Gieves & Hawkes, No1 Savile Row, the best address
After reading the Times newspaper, it is sad to say that the Royal Tailor with the best address on No1. Savile Row; Gieves & Hawkes freehold flagship store has been sold to the parent Chinese group Wing Tai Properties for a whopping £8.5 million
According to Companies House reports Gieves & Hawkes made a loss £2.4 million at the year ending December 2010. Their turn-over was 15.6million as compared to the previous year of £16.6 million. This just basically means that they have made losses for at least two years in a row.
In addition this has led Gieves & Hawkes to close a further 8 concession stores 7 of which are in House of Fraser. Never-less the company still has 4 concessions in Harvey Nichol and Selfridges and there are still 10 stores dotted around.
The original founders were Gieves founded in 1785, and Hawkes founded in 1771. Gieves and Hawkes merged in the late 19th Century. The tailors started as suppliers to the British Army and Royal Navy. It makes bespoke suits for the Royal family such as Prince William and Prince Harry. Gieves & Hawkes are tailors that are not afraid to re-invent it-self. It was the first on Savile Row to make ready to wear suits. To this day 20% of its turnover is from making bespoke suits and the rest from ready to wear but that still has not saved it from the recession that started in 2008 as its brands continue to slowly diminish and fade in the ever challenging UK market.
Savile Row - Normally misspelt as Saville Row. This is the place where the rich and famous from all over the world such as Royal families, billionaires, footballers, pop stars, film stars and even gangsters get their suit's tailored.
There are as many tailor shops as there are townhouses some would say as you walk down Savile Row. Most people view Savile Row as the Mecca of Tailoring; even Huality Tailoring has a fitting room down the Row.
Savile Row, the east side
This is a look at Savile Row – Who’s Who- The Main Players in the tailor game. The top of the line shops have been called the Godfathers of the Mayfair mafia. But we let you decide what you think of each of them as we cover them.
Savile Row was not only where the most famous tailors in the history of the world have are or were established, but it was originally the home of the rich and wealthy. There is no other way to describe it other than that some bright minded people thought it a brilliant idea to have their shops in close proximity to the upper class, and those who lived in the Savile Row area. The tailors have been there since before the 19th century.
I was watching the first televised prime ministerial debate the other day. Due to the fact that this is the first in the UK Election history it is no wonder that there is so much debates about who came out on top in terms of best and worse policy.
For me, not being too political, here you have 3 men in 3 fitted suits, let’s analyse their styles and find the best fitted suit.
David Cameron went for the typical Tory old boy look, blue tie with the Dark blue suit. David Cameron suit costs £3,500 by Richard Anderson of Savile Row. David has started to wear Savile Row suits since late 2009 (before then it was off-the-peg). When news first broke out about his newly fitted suit he was quite embarrassed about it (quoted by the Telegraph) because at the time the Conservative Spin doctors were getting acres of coverage’s about his Wife Samantha Cameron wearing a £65 dress from Marks and Spencers. This did not bode too well for Mr Cameron as his wife is seen as down to earth and in touch with the working people whereas he is donning around in a £3.5k suit.
Clegg(gold), Cameron(blue), Brown(Pink)
