So when Berkley Bowen decided to open in Liverpool last month, with a showroom on Water Street, he was the ideal choice.
“Most of my day-to-day customers who I go out to see in their offices are lawyers, barristers and accountants; people who haven’t got a lot of time to go out to the shops,” explains Shaun.
“I meet a guy, discuss fabrics and what will work best for them, the style of the suit and I find out where they’re going to wear it.
“Then I measure them, although the whole jokey thing of inside leg measuring doesn’t exist any more because we do it with a machine now,” he smiles. “Ladies can sit on a table and you measure from the table to the top of the waistband, and with men you can measure the outside leg and then you take the distance from under the crotch to the waistband and minus it.
“I think the old-fashioned way did put a few guys off, but you do have a bit of brass on the end of your tape measure so you don’t have to get too close. There’s at least three inches of respectable distance!”
With more than 1,000 fabrics to choose from, Shaun has to have a pretty good memory and he constantly does his homework on suiting fashions.
“I keep a close eye on the style press, magazines like GQ and Esquire, to see where trends are going,” he says. “But although we do have so many fabric books, if a guy comes in and asks for a particular shade of navy, for instance, I’ll know exactly where to look.”
Prices for a bespoke suit start at £550, but Shaun maintains that their life span and quality means they are value for money.
“And also, it’s the feel of a made-to-measure suit that’s so important and the fact that you get to choose everything from the lining to the lapel width and the number of buttons,” he adds. “Plus an off-the-rail suit will never fit you absolutely perfectly, not unless you’re exactly the same size as the model the suit was made for and I’ve never met anyone who is.”
Bespoke essentially means that there are few limits to the imagination, but Shaun admits the majority of men are quite conservative in their choice.
“Most are professionals so they’ve got to present a professional image,” he says. “Some do like to push the boat out a bit, but they still have to consider what their clients will like, as well as what they like themselves. They probably wouldn’t give a very professional impression in a pink suit.
“Even with footballers, I do suggest that they try something a bit unusual, but most stick to what they’re comfortable with, and the final choice often comes down to what their wives or girlfriends decide anyway.
“I’ll usually measure the men and then show the fabric books to the women – the man might get to choose the lining if he’s lucky!”
dawn.collinson
