Savile Row

Savile Row

Savile Row

Savile Row is a road in the City of Westminster in central London that runs parallel to Regent Street between Conduit Street at the northern end and Vigo Street at the southern. Linking roads include Burlington Place and Burlington Gardens.

The Row is the major centre of traditional bespoke tailoring, primarily for men. Tailors in Savile Row include Gieves & Hawkes (No 1 Savile Row), Kilgour (No 8), Jasper Littman (No 9) Dege & Skinner (No 10), H Huntsman est. 1849 (No 11), Darren Beaman (No 12), Henry Poole & Co est. 1806 (No 15), Maurice Sedwell est. 1938 (No 19), Welsh and Jeffries (No 20), Thomas Mahon (No 20), Stephen Hitchcock, Davies and Son est. 1803 (No 38) and James and James (No 38). Anderson & Sheppard (formerly at No 30) moved to 32 Old Burlington Street in March 2005. For more examples of true bespoke tailors, with some further information, see Savile Row Style Magazine. The nearest London Underground station is Oxford Circus, which lies to the northwest. Piccadilly Circus is to the southeast.

History

Savile Row was created with the development of the Burlington Estate in 1695 and, as with other roads in the area, was given a family name; in this case, that of Lord Burlington's wife Lady Dorothy Savile.

The Row was initially occupied by military officers and their wives. William Pitt the Younger was one early resident. During the 1800s, the gentry became more and more concerned with neat dress, and Beau Brummel, 1778–1840, came to epitomise the well-dressed man. He patronised the tailors who had started to congregate on the Burlington Estate, notably around Cork Street, and by 1803 some of these were occupying premises in Savile Row.

In early 2005, some local tailors expressed concern an increase in commercial development in the area could lead to the death of the business locally, as tailors — many of whom traditionally manufacture their suits on the premises, in basement studios — could be priced out of the local real estate market. [1], [2]

Other inhabitants

The offices of The Beatles' Apple Corps were located at 3 Savile Row, and The Beatles, Badfinger, Mary Hopkin and others recorded at Apple Studios in the basement. The Beatles' final live performance took place on the roof of the building on 30 January 1969. Known as the "Rooftop Concert", it featured in the Apple film Let It Be. The Bootleg Beatles performed a show on top of the same building three decades later, on January 29, 1999. [3].

The headquarters of English Heritage are also located in Savile Row.

The head office address of the Building Societies Association is at 3 Savile Row.

Savile Row is situated in Mayfair, the traditional art-dealing district of London, and the eighteenth-century houses are home to a number of galleries on the upper floors, including Matthew Bown Gallery and Laurent Delaye Gallery, both at no. 11.

7 Savile Row was the fictional address of Phileas Fogg, protagonist of Jules Verne's classic Around the World in 80 Days.

Trivia

The Row was mentioned in Annie in the song "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile." The line is, "Who cares what they're wearing on Main Street or Savile Row?"

In Japanese, the word for suit is "sebiro" (背広), purportedly a corruption of "Savile Row".[4]

External links

• Savile Row Style Magazine online
• Jasper Littman: Bespoke Savile Row Tailor
• Darren Beaman: Bespoke Savile Row Tailor
• Business Week: The Battle for Savile Row
• Kilgour: Savile Row History
• English Cut: The blog of bespoke Savile Row tailor, Thomas Mahon
• Map of the shops on The Row