A Cause for Concern: The Demise of the Gentleman's Outfitter's

Last week I spent some time visiting family travelling through Sussex and Hampshire. During that time, I visited some truly idyllic towns; Lewes, Tunbridge Wells, Chichester, Tenderten, I could go on. However, for me (or indeed for any sartorially savvy chap) something has been missing; namely the joy of being able to stumble across a must-buy in a well stocked independent gentlemen's outfitters. 

I have two questions here. One, where have all our independent outfitters gone? And two, why have so few of those that remain selling any stock worth bothering with? Of the four that I found on my travels down south (that in itself being an unusually large number) there was only one shop with anything even vaguely interesting, and even then, not in my size. 

I've seen this issue first hand. Until two years ago, my home town was lucky enough to be blessed with three delightful outfitters selling handsome stock at a reasonable price. One shop in particular, was very close to my heart, and I still have plenty of clothes from it. This, and one other have since shut, leaving the town with one run-down menswear shop, which, much as I'd like to support it, really doesn't have much you'd wish to buy.

The crux of the issue here, is quite simply that gentlemen's outfitters are not receiving the custom that they deserve and this is partially because too many men dismiss them as a shopping destination. It is easy to fail to appreciate the diversity and individuality of the clothing stocked by many gentlemen's outfitters, or likewise of the quality of manufacture and style that many of these shops supply. Too many men play it safe and head to the same selection of big brands for their menswear, shunning individuality and a more personal shopping experience in favour of the predictable status quo. Many independents are suffering in a vicious cycle of decline as a result, as fewer and fewer men display an interest in the more quirky, individualist sartorial fashion on offer in successful little independent shops. 

My father is a past master in shopping in gentlemen's outfitters, and these few images of his last three purchases illustrate my point beautifully. The quality of these summer jackets are superb; linen/cotton blends from exclusive Italian mills, or in the case of the sandy coloured jacket a silk and linen blend by Robert Noble, finished with a natural canvass in the chest. These jackets were purchased for between £70.00 and £140.00 in sales.

I came to the realisation this week, that it is the responsibility of every remaining sartorial dresser, to support the gentlemen's outfitter's. If we want this British institution to survive, we need to be conscious of the effort that we must make, wherever we go on our travels, to stop by, browse and hopefully snap-up the surprisingly sharp stock of the independent gentlemen's outfitters.

In my next post, I'm going to give you the run-down on some of the finest outfitter's I've found, which really are worth a visit. In the meantime, think of your mission: to support the traditional Gentleman's outfitters and rekindle an interest in independent shopping.