London

London's Savile Row holds the world's oldest still-trading tailoring houses, cutting jackets with a firm chest and defined shoulder, with shoemakers and shirtmakers close by.

London is where bespoke tailoring as we understand it was formalised. Savile Row and the streets around it hold the oldest continuously trading tailoring houses in the world, cutting a structured, canvassed coat with a defined shoulder. The city also holds England's bespoke shoemakers and its shirtmakers, mostly within the same square mile.

Savile Row, London — the street where bespoke tailoring was formalised — Savile Row , a shopping street in London

Tailleurs sur mesure11

Bottiers3

Chemisiers3

Visiter les maisons11 se déplace pour les essayages

The Row

Savile Row runs about two hundred metres through Mayfair. Tailors began moving in around 1800 (Henry Poole arrived on the corner in the 1840s), and the street's reputation was built on military and court work before it was built on anything else. The word bespoke comes from cloth being “spoken for” by a customer, and the distinction it draws (a pattern cut for one person, from scratch) is still the one that matters.

The houses are not variations on a theme. Anderson & Sheppard, on Old Burlington Street, cuts the drape: a soft coat with fullness across the chest and blades, descended from Frederick Scholte and the Duke of Windsor's tailoring. Huntsman cuts the opposite: lean, structured, famously a one-button coat with a high waist and military bearing. Henry Poole, Dege & Skinner, Gieves & Hawkes and Kilgour each have their own position, and a customer choosing between them is choosing a silhouette, not a price point.

What London builds into a coat

A London coat is engineered. Horsehair canvas is pad-stitched by hand to shape the chest and lapel; the shoulder is defined and often lightly padded; the sleeve head may be roped; the waist is suppressed and the skirt is cut long enough to cover the seat. In heavy English cloth this produces a garment that keeps its shape for decades and can be let out, taken in and recut as the owner changes.

The trade's own division of labour is worth knowing about, because it explains the price. The cutter takes the measurements, drafts the pattern and conducts the fittings; the coat is then made by a coatmaker, the trousers by a trouser maker, the waistcoat by a third specialist, traditionally all working piece-rate, often at home. A single coat represents somewhere in the region of fifty hours of skilled hand labour.

Shoes and shirts

London's bespoke shoemakers sit mostly in St James's and Mayfair: John Lobb on St James's Street, George Cleverley in the Royal Arcade, Foster & Son, and others. A bespoke commission means a last carved to the individual foot, a trial shoe, then hand-welted construction, and typically the better part of a year.

Jermyn Street is the shirt street, though the term covers a wide range: several of its names are now ready-to-wear businesses with a made-to-measure service, while genuine bespoke shirtmaking (a paper pattern cut for one customer, hand-attached collar, hand-sewn buttonholes, is done by a smaller number of firms, some of them off the street rather than on it.

Commissioning here

Expect two to four fittings, four to six months for a first commission, and a price at the top of the international range: Mayfair rents and fifty hours of London labour are what you are paying for. Most houses will ask for a deposit and will not quote a final figure until the cloth is chosen, since cloth is a substantial and variable part of the cost.

A first-time customer is best served by looking at finished coats rather than by asking about construction. Every house on the street will tell you it uses full canvas and hand-padded lapels, because every house does. What differs is the shape, and the shape is visible.

Worth seeing

Savile Row itself; several houses have workrooms visible from the pavement or the basement window.
The Victoria and Albert Museum's fashion collection, which holds significant English tailoring.
Fox Brothers, Huddersfield and West of England cloth in the merchants' showrooms around Golden Square.
Northampton, an hour by train, for the shoemaking factories and their factory shops.

Images

The Piccadilly Arcade entrance at Christmas — Piccadilly Arcade, December 2015

Inside the Piccadilly Arcade at Christmas — Piccadilly Arcade, December 2015

Inside the Royal Arcade, Old Bond Street — The Royal Arcade (completed in 1880), Old Bond Street W1, Mayfair, London

A street sign for St James's Street — A walking sign on St James's Street in St James's, London.

The Savile Row street sign, with a tailor's window reflected beside it — Westminster

Burlington Gardens, Mayfair — 7 Burlington Gardens , Mayfair

Looking west along Jermyn Street in London from near the intersection with Babmaes Street

Savile Row, London: the houses' awnings and flags along the street where bespoke tailoring was formalised — Mayfair - Savile Row

Tailleurs sur mesure dans London

Tout tailleurs sur mesure →

An illustration of the house's recorded cut: natural shoulder, full canvas chest, drape: soft, full chest, long skirt. Not a photograph of the house's own work.

Anderson & Sheppard

Anderson & Sheppard, the softest Savile Row tailor, cuts jackets with extra cloth across the chest so they hang softly and move with you.

An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, lean, high-waisted, single button. Not a photograph of the house's own work.

Huntsman

Huntsman, Savile Row's sharpest tailor, makes lean jackets with strong shoulders, a high nipped waist and usually one button, rooted in riding clothes.

An illustration of the house's recorded cut: soft shoulder, full canvas chest, balanced english; moderate shoulder, natural waist. Not a photograph of the house's own work.

Henry Poole & Co

Henry Poole & Co is Savile Row's oldest tailor and made the Prince of Wales's 1865 evening jacket that led to the dinner jacket and tuxedo.

An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, structured english. Not a photograph of the house's own work.

Gieves & Hawkes

Gieves & Hawkes, at 1 Savile Row, is a tailor born from two old military firms, known for uniforms, royal warrants and firmly built English jackets.

An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, structured english, military bearing. Not a photograph of the house's own work.

Dege & Skinner

Dege & Skinner is a family-owned Savile Row tailor known for military and ceremonial uniforms, and rare in making custom shirts in the same building.

An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, wide peaked lapel, nipped waist, flared skirt. Not a photograph of the house's own work.

Edward Sexton

Edward Sexton is the house of the tailor who shook up Savile Row in 1969, still making bold jackets with huge lapels, strong shoulders, nipped waists.

Bottiers dans London

Tout bottiers →

The John Lobb shop in St James's Street, London

John Lobb (St James's)

John Lobb of St James's is a family-owned London firm making shoes by hand to each customer's own foot shape, separate from John Lobb Paris.

An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.

George Cleverley

George Cleverley is a London shoemaker in the Royal Arcade, making custom and off-the-shelf shoes known for a long, slightly squared-off toe.

Gaziano & Girling

Gaziano & Girling is a shoemaker, founded in 2006, whose off-the-shelf shoes have unusually shapely, hand-polished finishing that raised standards for factory shoes.

Chemisiers dans London

Tout chemisiers →

Turnbull & Asser

Jermyn Street's best-known name, with a bespoke workroom behind the shop and a distinctive collar.

Budd Shirtmakers

A small London shirtmaker that has stayed a shirtmaker, in an arcade off Piccadilly.

An illustration of a shirt of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.

Emma Willis

A Jermyn Street shirtmaker with its own factory in Gloucester: an unusual degree of control.

Brands based here dans London

Tout marques →

Drake's London · 1977
Drake's is a London tie maker turned full menswear brand, known for relaxed, softly made clothes in English cloth with little shoulder padding.

Maisons qui se déplacent London

Ces maisons tiennent des trunk shows ici : essayages et commandes pris en dehors de leur propre atelier. Confirmez les dates auprès de la maison ; elles changent.

Maison	Approximativement	Hébergé par	À carreaux
B&Tailor	—	—	—
D'Avino	—	—	—
Liverano & Liverano	—	—	—
Luca Avitabile	—	—	—
Musella Dembech	—	—	—
Rubinacci	—	—	—
Sartoria Ciardi	—	—	—
Sartoria Dalcuore	—	—	—
Sartoria Solito	—	—	—
Simone Abbarchi	—	—	—
Yohei Fukuda	—	—	—

L'idiome local

Style de coupe

Savile Row

Savile Row jackets are shaped by hand around a horsehair and wool inner layer, giving defined shoulders, a nipped waist and an upright look for decades.

Notes pratiques

Tradition

English: structured, canvassed, defined shoulder

Principal streets

Savile Row, Old Burlington Street, Sackville Street, Clifford Street; St James's for shoes; Jermyn Street for shirts

Typical fittings

2–4 for a first commission

Trade body

Savile Row Bespoke AssociationVoluntary membership; sets minimum hand-work standards.

Ailleurs dans United Kingdom

Ville

Northampton

Northampton is the centre of English shoemaking, where Edward Green, Crockett & Jones, Church's and others make shoes in factories running for a century or more.

Dernière révision: September 2026 Signaler une erreur sur cette page

Sources

Savile Row Bespoke Association , Savile Row Bespoke Association.
Fashion collection , Victoria and Albert Museum.

Lorsqu'un chiffre est contesté ou qu'une maison ne l'a pas publié, la page l'indique plutôt que de retenir un nombre.

Crédits photographiques 31

Savile Row 1: Photograph · User:Edward · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
Piccadilly Arcade, December 2015 02: Photograph · Edwardx · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
88 St James's Street, London - 2023-05-04: Photograph · The wub · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Piccadilly Arcade, December 2015 01: Photograph · Edwardx · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Old Bond Street 904: Photograph · Michel wal · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
2 Old Burlington Street, Mayfair, May 2022 01: Photograph · No Swan So Fine · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
St James's Street Walking Sign: Photograph · sebastiandoe5 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
No 3, Savile Row door and sign: Photograph · VirtuallyLondonBecky · Wikimedia Commons · CC0
Hardy Amies 2017: Photograph · Toxophilus · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Savile Row W1 (36359218336): Photograph · Maggie Jones from London, England · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
7 Burlington Gardens, Mayfair, May 2022: Photograph · No Swan So Fine · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Looking west along Jermyn Street September 2022: Photograph · Nick-D · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mayfair - Savile Row - geograph.org.uk - 7486255: Photograph · Colin Smith · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Savile Street by Horwood 1819: Historical view · Richard Horwood · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: natural shoulder, full canvas chest, drape: soft, full chest, long skirt. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, lean, high-waisted, single button. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: soft shoulder, full canvas chest, balanced english; moderate shoulder, natural waist. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, structured english. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, structured english, military bearing. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, wide peaked lapel, nipped waist, flared skirt. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, lean, structured, clean chest. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: roped shoulder, full canvas chest, strongly shaped, high waist, distinctive lapel. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: natural shoulder, full canvas chest, drape: soft, full chest. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: soft shoulder, full canvas chest, soft english, close and contemporary. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of the house's recorded cut: soft shoulder, full canvas chest, english. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
Store front of John Lobb, 88 Jermyn St, London: Photograph · OlafJanssen · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art
Turnbull & Asser, St James's, October 2021: Photograph · No Swan So Fine · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Piccadilly Arcade, December 2015 03: Photograph · Edwardx · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
An illustration of a shirt of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.: Original art · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale · Il Sartoriale original art

Politique d'images

London ★