Jim Lauderdale’s shirt in Liberty’s cord snowdrop print
What could be snugglier in this chilly weather that a corduroy western shirt? And this one, with its tiny snowdrops, reminds us that Spring will be here before we know it!
I normally make my own piping, but this time I have accented the yoke with some purchased piping that I have had in my stash for a while. Come to think of it, I have had the cord for a while too – it’s a Liberty print called ‘Martina’. Fabric and piping have just been waiting for the right moment to come together!
For details of how to order a bespoke shirt of your own, or buy a gift token for a loved one, click on the tab at the top of the page.
I’ve just finished my first commission from a married couple. The shirts went off together in the post today and it’s lovely to think of them being worn together.
If you would like to know how to order a bespoke Dandy & Rose shirt of your own – or maybe for your significant other – click on the SHOP tab at the top of this page.
I am so honoured that The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum have put this paisley shirt that I made for Jim Lauderdale on display. It’s in one of their ‘Featured Western Wear Designer’ cases just off their foyer.
While I have been researching my PhD, I have spent a lot of time in the Hall’s archives, looking at garments by the great western wear designers, like Nathan Turk, Manuel and Nudie Cohn. So it’s a wonderful thrill now to be in an exhibit alongside them.
Photograph by Scott Simontacchi
The shirt will be on display for a year. After that, you can expect to see Jim wearing it onstage again!
I’ve been home from Nashville for just over a week now. It was my longest visit yet – almost a month, ending with the week of the Americana Music Association Festival and Conference – and I have so many memories. I’ll be writing about the music I heard in the November issue of Country Music People, but I have also been reflecting on some Dandy & Rose highlights.
This year’s AMA week was extra-special for my best customer, the singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale. As usual he was everywhere – sharing wisdom on conference panels, performing his songs solo and with a fabulous band, and playing the genial host at the Honors and Award Show at the Ryman Auditorium; he was also presented with the Wagonmaster Award for Lifetime Achievement by the country star George Strait, who has recorded 14 of Jim’s songs. It was quite a moment and I was thrilled to be able to witness it.
One of my own favourite moments of the week came the next day, when I attended a conference panel on songwriting given by Jim, Lori McKenna and Radney Foster.
I was surprised, when Jim took his seat, to see that he was wearing one of the first Dandy & Rose shirts he ever bought, back at the end of 2012.
Buddy Miller and Jim Lauderdale
The shirt Jim Lauderdale wore on ABC ‘Nashville – in Liberty ‘Dragonista’
It’s made from a Liberty print called ‘Dragonista’, a kind of psychedelic oriental vision, with men in traditional Chinese dress riding dragons, interspersed with random antique pots. I am specially fond of it; I feel it was the shirt that kicked Dandy & Rose into life, starting when Paste Magazine tweeted that Jim and Buddy Miller were “the two best-dressed men in Austin” during SXSW 2013. Jim told me that he got a big reaction to the shirt whenever he wore it. Later in the year, he wore it for his appearance on ABC’s ‘Nashville’. You can see that appearance here
If I made the shirt today, it would probably look a little different, but I love it and am proud of it just the same.
But my favourite thing about this shirt is that it was the subject of my only ever press review. Well, to be fair, it was Jim’s review. My work was only reviewed by association. But it still counts!
In 2014, Ann Powers opened her review of Jim’s ‘I’m A Song’ like this:
“I recently ran into Jim Lauderdale at a party in Nashville, and I couldn’t tell if his shirt was made of silk or cotton. Covered in fiery little dragons that seemed to flit around inside its piped seams, it was a beauty. Lauderdale told me it was made of breathable material and that it came from London. Its cheerfully theatrical boldness exemplified the style of the Grand Ole Opry, too, with a cosmopolitan and slightly ironic twist.
Lauderdale’s music is like that shirt: immediately charming, with flashy touches that complement smoothly executed subtleties.”
For a start, it was a brilliant piece of journalism and I wished I had written it. And then, I loved that Ann had compared my work with Jim’s music, which I have loved for so long, and even more what she had said about it. I have always admired his ability to take his vocal, musical and imaginative gifts, polish them, add a lot of technical skill, then do something wacky with them. I once heard him described as a ‘creative technician’ and the phrase immediately chimed. That’s what I, in my much less impressive way, would like to be, too. I loved Ann’s idea of flashy subtlety, as well: my shirts may be brightly coloured and boldly patterned but I aim for a refinement of taste and skill, enough to complement the detailed work of the brilliant textile designers whose work I rely on. I was so touched and amazed to read that she had seen that in the shirt I had made, that she had ‘got’ what it was about, and articulated it better than I could have myself.
So on that day in Nashville a few weeks ago, when I realised that the reason for the ‘Dragonista’ shirt’s reappearance was that the panel was to be chaired by Ann Powers, I was delighted. I made sure to go and speak with her afterwards and thank her for her words. I told her that because they meant so much to me, I had made them into a poster that I keep on the wall in the Dandy & Rose workroom.
There were three new additions to Jim’s Dandy & Rose wardrobe this year.
He was out and about in these, and in some other favourites during the week. I specially loved seeing him wear his new passion flower shirt for his 125th appearance on The Grand Ole Opry.
Onstage at The Ford Theatre, The country Music hall of Fame and Museum
At The Station Inn
At 3rd and Lindsley
On the stage of The Grand Ole Opry
Photograph by Shelly Swanger
Photograph by Shelly Swanger
The Grand Ole Opry – my view from The Bleachers
Photograph by Shelly Swanger
And of course, I took the opportunity to pose alongside him whenever I could!
Reed’s shirt in Liberty’s striped print ‘The Braided Brocade’
Working with Liberty prints means that I get to make shirts in all kinds of different prints or patterns, but rarely do I get chance to use stripes, which are such a mainstay of western shirt design. So when Liberty added this design, ‘The Braided Brocade’, to their range last year, I was dying to use it.
It’s based on military braids, and I love the trompe l’oeil textured effect.
When a regular customer in Los Angeles contacted me and asked if I would consider making him a blue striped shirt, I jumped at the chance, and we picked out this fresh colourway from the four available.
I’ve really enjoyed the crisp precision of working with stripes. And I love those sawtooth pockets!
To find out how to get a Dandy & Rose shirt custom made for you, click on the SHOP tab at the top of this page.
The Americana Music Association UK’s 2016 Artist of The Year, Danny and The Champions of The World, are off to tour Spain later this week.
This Fifties-style shirt in Liberty’s matches print ‘Strike’ should keep front man Danny George Wilson cool on those Spanish stages. Even cooler than he already is!
Danny George Wilson’s 50s style shirt in Liberty London’s print ‘Strike’
Danny George Wilson’s shirt in Liberty London’s ‘Strike’
I love this style, with its loop closing at the neck. I haven’t got round to offering it as standard yet, so message me through the CONTACT page if you are interested.
Last time I was in Nashville, I decided to indulge in a little tourism. So I booked myself on the Walkin’ Nashville tour hosted by the journalist, musician and songwriter Bill DeMain. It was great fun and most informative! Bill is a real expert on the history of country music and puts his knowledge across with humour and warmth. We started at the statue of Chet Atkins on the corner of Fifth Avenue North and Union Street, where Bill began with the story of country’s fight-back against rock and roll in the late-1950s; in Printer’s Alley, we heard the tale of club owner Skull Schulman’s 1998 brutal murder, which took place there – wait, was that the ghostly apparition of a tall, thin man in rhinestones we saw disappear around the corner?
Skull Schulman posing with some of his collection of rhinestone encrusted embroidered suits by Nudie and Manuel. Skull loved poodles – and rainbows!
Moving on, we passed by the Country Music Hall of Fame and stopped to admire its architectural references to piano keys and musical notes; then, after stopping in the alley that many an Opry star must have slipped down on their furtive way there from the back door of the Ryman Auditorium, we ended at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge on Broadway.
Bill telling one of his Walkin’ Nashville groups the history of the Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 – 1974
Bill is a connoisseur of vintage western shirts, so when he asked me to make for him, I suggested digging out one of my collection of vintage patterns. He picked out Simplicity 4703, from the early 1960s. And because it’s hot out there on the streets of Nashville, I shortened the sleeve and added a piped cuff to it.
He also asked for a western-themed print. Not my thing usually, but when I found this guitar print with western touches, I fell in love. I specially like the tiny cacti on the guitar headstocks.
To find out more about Walkin’ Nashville Music City Legends Tour, go to Bill’s website.
With its small, colourful floral design, this might very well be what most of us think of as a typical Liberty print, if it weren’t for that – thankfully friendly looking – tiger bursting through a clump of greenery as if to shout ‘Surprise!’
James’ shirt in Liberty’s Tiger print
James’ shirt in Liberty’s Tiger print
James, whose fifth Dandy & Rose shirt this is (yes James, I’m counting), picked the fabric out from Liberty’s website after being given a D & R gift token for his birthday. It’s so summery that I am glad he chose to have a short-sleeved style, giving me a chance to add a piped cuff.
To find out how to order a bespoke shirt of your own, or to buy a gift token for a loved one, click on the SHOP tab at the top of this page.
Commissioned man’s shirt in Liberty of London’s paisley ‘Bourton’
As you’ve probably guessed, I love colour. But my favourite colour is blue.
My mum loves blue too. When I was a kid I was nearly always dressed in blue, so for a while in young adulthood, I rebelled. But now blue and I are the best of friends again, and we have been for ages.
There are so many shades of blue in this classic Liberty paisley that I can’t begin to count them.
Bourton blue cuff
Bourton Blue right front
From darkest navy, to dusky violet, through to sweet lilac and clear, clean turquoise, they work together to make a cheering whole. I’ve added stitching in a smoky midnight colour and snaps the colour of bluebells.
I have worked with this Liberty classic paisley print in several colourways and loved them all, but this one always lifts my heart.
Commissioned men’s shirt in Liberty’s classic paisley, ‘Bourton’.
This shirt was commissioned, but if you’d like a Dandy & Rose shirt of your very own, click on the SHOP tab at the top of the page, or drop me a line through the CONTACT page. I’d love to hear from you!
Dandy & Rose 