Story by Silvio Calabi and Photography Terry Allen
Story originally published in Volume 3, Number 3
It’s a matter of fit—first, foremost, and always the fit. Shoulder your best gun: Does your coat let your arms and shoulders rise to the occasion, and your torso swing freely with the target? Does your vest allow the gunstock to slide easily into the shoulder pocket, and help hold it there? If not—and if you’re willing to pay the price—Leonard Logsdail, born and trained in England but a true-blue New Yorker since 1991, can provide the solution.
For those who don’t have off-the-rack physiques, the solution is bespoke tailoring. Bespoke means “spoken for,” or made to measure and to order—and made to function with comfort and satisfaction. Once upon a time, in addition to “his” gunmaker and fly tier, a gentleman had a bootmaker, a glovemaker, a hatmaker, a shirtmaker, a maker of walking sticks and umbrellas, and possibly even a coachbuilder (to fabricate one-off automobile bodies for the gentleman’s chassis of choice), and naturally a tailor. Leonard Logsdail is just old enough to remember those days.
Born in the grimy East End of London after World War II, Leonard as a teenager was packed off to tailoring school because, well, he was still around and his parents were getting worried. To everyone’s astonishment, this was a good fit—as it were—and then in 1968 Leonard invested in a pair of professional shears (costing £10/5s; a bespoke suit then cost £69) and went to Savile Row. Thanks to his skills and personality, he skipped the traditional 20 years of cutting and sewing behind the scenes and within months was out front, dealing directly with clients. Then his employer began to send him on three-month sales swings across the U.S. There he fell in love, married, hung his shingle on East 53rd Street in Manhattan, and launched a fruitful business catering to Wall Street, Broadway, Hollywood, and men and women of taste from across the world.GOOD MEASUREMENTS
The process begins with a meeting in Leonard’s comfortable fitting room in New York to discuss needs, wants, and style, and to browse among 12,000 fabrics. (Leonard will also come to you—he flies first class and charges for his time—or you may meet him at the SCI Convention in Las Vegas.) Then the tape measure comes out. Here, Leonard’s experience and acute eye are critical; a suit must be built around the wearer’s posture and habits as much as his measurements.
A master tailor notes how the client stands and sits, and where and how he’ll wear the garment. A shooting jacket is shaped differently, and has different features, than one worn in the boardroom. As well, the cloth must be laid out so that its pattern aligns across lapels and pocket flaps and drapes well over a bowed back. Finally, your dimensions are transferred to paper patterns, along which the cloth will be cut.
By the time a man’s suit is complete, 70 hours of Leonard’s and his staff’s time have been committed, along with four yards of premier fabric costing at least $150 per yard. A two-piece Leonard Logsdail suit starts at $6,500 and can be double that, depending on fabrics and features. (Some clients like special linings—Hermès silk scarves, for example, at $350 and up, each.) For $3,200 clients can order a suit fitted by Leonard and stitched together in Toronto. Bespoke shirts start at $395. Neckties, cut to accommodate necks, chests, and bellies, are $225 and up. A shooting vest is $1,600. Returning customers, whose measurements and idiosyncrasies are on file and who haven’t gained weight, can have a suit in three weeks. A first-time client can expect the process to take two to three months and two to four fittings. At any time, be prepared for Leonard to rip apart a garment with his bare hands if the fit is off. (It’s startling, particularly if you’re modeling the item at the time.)
Leonard’s clients tend to stay with him, and their paper patterns evolve over time just as they do. Always, the goal is proper fit. Proper fit is the difference between, say, a tuxedo that can be danced in all night and one that has its victim tugging at collar and waistband and complaining about “this monkey suit”—never mind being dressed for successful shooting. Never forget that we also dress to show ourselves off to best effect. That gap behind your neck? The pants cuffs piled up around your shoes? The equatorial bulge? Gone, at the hands of Leonard Logsdail.
Whether suit, shirts, ties, perhaps an introduction to a bootmaker—or a shooting coat or a gunning vest—you’ll never look or feel better than you do in a Leonard Logsdail garment. Your spouse, your family, even your dogs will thank you. It’s also true that you’ll never be entirely satisfied with something less.
For more information about Leonard Logsdail, visit leonardlogsdail.com.
Never forget that we also dress to show ourselves off to best effect. That gap behind your neck? The pants cuffs piled up around your shoes? The equatorial bulge? Gone, at the hands of Leonard Logsdail.
