A Sartorial Lexicon_'patois of the row'

Some of the 'jargon' used by the tailors of savile row

Tools of the Trade


Baby _stuffed cloth pad on which the tailor works his cloth.
Banger_piece of wood with handle, used to draw out steam and smooth cloth during ironing.
Board_ Tailor's workbench.
Dolly_Roll of wet material used as a sponge to dampen cloth.
Goose iron_hand iron heated on a naked flame.
Mangle_sewing machine.


Balance_adjustment of back and front lengths of a jacket to harmonise with the posture of a particular figure.

Baste_garment roughly assembled for first fitting.
Basting_tacking with long stitches to hold garment parts together.
Bespoke_a suit made on or around Savile Row bespoken to the customer's specifications. A bespoke suit is cut by an individual and made by highly skilled individual craftsmen. The pattern is made specifically for the customer and the finished suit will take a minimum of 50 hours of hand work and require a series of fittings.
Bundle_components of jacket or trousers bundled together for making-up.

pattern display_elevation studies

iterations_further experiments with transfers, acetate, manila paper, linen

 

The Visceral & The Sartorial pt.III

 

anderson & sheppard_plan

plan  (street level) of existing layout anderson & sheppard, illustrating in particular the arrangement of the cutting room.(workshop level to follow)

The Visceral & The Sartorial p.II

acetate print, acrylic

acrylic transfer, linen, acetate

The Visceral & The Sartorial p.I

Andersom & Sheppard bespoke tailors

Savile Row_thoughts & words

from The Savile Row Story: An Illustrated History by

'and so to the famous formula of sedate propriety, of the exquisitley prosaic, constructed around an image of perfect manhood that has stayed constant since tailoring began.'

 

Well's pattern room- 'Savile Row's ultimate secrets strung out like kippers in a smoke house'

Savile Row Illustrations

A series of mixed-media drawing 'experiments' of various aspects of Savile Row upon first visit. The motivation was to implicate the drawing as a 'surface' in itself, intimating a materiality- so the drawing, potentially, begins to resonate on levels beyond representation. The 'grungy' (for want of a better word) patina is at odds with the perceived sartorial elegance of the row.

A contrast of the visceral and the sartorial.

Contextually, the drawings deal with spaces below street level- the workshop spaces, whose sewing-bench aesthetic contrasts with the opulence of the Savile Row showroom.

The drawings initiate a number of techniques, whose potential I seek to explore in further iterations and develope a unique representational tactic.

No.13 Savile Row, Pencil, Acrylic Transfer, Acetate

initiating context

The Site_ Savile Row, London


map_01 initial aerial map showing immediate context and extents of the street

http://www.savilerowbespoke.com/History/History_of_Savile_Row/

Bespoke_A garment cut by an individual, for an individual, by an individual is one definition of the word that is synonymous with Savile Row. A bespoke suit is cut from a pattern made specifically for a particular client (i.e the material is spoke for), whereas a made-to-measure suit is cuit from a standard pattern and amended to suit the contours of the individual.

Visceral Vicissitudes III _ 'a tailor's anatomy'

'a fold, a crypt, a wrinkle of insideness in the fabric of nature's externality' (Robert Pogue Harrison)

Visceral Vicissitudes II

Drawing experiment. Pencil, ink, trace, tissue & PVA

Visceral Vicissitudes