Tweed Pig Pin-Up - Tom Stephenson

Tom Stephenson - Blogger About Town

It's been almost like summer here in the UK, then winter again, then back to summer. Changeable should we say? Anyway I think it's now cooling once more, so we'll sneak in another picture of an overcoat in our Pin-Up series before spring starts in earnest. I have been having a bit of an obsession with raglan-sleeved overcoats recently (here and here), and then I spotted the one above out of the corner of my eye. We had to capture this.

I pushed young Mrs Tweed forward to take particulars and get snapping. She's better at those sorts of things.

About the Photo

Young Mrs Tweed introduced herself to Tom Stephenson, looking something like how you might draw a Poet Laureate.

Tom explains -

"My shoes are made by Crockett & Jones of Northampton, and are the last of the hand-made shoes made in any quantity there. I have two pairs...  

The trousers are made of Donegal tweed which was sent to China, turned into trousers and shipped to the USA where they were altered to my size and then sent to a depot in Britain, and from there to Orvis in Bath (England), where I picked them up. I am not proud of the air miles that went into them... 

The coat was bought second-hand, but was originally tailored by Carl Stewart of Leeds, specifically for a Mr Finlay."

How about that? I'm pleased to report that Carl Stewart of Leeds is still in operation and making bespoke suits. Perhaps Mr Finlay isn't, but his coat lives on splendidly.

Tom went the extra mile and sent us a photo of a hat he had made for the coat (below). It was made by Lisa Burrows who is based in Taunton, Somerset, England. Nice touch.

This is good Pin-up. Thanks Tom. Speaking of which...

Are You pin-up Material?

Do you dream of becoming a Tweed Pig Pin-Up? (Unlikely) Does something in your wardrobe demand a larger audience? (Possibly) If you're a regular reader, you'll know what we like by now. So take a snap and send it in. You can cut your head off if you want to remain anonymous. As someone once said, "Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy." Of course, that was said before Oprah Winfrey and Facebook.