at First article in this seriesCoatmaker Bob Bigg tells us what it was like working on Savile Row in the 60s, 70s and 80s. The big houses weren’t necessarily the same, and they weren’t all luxurious. But Sean Connery and Roger Moore were upset.

Today we move away from celebrities and move on to many different aspects: drinks, characters, sharp practices and more.

Bob started working as a coatmaker in 1968 and still works part time at Whitcomb & Shaftesbury. He worked for many tailors over the years, including the likes of Anthony Sinclair, Ronnie Prescod and Harry Helman.

PS: Bob, what were some of the sharp practices that went on around Savile Row?

Oh, there were a lot of things like that. I had some great salesmen around me. One of the best was Ronnie Prescod, a cutter at Adeney & Boutroy, where I worked for a while.

Prescod used to say to me in the afternoon: “It’s a little quiet. I’ll go out and do some work.” And he would go to clubs like Bentley and stuff like that and bring in a lot of people. They must have been as drunk as ever. They kept drinking at my house and after a certain point they all stumbled home.

And the next day he would call them and say, “Now, was that chalk stripe suit you ordered single-breasted or double-breasted?” And they won’t remember ordering it at all. He just made it up.

To be fair, he was often a little more subtle than that. If they order two suits, he’ll probably say three. They were all very wealthy people and had no problem with money. It was just a matter of getting orders from them.

Have you ever received something you didn’t order and didn’t like it?

Yes, it has happened and there have been worse cases. One time someone came in with a new suit and Prescod said, “Is there something wrong? I thought that suit was good and it fit well.”

The customer responded, “Yes, I know it fits, but I didn’t like the fabric the first time I sold it.” He then opened the suit to show me the same suit and said, “I like it even less the second time!”

Was alcohol a big part of the culture back then?

Oh yes, a lot of cutters were drinking every day. I remember one customer ordering a suit and then leaving, shouting to Prescod, “I want a morning cut, Ronnie!” Because he used to go out drinking every day at lunchtime, and the afternoons weren’t as good as the mornings, at least in the eyes of his customers.

Harry Helman was a great cutter, but at the time his shop was on Bruton Street and he had a back door leading down to Guinea (Guinea Grill, pub). His older brother always complained that Harry drank and did everything. But it was a good combination and it was Harry who people came to see.

What was a drinking club?

They made tailors famous! Bars usually closed at 3 o’clock and didn’t reopen until 5 or 6 o’clock. But you will also have external clients who come to see your accountant, banker or tailor. Then they wanted to go out for lunch, get a few tastes, and continue drinking, but there was no place open.

So they went to a drinking club, a members club, and the tailors were members there. It was the kind of place that should be recommended, and even these out-of-towners needed someone to log in. There were about 10 people where I was drinking.

Some clubs didn’t require you to log in, you just had to look the part. I play squash at the RAC (below) every week and just went in. I’ve always been smart, which helped.

One time a member came up to me and said ‘You!’ And I thought, ‘Oh, now I’ve eaten it, I know.’ But what he said was, ‘You! I know you’re on the committee. I always see you walking around. Can you help me grow this thing with them… ‘

I will never be able to escape it now. Every club is much tighter.

What was the workshop like at that time?

They were big, crowded and very busy. Since everyone was working on a piece (being paid based on the items they created), they didn’t take their eyes off their work, kept their heads down, and just talked.

In fact, that was why the whistling started. Do you know about the sound of whistling?

No, what was that?

It’s hard to explain, but there was a whole whistle system so people could comment on things while they were working. The most common one is that someone would say, ‘That person is such an idiot,’ and everyone would whistle in unison, as if to say, ‘Then you’re even more of an idiot.’ So to avoid that you had to say ‘he’s a fool, forbid him’, which means ‘forbid me’, accept that you’re a fool too, and then they couldn’t whistle.

i like it. It’s like a whole system of jokes for people who don’t see each other.

accurately. It may sound silly, but shooting in a big workshop can be a lot of fun.

And are there coat makers and apprentices there?

Typically, apprentices are trained elsewhere, but sometimes they are. After a four-year apprenticeship, you may move into a larger workshop as an ‘improver’ for two years. You sit down with a coat maker, learn from him, maybe get 40% or 60% of the money for the work, and the rest goes to the person you’re learning from.

It’s been a while, right?

Yes, but you are still learning. And my thing is always that I don’t care how you get there, I care what the outcome is. That’s why it’s a good idea to learn and try different methods. I’ll show you how to roll the edge of the collar and how to do it. You can also do it another way if you want.

How has suit style changed over time?

The ’60s were very boxy, had high buttons and didn’t have much shape. It became more interesting in the 70s and 80s because people wanted more styles. Especially in the 80s, tailoring was introduced to people who wanted to look rich. There was a lot of demand and everyone made a lot of money.

Who were the peripheral figures such as Hardy Amies and Edward Sexton?

Amis has been around for a while but has always been clean. Sexton (above) was great. It was a really good cutter. Whether you liked his style or not is another matter, but he was very good.

Was there a big difference in the style of the house?

Although not a large company, Sexton was unique in that regard, but its customers were more knowledgeable and knew the differences. For example, Kilgour had these heavy drapes. It was a solid suit, but had a strong drape and a cut through the front.

I think people get too obsessed with these details. What matters is not the fit or the product, but how it appears to the customer. Don’t start picking on the fit, just think about whether he looks good.

How much of a difference does having a good front of house make?

Oh, there used to be a lot of great things. Colin Hammick (above) was great, as was Tommy Nutter. They always looked fantastic in their clothes. There’s a lot missing today.

Hamick was a little crazy, but he was very thorough. You’ll say, ‘I like the fit of this jacket,’ and he’ll say, ‘I don’t.’ ‘The shoulders are an eighth of an inch too wide.’ And he’ll make you take it apart and do it all over again. Customers really liked him, and he was an inspiration to them.

Prescod stood the same 6-foot-3 and was always spotless. Nothing is out of place. Some of them get their hair cut every Monday, so they look their best all week. Everything you saw was what you wanted.

It was so perfect that I could get away with wearing more unusual clothes. They’ll wear these fancy clothes and think, ‘I wish I looked like that.’ But of course you won’t look the same.

Prescod had a white silk suit with small checks inside, making it very difficult to make. He kept it hanging throughout the summer and hung it up when he went out to lunch with someone special. It was very impressive.

Was he trying to sell the most expensive clothes?

Although there was often a technology associated with it. I remember when the Super 100 first came out, I had the Prescod spread out on the side. He showed the customer a typical Smith or Lesser 13oz, but he could see the customer’s admiration for the 100s. ‘Co, this is good Ronnie,’ they would say.

‘It’s too expensive,’ was all Ronnie said. Of course, it implies that it is too expensive for the customer.

So they got interested. ‘So how much is Ronnie worth?’ they will ask. If you say, ‘Oh, about £150 more (now it’s about £2000)’, of course they will do that.

The problem is that next time I go in, regular clothes will be that price. ‘That’s what you paid last time,’ he said!

Have you ever had a customer know what’s going on but not care?

Yes, of course. These were intelligent people, and many of those relationships were pretty funny. And as I said before, money was no object. This man was one of the richest men in the world at the time.

Have you ever had a particularly difficult client?

We call them ‘Mayfair customers’. They are often very demanding and have little understanding of what we have done. These are the kind of people who end up pretending to make adjustments. They often had to make adjustments because they didn’t really know what they wanted.

They take the pieces they want to change, give them steam and brushes, but they don’t change them. The next time they came in, they would put it on and immediately say, ‘Oh, haven’t we gone too far?’ Yes, it was too much.’

You don’t have to take them off and replace them, just brush them. And then the last time they came, they were like, ‘Yeah, it’s a lot better. ‘I’m glad I made a change.’ And they will leave happy.

I really like it. I know there’s a trick where shoemakers spit on the bottom of a shoe and then spit in the back of the store to pretend they’re working. Then they return it and because there is more friction inside, the customer thinks it has been changed.

Yes, some of them do the opposite by putting talcum powder inside to give it a softer feel. There was one cutter who a ‘Mayfair customer’ would mark all over the parts with chalk and then call his assistant. ‘All changes have been marked. Take this to Mr Brush downstairs!’

Are there a lot of characters like this these days?

No, I don’t think so. Now all the kids take it very seriously. These days, when I ask when the jacket will be ready, I look carefully at my phone calendar and say, ‘Wednesday, 2 p.m.’ When I worked, you took on everything they gave you and did it when you could.

It feels like part of the trend we talked about last time. That said, what’s left of the industry today is top-of-the-line.

Yeah, I think that’s fair. Although there are some shortcomings, such as catching up with front of house and ready-to-wear.

After the 2008 financial crisis, wasn’t there a large influx of young people trying to enter the industry? Historically it was largely working class, often immigrant. Now it’s lower middle class and probably more idealistic.

Yes. In many ways, this is a good thing. The question is their expectations and how many people stay.

I hope many people do that and good things happen for the industry. Thanks for your time, Bob. I was able to gain enlightenment and a lot of joy.