Thrifty Threads
11 August 2008
Walking down Savile Row each day on the way to the office can be quite a depressing experience. In (most of) the windows there are suits, shirts, shoes and shavers that, one day, I hope to be able to actually purchase as opposed to simply walking past admiringly.
For a young man living in London, on a starting salary, it is a struggle to afford a wardrobe that doesn’t leave you looking as if you were fostered by Fagan. There are, fortunately, alternatives to Jermyn Street and Savile Row which cater for those who do not work in Canary Wharf. Hand-me-downs and second-hand shops are better than ever.
One of my favourite little haunts is Old Hat on the Fulham road. The owner, David Saxby, promises ‘Savile Row elegance for Skid Row credentials’. Like many second hand shops the emphasis is certainly on quantity rather than quality but amongst the rails of old shirts and suits there are some great purchases to be found.
My first visit to the shop came just before I went to Sandhurst. I went in needing to find a bowler hat. I came out with three Hilditch & Key shirts, a Crombie overcoat and a pair of Gucci loafers. It all cost me less than £250.
Another men’s treasure trove of old vintage clothes is Hornets in Kensington. With three different locations off Kensington Church Street, Hornets resembles more of an actual shop than Old Hat (which is rather like a backstage costume cupboard) but still stocks some of London’s finest tailors at even finer prices.
Old Hat: 66 Fulham High St, SW6, 020 7610 6558
Hornets: 2 & 4 Kensington Church Walk, London, 020 7937 1515
-Henry Sands
