Keikari.com

’73 – Master Tailor. No education past H.S. I have 7 years in school. I am Married with 2 children…they are very proud of me and my work. I learned everything about tailoring from my uncle in Italy. I spent all my younger years traveling through Rome and France learning the business. Through my travels with my uncle I opened my own Custom tailor shop in Sperlonga (Latina), Italy. I worked with movie stars, doctors, etc. All of my life I have been in this business, only through my experience and my travels do I have these skills. I owned my own tailor shop in Italy, then came to America to work for Malcolm Kenneth for 7 years, then Ralph Lauren for 18½ years and now I’ve worked for Oxxford for the last 20 years.

[My style is] normal. I make Oxxford, I wear Oxxford. I prefer suits and sport coats -to look sharp. It is a privilege to wear Oxxford. We are different than other companies: the quality of the hand workmanship cannot be compared. It is a very lightweight construction that cannot be matched. My priority is this job. I can make anything you want. I am always learning, this work never stops. There are always new styles and techniques to learn. That is my inspiration. For hobbies I have my family, my kids, my two granddaughters, Alessia and Bianca.’

http://oxxfordclothes.com/

Pictures: © Oxxford Clothes

‘I think there is a common notion that style is inherent and cannot be taught. This is probably true to a degree. However, style is just a matter of self discovery. Everyone has an ideal self: a perfect vision of who they want to be, or who they want to look like, when they close their eyes. This isn’t necessarily just about what clothes you wear, but about the kind of man you want to be. Every day, we strive toward this ideal. Some days, we fall back, some days, we grow better. Style is no different. Every man should feel free to experiment and try things, until he finally reaches that comfortable spot. Clothes are just clothes. They won’t change who you are, but they will teach you about yourself. It’s a bit of a paradox, but the clothes you wear outside can teach you about the person you are on the inside.’

~ Wale Oyejide in his interview with Keikari

‘I am 61 years old and the owner and cutter of Welsh & Jefferies. When I was 16 years old I started as an apprentice in Kilgour, in Savile Row, and trained there for 5 years. I have 3 daughters who see me as their personal tailor. I first became interested in clothing through my sister’s husband who is a womenswear pattern cutter. He would bring home patterns and I would sit and watch him creating the patterns. I decided to give that a go and found the apprenticeship in Savile Row. At that time was more common for men to have their clothes made rather then buying them from a ready-to-wear shop. And until today you still have customers who are faithful to their cutter. So bespoke tailoring was, and in my opinion still is, a very attractive field to go into.

I started training as an apprentice coat maker at Kilgour French & Stanbury in their workshop. I worked as a coat maker for about 15 years. It was after that when I decided to go the next step to become a cutter. I started as a cutter at Tommy Nutter. And my career as a cutter launched from there. Then I went to Henry Poole and stayed there for 18 years and left to go to Welsh & Jefferies. I only wear the clothes I make, but I like the ready to wear of Chester Barrie and Brioni.

I was invited to join Welsh & Jefferies as a partner in January 2007, and in February 2013 I took over the business with Yingmei Quan, as my partner. She makes most of our jackets in the shop along with our apprentice Patricia Pombo. Yingmei also cuts and make all our ladies clients. The house of Welsh & Jefferies has a very sharp clean line to it. The jacket is nipped in waist line which is cut slightly higher to give it a slim outline. We are one of maybe 3 or 4 houses in Savile Row today that are independent and truly bespoke. And at welsh & Jefferies all the work is cut and made on the premises.

Finding your cutting style is a process that improves with your experience throughout the years by looking people’s figures and trying to get a perfect line and balance for that person. That is what bespoke tailoring is all about. So what really inspires me is seeing my customers happy, looking very good and comfortable in their clothes. And knowing that I’ve gained their loyalty and trust when they walk through the door to order a new suit or jacket. Since taking over at Welsh & Jefferies I haven’t had that much time for hobbies. So I guess I try to use my spare time to spend with my grandchildren.

The big difference between Made to Measure and a bespoke suit is all the hand work that goes into a bespoke suit which takes many hours. Is a much longer process but it produces strong garments that will last and keep their shape for at least 10-15 years.’

http://welshandjefferies.com

Pictures: © Welsh&Jefferies

‘Buy second hand clothes not only because you can’t afford new clothes but to study the quality of the cloth of the past.’

~ Bernhard Roetzel in his interview with Keikari