Ragged But Right - A Visit From McDermott & McGough and Barima

111614_7765_lores
David McDermott and Peter McGough outside The Back Room, NYC, Nov 2014

Mike Haar (@mikewillcutyou) hosts a monthly DJ night at The Back Room, and this one was extra special because David McDermott was visiting from Ireland and dropped by with his longtime artistic partner Peter McGough.  If you aren't familiar with the legendary duo you must look up McDermott and McGough!  Their history, philosophy, and work are fascinating. And if that wasn't enough excitement, my friend and I am Dandy book subject Barima Owusu-Nyantekyi was visiting from London.  What a great meeting of worlds!  I hope you enjoy my documentation of the evening.

111614_7751_rt1_lores 111614_7746_lores
Peter McGough and Barima

111614_7697_lores
Michael Haar

111614_7724_lores
Darlene and Laura Kimsey

111614_7707_lores

111614_7721_lores 111614_7756_lores
Mister Burton finally gets to meet David McDermott

111614_7770_lores 111614_7760_lores

111614_7776_lores
Vanessa and Mr. Haar

111614_7768_lores
As Mister Burton puts it, "A Ripper Street Moment"

111614_7782_lores
Kelly Desmond Bray trying to scare us as we leave The Back Room

I am Dandy in Zurich at AP & Co

100214_3231_lores

Thank you to all who could join us last night to celebrate I am Dandy with our hosts AP & Co - Alferano, Pesko & Co - in Zurich on Oct 2, 2014.  What a fantastic crowd!  Enjoy these photos by Bon Parinya Wongwannawat and me.

100214_3211_lores

dandy (101 von 197)
Jeroen van Rooijen, Zurich style guru and creator of the Styleride, presents our book to the crowd.

dandy (99 von 197) 100214_3184_lores
Raul Sanchez, head of design for Jemoli

100214_3206_lores
Photographing Stephan Feierabend and his custom ride

100214_3222_lores dandy (5 von 197)
Monkey 47 gin and Gents tonic make a fantastic gin and tonic!  Wish I could get them in the states.


Jeroen, Natty, and Nico Pesko

dandy (176 von 197)
Reto Caprez of Alferano, and Artan Kasa, head of made to measure for AP & Co


Our journalist friend Kim Dang kicked things off for us in Zurich with his front page feature for NZZ (Zurich's largest daily newspaper) Stil Sunday magazine "Forever Dandy".  That's Winston Chesterfield on the cover!

100214_3219_lores
dandy (79 von 197)
For more photos visit AP & Co facebook page

Alferano, Pesko & Co
Talstrasse 58
8001 Zurich
+41 43 888 64 64

Do You Know Scavini?

092813_1815_lores
Massimilano Mocchia di Coggiola and Julien Scavini, Paris, Sept 2013


On our last visit to Paris - for the I am Dandy book launch - Massimiliano invited Kelly and I to meet his tailor...and irresistible prospect!

We walked up the exceptionally wide open, and very-quiet-for-the-middle-of-the-day Boulevard La Tour-Maubourg around the corner from Les Invalides.   From the clear view on the boulevard we could spot Massimiliano several streets away walking quickly towards us with his happy gait.  He joined us and we went in to meet Julien Scavini, proprietor of Scavini Tailleur.  I don’t think any of you would blame me if I expected to see an old Italian man hunched over a work table, would you?  Who we met was a gracious, fresh-faced young French man who has set up a fastidious and charming menswear atelier.  His specialty is made-to-measure, which he has made by a small family workshop in, get this, northern Italy!

092813_1713_lores
I ask him what he thinks of the word “dandy”:  “The true dandy is a myth, a fictional character. It is an idea, an essence. The dandy embodies the perfection of nothingness, emptiness. It is an art. And like any perfection, it is not of this world, but the world of ideas and concepts.  I prefer the term gentleman for men dressed elegantly. That said, for Massimiliano or Mickael Loir, the term gentleman is wrong, while dandy is best ... funny!”


Scavini’s passion for tailoring developed after he came to Paris (from his home town of Biarritz) to study architecture.  As a lover of classical architecture, towards the end of his studies he grew weary of the over emphasis on removing “old thinking”, and using technology to innovate.  He always loved menswear, so he decided to do his thesis about a Hackett shop.  “It was very funny,” He says.  After his graduation he started an apprenticeship with master tailor, AndrĂ© Guillerme-Guilson.  He spent a year with Guilson at the l'Association de Formation Tailleur learning the art of tailoring, and, although he is not a cutter, he can make a jacket “from A-Z” by hand.

092813_1797_lores 092813_1750_lores 092813_1765_lores
Scavini brings this keen understanding of tailoring, and a very discerning eye for detail not only to his shop, but to his blog Stiff Collar, which he started in 2009 while studying with Guilson.  Stiff Collar is a wealth of information and inspiration, and what you will immediately notice - even if you don’t read French - are his charming illustrations.  Scavini tells me started drawing during his architecture studies, ironically using his ArchiCad software to express the universe that inspired him - 1930s England, Hercule Poirot, classic tailoring, etc.  With their thick black outlines, one can see his artwork has been inspired by classic comics like Tintin, Blake and Mortimer, and illustrator Jean-Claude Floch.  Small framed prints of a selection of his artwork are on the walls of his shop, and it adds to the ambience - classic, understated, and a little modern in that practical way I like.

092813_1778_lores092813_1791_lores 092813_1808_lores 092813_1805_lores
Scavini Tailleur
50 Boulevard de la Tour-Maubourg
75007 Paris

Apart from visiting Stiff Collar, you can see Scavini’s illustrations in Figaro Magazine, and in a soon to be released fully illustrated book on classic wardrobe (title and link to come!).  He also will star as a tailoring specialist in an upcoming French TV show called Cousu Main (Hand Sewn), an adaptation of the English reality/game show The Great British Sewing Bee.  It premieres Aug 30, 2014 on M6 in France.  It appears we will be seeing and hearing a lot from Julien Scavini!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...