Meyer & Mortimer
SOONER OR LATER, every English gent pledges allegiance to a particular tailor. He may not confine himself exclusively to its services. It’s simply that, having looked around, he comes to appreciate one house style above all others. The process can take years. When the penny finally drops, its clink is extremely satisfying.
Meyer & Mortimer has a special place in my affections. Situated in walk-up premises off Piccadilly, its heritage is considerably more illustrious than that of several of its better-known competitors. Forged in the Regency heyday of military tailoring at its most gorgeous, the Meyer & Mortimer look carries a whiff of Waterloo into the most conservative wardrobe. At once intensely traditional and deeply dashing, it’s the antithesis of the ‘soft’ tailoring so popular with between-thewars matinee idols and Americans. Specialising in the constructed and close-fitting, Meyer & Mortimer is the go-to for unapologetic toffs: landowners, old school barristers, past and present Guards officers, and members of the Royal Yacht Squadron. The patronage in his day of one Pablo Picasso was very much the exception to the public school rule.
Generation in, generation out, the scions of Burke and Debrett gravitate to the same prestigious regiments. By the same token, they gravitate to the same tailors. As likely as not, their choice alights on Meyer & Mortimer.
See also: Benson & Clegg, Cordings, Henry Poole & Co
