Savile Row

Beau Brummell or George “Beau” Brummell as he was known was a Regency dandy and fashion leader. Famous for his elegant dress, his witty remarks and his friendship with George, Prince of Wales, the future George IV.  He is said to have revolutionised the way men dress in the 19th century.  Ever since his fashion influence Savile Row has been synonymous with men’s tailoring – so much so that today the Japanese for suit is “sabiro” (say it aloud). Of course, what the street is best known for is being the undeniable home of hand-crafted British bespoke – so called because when customers used to choose their cloth it was said to “be spoken for” Savile Row is the home of bespoke tailoring, still to this day considered the byword for quality and the best place for a gentleman to have a suit made. The street was built in 1731 to 1735 by  the Earl of Burlington and named after his wife Lady Dorothy Savile. Before that this area was all fruit orchards. One of the oldest surviving tailors is Poole & Co – which started off in 1840. And that was the tailor favoured by the then Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, who was a very smart dresser and an influential man of style in his day.  Many of the fine worsted suit cloth made here at Sunny Bank Mills was destined for this influential street.

The prince’s patronage helped make Savile Row very fashionable and his tailor Henry Poole is credited with introducing both the dinner jacket, tuxedo and the smoking jacket.

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