Wise Words Indeed

A gentleman," Winston Churchill once observed, "buys his hats at Locks … and his shirts at Harvie and Hudson.” With these wise words ringing in our ears it is that time again for us to head across the Pond and continue another long Harvie and Hudson tradition - visiting The States. Since the early 1970s when my Father Jeff Harvie visited The United States with Derek Hudson, Harvie and Hudson have biannually been popping over to see our American cousins. Along with my fellow director Andrew Hudson, since a young age I have been shadowing family members up and down Jermyn Street and always thoroughly enjoy exporting my knowledge and insights.

This year our trunk show will be visiting New York, Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco. As always old friends and clients will be welcome to come along and see us to discuss shirt-making and all the idiosyncrasies, rules and traditions of a gentleman’s attire. Along with exchanging anecdotes from the months gone past we will as ever be offering a full made to measure shirt service. Our wealth of tailoring knowledge combined with the shirts being cut on London’s historic Jermyn Street make for a truly unique bespoke experience. Boasting one of Jermyn Street’s finest selection of Egyptian cottons, a knowhow of classic and contemporary styles, and a guarantee of a truly English shirt-making practice, we always look forward to seeing old and new faces across America. In order to ensure a complete made to measure experience we have teamed up with Alfred Sargent and Hemmingway Tailors. Now in its fourth generation of Sargents, I am delighted to be joined by one of England’s finest shoemakers who, like us, have ensured that a strong family ethos combined with an eye for precision and skill has paved the way for the finer things in life. Hemmingway Tailors have an equal tradition of made to measure precision with Toby Luper, founder and director, joining myself and Andrew Hudson in New York, Washington DC and Chicago.

With only a matter of days to go until we catch our flight the final preparations are in full swing. I hope very much to see some of you of you out there and for those of you who don’t make it, I’ll be sure to keep you updated on my blog and our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harvie-and-Hudson-Shirtmakers-of-Jermyn-Street/135069223211876). Do see below for specific locations and timings.

With best wishes,

Richard

New York
Thursday 3rd -Saturday 5th March
InterContinental Barclay
9am-6pm
Special late night Thursday until 7pm
111 E48th St, NY NY 10017-1297
212 755 5900

(H&H, Hemingway Tailors, Alfred Sargent Shoes)


Washington DC
Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th March
The University Club of Washington
9am-6pm
202 862 8800

(H&H, Hemingway Tailors, Alfred Sargent Shoes)


Georgetown
Wednesday 9th March
William Field Tailors
9am-1pm
2134 Wisconsin Ave, NW 20007
202 333 2222
(H&H and Alfred Sargent Shoes)


Chicago
Thursday 10th March
The Mid America Club
10am-7.30pm
200 East Randolph Drive
80th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601
847.582.0289

(H&H, Hemingway Tailors, Alfred Sargent Shoes)


Chicago
Friday 11th March
The Fairmont Chicago
9am-3pm
200 North Columbus Drive, Il 60601
312 565 8000

(H&H, Hemingway Tailors, Alfred Sargent Shoes)


San Francisco
Thursday 10th March 9am-6pm and Friday 11th March 9am-1pm
The Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason Street
917 804 4822
(H&H only)

The first post

Welcome to the Harvie & Hudson blog. This is our first foray into the “blogosphere” but we hope that it becomes something that you will enjoy reading and regularly returning to.

My name is Richard Harvie and I’m the grandson of one of the founders, Thomas Harvie. I’ve been with the company for over 25 years, along with my fellow director Andrew Hudson, who is the grandson of George Hudson.

We are lucky enough to both still have our fathers working with us, as well as Andrew’s uncle, and their experience, wisdom and insights are invaluable. Our fathers, Jeff Harvie, and Derek Hudson started in 1949 with their fathers and I will be interviewing them about their memories and thoughts of how the street and the shirt making trade as a whole have changed since then. Personally I am excited to have the opportunity to do this since I’m sure there are many anecdotes I’ve never heard.

However this isn’t simply going to be a retrospective page, we’re lucky enough to be able to travel regularly to the United States for a biannual trunk show. On these trips we love catching up with old customers, and enjoy going to some fantastic restaurants, hotels and bars which we think that our clientele would themselves delight in visiting. Therefore please excuse me if this occasionally appears to read like a shirt maker’s travel journal but hopefully you’ll enjoy some of these places. In addition, we’d like to share our recommendations for London experiences which are often well kept secrets, or lesser known delights.

Of course the main concern of this blog is to talk about shirts, shirtmaking and all the idiosyncrasies, rules and traditions of a gentleman’s attire. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have, from tie knots and suit shirt combinations, to recommendations for what to wear or even where to get that unusual present when in London. I’ll endeavour to use all the combined experience available to me to give you a helpful and accurate answer.

I hope that you enjoy these articles and we look forward to meeting you in person!

Richard.