Hitched 'n Stitched: Tom Chamberlin visits Dunhill for a Special Suit
Will Adams, the Bespoke Tailoring Director of Dunhill, cuts a suit for Tom Chamberlin to wear at a rather special wedding in Los Angeles this December.
Dunhill without a bespoke offering would be like a Pimm’s sans mint, strawberries and cucumber. In theory you get a glass of something cold and refreshing but something — the crucial element — is missing. Dunhill’s bespoke element makes them a British icon.
So, when Simon Holloway moved from Purdey to its sister brand to take over its creative direction, there was plenty of excitement. My views on his opening collection, shown at the National Portrait Gallery, is already on the record — I was full of praise and adulation for someone finally tugging at Britain’s cultural assets by making clothes exciting and sophisticated. Now, I am convinced of Dunhill’s continued success with the hiring of Will Adams. Will was the former head cutter at Kilgour, and has spent his career at the coalface of elegant tailoring. The move comes across as the perfect fit for Adams and Dunhill.
It is always difficult to know what kind of rapport and dynamic will be produced when you work with a new tailor. I have worked with tailors who have had no interest in collaborating, and have instead spent much of the time trying to steer me away from what I have wanted and towards their own needs, which is not improper but is irritating. Then there are tailors who are fully accommodating, and there are those who are experienced artisans, who can help you by suggesting touches having seen something in you — they can flatter and enhance your figure through their handiwork. The grey area in between is quite large, for the extremes, good and bad, are rare. What would Will and I quibble over? Fabric, cut, details or adjustments?
We had met before, but there is a dynamic shift when you’re about to embark on a bespoke journey together. It’s in everyone’s interests to develop trust as quickly as possible, because your tailor is about to have a knowledge of you that only your doctor and spouse has. Not to mention the more vulgar side of the conversation — the cost, for bespoke is expensive. (That said, it blows my mind that there are ready-to-wear brands who are audacious enough to charge more than a Mayfair tailor’s bespoke service, but I digress.)
Initial consultation: Picking the fabrics and taking measurements before the paper pattern is made.
Will is softly spoken but not timid. He carries himself with confidence, and his reputation gives him plenty of reason to do so. We decided to create a suit for the wedding of The Rake’s founder, Wei Koh, in Los Angeles this December. The dress code is black tie, and my go-to for black tie is my burgundy velvet smoking jacket, a masterpiece that Terry Haste made for my 30th birthday. This will not work in L.A., even in December. Furthermore, in what must be some form of oversight, I have been made an usher, and therefore have particular sartorial requirements to meet, including a double-breasted waistcoat, black rather than midnight blue — and that black is to be matched with a pink shirt (which is also being made by Dunhill).
Some may know that double-breasted tends to be my preferred form, and at the same time I want to do well by Wei, so I have met him halfway with a 6x1 jacket to go with the waistcoat — it is still double-breasted but can be cut in a way that it can be worn open, allowing you to see a dash of waistcoat. The fabric we landed on was a light 10oz black Smith Woollens mix of 71% merino wool and 29% kid mohair.
The first fitting was encouraging. I loved Will’s proportions in the cut — sharp but generous pleats, high-rise on the waistband, which should always be kept high to avoid dipping beneath the waistcoat. Small adjustments on the trousers needed to be made because, on sitting, the rise meant that the waist needed to be expanded upon, and because of the rise, we decided that the waistcoat could be raised a bit, which does a lot of good for the silhouette: the legs will seem longer, and allowing the contrast to have (apparently) more length will be flattering. It’s all about optical illusions, and Will has a wonderful eye for this.
The striking of the fabric, with chalk markings set around the paper pattern, which is when the shears come out and the cutting begins.
In what must be an oversight, I have been made an usher, and have particular sartorial requirements to meet.
Baste fitting: For a first project with a tailor, this stage is especially important, as it establishes balance, and will be ripped apart and redone once markings are made.
Buoyed by the success of the first, or baste, fitting, I pranced back to Bourdon House — Dunhill’s pulchritudinous H.Q. that dates back to 1725 and stands as a bastion of refined architectural taste — for the second, or forward, fitting.
As usual, much of the stitching in the first fitting had been removed, almost entirely on the trousers (save for the satin lining on the seam) and waistcoat, which were essentially finished. However, the button positioning on the waistcoat needed broadening by a half-inch for what Will called correct proportionality but I fear may have had something to do with yours truly’s rather relaxed dietary approach over the summer.
The jacket still had some baste stitching, but it was just holding the lining in place. There was only one thing that needed adjusting — sleeve length — but that had been left slightly uneven so that I could pick which of the two I preferred.
The final product is a triumph. There was no reason to doubt Will’s credentials and talent; the only thing you wonder about when commissioning a suit is whether their vision of how things should look matches yours. What I asked for is not commonly made. Anthony Eden, for instance, liked his double-breasted suits with a waistcoat, but his level of style was not ubiquitous even in those sartorial decades before and after world war II. I also like long jackets and am a complex body shape, owing to a curved nape at the neck (because I am tall) and a waist pushed forwards (partly my dad-bod and partly my clumsy posture from carrying my children, where their weight has been held by my waist not just my arms). In the wrong hands, the task of making this dinner suit could have been difficult territory, but Will handled the challenges with a deftness that has manifested in a striking outfit. It adds substance to the arguments I made in The Daily Telegraph — for the James Bond producers to announce a new outfitter alongside a new 007, and that the outfitter should be Dunhill and that Bond’s tuxedo should be a double-breasted, three-piece extravaganza.
The forward fitting: Baste stitching is still in, to hold the lining to the garment, but once final checks are made, it is almost ready to go to the finishers.
