The Musgrave Manifesto

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Blazing away with Kathryn Sargent Bespoke

Sunday, March 29th, 2020

When life gets back to some sort of normality I’ll be very pleased to give the first outing of 2020 to my splendid striped blazer, made for me last year by Kathryn Sargent Bespoke Tailoring.

It uses a 60:40 wool:cotton 410gm (14oz) cloth from the blazer bunch by Abraham Moon I deliberately picked colours that suggested the away strip of Leeds United, making this something of a Leeds joint effort as I am from Leeds, so is Kathryn and the Moons mill is in Guiseley, just on the edge of my home city.

With such a bold cloth and classic style, there was no need for fancy touches but I did like the coloured undercollar and the blue lining we went for.

It was a treat to wear my “Leeds” blazer when giving a few talks on my book Leeds Then And Now and signing copies in Waterstones in the city. I was very pleased to see the book in the window alongside titles celebrating LUFC’s centenary.

 

As always, working with Kathryn Sargent and her assistant cutter Alistair Nimmo, plus her skilled tailors, was a delight. The inspiration for my blazer was an old one I acquired from a charity shop in the late 1970s. The new one is far better made!

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Sharp Suits, the third edition

Friday, March 13th, 2020

Idris Elba is the dapper chappie on the cover of the latest edition of Sharp Suits, my photographic celebration of men’s tailoring. Published again by those nice people at Pavilion, it follows the earlier editions of 2009 and 2013.

My history of the suit from about 1860 onwards is really well-presented, with the many vintage images, like this classic one of Cary Grant, looking fabulous in the punchy orange setting.

This time the foreword has been written by my good friend Kathryn Sargent, the renowned Savile Row master tailor, who has a tremendous knowledge of the bespoke craft. Thanks for the insights, Kathryn! (Kathryn has made me some beautiful clothes, but funnily enough, not yet a suit!).

The superbly-produced hardback book contains more than 150 images. Among the new ones for this third editon is this one of George, Duke of Kent and his wife Princess Marina of Greece, possibly London’s most glamorous couple of the pre-World War II era. (Pic credit: Alamy History and Art Collection).

Continuing my desire to include rarely-seen photographs, in the chapter headed Passion From Paris I have added this fascinating image of Karl Lagerfeld from 1954, shortly after the German designer had settled in the French capital for a career that lasted until his death in 2019. (Pic credit: Getty/Keystone/Stringer).

Politicians of all hues tend these days to be boring or terrible dressers, so I was pleased to find this image of US President Ronald Reagan in a fine checked two-piece suit strolling with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1982. (Pic credit: Reuters Pictures/Mal Langsdon).

Sharp Suits is available internationally wherever good books are sold. Enjoy the tailoring inspiration.

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