Photo: Bettmann/CORBISA couple generations ago the thrifty brahmins of New England had the concept of the lifetime wardrobe. A man came of age, bought his clothes, kept his figure and rarely needed clothing again. He always looked good, while wearing things that were the antithesis of fashionable.
Even Savile Row clothing will not last a lifetime unless a wardrobe is large enough so that it does not get weekly wear, but fashion should continue to be irrelevent. Oh, necktie widths may change a little over twenty years but the rest of the wardrobe is generally frozen in time. Which is how it must be if we are to continue nodding our heads when we hear the argument that bespoke clothing is cost-effective on a per wear basis.
And we do hear it. I have lost count of the number of times I have heard about the age of some item of the late Duke of Windsor's clothing. It was said of him that later in life he rarely bought tailored clothing, though given the number of New York labels in his wardrobe that saying was probably more politically correct than completely truthful (remember, this is a man who wrote in his autobiography that he had only a fraction of the clothing that was auctioned off after his death).
Windsor aside, for now, the longevity of well made tailored clothing is an argument for having a core of relatively neutral items that can be worn for years without eliciting "There's that tweed suit again" whispers. That is not to say that wardrobes should be free of memorable items, only that those should come later.
Early on, eschew the extreme and make do with loud shirts.
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“the thrifty brahmins of New England”
Buy it new.
Wear it out.
Make it do.
Then do without.
Should you find yourself in the company of those who whisper about your tweeds or even care about your tweeds then my advice would be to change your circle of friends rather than your clothes.
I think I'd like to go on the shopping spree that would keep me clothed for life :-)
I feel you are not doing justice to the longevity of SR bespoke. I wear a number of my late father's A&S coats, all made in the 70s, and I also wear his double-breasted blazer, made in 1957. All of these items look great today. The key to longevity is proper hanging in a wardrobe with adequate space, and occasional return to A&S for steaming etc.
I completely agree about the care, but I'll wager those clothes were not worn weekly Toby.
"Make do with loud shirts." How true, and it applies even when the wardrobe becomes extensive, and one no longer has to make do. Today I'm wearing a suit of navy wool/mohair with a subdued pearl gray window pane check. I have enough warm weather clothing that this suit gets no more than a half dozen wearing each summer, but it has been worn enough that most everyone who sees me on a regular basis has seen me wearing it. Nonetheless, worn today with checked shirt of bright green, white, purple, and lavender, a bow tie in dark purple with neat green/yellow figures and coordinating dark green printed silk square, it has elicited repeated, complimentary comments. Notably, most of the comments have been along the lines of "great suit," with the shirt and tie receiving only secondary mention.
A blazer should last quite a while provided it is taken off when sitting at the office. Even suit trousers should last longer than regular trousers since they are more likely to be lined at the knee and thigh.
I'm recently getting into the idea of not wearing shoes two days in a row. I believe the heat and humidity caused by a day's wear on leather makes it take longer than overnight (12hrs) to recover.
The real revenge is in having clothing that fits perfectly. So, when they remark on "There is that tweed again", it really is a remark that they have nothing tailored as well. Sure, the suit pictured is pretty distinctive in pattern and good for maybe onece a month in season. However it will last for many years if worn that way. There is always a need for a solid or very conservative suit so begin with those. Somewhere in the number (maybe four or five for the season) it is time to introduce the interesting patterns.
I don't understand how you can wear something for much more then 4-5 years with any regularity w/o developing shine. Even the best worsted will shine at the trouser seat and under the forearm unless you are uncomfortably careful with them. Toby - how have your garments survived without developing shine?
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