Reader's Tweeds - A Phillips & Piper in Sweden

Thrilling New Series

We're starting a new series called Reader's Tweeds. We begin with a fine vintage jacket worn by a reader from Sweden, paired neatly with a green club-style tie and brown cord trousers.

What do we know of this jacket?

The jacket itself tells us that it was first sold by Simpsons Bros. of Penzance (still a going concern) and was made by Phillips & Piper. This is why good labelling is important.

Our reader thinks that Philips & Piper, an Ipswich-based clothes maker and retailer, existed until the 80s. It appears that Lambourne was their tweed range, and from a quick search they may have supplied Swaine Adeney Brigg with tweeds.

The jacket has now taken on a new life in Sweden. Note the sunlit Swedish countryside in the background (below). Our reader may have some adjustments made to the jacket at some stage, as it still has plenty of life left in it. They say the good tweeds never die.

Can anyone add to our knowledge of this jacket?

Your Clothes Want to be Heard

What we show in Reader's Tweeds next is up to you. If you have a choice piece from a bygone maker, a suit cut from an incredible piece of cloth (it need not be tweed) or have an example of great tailoring detail in your wardrobe, take a few pics and send in. Let your clothes be heard.

While we are on the subject, it would be good to have an interesting background on your photograph — a tea room, a museum, a beach, local flavour (as with Sweden above) — somewhere nice that our kind of people would appreciate.