As regular readers will know, the Anderson & Sheppard haberdashery launched by Anda Rowland and Audie Charles on Clifford Street is one of my favourite shops in London. Possibly the best single shop to open in whole 8 years this blog has been running.
Now, for the first time,the 70% of people that read this blog outside the UK can also shop there, as they have just opened an online store. You will be able to find many of the accessories I have written about, as well as that slim-fitting knitwear. It’s also good value for money in my book – I particularly recommend the Shetland and lambswool knitwear (£195 and £140 respectively).
The site had one or two glitches early on, but now seems to working well. And it briefly went down last night with a rush of initial traffic, so clearly some regular customers have been eagerly awaiting this moment.
Check it out at shop.anderson-sheppard.co.uk
Hi Simon,
How would you rate the quality of A&S knitwear against that of John Smedley? I visited the A&S website and noticed their prices seem to be somewhat higher than Smedley. Thanks, Jonathan
There’s a big difference in the type of product. Smedley does essentially one type of knitwear – fine gauge, smart and smooth. A&S is not making their own, but designing quite original things, and using a big range of materials, from the quite cheap to the very expensive.
The quality of make doesn’t vary that much, but the style and materials do hugely
I believe anything labeled 90% wool / 10% cash is made by Inis Meain, thereby justifying the high price.
You can tell that pretty easily in the IM knitting too. Personally I’m not a huge fan but I an see the appeal
can you expand on why you are not a fan of IM? I find the shoulders very boxy if that makes sense. I can imagine some would find the look rustic rather than urbane which may be an issue for some too.
The fits I find OK, the designs just don’t tend to appeal to me that much
What is your opinion regarding the softness of A&S Shetland and Lambswool? Most of the time, these 2 wool types are the scratchiest. Thanks.
The Shetland is certainly a bit scratchy, but I really like it. The lambs wool is not
My 90% wool 10% cashmere RTW jacket got a hole under the shoulder due to abrasion by rucksack leather strap, although Robert Noble has a repair patch, the new shop manager and a new director of the shop where I have been a loyal customer refuse to repair it, saying I should buy a new jacket! So I am grateful to learn about alternatives like the Anderson & Sheppard shop you bring here to my attention.
Hello Simon,
First, could you do a short post on who your readers are? I am amazed that 70% of your audience is outside of the U.K.
Secondly, I am trying to wrap my head around the Milanese buttonhole. I realise it is the Rolls Royce of buttonholes, but truly, is it something only a connoisseur would recognise? If I went to an able tailor and requested TWO such buttonholes for a DB, would he then proceed to laugh in my face because of the time needed to pull it off?
Sure on readers. About 50% are from the US
A tailor might well do it if they has confidence in their ability to do so. The problem is often the time required to try four times I order to get it right once. That is the cost – and the reason tailors are often pretty conservative, given their tiny margins
You speak of tiny margins in the business of suit tailoring. Do you have evidence of this? Could you publish a breakdown of the costs of a typical Savile Row suit? (materials, labour, premises, profit etc.)
Yes, evidence of the margins, though I don’t have a complete breakdown of costs. Good idea for a blog post though
Hi Simon –
Do you have any experience of the trousers from the A&S store? I am looking for chinos for winter and would love to see how they compare to incotex etc… Assumedly they are a bit more expensive at A&S. Thanks!
Hey – they are well made, and I’d recommend them from that point of view, but they are very different to Incotex in fit and treatment. Generally wider, classic fits (though there are some skinny ones), more classic materials, and unwashed – so without that softness or subtle wear-signs that you get with garment-washed pieces
Simon do you know who makes Anderson & Sheppard ties?
Yes, but not sure it’s relevant. Why do you want to know?
I always find it interesting to know what company are actually behind items that I’ve purchased.
Thanks, yes I can see that. However it’s not hard to assess the quality of a tie, so the manufacturer is not much of an indicator of that, and it is the designer (A&S) that has really added the value. There’s rather too much focus these days on just the manufacturing