proportion to you, um you'll look much much better. Um and and and actually that my clients can often be very surprised by that. naked. So, um I I've um you know, I work a lot with women as well and and a lot of my female clients, I have one in particular, she looks about three sizes smaller in a in a fitted suit than she does in normal clothing. It's quite it's quite unremarkable
>> because we do tend to air on the side of bigger and baggier, right? So, a lot of people think that because you are bigger that, you know, wearing something fitted is just going to make you look even more huge.
>> No, it's quite the opposite.
>> It's interesting. What are the fit mistakes that you see constantly on people who've clearly spent a lot of money on clothes?
>> Um, overly baggy shirts is quite a common one. Uh, a lot of people don't like their
>> directed at me. Not necessarily. We haven't made you a shirt yet, so we need to sort that out. Um, no, there's a lot of very oversized shirts and that that comes from a place of kind of comfort and hiding. Um, but actually billowy fabric, it could be in the sleeve. I mean, even the sleeve sometimes if you're oversized in the sleeve that that stops you emphasizing your kind of your waist. So all those
>> if you don't have a waist.
>> We can make you have anyone has a waist. Everyone has a shape.
>> [laughter]
>> Um, so yeah, I think
>> baggy shirts or sometimes
>> having a proper um fitted suit, a nicely fitted suit, and they want to sort of maybe skimp on say I don't want a shirt or I've got a shirt and actually you can ruin an entire outfit by putting the wrong shirt um with something uh and and yeah, or or baggy trousers or having a fitted jacket. And both pieces need to have some sort of symmetry to them. Um, but having clean lines and even just being pre neatly pressed, a pressed suit or pressed pair of trousers makes a huge difference.
>> I mean, that goes without saying though, doesn't it?
>> Well, it does. But, um, there are some horrors that I see on a daily basis where people just don't look after their clothes. Um, and uh,
>> what's interesting is you've used the word constructed, especially where jackets are concerned. what's happening inside a properly constructed jacket that a customer never actually sees but is definitely going to feel over 10 years of wearing it.
>> Well, you have a piece of canvas that runs on the inside and some some off the pegs will have a small bit of canvas or they just use a bit of light fusing. Um handmade suits will have a padded um canvas and a padded lapel which gives that sort of thickness. know when you visited last time you said, "Oh, this feels really nice." You had a very sort of thick padded lapel. Um, all of that gives the garment structure and gives it shape. So, you're not just relying on the body to give the jacket shape because often on a cheaper garment
>> some scaffolding.
>> Well, on a cheaper garment, often the body is doing the work and the gar and the the fabric is just on top. Whereas when you have proper structure inside a jacket, it's doing some of that work for you or a lot of
>> Is this why tall skinny people look good in anything?
>> Actually, I disagree. Often some of the hardest suits to fit are people who are actually quite bony and quite skinny.
>> Really?
>> Yeah. I find it much easier to fit a a suit on someone that's got some shape.
>> That's the holy grail for fat people to be tall and skinny. is for me anyway. [laughter]
>> Yeah. No. Yeah. Suits look much nicer actually on someone with some shape. They don't have to be, you know, big or but but just shape. Um, yeah, very tall sort of pencil-l like shapes is actually harder to for things to look
>> look.
>> So like the um Matt um what's his name? He played Doctor Who and he played Prince Phillip as well. you know who I'm talking about. I
>> actually don't.
>> Can't remember his name, but he's very tall and yes, yes, I know. Yeah.
>> I mean, again, if you're having a suit made, then you know you the suit's going to fit, but you know, in terms of just natural body shapes, on the whole, they look better with a
>> Is made to measure as acceptable as a spoke?
>> I mean, absolutely. We we we sell probably more.
>> What's the difference? What in make?
>> Yeah. Like what's the difference? Huge difference in price. They're almost double the price.
>> Huge difference in price. I mean our our made to measure is made on a machine with a sewing machine. Um and our handmade is made by hand and that takes quite a lot longer. Um
>> why is one considered better than the other though? Well, with our handmade as well, the handmade, the pattern itself is made for the individual, whereas essentially a made to measure comes from an existing pattern. It's still made for you, but it's originally a 42 or 44 or 46 in
>> is then fitted to your body.
>> Exactly. So, there are still nuances. Whereas the pattern for the handmade is is made uniquely for you. When you about 4 weeks down the line after you've been measured, you try on basically a basted suit, which is a suit in your measurements in a rubbish fabric which we fit and then throw away. Whereas with the made to measure, the first time you try it on, it's already made.
>> Got it. Got it. There there is a common misconception that tailor especially savro tailor um look down their nose and are super judgmental about high street brands. I know from experience this is not true. Is there a brand that that's best high street? Let's say I can't afford to get made to measure. Is there a brand that's best for looking should we say luxurious or looking your best?
>> Also depends on where you're going. If you go to Laura Piana, it's actually going to cost you more. But
>> forget the um
>> forget the Laura pianos of the world. So let's say Hugo Boss, right? A Hugo Boss suit is what £800 900?
>> Yeah. I mean they're quite
>> which is half the price of um a made to measure suit.
>> Yeah. Starting point. Yeah. Um I mean Hugo Boss tends to do a black suit and that's it,
>> right?
>> They tend to be very and the fabric is and again the cloth is not wonderful. the fit. Um, well, it's difficult with brands. They're cut for specific uh people. So, Hugo Boss is kind of generally cut for a very rangy sort of person, sort of slim and straight. Um, something like Reese is actually a quite a good fit. They they make some quite inexpensive suits. Um, so Reese actually I think the quality of Reese is quite good.
>> Um, and again, it's about having those alterations. You may not be able to afford a a cut a a made to measure suit or a bespoke suit, but spend some money on those alterations and the suit will be transformed. And that's what people don't do. And that's what
>> I think. No, go on. Sorry.
>> A lot a lot of stores don't offer that service like they used to 20, 30 years ago. Certainly when I was growing up as a child and I went shopping, Marks and Spencers had an alteration service and and that makes a huge difference having a sleeve turned up by, you know, half an inch, quarter of an inch or the trousers tapered or the waist taken in. You're not just relying on that standard size, which nobody is. And so altering any garment makes a huge difference when it's off the peg.
>> No, I was going to say that because a lot of places just don't offer it. and actually getting somebody to do alterations, especially for suits, um, is becoming more and more and more difficult. Like it used to be that you could find loads of people in the local area, but not so much anymore. And actually, it used to be quite cheap to have things altered, and now it's become more and more expensive as well. So, but it is worth the money though, isn't it? To spend that extra50 pounds on getting it done.
>> Absolutely. And and that that £50 is still a lot less than than than that jump up maybe to made to measure or or what have you. And we get we get a lot of phone calls for people wanting um alterations. And actually I I've clients have come to me from that. You know, occasionally I'll say, "Well, actually I'm in today. Yep. If you're around the corner, help you out. Not a problem." and then actually they've gone on to buy other other garments. So, and then they've seen the different they've been able to actually see the difference. I think sometimes people are just afraid to ask about made to measure or if they've never had it before or bespoke and we can just have a friendly conversation. It doesn't have to be a high pressure.
>> But the thing is most people don't view savro tailor as friendly and approachable though, do they?
>> But we are.
>> They see Yeah, I know you are. But to most people, they think that they're going to be judged the minute they walk in. I think that's the same with mo with all luxury. You think you're going to be judged. And I think nothing could be further from the truth. To be quite honest with you, most luxury brands and tailor are going to make you feel as comfortable as humanly possible cuz they want your money. You're not going to spend money if you're uncomfortable. Why do you think um It's true though. Why do you think people reach for a brand name as an answer rather than cloth or cut? You know, what do you think? What are they actually buying, do you think, when they buy the label? So, why would you spend 3,0004,000 on a Gucci suit or a Tom Ford suit or a Chanel suit or a Dior suit? Some of these Chanel suits go up to six, seven, £8,000
>> easily.
>> Why? Cuz these are not made to measure. These are off the peg.
>> I think it's just recognition. It's sort of a familiar familiarity because they've seen it on the high street maybe over 10 years, 20 years, whatever, whatever the brand might be. Um there's a certain amount of um I guess sort of maybe protection in it. If they buy it from a shop rather than a studio or something like that, then they might feel like, you know, that's a comfortable purchase. Uh much like buying a I suppose a car. Um, some people like to buy jewelry in Tiffany or Cartier, whereas actually you'll get something much nicer from Hatton Garden if you just go into a little shop and start talking to somebody. It's the same. It's
>> That's so true.
>> same there, you know. Um, you can buy much better diamonds, much bigger diamonds um in Hatton Garden than if you walk into Tiffany and spend, you know, probably obscene amounts on something quite small and probably not great
>> on the box and the name. Yeah, you're you're absolutely right. Can you tell you yourself personally from across the room whether someone's suit is bespoke, made to measure, or off the peg?
>> Generally, yes.
>> And if you can, what gives it away? [snorts]
>> There's the finish. I mean, there's the cloth, you know, uh there's the cloth, there's the finishing. Um there's lots of aspects. I mean, I I I live in Brighton. People dress more casually in Brighton, but uh we did last summer some crazy golf and on the seafront and there was a I think it was a stag do. There's a group of lads and most of them were in shorts t-shirts. It was summer. One of them had a pair of bespoke trousers on and I did actually write a post on this uh on LinkedIn [laughter] and I couldn't keep my eyes off this guy's trousers. They were amazing. They had a um a Girka waistband which is actually what I'm wearing today which is a slightly different shaped waistband. Uh, and they had the side adjuster, but they were hand you could tell the the side adjuster was hand sewn. Uh, and like he looked fantastic. You know, it was just a pair of trousers and a polo shirt, but the trousers looked fantastic. So, I mean, I can tell. And some people say, "Well, who cares, you know, who cares that they weren't, you know, trousers off the peg?" But you could tell
>> when someone, for example, with a modest budget, who doesn't have a lot of money to spend, who wants to look genuinely well-dressed rather than expensively dressed, where should the money go first? Where should you put the bulk of your budget? Get a couple of jackets, maybe a suit. You don't need to buy. I think everyone now thinks they need to, you know, have this bulging wardrobe. You just start small and work your way up. Pick what what you need to buy first. You know, if you need a suit for work, then do it there. If it's a jacket, you know, you're going to wear 5 days a week or a coat. Even could start with a coat. you can add um if you're going to have get into tailoring or in in terms of perhaps um build your wardrobe even at a kind of a lower price point, just start with one piece and then get some kind of um less expensive maybe chinos. You know, invest in a nice jacket that's going to go with five different pairs of trousers and then just start there. or indeed start with the piece of clothing you find the hardest to fit. If you're a very difficult trouser shape, for example, then invest in that. If you find you can wear jackets off the peg, do it. But um you you kind of got to start small. No, nobody walks in and you know has
>> Is this the same for women?
>> Yeah, I think so.
>> I would argue that it's easier to dress men, isn't it?
>> It's easier to dress men. Yeah. Or it's easier for men to look good in a suit or a jacket or trousers or something like that because for some reason they're just even if it's not a perfect fit off the off the rack, off the shelf, whatever you call it. Um, women have a much harder time. I know my business partner has a shockingly difficult time.
>> Yeah. Suits. Uh, well, clothing for men tends to be easier because they tend to gravitate towards a more neutral palette in terms of your navies, your grays, and maybe your browns. Yes, there'll be more adventurous men that have some green and some other bits and pieces, but on the whole, you can rewear that outfit many times and get away with it, and nobody's going to say, "Oh, he's got that suit on again. Wasn't he in that yesterday?" [laughter] It could look like another suit. Whereas with women,
>> um you know, for example, my suit that I have on today, it's be quite obvious if I'm wearing that tomorrow because it's quite a standout outfit.
>> But women are always expected
>> to kind of dress differently. You know, if uh I just remember in my sort of 20ies when it was wedding after wedding after wedding at weekends, you know, you'd go through an entire wedding season and the man's worn the same suit to 15 weddings in a row, but that that lady's had 15 dresses, you know, or seems unfair really, doesn't it?
>> Very unfair, but it's Yeah, it's um often Yeah, it is often the case. Not always, but you know.
>> What about the reverse of What about the reverse of the question I just asked? What's the fastest way to make expensive clothes look cheap?
>> Well, I think logos is one of them.
>> Logos.
>> Logos. Um flashy
>> people love a logo, though. Um uh on suits you could colored stitching. Sometimes people, you know, don't don't like that.
>> I don't particularly like that.
>> Um and and also you I mean you could sell somebody the most expensive cloth, the best fit, but if they wear that one suit or that one jacket day in day out, and never give that garment a rest, it's going to get knackered. Doesn't matter what you spend on it. Think of it as a kids school uniform. Um you know, it it's you need to you need to give your garments a rest. If you're in a suit 5 days a week, you need five suits ideally. Don't have to start that way, but you have to build up. It's uh garments need resting. Any garments do, even your jeans, [snorts]
>> but not dry cleananed all of the time, right?
>> No. No. They just need resting over o, you know, give them a few days off, for example, cuz we all, you know, we all sweat and, you know, there's moisture on our clothes and if you put that suit straight back on the next day, it hasn't had a chance to dry out. So, it will stress the fibers as as dry cleaning will, you know, consistently ruin the fibers as well. But if you're not wearing it day in day out, you're not going to need to dry clean it that often. Um,
>> so it's about giving garments a rotation and and wearing the right weight of suit for the right time of year. So, you know, you don't wear a tweed in the summer and be sweating in it like, you know, and and vice versa.
>> Mhm. How often should you dry clean? depends how often you're wearing it. I mean, I actually only dry clean my suits a couple of times a year. Um, now obviously I have 40 plus suits.
>> A considerable number of suits.
>> So, I mean, yeah. So, I mean, and I have my
>> How many how many we for example?
>> That's really that's really tough to answer because I some of my suit when I get a new suit, I obviously want to wear it more frequently. Uh, if you've got three or four suits that you're wearing on rotation, you need to dry clean them every 3 4 months, I'd say.
>> Oh, okay. So, certainly not every week.
>> No, no, no, no, no. Not every week. Definitely not every week. And also, again, having suits that are sort of summer weight, winter weight, two sort of weight ranges helps that as well because of course you're not wearing it then for an entire year. Some people make that mistake and they want to invest in a suit which is great but yeah and also you need to when it's at the dry cleaners be wearing something else. You need to that in you know sometimes [clears throat] the dry cleaners have it for three or four days. So you do need something else.
>> Yeah. This is I think what I'm what I'm getting is that you should build your wardrobe rather than go out and buy an entire wardrobe.
>> Correct. Yeah. just, you know, start small and then just add the thoughtful pieces to it rather than just buying for buying's sake.
>> Exactly. And and you know, we do I do sell wardrobe we do wardrobe packages where somebody will say, "Right, I need two or three suits, two or three jackets, some chinos."
>> This is the capsule wardrobe, right?
>> And that's that does work.
>> How does that work? So, it's it's it's picking garments that going to work together so that at 5:00 a.m. before you've got to do the commute, you don't have to think, oh, um, what shirt goes with what suit? Because everything everything works.
>> You've got two or three chinos, three two three jackets, couple of staple suits. Your shirts match with everything. So, you don't have to think. You can pretty much pick out the wardrobe blind in the middle of the night and it's all going to work. So, you don't have to think too much. And even that, although it sounds like a lot, is still starting point. But that should be
>> I remember seeing it on your website and thinking that it actually was
>> wasn't bad value. Was it about £10,000 or something?
>> Something like that.
>> I know that sounds like a lot of money, but it did come with like two suits and two sports jackets and
>> shirts and trousers and all sorts of stuff. So, it's a Yes. £10,000 can be a decent outlay, but then you don't have to think about anything for the the entire year then.
>> Exactly. And that's just
>> Yeah, that's our made to measure product uh with our kind of house range of cloths. So, they work perfectly well. It's like anything. Sometimes somebody might come in with a budget and then you show them the cloths associated with that budget and they say, "Oh, I don't like that. Can I can I see something else?" And then they're happy to spend the difference because they can see the difference. It's like putting
>> two cars next to each other. You might think, "Oh, well, I've got a budget for, I don't know, a Fiesta." And then you drive it and you think, "Actually, I don't like it, and can I try something a bit bigger or better?" And actually, you do find the money if if it's there or or you want to. And that's a very personal choice.
>> Or you have clients like me who winge about the price all the time, like all the time. [laughter] a consistent topic of conversation,
>> but [laughter] you also can feel the difference.
>> So, in the time
>> stop me winging
>> in the time that I've known you, you've upgraded your cloth.
>> Um, and that was
>> but I would call that [laughter] coercion rather than choice. asked. So if um people were to take one thing from this conversation before they spend a penny on clothes, what do you think it should be?
>> A suit.
>> I think they really need about Yeah. A suit, a well cut suit will last 10 years. Even in today's day and age when
>> even in because it's the garment you're least likely to find off the peg that will fit you. So you might find a jacket or a separate. It's much easier to find a pair of trousers. There's so much more choice in picking some trousers or some chinos or jackets than there is in a suit because because um uh a lot of high street stores now are selling less suits because that is life.
>> This is it.
>> There's less choice and because there is less choice there's certainly less fit. Um precoid for example
>> what does that make sense? Um, Hugo Boss, for example, did 20 different types of suit, 30 different types of suit. Marks and Spencers did. Marks and Spencers used to sell 50 different types and cuts of suit. They don't
>> Oh, yeah. They had a whole suit department.
>> Exactly. And now they've cut right back on all of it. And so, actually, you have less choice um in terms of suits. Yes, there's jackets, but but suits and especially and also for women, I mean, it's just almost non-existent. So, I would say suit. Especially as a man, you're always going to need a suit. And I I hear so often where somebody says, "Oh, well, I don't need a suit. I don't wear a suit. I don't need to wear a suit." Until I get a phone call, "Oh, I've got a wedding to go to in 3 weeks. I I don't have a suit." And I need a suit and it's going to cost them more [laughter] because they left it. You do still always need a suit. There will be funerals. There will be weddings. There will be christenings. There'll be parties. There'll be an invite to the theater or whatever. And I think we've kind of a lot of people have got into the habit of saying, "Oh, nobody wears suits and we don't need suits." But I I still sell tons of suits. There's still a market out there.
>> I mean, of course, we still wear suits. Maybe not as often or as prevalently as we used to, but there are still occasions where you have to have them. I'm going to ask you um a curveball question before I let you go.
>> What about using the suits as separate? So, the suit jacket and a pair of jeans or the suit trousers and a sports jacket because I see this all the time. I already know your reaction to this, but I would like I would like the audience to just to hear your reaction to this [laughter] and why.
>> There are ways of doing it. Uh, and there are definite way definite ways of not doing it. So, uh, a lot of it's to do with the cloth itself, the pile. If it's a smooth wored uh especially plain suit, if it's a a work suit, well, let's call it a work suit, a navy wored worksuit,
>> you put that jacket with a pair of jeans, you're going to look like Jeremy Clarkson. [laughter]
>> Not the best image. Not the best image.
>> You're going to just look like you've lost your trousers. It the cut the cut is wrong. The fabric, the cloth is wrong. Generally, the length of the jacket's a bit off. It's going to be a bit long to wear with a jean. Um, you definitely have lost your trousers along the way. Um, or you just don't want to spend the money and get yourself a nice jacket. The the cloth does not work with a casual pair of trousers with chino with a jean or a cord. It just doesn't work. Um,
>> now occasionally I will sell wedding suits to somebody who says, "I'm not a suit wearer. I don't want to, you know, I never wear a suit. I don't want to be stuck with a suit that can only be a suit they're there. So in that case, depending on the type of wedding they're having, I would try and sort of send them down the route of having maybe like a light tweed or a woven cloth that has some texture so that when you separate the garments, it's usually the jacket you'll rewear. It looks like a jacket in its own right. We can change the cut of the front to slightly more open. Um maybe put a slightly different button on it and that that tends to work quite well. And I'd far rather sell somebody a suit that they can split and wear again, but certainly not a a work suit or, you know, a shiny mohare.
>> You actually just reminded me that when um when I bought my navy blazer, you turned it into a suit, didn't you?
>> Yeah.
>> Is that normal or is that just bitching about how much everything costs >> by changing the sort of buttons? And you also wear it with a contrast waist coat. So there's a slightly different look about it. Um but by just changing the cut of it means that yes, of course you can wear it as a suit, but separately having the front open slightly gives it more of a jacket feel.
>> Um and changing the buttons um mother of pearl button or some people choose to have a brass button that that really makes it look different.
>> But when you have it just cut Yeah. when you just have a normal especially or a black suit that you it's just the worst look ever. Texture, [laughter] it's the cloth that's really important. The cloth will really make it look whether it's a suit or a jacket. Oh, all right. Excellent. So, I'm going to put your um details in the description below so that if anybody does want to talk to you and reach out to you, um what is the best way? Is it through LinkedIn?
>> Yes. Uh, I'm on LinkedIn, Natalie May. I'm also on Instagram, Taylor MSUs, or at Fielding and Nicholson on our website, which is fielding.com.
>> Well, I will put all of those in the description, and people can reach out to you and talk to you and [gasps] maybe buy some suits from you. But I will warn you, ladies and gentlemen, she's breathtakingly expensive. [laughter] We're not. [gasps]
>> All right. Thank you so much, Natalie. It's a pleasure. Thank you for answering all those questions for us.
>> Thank you.
>> And um
>> I'm sure we will have you on again because we get lots and lots of questions about um clothing and about fit because there just isn't that much out there explaining it to people in everyday language
>> because it's it's a complicated topic. It's complicated, but there's a lot of jargon out there which can confuse people or um or certainly actually scare people off. Um you know, not knowing
>> I think it's more that I think people are terrified of it.
>> Yeah.
>> You know, this bespoke made to measure world. People are just scared of it.
>> Absolutely. But years ago, it was very normal to have your clothes made. It was um you know, it's really flipped. you know, buying clothes in a shop was actually far more expensive than having something made. So, actually the tables have turned. It's changed.
>> It's still the same in, you know, places like India. You know, I mean, it's far more normal to have your suits made by a tailor in India than to go into, in fact, you're rich if you go into a shop to buy them off the peg. It's ludicrous, isn't it?
>> Um, but I guess that's just consumer behavior.
>> Yeah. Indeed. And fashion that's out. That's uh that's what's happened.
>> Thank you so much indeed. And uh we will talk to you again soon.
>> Thank you very much. Bye-bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.