Magazine-April-06-QXD6 (Page 1 - 2) - EADA

A TALE OF TAILSBallroom dancing has changed overthe years – shapes have becomemore exaggerated, dancers areexpected to extend more and it’s allmore athletic. Tailsuits have had toevolve with the style of dancing andhave developed the need to be morestreamlined and performanceorientated.Bespoke continually develop and evolve theirtailsuits to keep up with these changes andtrends. Over the past five years the Pure ClassTailors have been busy introducing many newconcepts to the design and construction ofmodern dancewear. Tailor Andy Brown explainedhow a tailsuit is made and how they havedeveloped their latest design.Each and every suit is cut by hand using themeasurements and notes that have been taken atthe first meeting. Although many of the clothsused are still English woollen cloths, they havechanged considerably from the cloths used 5years ago. The cloths now used are stretchcloths, supplied by traditional Yorkshire Mills orfrom noted cloth merchants Holland & Sherry ofSavile Row. “We have developed some veryparticular cloths for our new suits,” explains Andy,“we have a traditional style woollen cloth with 6%lycra content and a fantastic microfibre cloth witha satin inner face that takes the place of thelining. Both of these have a one way stretchwhich allows the back line to be kept tensionedand clean and means the suit moves much betterwith the dancer. It’s important that a tailsuitmoves with the dancer to show more bodymovement, and not against them which some ofthe older style suits tended to.” The stretch woolsuits are referred to as Feathertouch Tailsuits andthe microfibrePhotos of the cutting process thanks to Andy Brown at Bespoke.The first step in producing a tailsuit is obviouslyto meet with the client and take measurements;around 10 measurements are needed in mostcases, with a few more if the client has specificneeds or physical traits that need specialattention. The tailor will look at their hold andframe and general body shape and note all theindividual characteristics. With more dancersrecognising the benefits of going to the gym,many men have more developed upper-bodiesand this is something new that the tailor has toconsider if they are to produce a well fitting suit.34referred to as Featherweight. Both of these suitshave no linings in the sleeves and trousers andboth of these cloths are lighter than clothspreviously used, with the microfibre being thelightest. “It is important to reduce the amount oflining in stretch suits otherwise the stretch effectwill be lost,” explains Andy, “a lining also adds tothe weight of the suit; without it the cloth canperform much better.”The next stage for a tailsuit takes place in theworkrooms where the sections of cloth that arenow cut are hand basted together. This is the