Sometimes in history, things must get back to basics in order to begin again, only better -- we're there.  One of those basics is menswear with it's solid construction, strong fabrics and timeless design.  For now, it also goes along with society's new desire to build something from scratch and be sure of "what's in there".  It won't be the first time that designers and makers have looked to gents who are still happily wearing suits that originated in the Edwardian era!  So let's take a lesson, and the time it takes, to relearn how to make clothing that has a great life span -- one that matches yours.  Suits can be edgy and needn't match anymore but they should always fit beautifully and make you feel good no matter how bad it gets out there. Here's a new take on menswear . . .  bespoke work wear, for us all!
The Gents!                   November 2011 
NEW AT CFPD,
two rare Harry Simons books.  The story . . . 
In 1922, while many were still going to their own tailor or seamstress, the pros were beginning to standardize systems -- systems in production, in sizing, in training -- and one of those systems guys was Harry Simons. He helped popularize the use of the Tailor's Square and used it to draft patterns based upon on the scientific concepts of human proportions.  (Check out Hulmes book, The Theory of Garment Patternmaking, on the natural proportions of humans).  It worked so well, that pattern drafting for men and women with the speedy Tailor's Square became the way to go for a professional tailoring career.
So, fast forward, in these two books are the original instructions for using the Tailor's Square which could be the basis for a service business in bespoke clothing today.  As the demographics age in the US, people buy fewer clothes but still want choices yet they have more fitting problems, all making bespoke the practical solution. The Tailor's Square enables you to take a client's measurements and draft a pattern to fit quickly. That pattern may then be sewn by your shop or someone else's or by the client. You have to learn the process, and you have to practice, but it can be an a new income stream.  Click on the images for more book info.

 
We put Al Ribaya, a friend for many years, on our cover because he is a modern day Harry Simons!  Check out his shop in North Beach, the neighborhood that is forever Beat central.
 
 While Harry was holding down the east coast, everyday guys were sewing and cleaning in the west -- two of them in St. Helena.  Notice how well their clothes fit, even when setting up shop in a field! 
So cool. 
Obtaining the original copy of this book would not have been possible without  Jim Christiansen, a wonderful guy, a fine artist and a maker of exquisite ties.

For direct instruction in the use of the Tailor's Square and the proportional system of pattern drafting we have Sabine David in Canada -- soon to teach in the US!  

Contact info. 


An Extra Lesson for Gents

Put This On, Episode 1: Denim
 Put This On is a film series on How to Dress like a Grown-up for future gentlemen. It's a a serious lesson on what you need to know to buy denim, live in it daily, clean it and love it more. BTW, in the shrinking lesson -- just wear'em wet until they fit -- been there!  

 Welcome home, Alan 
Alan Le Blanc, a deep well of technical and historical fashion knowledge, is home from Paris at last.  So good for us.  There will be more priceless understanding from his pen in 2012.

Note:  Our supply of vintage patterns free with orders have all been sent out.  We'll look for more, thank you!

 
New Takes on Tradition . . .
  • The Beats were the last authenticity movement.  Have a  read and learn why the beat look works now and speaks for many.  Reminds me of Megatrends -- the HighTech=HighTouch chapter is coming true as I type. 
  • And it is beginning to have some shelf life -- Faconnable, with their finger on the pulse of important sensibilities,
    is tailoring denim, of course.  Hello to Marc, who cuts for them! 
     
  • Mr. Martin Greenfield.  And then there is always Mr. Greenfield, a tailoring pillar of the industry and of Brooklyn itself, one of most iconic people in the fashion world.  He knows his craft, does it with integrity and that's it -- makes a great suit 60 times a day.  See how he does it . . . and understand his philosophy , Galen Summer's film.   
Thanks to Issey Miyake for his deep respect for makers and his leadership in honoring working wear, note his cotton indigo-dyed, hand quilted sashiko jacket.  Japan, a culture which counts the best indigo dyers as National Treasures, has led the world in appreciation for indigo clothing and the beauty of hand stitching. Miyake began his career with a sashiko collection, the technique used for worker's clothing to make it last, and has worn it ever since. 

 

    

  • Can't leave out our own Roy Slaper, working in his Oakland shop, a modern hero for our new world in which we pay attention to the PROCESS, not just the PRODUCT. Click the link and read his interview -- and then go out and be a Roy.  

Let's say you're sold on bespoke but you know zero about it -- here's the fix. Thanks to Chris Butler for his article, Bespoke for First Time Buyers, about buying bespoke in Dubai, where it really counts.  In the lower left, you can see the tailor's square in action, wax-chalked right on the fabric, no paper pattern! Kishore Kumar's photo.  

The CFPD Limelight
  • The Pyramid Dress.  WE MADE A COVER!!!  Our Pyramid Dress is on the cover of Threads Magazine for the holidays -- what a thrill!  This dress works.  It's a Subtraction pattern (Julian inspired, yes, yes), bias cut, fits whatever, with lots of fabric and length choices & you can add sleeves.  See & do!             
  • Make & Mend.  More on us -- for those who have called, Make & Mend is done and ready, the last of the summer book streak before we start on the winter pattern streak.  This is the companion to New Fashions From Old (out last summer) and is also about re-cutting menswear into women's and children's wear -- layouts, accessories, different designs -- all good stuff to keep everyone looking good and industrious, no matter what comes down the pike.  Details!  
The Big Picture
  • Julian Roberts and Shingo Sato -- two geniuses went into the ring in a showdown cutting fight at Westminister University in the UK recently.  I think it was a tied in the 16th hour!  It was the first time that two of the most creative cutters of our time have done an event together -- pray for another title fight!
  • Peter Scaturro.  Remember the name. Sometimes something is so good that those 'wants' do not go away -- we've all been there.  Peter is an abstract water color painter, with a weighty fine art background, who has finally yielded to my insistence that he must do a silk scarf print of his work.  Here is the first one!  He signs, dates and titles every one after the original watercolor.  Thank you, Peter!  Encore! Encore!
    More photos & info on his site.      

  • Nancy Bryant.  MAJOR THANKS  to  Nancy for sending in 185 photographs of the Grés exhibition in Paris.  If you can't get enough of Alix Grés designs, this may solve the problem.  See them all in our Gallery -- many are preceded by the descriptive plate in French for the model shown.  Nancy is a fellow lifetime Vionnet researcher whom I've been urging to turn her work into something to be shared -- when she does, it will be amazing!
  • Rick Owens.  Can't close without mentioning his new book and this interview with Donatien Grau for AnOther Magazine, both about intellectual fashion minds and their place in this new 'Century of Creatives'.   Learn and be.   
  •  

 



Timothy Long.  We bow deeply to Timothy for spending ages building the new Charles James exhibition,

Charles James: Genius Deconstructed, for the Chicago History Museum, running through April 16.  Rumor has it they also created many of the originals in half-scale.  Cross your fingers that they will somehow make those patterns available!  Do not miss this show, James was incredible and created many of the designs we take for granted -- the contour belt, melon sleeves, side seams that are not straight down the sides, the high-waisted Dorothy skirt (after Dorothy Lamour) and BIG VOLUME that was completely controlled. 


 God Jul!

For this season, put on your best native costume and know that it reflects your life, your beliefs and your unspoken connections to the greater culture, just like this Swedish working man and his friend, fiddling in their party best, each piece made by hand.  Know also, that regardless of time, class or place, we are the same.  Find that common thread and, with your hands, weave it into something beautiful. 

 

Until January, have a very merry time!
Sandra Ericson