Marylebone tailoring -

Dashing’s New Cloth Collection

This coming autumn season we are seeking comfort in one of the most sumptuous of tweeds, soft Donegals. This new collection is designed in our London studio and woven in Scotland using fine Merino yarns spun in Ireland.

At Dashing Tweeds we are always interested in experimenting with colour, Donegal yarns with their famous nepps of different coloured wools are a great starting point and as a first for us we have even created our own yarn. Known as the Motley design this initially appears to be black with neps of primary yellow, red and blue but on closer inspection a whole plethora of colours can be seen.

As colour is the focus we have used classic weave structures this season, working with herringbones and twills to produce a very wearable collection.

Our Ochre, Claretand Lapis Herringbone designs have a pleasing scale and work well for jackets and coats. Herringbones are classic designs which never go out of fashion so anything made up in these will be a great investment. At around 14oz (430g) they are light enough to wear now that autumn days are mild but warm enough for winter nights.

Our Gallant Checkis the most exuberant design, fabulously fun in a large scale with over checks in yellow, green and red. This design captures the joy we try to bring to our fabrics and will put a smile on anyones face.

To RSVP to our private view of our latest cloth collections on the 18th September click here or stop by 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone whenever you’re in the area.

Please don’t hesitate to get in contact if you have any questions or would like us to reserve you some of our latest cloth collection. Drop us a line at Guy@DashingTweeds.co.uk.

All the very best,

The Dashing Team

Long Live Fashion

Sustainability is the key nowadays. We have long been told that the rate at which we are plundering Earth’s resources and generating waste cannot continue, only now is this beginning to sink in. We need a radical rethink of the way we consume everything if we are to thrive or even survive; a good start is to think about our clothing. As naked apes we find clothing essential, not only does it protect us from the elements, but as is the case with so many animals, its use within society as a display for pecking order and mating rituals is paramount.

Sustainability in general should be a major concern of yours and as awareness grows of all others around you. Displaying your empathy to the cause by wearing clothing made in a sustainable way will not only make you feel better but also actively disclose your conviction to others. This will without doubt make you a more attractive person in their eyes and greatly increase the fulfilment required by your dress, especially where mating is concerned.

So how to be sustainable? Transparency within brands is now more commonplace elucidating the whole making journey of a garment but this can quickly become a tangled web. I find it easier to stick to the simple rule of quality over quantity. Buying fewer clothes and looking after them well is a good start. For clothing to last it has to be made well in a good quality yarn. Wool is tough to beat when it comes to longevity and sustainability, improvements in cross breeding sheep has lead to beautifully soft wearable fabrics and sheep feeding on natural grassland are entirely in balance with nature.

Repairing clothes is only possible if they are of a certain quality, cheap cotton garments made at a huge cost to the environment, especially where water is concerned, seem to spontaneously disintegrate in one go making mending impossible. If your favourite quality outfit develops a hole then they are easy to mend. Darning is an age old skill that is currently in the midst of a revival and it needn’t be done as neatly as possible. Prince Charles was sporting an obvious patch to his Anderson and Sheppard jacket a while back, proud to be extending the life of an old favourite. Indeed visible mending especially on wool garments has become an even more obvious sign of ones personal attitude to sustainability.

The Japanese, have made a whole art of patching with their Boro fabrics constructed almost entirely of mended rags but you needn’t go this far. A classic elbow patch to extend the life of a jacket could be all you need to increase your clothing sustainability. When things go beyond repair you know where to come for garments that will not only last for many years but become firm friends on the journey to a sustainable life.

SUMMER SALE

I’m always one for a distraction and homonyms are a good start when it comes to veering off the point. Writing about how we are going to offer a 10% summer discount off our made to measure services, 20% off our cloth and 30% of our ready to wear creations starting on the 1st August is very exciting but that’s about it in a sentence. More elucidating is an article I have just been reading about the wool sails of Viking boats.

Without wool we would have had no Viking invaders towards the end of the first millennium AD. Having known that the Pheoenicians made their sails of woven flax or papyrus over five thousand years ago I assumed that this material would be in common use world wide, but not so. In fact the Vikings had to step up their wool cottage industry hugely to prepare for their raids.

European short-tailed sheep were sheared and had their fleeces spun into two types of yarn. The hardy sheep have longer tough wool on the outside and shorter softer strands close to the body. The outer wool was spun into strong fibres of use in the vertical warp on their weighted looms and the softer wool was used in the horizontal weft, packing all the holes in the sail cloth. A slight felting of the sail cloth and immersion in fir tar, fish oils and tallow was all that was required to make strong wind proof sails ready for a jolly raiding party on us poor Angles.

As we know the Vikings came to raid all our riches of which there were plenty, fabulous silver and gold items were looted and exquisite textiles were had at a steal. Which brings us full circle back to our sale. Our fine Merino wool summer cloths are going for a song with a fifth of the normal price as are our British wool tweeds. Ready to wear jackets and suits can be had for a snip at almost a third off.

We will also be having a sample sale with 50% off all suits in the shop so now is the time to treat yourself to a tailored jacket or get yourself a made to measure suit which will be ready as soon as summer fades. So sally forth to Dashing at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone and grab a bargain but perhaps leave the seax at home.

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The Panache of a Panama

There are very few entirely hand made products in our lives nowadays. Ones where we can saviour the provenance and take pleasure in the generations of handed down skills that have accumulated to provide us with a useful item of joy. A Panamahat is one of those little luxuries that everyone should save for, not only are they potentially life saving when in the sun but they also have that rare combination of practicality and elegance. There is just no real replacement for a fine Panama hat.

At Dashing, we are working with Pachacuti a fair trade company set up by Carry Somers over 25 years ago. Avoiding middle men, who locally take a large cut from the weavers, they work directly with the makers ensuring they earn a decent living. This has enabled hat weaving communities to move away from the coastal regions of Ecuador and set up in the idyllic forested hills where they can encourage a new generation to continue the livelihood.

Interestingly, Panama hats come from Ecuador and acquired their name through numerous sales of the hats as they were transported for distribution through the trade routes. In the gold rush era any wise prospector would pick up a hat or two along with their gold digging tools, helping spread their popularity.

The enduring appeal of the Panama hat has to do with their superb quality. Toquilla straw is hand cut, boiled, split and dried before being hand woven in a continuing spiral that can take up to 8 months for a fabulously fine example. The skills have been passed down for generations and the only thing that has really changed is the style of the shapes.

Our Dashing Panamashave additional panache through the use of our unique cloth designs. These are applied by hand to the headband, giving the already desirable hats a peerless appeal.

We have a few sizes and designs left in the shop so come and snap one up before your summer adventures begin. They will serve as faithful companions on your journey, protecting against the elements as you forge ahead.

Should you be one of those people for whom only the best is good enough then there is a chance for you to commission the world’s finest hat. Mark from Pachacuti went on a recent trip to Ecuador and met the man who is widely regarded as the finest hat weaver in Ecuador. The world record stands at close to 4000 straw picks per inch and given close to a years work he is keen to try and break this record for you.

For more information, do check out Pachacuti and to customise your own Panama band using our cloth please drop an email hereor pop into Dashing at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone.

Press: Wonderland Magazine – The Wool Beach Lodge

Dashing featured on Wonderland magazine’s website highlighting the sustainable and versatile properties of wool shown at Campaign For Wool‘s latest pop up, The Wool Beach Lodge.

Different Tweeds for Different Needs

When it comes to wearing tweed there are no restrictions at all. From school boys to doddering gents via a whole new wave of hipsters, tweed is for everyone male or female. Our bespoke tweed Nike Airforce 1’s were coveted by both teenagers and mature men. Our caps are sported by young fans of Peaky Blinders, city cyclists and a whole range of interesting people who drop by our shop.

Jackets and coats are best sellers and now that we are starting a made to measure range for ladies and even dogs there is no reason to not add new tweeds to your wardrobe. Colour is the key as tweed is the original way to add a colourful item to your wardrobe. Everyone has a favourite colour and we stock a huge range so get out your metaphorical brush and paint away, as they say ‘different strokes for different folks’.

Tweed is probably one of the most versatile and democratic cloths there is. Historically fabrics such as silk were the preserve of the aristocracy and rough hemps the raiment of peasants but tweed straddled all levels of society. Worn by Lords and poachers alike, the quality and usefulness of tweed has ensured it’s unwavering popularity over centuries, and so today despite the onslaught of synthetics, tweed is as popular as ever and continues in its versatility.

Through selective breeding of sheep and new technologies in spinning and finishing, wools and the resulting tweeds are constantly improving. Menswear is all about an evolution of form and function and all clothing needs to perform to the tasks of the wearer. As we are modernising tweed their relevance to 21st century life is increasingly apposite.

Sustainability is a major benefit of tweed but there needs to be an element of fun to clothes as well. This is were Dashing Tweeds excels, clothes need to bring an element of joy to all concerned and our fabrics transcend all ages and niches of society. For any Made to Measure enquiries or to book an appointment, drop an email here or stop by 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone.

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DASHING MEN: Joe La Placa

Joe La Placa’s whole life has been immersed in the world of art whether as a painter, musician or gallerist. Listening to him talk about the start of his career in New York after studying at the School of Visual Arts, I could not help feeling how much I would have liked to have been there. Hanging out with Andy Warhol in the factory, working with The Sugar Hill gang in his producers studio, constructing early synthesiser electronics, painting and helping Jean-Michel Basquiat with his work, Joe’s foot print appears in the corner of one piece adding no doubt to its million dollar value.

I caught up with Joe at 22 Grafton Street in his current role as Director of the Cardi Galleryproudly showing me his latest show of Mono-Ha artistswhich he is hoping to sell as a whole to a serious collector. As far as I can see Joe never stops, running both the Mayfair and Milan branches of the gallery, looking after his family and still managing to squeeze in some time for recording original melodies on his guitar.

Talent and the drive for success is in the genes, his grandfather a humble cobbler from Palermo arrived in Manhattan to became a large shoe manufacturer, his mother was a successful opera singer and his father a scientist. This mix of business acumen, artistic flare and analytic focus is a rare one that has stood Joe in good stead. His early painting work consisted of immaculately drawn moire patterns on a huge scale, a visual metaphor for sound waves amongst other things and definitely with a ‘wow’ factor.

Joe’s love of the artisanal explains his passion for Dashing Tweeds, his favourite suit is in our Grey Spark design, a grey worsted Merino cloth with a broken check in wool and Japanese cotton. The design started life being hand woven by Kirsty in our London studio before production in the Scottish Borders. For Joe this design ideally marries the two worlds of a Mayfair director with artistic luminary.

For those of you with an artistic streak be it creative or collector then Dashing is what you need to wear. Bespeaking a suit is a collaborative affair so do drop by our flagship shop at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone to see our latest collections. If you would like to book a Made to Measure appointment please click here.