Alfred Dunhill Spring-Summer collection

Regular readers of my blog will know that I consider Alfred Dunhill to be a stylish brand par excellence.  I have written about  Alfred Dunhill before and when American friends ask me which brands exemplify modern English style, Alfred Dunhill is high on my list.  So I was pleased to be invited to their Spring-Summer collection launch.

In my view Alfred Dunhill have really re-invigorated their brand over the last few years.  For me the most exciting part of that has been the distinctive styling of their men’s clothes collections.  So here are some highlights of what I saw.    

Alfred Dunhill bespoke shirt service

Alfred Dunhill’s bespoke shirt service was on display and their irrepressible master shirtmaker David Gale was holding court. 

 The bespoke shirt service is a bit of a Dunhill secret, until recently its reputation has spread mostly by word of mouth.  The shirt making service is only available on the London store and is by appointment only. 

The bespoke shirt making team use their extensive experience to help customers create the best possible shirts.  They start by asking the customers how he wants to use the shirts, are they for work, for leisure, for a special occasion?  They ask about his wardrobe, how he wants his shirts to complement his other clothes.  They match colours to skin tones, facial shapes to collar types.  They can get collar sizes and tie knots into proportion.

In a single appointment, the team can measure a customer, help them select fabrics, colours, textures and collars and set to making the shirt.  All this is done in the store’s luxurious fitting room.

Once the shirt is made, the customer tries the shirt on under the eye of the master shirt maker.  If the shirt needs any final touches they are done on the spot, while the customer waits.  The customer then takes the shirt and wears it.  However the shirt making service does not stop there.  The shirt making team recommend that the shirt is worn and washed two or three times to ensure that it is a perfect fit.  If the shirt needs any alteration at this point, the customer simply brings it back and the shirt is altered on the spot. 

Alfred Dunhill’s bespoke shirt team pride themselves on providing a service of exceptional quality and certainly their process is both highly professional and produces beautiful shirts.  The minimum order for a Dunhill bespoke shirt is one (one shirt) and there are over 2,000 shirt fabrics to choose from.  The cost of a shirt starts at around £200, depending on the fabric chosen. 

I asked David about my own experience with bespoke shirts, which was that as I got older I found that heavier fabrics, like oxford cottons, suited me better than the lighter fabrics, the 140 and 160 weight cottons.  David confirmed my experience, telling me that when we are younger our bodies are of course fitter and we carry lighter fabrics better than as we age.  As men get older, they look better in heavier, more structured shirts.  

 The bespoke shirt service carries two-fold cottons in a wide range of fabric weights, from 120’s through to 200’s.  Many customers opt for the heavier fabrics but the bespoke service also make many shirts in the finer cottons, the 180s and the 200’s, which are ideal for hot and tropic climates.    

Alfred Dunhill custom-made leather

Leather goods are one of the luxury products that most folk think of when they think of Alfred Dunhill. Dunhill has its own custom leather studio where it is possible to have exquisitely beautiful personalised leather goods make to order. 

The studio has a range of wallets, billfolds, briefcases, satchels and prochettes (men’s bags), all of which can be made up in a range of fine leathers and other hides, with one of a wide range of linings.  It is easy, pick your style, pick your leather, pick your lining and Dunhill’s own craftsman will produce a finely crafted wallet or bag of superb quality. 

All of the wallets, billfolds and bags can be embossed during their manufacturer, making it possible to create a truly personalized item.  This is an easy and stylish way to create a perfect gift for almost any man. 

Now you may not be an expert on leather.  But even here Dunhill can help you.  The head of the custom leather studio is Cyrille Pinon, who is charming, stylish and very wise.  That’s him in the picture above and he can help you create the ideal gift, just ask him. 

Alfred Dunhill Suits

Alfred Dunhill have had an amazing renaissance as a quality English brand and for me the sheer style and quality of their suits is one of the keys to this rebirth.  Four years ago, Dunhill menswear was relaunched with the assistance of Saville Row tailor Richard James, who helped design the new Dunhill menswear style. Currently, Alfred Dunhill’s design is now conducted exclusively in-house.

To Richard James lighter colour palette, Alfred Dunhill have since added rich darker colours to their lightweight wool suits.  These are suits that define themselves as powerful and authoritative.  Wearing one of these suits says that you have style and know your way in the world.  The darker colours give a fine sleek manly silhouette, whilst the lighter suits have a silky glamour, very much a film premier, champagne party, kind of look.

Buy these suits if you want something special, a business suit that will work after work, play as well as business, a suit that gives you presence.  Dunhill suits radiate style with an Anglo Italian twist, a cut which makes them entirely distinctive.  The current range includes the Dunhill interpretation of the three piece suit, now back in vogue.  Dunhill have cleverly used very light flannels and wools to make the three-piece look slim and sharp.

Dunhill have also released a new range of suits with a slightly tighter, slightly shorter cut.  Slightly more edgy, slightly less classic, these suits are striking, bold and have a younger look to them.    

Dunhill have both ready-to wear and a custom made-to-measure service in store. So shopping for a suit here gives a man some real choices and head of menswear Luke O’Hea and his staff will help you make them. 

At the moment the London store has a special offer on its custom made-to-measure service, for every suit ordered before the 20^th March, a second pair of pair of trousers will be made for free.  

The Alfred Dunhill “signature”

As with the suits, everything in Dunhill has the feel of being a one-off, distinctive, well-crafted, pleasing to the eye and touch.  This distinction is what lies at the heart of the new Dunhill, its ability to touch its illustrious past and capture the look and feel of individual quality and yet be completely of the moment.  So much of what is sold here are signature pieces.  They are distinctive and stylish and have a timeless quality about them. 

Certainly a man could put together a Dunhill “look”, there is a kind of Pygmalion quality about this store that would enable him to do that.  One could enter and be outfitted with everything, clothes, luggage, jewellery, that a stylish well-dressed man needs.  However, one could equally enter the store and buy a single piece, a suit or a jacket, which would have real character and always remain classy and classic.   

Alfred Dunhill Service

What raises Dunhill to the list of truly great luxury brands, is the service.  The staff embody Dunhill’s style, being both individual and elegant.  They are really well-informed and will do their utmost to help.  My own experience is that they form real relationships with their customers and help them get the very best from Dunhill. 

Dunhill are producing exciting menswear, leather and men’s jewellery and have become one of the most stylish modern brands in London.  Go see for yourself, this is a great store, with great style.

Details: 

Alfred Dunhill

48 Jermyn Street, St James, London, SW1Y 6DL 

Tel:      44 (0)845 458 0779  

Website: www.dunhill.com

Head of Menswear:                                  Luke O’Hea

Head of custom Leather Goods:               Cyrille Pinon

Master Shirt Maker:                                  David Gale      

(Free second pair of trousers with each custom made-to-measure suit offer ends 20^th March)