A little bit of news…

Lucy — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 11:24:02 +0000

Today my bespoke label is officially 2 years old. It has been so amazing travelling about the States and working from that iconic street in W1. I’ve babbled on about how lovely my customers are on this blog since the beginning, but they really are. I feel incredibly lucky.

Toddler businesses like mine are beholdant to supply and demand. I started in 2008 as we descended into economic recession and my biggest fear was that nobody would want to pay £180 for a shirt. It turns out demand was not the problem, supply is. I could continue as I have the support of some amazing people but I don’t want to give them anything less than the best I possibly can..this is the very reason I am passing the baton onto someone I know can do it justice.

I am handing over the reigns to the wonderful Ray Stowers who has a great production setup and who has the care and attention to detail that I have. I trust him completely. He also has a v.glamorous business partner Sylvie who adds a women’s touch to the proceedings. He will have all my patterns, works from Savile Row in exactly the same shop as I did and – the best bit – he’s travelling to the States later this year. The two of them have so many years of experience and Raymondo is the Liberty print king.

It was Ray that gave me the confidence and practical advice to start the business and without him and his son Chris I couldn’t have done it. Go have a nosey at their blog, or if you have any questions you can email him on ray.stowers@stowersbespoke.co.uk or give him a tinkle on +44 (0) 20 7 287 3080

I’m going to keep this blog up as a point of reference, and if you want to see what’s next I’ll be blogging over here – I can be contacted on lucy@lucyadams.co.uk

So so many thanks for reading, it really has been such a pleasure.

My marvelous suit of gold!

Lucy — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:42:46 +0000

Readers of English Cut (and anyone who has met me) may remember many years ago a post about my Scabal Super 150s with 22ct gold cloth that Tom very kindly bought for me to make a suit. However as most of you also know I never quite got to wear my suit of gold. Well, I have kept the cloth safely tucked under my bed waiting for that day to arrive and today is the day !

My knights in shining armour came in the form of the chaps at Stowers Bespoke. . I went in to be measured up by Ray, Claire and Brian, and am documenting this exciting (for me anyway) adventure on their blog. We are going to make a toile first in cheap fabric, this is like a forward fitting but a little bit rougher, it allows us to really fit it around my body so that we can get the shape absolutely perfect before cutting the expensive cloth.

To see the progress of my golden suit don’t forget to keep checking here.

Also I’d like to say thank you to everyone who snapped up my samples, everything went, which has allowed me to reclaim some space so it is much appreciated.

Sample Sale Update

Lucy — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:53:39 +0000

Thank you to everyone who has already snapped up my samples, there are a couple of bits left…The white shirt in Size 15.5” is still up for grabs and the 15″ collar lilac one is too.

I only have one digitally printed tie left and that is the monochrome one..the red splatter tie is still looking for a new home.There is also a ladies shirt or 2…email me if you are interested: shirts@lucyadams.co.uk

A Photo Finish Tie Collaboration

Lucy — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 10:26:16 +0000

This was a project I worked on with a fantastic photographer I met last year… Teena Taylor. We got chatting about pattern making and image manipulation and I bleated on about a dress I made at uni which was a giant photograph that had been cleverly abstracted…(I say cleverly I mean it was an accident in the pub – vodka related shaky hand abstracted!) and printed onto georgette silk before draping it into a dress. I said I had always wanted to do it commercially so we set about on an experiment and these are some of the results. To look at you wouldn’t think they have much of a story behind them , however they are all photographs taken by Teena and then put in repeat and the scales changed around. For example the red one perhaps more obviously is a rose repeat. The monochrome is actually ceiling lights and the navy (my favourite) is an a cross section of an onion!

The ties are digitally printed onto tie-weight silk twill and then made by the lovely ladies in Kent. I deliberately made them a non-standard width blade, they are 7cm at their widest point. This is in my opinion a great shape… very skinny ties can look a bit straggly and are not to everyones taste and regular ties can sometimes be viewed as more traditional. I have made these ties the exact middle width between a traditional and skinny tie which I think gives the best of both worlds, they cover the placket of a shirt and are substantial enough to make an impact whilst still looking cool.

I have a very limited number of these, if you would like one they are completely unique and cost £40 – same as the all the other samples when they are gone they are gone.. I will happily ship to the States.

If you are interested in Teena’s work her website is here and if you need her for anything feel free to name drop me, she’s lovely!

Fancy some fancy boxers?!

Lucy — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:35:56 +0000

I’m beginning to feel a bit like del boy!! There has been a lot of interest so far but there are some pieces left so do email me if you’ve got your eye on anything…these are the penultimate items – I’ve posted them before and they sparked a flurry of boxer shorts in various fabrics including Liberty print, silk and even Cashmere!!

So the (unworn) originals are now up for grabs…the stripy ones are actually Liberty tana lawn so are super soft and size Small and the Liberty domino ones are a Medium (which easily fits a 32″ waist.)

They are £15 each, I normally sell them for £30 so effectively the same item is half price as there are only 2 pairs. Email shirts@lucyadams.co.uk if you want them!

Haven’t forgotten the ladies!

Lucy — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:11:05 +0000

Not forgetting about the ladies, I have posted these before but now they are for sale too. All my ladies samples are darted back and front (slimmer fitting), they are smaller than their numbered size – so for example Size 10 is more like a Size 8, 12 is inbetween a a 10 and 12 and the 14 is more like a generous 12. There are only these three – so if you want one for £30 (yes £30 I must be mad!) Feel free to ask any questions or get any measurements to make sure it will fit drop me an email: shirts@lucyadams.co.uk

A couple of ties too…

Lucy — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:00:38 +0000

Whilst tidying my samples cupboard I also found a couple of ties. They are woven silk, all made in England to a classic width.

I’ve got a few others that I made in a collaboration with a fantastic photographer which I will post in the next day or 2.. if you would like one of these for £30 send me an email to shirts@lucyadams.co.uk

Shirt of the Week VIII- part 4

Lucy — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:43:31 +0000

Last but not least, this is a dark blue herringbone with Pheobe Liberty print inside the collar and cuff, it has a big ‘Savile’ collar and feature cutaway James Bond cuffs to show off the print. It has a raised placket with smoke mother of pearl buttons. It’s a really rich colour and where the fabric does not ‘shine’ it does have a really good lustre to it.

The shirt is a 16 1/2″ collar Slim-but-not-skinny-Fit and is the last of the men’s samples so to buy it for just £50 email me shirts @lucyadams.co.uk

Shirt of the Week VIII – part 3

Lucy — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:42:47 +0000

This has been the most popular shirt I have made. It’s a white herringbone, herringbones can be quite shiny and ‘deep’ so that the pattern/texture is very obvious. This is really subtle, you can’t even see it’s a herringbone unless you are close up, it is also not shiny and is easy to iron.

Lilian’s berries Liberty print adorns the collar band and inside the cuff. It is a classic collar, not too cutaway not too pointy and a standard double cuff. I kept this as traditional as possible, so the front is a raised placket with mother of pearl buttons.

It’s a size 15 1/2″ collar and like the others is £50 – interested? email me shirts@lucyadams.co.uk

Shirt of the Week VIII – part 2

Lucy — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 18:41:54 +0000

Ok so the first one has already been snapped up so I thought I’d post the rest of the mens samples – remember its first come first serve!

Another Alumo Supraluxe (2 fold 120) with white collar and cuffs and a horizantal stripe in the collar band and inside the cuff. I put a cutaway collar and a 2 button mitred cuff on this shirt.. I also made the front flat giving a smooth uninterrupted look to the check pattern. The buttons are of course solid mother of pearl.

The collar size is 15″ Slim-but-not-skinny-Fit. I really like this fresh clean look, the fabric feels really lovely and is a great smart-casual addition to the wardrobe.

To have this shirt in your wardrobe ping me an email to shirts@lucyadams.co.uk and snap it up for £50..when it’s gone it’s gone.