Savile Row Book – A Glimpse into the World of English Tailoring

Just today, I was contacted by Yoshimi Hasegawa, the Japanese author of the book Savile Row –  A Glimpse into the World of English Tailoring,

Stuffed with Beautiful Pictures[/caption]Written in Japanese as well as partially in English with pictures by the London-based photographer & Military Tailoring expert Edward Lakeman, this book seems to be very promising and I am eager to learn how it will compare to James Sherwood’s Savile Row book, which came out just a couple of years ago.

Yoshimi Hasegawa – The Author

Before I share a little bit about her upcoming book, I would like to briefly introduce the author Yoshimi Hasegawa. She is a Japanese men’s fashion journalist who has written a number of articles about British goods and craftsmanship, on subjects such as Harris Tweed, Aran sweaters, and single malt whisky for

GQ Japan and others. Over the course of two years, she conducted numerous in-depth interviews with more than 50 people on the Row, and almost all of the pictures were taken specifically for this book.

The Book

The core of this Savile Row book is dedicated specifically to the tailor’s craftsmanship on this magnificent mile – excluding interlopers like Abercrombie & Fitch, who are also part of the Row now.

Although there are many different men’s magazines in Japan for all kinds of different niches, I found it surprising to learn that until now, there has not been a Japanese book written about this renowned British bespoke tailoring district. The tailors covered in the book include Anderson & Sheppard,  Dege & Skinner, Ede & Ravenscroft, Gieves & Hawkes , Henry Poole, Huntsman, Norton & Sons,  Richard Anderson, Spencer Hart,  Timothy Everest and Welsh & Jefferies.

Apart from that, it covers the origins and history of Savile Row, the characteristic Savile Row style, the Bespoke Association, aesthetics and military tailoring.

Although the introduction to the individual houses, as well as their basic styles, is written in Japanese and English, the main text is unfortunately (for us) just in Japanese. I really hope that there will be a fully translated version shortly. Currently, it is only available in Japan or through  Amazon Japan.

I will publish an in depth review of this book shortly – so stay tuned. As a side note,  we will be also publishing a review about the Ascot book on the Morning Dress Guide, which has some great pictures of formal morning coats.

Savile Row Book – A Glimpse into the World of English Tailoring

• Format:              29 x 21.6 x 1.8 cm (160 pages)
• Publisher:         Banraisha Ltd. (13 July 2012)
• ISBN-10:          4901221590