Ramp Up With Your Summer Repertoire With Anderson & Sheppard
The Savile Row house’s warmer-months offerings are more and more bespoken of with each passing solstice…
Savile Row folklore isn’t short of choice narrative nuggets – but perhaps this author’s favourite involves Fred Astaire giving impromptu dance performances to staff members in Anderson & Sheppard’s Savile Row premises (this was long before its bespoke operations moved to Old Burlington Street in 2005). He did this so that he could examine how his suit-in-progress would behave in response to each to jig, step and leap in the surrounding mirrors. If the neck of his coat didn’t stay flush against his shirt collar, he would demand alterations.
With anecdotes like that in the bank – made all the more powerful because they elaborate on Anderson & Sheppard’s time-honoured tailoring style (Astaire’s garments would have been made in such a way that even his ballet, tap and ballroom hybrid would have limited impact on their drape and silhouette) – it’s no wonder Anderson & Sheppard is still considered a Savile Row bespoke tailoring stalwart, despite the aforementioned move off the street.
But there’s more – so much more – than bespoke tailoring to the house’s contribution to the sartorial canon: especially since 2011, when the opening of its haberdashery on Clifford Street broadened the brand’s repertoire in such a way that a series of purchases in June has become a regular calendar slot for sartorialists who know how to dress for summer. Indeed, the proprietor Anda Rowland’s father, Tiny Rowland, set a high benchmark for her summer style smarts, which to this day are complemented by the impeccable tastes of Audie Charles: one of London menswear’s most lauded creative forces.
A new range of summer-apt apparel has just become available here on The Rake Online, not least these short-sleeved, knitted linen Henley shirts in ‘sky’, navy and ‘ocean’ hues. Made in Italy, their collarless, two-button necks combine with the delicate feel of the fabric to make the shirts feel to the wearer as summery as they look to the observer.
Once the evening draws in, your go-to option may shift to these pocketed, long-sleeved linen sweaters in ‘sky’, ‘ocean’ or white, which are made with a lightweight, breathable fabric; or, on chillier evenings, perhaps opt for this wide-striped sweater, which layers beautifully with an unstructured suit jacket, as do the brand’s cable knit sweaters in blue, cream, navy or ‘sky’.
A bolder statement might be made with a linen safari overshirt, should you choose the vibrant ‘brick’ or yellow hues. Made from heavy Irish linen and furnished with four useful patch pockets, side slits and buttoned cuffs, they’re also available in cream, blue, khaki and teal. Whatever your option from the waist up, on a chillier night you can’t go wrong layering it with this linen work jacket in tobacco.
Of course, while the homo sapien torso makes its entrance at human eye level, style – summer style included – famously works from the ground up. And, the best way to draw the sartorial dial a couple of notches further towards informal than your Tod’s, Corthay or Berluti loafers do is with a pair of well-chosen espadrilles. The pairs here in grey, navy or ‘rust’ are cut from super-supple suede, with an inset gum sole, and are comfortable – arguably the footwear equivalent of your favourite Neapolitan coat - with just a soupcon of ruggedness after extended wear. Moving upwards towards the torso again, these double-pleated white cotton trousers in navy, white, green, ‘sand’, ‘brick’ or ‘latte’ can all be part of an eye-catching ensemble with other garments featured here. Meanwhile, anyone who’s watched early Bond movies has latched on to the importance of elegantly cut summer shorts. The ones here – in ‘floral print pink’, ‘pineapple print blue’ or ‘pineapple print orange’ - feature an elastic waist band with drawstring front, as well as side slit pockets and a back patch pocket with Velcro fastening. Most importantly – much like Fred Astaire’s soft-tailored ‘English drape’ suits – they move in a manner which complements the mover of the wearer. Not that we’re suggesting dance displays around the pools of St Tropez this summer…
