A while ago I received an email from Kevin Leonard in Chicago saying he’d like to order a shirt in Liberty’s classic floral, Capel.

I was kind of busy at the time, so after we had agreed prices and lead times and I’d added Kevin’s to my order list, I put the project aside for a while.

It was only when we were ready to begin that I thought to ask how he’d come across Dandy & Rose. He told me that he’d been to a Jim Lauderdale concert and enjoyed it very much. Being a man of sartorial as well as musical taste, he had liked Jim’s outfit almost as much as his singing, so he had googled to find out where he got his shirts and found me.

It turns out that Kevin is something of a western wear aficianado and owns several pieces made by the master western tailor Jaime Castenada, who is based in North Hollywood. Jaime worked for fellow Mexican Manuel Cuevas, but when Manuel moved his business from LA to Nashville in the mid-1990s, he stayed behind and set up his own workshop. A major client is Marty Stuart, seen here in London in 2011. The Fabulous Superlatives’ matching but individually styled rhinestone suits are also by Jaime.

The lacing embellishment on Marty’s jacket is a Jaime signature; you can also see it on the jacket that Kevin is wearing here with his new Dandy & Rose shirt:

I am almost as excited to see my work teamed with Jaime’s as I was when I met Marty Stuart. Like so:

 

Thank you, Kevin!