I’VE COME to appreciate the transformative power of a good suit. Any superhero would agree.
To buy bespoke you’re getting ‘pure luxury’ - this is the ‘Aston Martin of suits’.
In my eyes, one man’s evolution from Neanderthal to sophisticated human being starts with the straightening of a tie.
For my colleague David Blake, the journey would begin at personal tailors and luxury menswear outfitters Doherty Evans and Stott on Bridge Street, Deansgate.
The aim: to replicate the style of David Gandy, Clarke Gable or Gregory Peck.
DE&S founders, Thomas Stott, Andrew Doherty and Matthew Evans champion expert sartorial craftsmanship, while also offering an image consultanting service for those who haven't quite mastered the wealthy city slicker image.
The three were trained at Gieves & Hawkes on London's prestigious Savile Row and come with a wealth of suiting knowledge - they are also some of the most immaculately turned out males in the city, naturally.
(L-R) Matthew Evans, Andrew Doherty and Thomas Stott
Doherty Evans and Stott’s bespoke and made to measure tailoring service is the foundation of the four-year-old business (established in 2010, the store opened in 2012), sourcing from both traditional British and Italian manufacturers.
To buy a made to measure Italian suit, there's a lengthy six to eight week process. After measurements are taken and luxury cloths are selected instore, your imagined suit is sent to Parma in the North of Italy to be made and then shipped back to Manchester for the finishing touches. This service costs in the region of £2000.
DE&S is worlds away from the fast-fashion and throwaway nature of the current high street.
'Off the peg' at Doherty Evans & Stott
The eye-wateringly high price of bespoke and made to measure tailoring is an obvious reason why most men steer towards the ‘off the peg’ suit retailers such as Burtons, or Next.
Of course, a suit made to your own personal specifications is always going to be expensive. As the store explains on its website, to buy bespoke you’re getting ‘pure luxury’, the ‘Aston Martin of suits’.
As with the suits, the store's handmade shirts, trousers and knitwears are also long-term investments - don't put them within twenty paces of a washing machine. We double-checked.
Showing us around the store to marvel at their luxury 'Ready To Wear' collections, Doherty said: “High street stores such as Reiss and Moss Brothers have much smaller price points and are good high street competitors.
"Our selling point is both the quality and exclusivity of the clothes we sell. We limit our collections to just seven or eight.”
The gentleman’s dressing education would begin with understanding the importance of clean, sharp lines and the simple elegance of well coordinated socks, ties and pocket squares.
By Doherty Evans and Stott's standards this was 'proper dressing'.
Deciding on luxury cloths
Under the watchful eye of Mr Evans, David was to pair his suit with an exclusive shirt made from fine Swiss and Italian cotton (limited to seven for each design), a hand knitted tie (£69), a pocket square made of genuine silk spun in Macclesfield Mills (£49) and Northampton sourced Grensen shoes (around £300)
“The bottom button must remain undone,” explained purist Mr Evans as he adjusted the suit. “It’s said the rule was started with King Edward VII.”
For more of the 'man about town' look, David was also dressed in a handmade wool jersey (£350), casual slim fit chinos (£175) and encouraged to carry a leather holdall to 'complete the look'.
The sock flashing ankle-grazer
While the bottom button undone is a hard-fast rule, we’d learn trouser length is down to personal preference, with choice of a modest length to sock flashing ankle grazer.
As he pranced about with a dandy step, it became clear that the antidote to David's usual uniform of skinny jeans and tartan shirts was a slim fitted luxury Italian import.
David Blake, all dressed up with nowhere to go.
Doherty Evans and Stott is a polished independent retail operation, harking back to the good old days of attentive service rather than the every-customer-for-himself approach of high street stores. Similarly to a Rolls Royce, it's old fashioned in the best possible way.
Still, the store manages to cater for both the classic gent and the modern fashion forward man.
“We have quite a range of customers, yet one of our regulars is in his eighties,” said Mr Doherty. “He often comes in to purchase a handcrafted umbrella or to be fitted for a suit. He’s always dressed to the nines.”
David's Verdict:
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Doherty Evans and Stott Tailoring 64 Bridge St, Manchester M3 3BN
Doherty Evans &Stott
