Formal wear origins

Leonard Logsdail describes himself as a
“transplanted Londoner”. He retains his
English accent, which he admits is something
of an asset as it sets him apart and his name
is well known, especially in the film world,
where he has been responsible for dressing
many stars, such as Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis.
He recently worked on Wall Street II: Money Never Sleeps,
making the formal suits that convey power, intrigue and
prestige, and other recent recipients have been stars such
as Jim Carrey, Alan Alder, Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Toby
Maguire and Leonardo di Caprio – you can’t get much more
stellar than that.
He says “some movie stars have egos the size of the Empire State
Building” refusing, discreetly, to name names but points out
that in this part of the business, it’s 90 per cent psychology,
10 per cent tailoring, and adds that this is true of the tailor’s
profession in general: “It will fail if you’re not inside the head.”
LONDON PEDIGREE
Leonard began his career with a meteoric rise at a time
when British style was at its zenith. He worked in Savile Row
and went to tailoring college in London, which he says gave
him a pedigree: “At college, I loved the idea that you could take
a plain piece of brown paper and turn it into a suit. I concentrated
on cutting, and was one of the first tailors to go straight into a job
in the cutting room. People recognized that I had a flair for it and
stood up for me. I still love what I do, and I will not let a suit go out
if there are any mistakes whatsoever. I cut every single one.”
He worked at several well-respected names in Savile Row,
and then aged just 21 he set up a business with a partner,
Burstow and Logsdail, in premises above a shop in London’s
Carnaby Street, an address which was the centre of the
fashion universe at the time. He regards this with a certain
amusement: “At 21, you think you know everything, I look back
and think I was such a big head, but I was a quick learner. I
remember after six or seven months in the business I sat down to
have a cup of tea and I was working on half a dozen suits. I looked
at one of them and it dawned on me that I was putting a 21-yearold’s
idea on to a 50-year-old stockbroker, it was hanging up and I
realized that it was his suit, not mine. That cup of tea taught me a
lesson – I have to make the dreams of my clients come true.”
SCABAL ACROSS THE WORLD
AN ENGLISHMAN
IN NEW YORK
From Savile Row to Wall Street, British elegance has no borders. In The Big Apple, we met
Leonard Logsdail, a tailor who left London many years ago to live his own American
dream. Now considered as the first celebrity tailor in New York, Logsdail talks to us about
his work and his formal wear approach.
Leonard Logsdail
In the early days of Burstow and Logsdail, Leonard built
up a Dutch following, travelling regularly from London
to Rotterdam, the Hague, Eindhoven and on to Paris and
Germany, driving across Europe around six times per year.
Eventually, he travelled to customers in the States, fell in love
with New York and Washington and, incidentally, with an
American who is now his wife, with whom he has six children.
That was 20 years ago. After renting premises initially in
Madison Avenue he moved to East 53 rd St. where the business
is still located. “I have never regretted one iota. America is a great
place, and there are still so many opportunities.”
A PASSION FOR CLOTH
Logsdail has been a user of Scabal fabrics throughout his
career. He describes his clientele as people who basically prefer
classic clothes, though they are very receptive to new soft
colours and many like quite bold decoration such as strong
stripes. His fabrics are based in top quality, fine wool, 120’s,
130’s and 140’s and this applies also to his young customers:
“At that sort of price point they don’t want something which is only
going to last a year or two.” He is quite prepared to refurbish
favourite garments, saying that he has recently relined a suit
purchased in 1988: “It’s good that they enjoy it, and put it to good
use, and this is useful for me to point out too, especially when I want to
increase prices!”
“Scabal fabrics are probably the best in the world,” he says, naming
the cashmere bunch Romance as one of his favourites, since it
tailors well and appeals to customers who like a conservative
and elegant approach. It is a cloth of 280 grammes that consists
of pure cashmere, ideal for gentlemen who are seeking a
naturally elegant summer jacket. Fine worsted cashmere,
Romance drapes beautifully and has a fantastic feel with pure
cashmere’s exceptional softness and another benefit is the
magnificent, natural sheen that is unique to this fibre.
Leonard Logsdail, tailor to the stars, says that the part of his
job he likes best is meeting people, whether it be his highflying
customers or the celebrities he deals with for film work:
“I love the psychological games of deciding who is going to be in
control. In particular, the guys from Wall Street could be really hardnosed,
but I still love the fact that a two-dimensional idea turns into
three dimensions and passes muster with everyone.”
Janet Prescott
SPECIAL OCCASIONS
Formal wear may not be a frequent
purchase, but it is indispensable
in the building of a wardrobe and
there is increased interest in formal
clothing as new generations look to
the sartorial advantages that such
well cut, tailored items can bestow.
The internationally successful TV
show Mad Men, set in the 1950s and
60s, must have had an effect in this
direction too, with its debonair,
scheming dilettante ad executives
in Madison Avenue such as Donald
Draper dressing immaculately for
every occasion as they pressed their
advantage.
“Because in most cases formal wear is
required to be worn over several years
in many different settings, it has to be
made of finest quality fabric which needs
to be classic, but can bear hallmarks of
individuality as well”, says Leonard
Logsdail.
Formal attire in the shape of dinner
suits, smoking jackets, tuxedos and
ceremonial wear represents a small
but important part of his output. He
usually makes five or six full dress
suits and tails per year, and also some
morning suits, mainly in traditional,
classic designs. Tuxedos are more
frequent “but even these are not too fashion
forward, they’re usually solid patterns, with
sometimes a fine herringbone”. There is
a great deal of prestige still associated
with formal clothes. One club in
Houston, Texas asks him to make a
velvet smoking jacket each year for the
retiring President. His business suits
are usually chosen in lighter-weight
fabrics, with very few of these over 250
grammes, but formal wear is created
from more substantial cloths in 300-
350 grammes. He notes a return to
retro looks such as shawl, or rolled
collars: “I think people have been looking
at old Sean Connery films, it’s like the
antique stores, all things from the 1960s are
fashionable”.
Actor Denzel Washington fitting his new bespoke suit,
with Leonard Logsdail
Leonard Logsdail
9 E 53rd St # 4
New York, NY 10022-4222
USA
T. +1 212 752-5030
He recalls with relish a commission
from a top banker from Dallas,
working for Morgan Chase and
concerned with looking after the funds
of various prestigious institutions with
formidable reputations based on the
East Coast. This man said that people
poked fun at him for being a bland
banker known for his grey suits. He
came and explained his predicament
to Leonard, who decided to make him
a deep maroon smoking jacket with
shawl collar and patch pockets for a
particular function. “I sent the patches
to India and had them embroidered with
various designs such as a wagon wheel,
an armadillo, all emblems of Texas, with
a yellow rose of Texas on the lapel and on
the silk cummerbund a facade of the Alamo
and the Texan flag. The client dressed for
dinner and entered the room with his wife
only once he knew the room was full. The
conversation stopped dead.”
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