I HAVE SPENT MORE THAN 45 YEARS OF MY LIFE IMMERSED IN THE WORLD OF BESPOKE TAILORING AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN READING THE WISE WORDS OF OTHERS ABOUT A SUBJECT THAT REMAINS DEAR TO MY HEART, AND AN OBSESSION RATHER THAN JUST A PROFESSION.

One of the earliest quotes that I can recall reading comes from a cutting book that my great grandfather gave to my grandfather in the late 1890s. The book is entitled ” The Sectional System of Gentlemen’s Garment Cutting” by J. P. Thornton. I still have it and still refer to it from time to time to this very day. I consider it to be one of the best books ever written about gentlemen’s tailoring.

The quote by Thomas Carlyle is:
“Neither in tailoring nor in legislating does man proceed by mere accident”

I was so taken with this quote that for a number of years I used it in advertisements for my bespoke tailoring and shirt making business J. H. Cutler.

In more recent years I have always used a suitable, if you will excuse the pun, quote to head up the online newsletter that I send out on a regular basis to clients and interested others. You can look at back at past example of these newsletters by visiting the Newsletter section on the J. H. Cutler website www.cutlerbespoke.com

In the meantime I thought you might be interested in seeing ten of my favourite quotes on men’s clothing and tailoring:

“Style is the essence of man” – Comte de Buffon

“The truly fashionable are beyond fashion” – Cecil Beaton

“Seldom do people discern eloquence under a theadbare cloak” –
Juvenal

“What a strange power there is in clothing” – Isaac Bashevis Singer

“The apparel oft proclaims the man” – William Shakespeare

“One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art” – Oscar Wilde

“Fashion passes, style remains’ – Coco Chanel

“There is new strength, repose of mind and inspiration in fresh apparel” – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society” – Mark Twain

“It is an interesting question how far man would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes” – Henry David Thoreau

If you have a favourite quote or two on the subject of men’s clothing or tailoring I would be most interested in hearing them.