PRATT & PRASAD

Sartorial

PRATT & PRASAD: THE FINISHED SUIT

Gustav Temple finally collects the bespoke suit for which he has waited eight long weeks and made four visits to his tailor

In the previous edition, we chronicled the lengthy process of having a bespoke suit made by Pratt & Prasad. In fact, so lengthy that the suit wasn’t finished until the subsequent issue

y fourth stroll along the windswept

Mboulevards of Clapham was repetitive in more ways than one: on each visit to Pratt & Prasad, I felt obliged to don the same black vintage suit I had worn to the first consultation so the comparison could be made. I knew this would be the last time I would wear this ensemble of mismatched blacks and weights of fabric. Goodbye, old friend, I said to it, brushing yet more lint off the lapels; you have served me well but now the Platonic shadow in the cave is to be replaced by the Real Thing.

Haddon was nearly as excited as I was, forgetting to offer me the usual cup of tea in his haste to show me his creation. I saw it immediately; a lone black figure nestled among the bright violets and pastel blues of Haddon’s more adventurous clients. A plain black wool suit like this only really comes to life when it’s put on. And it wasn’t only the suit that sprang into life. The trousers slid on like a pair of silk pyjamas, and when I put on the coat, my carriage was instantly more erect, almost as if some form of orthopaedic back brace had been applied.

Haddon proudly pointed out some of the key features, such as the luxurious roll on the lapel (compared to the flat, lifeless lapels on the vintage coat); the generous armholes, entirely concealed from the outside; the tightly jetted pocket flaps; the vampiric sweep of the scarlet lining. If I were a different type of person I would have given this talented tailor a high-five. Instead I merely nodded, knowing as well as Haddon did that this suit would alter my bearing in the world.

The street welcomed a different man when I left Pratt & Prasad. A slightly taller, more elegant man with a more confident step. Every movement in a bespoke suit is a pleasure; every gesture rewarded with a gentle yielding of the cloth. It is as if the suit is asking its wearer: what do you want to do next, sir, and how can we assist you? No matter how fabulous a vintage garment one may have acquired and how well it seems to fit, there is nothing quite so harmonious and satisfying as wearing a suit that no other man will ever inhabit so precisely. n

“Haddon proudly pointed out some of the key features, such as the luxurious roll on the lapel, the generous armholes, the vampiric sweep of the scarlet lining. If I were a different type of person I would have given this talented tailor a high-five”

www.prattandprasad.co.uk