John Rizzo

With a 5 plus trillion USD balance sheet, ICBC should be rocking 24/7

@dieworkwear I had my first appointment with Steed yesterday in DC. Thank you. It was wonderful.

If you're located in the United States and interested in bespoke tailoring, there are two notable trunk shows coming up. The first is Steed, which is a small, family-owned tailoring firm based in Carlisle (although they also take appointments on Savile Row). They've been my main tailor for over ten years. The company's founder and head cutter, Edwin DeBoise, trained under the late, great Edward Sexton before working as Anderson & Sheppard's head cutter in the 1990s. I think he's one of the best—if not the best—cutters for a style known as the drape cut. In the early 20th century, Dutch-English tailor Frederick Scholte noticed that a guard's coat could be made to look very masculine if he belted up the waist, which caused the chest to puff out. So he built this silhouette into his drafting methods. The drape cut, as it was later known, is defined by its softer shoulder and fuller chest. It's called the drape cut because excess material "drapes" near the armhole (easier to see in lightweight worsteds than thick woolens). I like the drape cut because it helps build up a flattering V-shaped silhouette. It's also a very old school British style without the stiffness of Huntsman. The company has three main offerings: a fully bespoke service (pattern cut by Edwin), a semi-bespoke service (pattern cut by Edwin's son or apprentice), and then a made-to-measure service (pattern adjusted off a block and made in a factory, but with fittings done by the Steed team). If you're interested, you can reach out to them at info@steed.co.uk. Along with the dates above, they will be in NYC on August 16th and 17th The second is Assisi, a relatively young South Korean tailoring shop based in Seoul. Although they've only been around for three years, their cutter Kim Min Soo has been cutting for fifteen years. Dabin, pictured above, conducts the fittings and has a great eye for style. This sort of combination often proves to be very powerful—someone with the technical craft and another with an eye for style, so you end up getting the best of both worlds. Assisi cuts a very soft coat with minimal shoulder padding and just a single layer of canvas for structure. Yet, they still build a lot of shape into their garments (made possible through the use of skilled pad stitching and ironwork). I love the clean fit—nothing ever puckers or pulls—and how things have this very romantic 1980s feel with looking oversized. Assisi will be in New York City from October 25th until the 27th, and then in San Francisco from November 1st until the 3rd. For questions or to make an appointment, email assisibespokehouse@gmail.com. As usual, none of these posts are paid advertisements. I don't get any kickbacks, commissions, or discounts for posting about trunk shows. I only make these announcements because I care a lot about bespoke tailoring and would like to see these crafts survive. If you have questions, please direct them to the tailors.