menswear tailoring -

Ways to Wear: Dashing Trousers

Trousers are without a doubt the most worn item of clothing in the Western world, almost every other piece of clothing can be dispensed with or replaced in public nowadays. Hats, gloves and ties are becoming scarce, socks are often discarded as are jackets and shirts. Wearing vests has become de rigueur in some circles but lose the trousers and you’re in trouble. With this in mind, it’s surprising how little attention is often paid to this single most important item of clothing.

In terms of fit, trousers are much more complicated than first meets the eye. It’s no surprise that jean companies have found ways of pulling wool over your eyes when it comes to selling ill fitting cotton; anti fit twist, pant showing hipsters and shrink to fit are just a few examples.

A pair of well fitting trousers are items of great beauty and can do wonders for your figure and morale. Considering the vagaries of fashion, trousers are one of the most adapted pieces of clothing. Prince Albert had a fondness for a tight pair and with a prowess to match he endowed society with a huge following, setting the scene for decades of swaggering gentlemen.

The Edwardian era was a time for much trouser experimentation with tailors adjusting all the ratios of leg width and waist positioning until a perfect balance was achieved. Ways of helping trousers hang comfortably were also tested and you’ll be surprised at the different types of belts and braces that were produced.

For trousers to look and feel really good I always think they should sit on your natural waist, the area that goes in at the top of your hip bone. However, to achieve this the rise of the trouser from crotch to waist needs to be just right, too long and the bottom will sag, too tight and result will be audible. Once trousers sit well you can decide how tight you like to wear them and work on the silhouette of the leg.

At the moment I’m really enjoying wide legged trousers, they just flow with such a sense of insouciance that you naturally relax into a languid stride and the day seems better, but the choice is yours and with through our made to measureprocess you can choose whatever takes your fancy and run with it.

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.

Charlotte Chaplin: Health and Woolness

Wearing wool for health is not something we hear enough of these days. In the 1880’s the German physician Dr Gustav Jäger extolled the benefits of wearing wool next to the skin, rather than plant based yarns such as cotton or linen. His philosophy caught on to such an extent that the British business man Lew Tomalin established the eponymous brand. The resulting woollen underwear and swim suits he made proved such a success that a Royal Warrant was granted.

Fashion is a circular affair, at the moment with uncertainty in the air comfort can be had by glancing back and wondering what we can learn from the past to make life better both for our health and for that of the whole planet.

The rise of synthetics and the demise of woollen clothing, is a case in hand. Crude oil based clothing such as nylons, polyesters and acrylics were thought to be the answer to everything. They were cheap, easy to produce and seemed almost too good to be true yet now we are just beginning to realise their true cost on a global scale with micro plastics entering the food chain every time you wash a so called fleece. Sustainability is what is needed and there is nothing more sustainable than Herdwick Wool from The Lake District.

Charlotte Chaplin has around 500 of the indigenous sheep on her farm in Finsthwaite, Ulverston. The Herdwick breed has been around for hundreds of years and live in complete harmony with the natural habitat of the Lake District. With short stocky legs and an enviable fleece they roam easily over the steep hills grazing naturally on the local flora, taking just what they need without denuding the pastures. Interestingly they are born black and as they age they pass through chocolate tones on their way to almost pure white.

Charlotte starts to shear her ‘girls’ as she calls them at around 18 months just when the wool is turning white and the length is perfect for spinning. A local farmer Stephen helps with the shearing and then the fleeces are sent off to Haworths for scouring. Charlotte is keen to keep the wool as natural as possible so there is no dying and the pure wool is just cleaned before spinning at Laxtons. From there the yarns are sent to Townend weavers where Charlotte’s elegant and timeless herringbone designs are woven into cloth. The last stage is finishing and Charlotte uses our preferred company Schofields, they soften the hardy wool and make it eminently wearable.

In our Marylebone flagship shop we are stocking three of Charlotte’s designs all in the natural colours of the Herdwick wool. Touching the cloth evokes feelings of the healthy wild landscapes of the Lake District and just by wearing it I’m sure this will rub off on you. The cloth makes up into beautiful jackets and for the brave we can certainly follow Dr Jäger and tailor a health imbuing swimming outfit.

If you have any questions or would like to book a Made to Measure appointment using Charlotte’s designs, kindly drop an email here or visit us in store at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone.

Dashing’s New Home

We want to welcome our customers into a complete Dashing world. The concept of the brand is to enrich your life through creative textiles, giving you more colour and character. We chose to move into a larger, more relaxed environment in the convivial area of Marylebone.

The sitting room of an art collector was the inspiration behind our shop fit, a place where sculpture, art and clothing sit comfortably side by side. To achieve our idiosyncratic look, we worked alongside close members of the family who share the vision of creativity and modern luxury. Alexander Hills is embarking on his new architectural practice, his design skills and attention to detail were exactly what we needed. Alex’s CNC’d cabinet of curiosities has our weave patterns etched through technology and he specified all of the mirrors and metal works meticulously.

We worked alongside Retrouvius, set up by Guy’s other brother, Adam to cover vintage Danish sofa sets using our peak design. Especially woven for the new shop, the mustard peak complements the teal velvet curtains and British wool carpet.

The shop is filled with artworks both old and new. The contemporary light feature in our new shop, a key focal point, is from gallerist Marion Friedmann and created by a young Mexican artist, Pedro Cerisola.

We look forward to welcoming you soon to the shop where you can relax and learn more about our new collections and made to measure whilst having a drink. Visit us at 47 Dorset Street, Marylebone.

All the best,

The Dashing Team