Products With Personality
Products with Personality: Academic Scarves
Academic scarves, also known as rowing scarves, have their origins in the annual boat race between Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Beginning in the 19th Century, both schools competed heavily to develop a superior rowing team, sending their boats out in all weather. Rowers bundled up against the cold in scarves, and soon each school developed its own pattern of knit stripes to differentiate its rowers on and off the water.
Timeless Traditions: Donegal Tweed
As we’ve discussed in a previous blog post, the wool cloth collectively known as tweed was developed as a hard-wearing material for country wear in Scotland and Ireland. Using locally produced wool, regional tweeds evolved to suit the needs of the outdoorsmen who would wear them, resulting in variations that would come to represent the style of entire regions of the British Isles.
Made-to-Measure: Lapels
When you are designing a made-to-measure jacket, there are many details to keep in mind as you decide what kind of look you want to create. The material, structure, and cut of your jacket all tell a story about when you will wear it and how you would like to represent yourself. One of the details that says the most about your jacket is the lapel, which can change a garment’s level of formality all on its own.
Products With Personality: Aran Sweater
As we’ve discussed in previous articles, traditional cold weather wear is almost always derived from the clothing worn by people performing manual labor out in the elements. The average sweater-wearer today is probably not managing a country estate or hauling in nets full of mackerel, but the durability and warmth of items like the Aran sweater will serve anyone well in the dead of winter.
Made-to-Measure: Hand-Worked Buttonholes
Classic men's clothing is all about details, about the smallest changes that make a piece of clothing look its best. Altering the length of sleeves becomes a matter of quarter-inches, finding the best look for the wearer’s bodily proportions. Menswear enthusiasts tend to have strong opinions about button stance, the gorge of their jacket’s lapels, or the taper of their trouser legs. Even details that are so minor they might escape someone else’s notice can be an important part of your enjoyment of the finished product. The Andover Shop is proud to provide one such detail: hand-worked buttonholes.
Timeless Traditions: The Classic and Versatile Dark Suit
These days, we live in a society with fairly casual rules about dress. Most people don’t need to wear anything more formal than a pair of khakis and a button down shirt to work, and many workplaces allow blue jeans and sneakers. Even the most traditional law firms and investment companies, where just a decade ago employees could be reprimanded for removing their suit jackets in the elevator, have downgraded their dress codes and abandoned the suit requirement for the most part. Working from home has increased this trend, as workplaces that had held onto the necktie have allowed that requirement to fall away too. But no matter what happens to workplace dress codes, we will always need to have at least one reliable, adaptable suit for important occasions, and The Andover Shop’s made-to-measure program can help you create the ideal suit.
Made-to-Measure: Our Process
Being fitted for a made-to-measure suit is a time-honored experience. In this series on The Andover Shop’s made-to-measure process, we will explore each of the steps that allow every customer to create the garment that is ideal for them.
For over half a century, Andover Shop staff have worked closely with customers to ensure the best possible fit, making minute alterations to ensure that body and suit work together. Our staff are knowledgeable about how the style and details of tailored clothing provide the best look with the customer’s body, and are able to advise on materials for all seasons and events.
Timeless Traditions: Argyle
A common assumption about menswear is that it all looks the same, that men dress in homogenous shades of blue and grey with little to differentiate them. Since opening in 1948, The Andover Shop has prided itself on challenging this stereotype, providing vibrant colors and interesting patterns in all its offerings.
