Why the Coolest Bar in Town Might Just Be at Your Tailor’s Shop
March 1st saw the unveiling of the House of Richard James, a reimagining of the three-story Georgian townhouse on Clifford Street that formerly housed the London tailor’s bespoke business. Following its £2 million renovation under the designer David Thomas, the manse now also hosts the label’s ready-to-wear collection, made-to-measure service—and a bar.
Between perusing pocket squares or pinching swatches of speculative fabric, clients are welcome to belly up to a bar built from polished brass and topped by Carrara marble, where they might enjoy a calming cocktail or a restorative single malt. Rather than being an outlier in the experience, the two-seat watering hole is consistent with the rest of the first floor, which was designed as a “new-age gentlemen’s club” complete with loungey mid-century furniture and prints from contemporary British artists.
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“I think tailoring as a whole really is a social experience, and that’s part of what we are trying to achieve here,” says Richard James co-founder and managing director Sean Dixon. “It’s not just about buying a suit and leaving.”
Richard James is not the first firm to realize that those two London institutions—the bespoke tailor and the gentlemen’s club—might be rolled into one. In 2020, Thom Sweeney turned a four-story townhouse on Old Burlington Street into its new flagship, complete with a below-ground barbershop, a snooker table in the first-floor showroom, all of it crowned by a cocktail lounge dubbed Sol’s.
Thom Sweeney co-founder Thom Whiddett sees Sol’s as an outgrowth of what had already been happening at the brand’s formerly distinct bespoke and ready-to-wear shops, where clients commiserated around miniature bar set-ups. Sol’s provides an entire floor for existing clients to wind down amid dark woods, a jazz soundtrack, and a menu of complimentary cocktails including the “Martini Tuxedo” and the “Mayfair 75.” A light lunch may even be provided to clients who make arrangements ahead of time, and patrons have also been known to leave choice bottles of wine at Sol’s for later consumption at their leisure.
“It’s become a real hangout space for the guys so that the shopping takes a back seat,” Whiddett says of the overall store experience. “They’re spending, and they’re buying, but it’s done in a way that just feels natural.”
The Sol’s concept, which is named after the hotelier father-in-law of co-founder Luke Sweeney, was imported to the brand’s New York store at a smaller scale. It will also be a presence at the upcoming Thom Sweeney stores planned to open in Los Angeles later this month and in Miami by December.
The clubhouse model has also found traction with the old guard. To mark its 175th anniversary, Huntsman has relaunched its Huntsman Club, a private space located directly above its premises on 11 Savile Row. Available for use by any of its bespoke clients, the space is carpeted and wallpapered in house tweeds and even features a replica of an East London pub, right down to a mahogany bar with a brass rail and a well-worn dart board. The space is often used for events, most recently a gin-centric evening in conjunction with Mayfair’s renowned Donovan Bar, which was held exclusively for female customers.
Cad & The Dandy has fostered conviviality on both sides of the Atlantic, in part by building showrooms that double as social milieus. Its ready-to-wear location at 7-8 Savile Row hosts a 20-seat bar where clients can sample a cask-strength single malt bottled exclusively for the brand. Meanwhile, its New York “Penthouse”—perched on the 11th floor of 130 West 57th Street—is anchored by a circular, blue velvet sofa that seats 15 and is adjacent to a bar station where staff serve cocktails including “The Cad” with rye whiskey, sweet vermouth and orange bitters, or “The Dandy,” which blends gin and dry vermouth with bergamot liqueur.
“With tailors of old, you’d have one person in the shop at any one time, and it would very much be ‘Yes sir’, or ‘No sir,’” says Cad & The Dandy co-founder James Sleater. “We want people to enjoy the process, come in and join us for a cocktail, meet the other customers, and chew the fat about what they’re ordering and get inspired to create great things.”
The clubby atmosphere Cad & The Dandy’s clients already enjoy will soon be heightened at its New York location, which is just weeks from opening a second floor featuring a custom-made, built-in bar that will host private events and special tastings. However, it is far from the only tailoring operation in Manhattan to mix measurements and measures.
Strong drinks have long been a feature of Michael Andrews Bespoke, whose NoHo showroom is dominated by a 10-foot bar originally sourced from an Irish pub in Boston. Today it’s where clients can knock back a tequila, or a signature cocktail on tap (currently a Boulevardier made with Dalmore Port Wood Reserve scotch).
“We have often been described as ‘anti-retail,’ given the relationship-based approach we take,” says founder Michael Andrews, whose more recently opened Groom Shop is also oriented around a bar, this time in an Art Deco theme complemented by a turntable spinning classic vinyl and a television screening classic films. “Guys hate to shop, but they love having a drink with friends.”
And if a drink with friends turns into a new bespoke commission? Then so be it.
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