Spencer's Trousers (UK). Any good?

[Edward]

My recollection was about £600 as well. Production costs must have gone up. Maybe also repositioning themselves in the market to compete with Old Town? Old Town are strictly OTR only, with one of their heavier tweeds coming in at around £800-850 for two trousers, one jacket and one waistcoat.

 

[GHT]

Thanks - I've come across Rocacha before - are they open to modifications on their designs etc?

At the Rocacha website, click on 'About' & 'Testimonials.' You will see many a band member, DJ or celebrity, wearing Rocacha designs that don't appear in the gallery. Look at the jacket of this guy's wedding suit, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HGWOQdE9n0
Rocacha made me an exact copy, (not in white, I hasten to add,) although it's not in their gallery.
So in answer to your question, I'm sure that you can get a bespoke style, I did.

 

[Two Types]

I don't want to get into a discussion about Rocacha (since this is thread supposed to be about Spencers) but I looked at the trousers on their website called 'Oxfords' that they claim to be based on an original 1930s British trouser. The outward facing single pleat on their trousers isn't something I would expect on a 1930s British trouser!

 

[brendanm720]

Those prices surprise me. I thought Bookster were more like £500-£600 for a suit. Maybe I imagined that.

You can get a 3 piece for £600-£700, if you stick with the Cotton Drill, Moleskin, or Corduroy and order their standard sizes. The tweed is quite a bit more, and if you do MTM, that adds expense too (but the fit will be better).

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

TT - I absolutely agree those trousers do not look British OR 1930s. I'm very picky about trousers with a suit - I feel they are at times more important than the jacket.

Edward - I have approached Old Town before but they are certainly not open to requests - not even turn ups!

Going off topic again but just out of curiosity if anyone wouldn't mind telling me, how much is the going rate for a tailored suit?

 

[Edward]

I don't want to get into a discussion about Rocacha (since this is thread supposed to be about Spencers) but I looked at the trousers on their website called 'Oxfords' that they claim to be based on an original 1930s British trouser. The outward facing single pleat on their trousers isn't something I would expect on a 1930s British trouser!

I suspect, like most of the retro-repro businesses, their patterns are more American in style than anything else. Nice stuff, though.

I wonder if Colin Taub is still in business? I should check him out. Specialist in 50s designs including drape suits.

Edward - I have approached Old Town before but they are certainly not open to requests - not even turn ups!

Yeah... My approach on the trousers would be just to ask for em long and/or unfinished and have turnups put in elsewhere. I really like what it is they're doing. What's stopped me to date is that they're too expensive to just buy without trying (especially given that they're strictly OTR rather than M2M even), and as I don't drive they'd be the guts of a days' trek from London: train to Norwich, then a bus to the nearest village, then a cab to their factory.... To be fair, they do sometimes come down to London to measure folks up and allow try-ons / take orders. Depending on fabric they can be expensive, (their OTR prices are about equal to outside-London-bespoke that I've seen), and the lack of certain details is a shame. They won't adapt either of their waistcoat patters to have four pockets being the main sticking point (though not quite a deal-breaker) for me. Eventually, I'd like to get something from them, particularly their wide-leg, high waist trousers, but not until I lose weight and get a try-on.

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Edward - I agree they are pricey for OTR and a bit too much so to take the plunge. In many ways they're designer prices for a designer product. It just irks me that for what we might pay I've still got to take the time myself to put turn ups on them. You'd think they'd oblige. Over them I'd definitely try these Spencer fellows.

 

[Two Types]

I suspect, like most of the retro-repro businesses, their patterns are more American in style than anything else.

So why do they say '30s English trousers' on their website? Those sort of details put me off investigating any further.

 

[herringbonekid]

Edward - I have approached Old Town before but they are certainly not open to requests - not even turn ups!

Old Town do flat felled seams on all of their trousers.... the type of seams you get on jeans.
if you want to do a turn up on trousers with flat felled seams the best way to do it is the jeans way i.e. just flip the bottom up once.
if you try and do it the tailored way (called a 'permanent turn up'... the type you see on vintage suit trousers) you'll find the flat felled seam becomes way too bulky to do it.

 

[Rudie]

So why do they say '30s English trousers' on their website? Those sort of details put me off investigating any further.

I guess they just don't care for the details. Like when you wear a black Homburg and someone says "Hey Indy!" to you or when wearing a bold look suit they say that your 20s style reminds them of the Great Gatsby.

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Thanks for the info everybody

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Quick last questions gents - what is a good sturdy weight for a pair of slacks? I'm afraid I don't know much about fabric weight at all. Also, have people had good success with Luxire's trousers and jackets etc? I know a lot of you are big fans of their shirts. Will they make a shirt up if I send them fabric?

Thanks all!

 

[Two Types]

Trouser weight: It depends on the cloth because suitable linens and cotton weights are different to wool. For wool, I would recommend the weight be at least 15oz, otherwise you wont get a good drape. But you need to remember that sometimes the weight can be deceptive. Handling the cloth is always the best way to go.

As for Luxire: They usually accomodate all requests. The best thing to do is to contact them. They tend to answer very promptly.

 

[Eddie Derbyshire]

Thanks TT