Whistle and Flute Bespoke

Tailor at 16 Brune Street
Whistle and Flute Bespoke image
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10 / 10 from 2 reviews
Address
16 Brune Street
The City
London
E1 7NJ
Map
Telephone
020 7426 0484
Region
The City
Nearest Station
Aldgate East
0.22 miles
Category
Tailors

We are passionate about providing our clients with top quality bespoke tailoring and the best service imaginable.

All In London Review

A visit to Whistle and Flute leaves one with a sense of importance

East end tailors Whistle and Flute sits in a Dickensian-feel alleyway a stones throw from Liverpool Street station. Taking a leap from the traditional cloisters of Savile Row, this bespoke tailoring outfit is yet another sign of London’s prospering east end. And it does not feel out of place. Neat, cosy and with a cluster of very civilised neighbouring pubs and shops, it rests comfortably as part of the evolving identity of Spitalfields.

Although the shop itself was newly opened in December, the staff have over twenty years’ experience as visiting tailors behind them and are under the direction of old hands to the trade Allan Raper and Matthew Izzard. Talking with them is a swift introduction to a world of Perfectionism. Passionate, romantic, organic, one where the tailors still use treadle machines on occasion –at night it bothers the neighbours less than electric. When putting together a bespoke suit, it is necessary that each stitch falls exactly into place. In a 24 hour culture of fast food, takeaway lattes and always rushing for a deadline, this feels like a distinct rarety.

Senior tailor Darren Beaman is wearing a shirt he made himself, complete with hand sewn initials and what he points out as rather splendid James Bond style cuffs. ‘If I wake up happy,’ Beaman says, ‘it’s the best day to get a coat out.’ It is clear from the loving way he talks about the trade that immense value is placed on the thought and investment customers put into purchasing a bespoke suit. Beaman talks about what a privilege it is to fit wedding suits, and adds that he always pays special attention when fitting the back; ‘it’s the part everyone sees!’ The tailors themselves undergo a very thorough training process with four years as an apprentice followed by two years working under a qualified tailor, which perhaps explains this dedication and passion.

These tailors have outfitted for an impressive variety of people. Names such as Halle Berry, Cameron Diaz and Keira Knightley are flung around, not to mention certain royal fittings. Beaman talks of flying out to New York, Toronto, Miami… Sitting on the floor with Saudi Arabian princesses. The work comes through pure reputation and the clientele list is a testament to the service on offer.
As a customer, you would go to Whistle and Flute to be outfitted. They offer the full range, from morning suits and smoking jackets down to shoes, ties and shirts. On average, one tailor will make two suits a week, although Beaman mentions having to once put together a velvet smoking jacket in twenty-one hours, but that’s another story.

Almost all of Whistle and Flute’s suits are made in the UK, with a small exception of a few at the cheaper end that are made overseas. The price range is upwards of £550. At the higher end, you can obtain items such as the £15,000 Vicuna suit – a garment made from the soft neck hair of between twenty-five and thirty animals. The fabric for this is priced at £3,000 a metre, so be careful not to spill any champagne.

Whistle and Flute are keeping up with the twenty-first century by adding female tailoring to their repertoire with bespoke suits and dresses overseen by women’s specialist Robert. In this area, Whistle and Flute are a leading outfitters. Historically, there has been a friction between tailoring and dressmaking, but they are turning their backs on this and providing a hybrid. There’s a gap in the market when it comes to sophisticated business women, and they are ready to fill it.

A visit to Whistle and Flute leaves one with a sense of the importance in taking a refined pleasure in what we wear, in feeling comfortable and confident. They present the concept of ‘the best suit you’ll ever wear,’ a concept which is undeniably seductive.

Reviewed by Directionless
Published on Feb 2, 2011


User Reviews

Greatfit of Suitston
from Miami

Feb 9, 2013

These are the best suits I've seen since Austin Burke in Miami

Name: Greatfit of Suitston
Location: Miami
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