Dandy & Rose

Bespoke Western Shirts, Handmade in England

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Rites of Spring

Yes, Spring is here! It’s time for the annual shirt dress making ritual!

dress

 

I’ve re-used a pattern I bought last year – Butterick 5846.

 

B5846 drawingI

It’s Forties-style with a gathered yoke that looks just as pretty at the back as at the front. Last year I piped the yokes, but this year I managed to resist that piping urge…I lengthened the skirt a bit to take it just below mid-knee. The buttons are maybe slightly too small, but I couldn’t resist their squareness or the fact that they are the exact shade of red.

The fabric is Liberty’s wool/cotton mix. ‘lantana’ which handles and makes up beautifully and is really comfortable to wear. I lined the skirt and it feels great.

I don’t know what attracted me to this unusual check, but I couldn’t resist it. It seems to trigger a distant childhood memory of the kitchen in the house where I grew up. Our house was built in the early Sixties – all mod cons – and I’m wondering if the formica in the kitchen had a similar design.

The photograph was taken on a birthday (hence the large slice of cake) trip to London for the V & A’s wonderful ‘The Glamour of Italian Fashion’ exhibition. I’m sure it will be getting a lot more wear!

 


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Thank you, Arthur Silver! (or Christopher Dresser)

This shirt has been such a joy to make!

The print is not easy to work with, but it’s so very beautiful that I love making shirts from it anyway.

back yoke hera

It has long been believed to have beem designed for Liberty in 1887 by Arthur Silver of Silver Studio, printed in Lancashire (where most Liberty textiles are still produced) by the Rossendale Printing Company and shown at the Manchester Royal Jubilee Exhibition; but the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture at the University of Middlesex has contacted me to say there is evidence that it may, in fact, have been designed by the pioneer of industrial design, Christopher Dresser.

They have an early sample in their collection: http://www.moda.mdx.ac.uk/object-st178

When Liberty revived it for their centenary in 1975, they changed the name from the matter of fact ‘Peacock Feather’ to ‘Hera’. I love the waving fronds of the feathers and the detail in that ‘eye’; the drawing is just exquisite. This colourway – pale blues, greens and teals, with a kick of orange – is perfectly Spring-like and looked wonderful in the morning sunshine when I photographed it earlier.

Jim Lauderdale’s shirt in Liberty ‘Hera’ https://dandyandrose.com/2014/03/21/thank-you-arthur-silver/

Now, Arthur Silver (or indeed, Christopher Dresser) probably never imagined anyone would make a western shirt from his design so I don’t hold it against either of them that he came up with something that is so difficult to keep symmetrical and in a straight line, and such a challenge to match.

In fact, if I could, I’d thank him.

Jim Lauderdale in his commissioned shirt in Liberty 'Hera' Photograph by Anthony Scarlati

Jim Lauderdale in his commissioned shirt in Liberty ‘Hera’
Photograph by Anthony Scarlati


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Danny Champ’s shirts

Back in October, I set off for The Palmeira in Hove to see Danny & The Champions of the World. I’d heard they were a great band but – wow! they turned out to be fantastic. They have it all. They have a wonderful collection of  songs written by their engaging frontman, Danny Wilson; they have fun, but their mastery of their material shows that they have dedication and experience, too; and like any good country soul band, they have a steel guitar as well as a saxophone. And they have a new album, Stay True, that’s hardly ever out of my CD player.

The other thing they have is a large collection of check shirts.

CHAMPS0582

But we’re working on that.

Not long after that gig in Hove, Danny got in touch and asked to talk shirts. Once we got together we bonded over our shared love of The Everly Brothers and an equal enthusiasm for this Liberty print, designed by the late Storm Thorgerson.

storm and scissors

We put together an idea for a black shirt featuring Storm’s birds on the yokes and I scurried off to find the exact shade of orange to make piping. I added a feature rhinestone snap to the front and pretty soon I had come up with this:

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Danny also fell for a ruffled shirt with pearl buttons in Liberty’s ‘Joy and Sorrow’ that was hanging in my workroom when he visited. He put it on and it suited him utterly.

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Last week I had the privilege of seeing both shirts onstage when Danny & the Champs sold out The Jazz Cafe in London. Danny wore the ‘Storm’ shirt and saxophonist ‘Free Jazz’ Geoff Widdowson wore the ruffled shirt. What a thrill to see two Dandy & Rose shirts onstage at the same time!

Danny in his ‘Storm’ shirt Photograph by Billie MacAleer
Photograph by Billie MacAleer
Photograph by Billie MacAleer

Almost all the men in the audience were wearing check shirts, by the way. Let’s see if we can change that, too!


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My first indie rock shirt!

So far, my shirts have been mostly picked out by musicians in what we like, these days, to call Americana music. Bennett Lewis is a young musician, originally from Florida, but now based between Athens, Georgia and Nashville who has been in that world too: he has played with both Lera Lynn and Honey Honey.

But when he contacted me on Christmas Eve to talk shirts, he was already playing lead guitar in the indie rock band of Montreal, and about to embark on a World Tour in support of their 12th studio album, Lousy with Sylvianbriar.

I was thrilled to think that a cool young musician over there in Georgia, USA, knew what I was doing. Even better, once the shirt was finished, I got to see of Montreal in Brighton and meet the very charming Bennett in person. Here are a few shots that http://www.andrewwilkey.co.uk/ took on the night:

Follow the link for more photos of BENNET DEAN LEWIS Photograph by Andrew Wilkey http://wp.me/P2MeJS-mP
Photograph by Andrew Wilkey
Photograph by Andrew Wilkey
Bennett Dean Lewis


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In Good Company

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.

Photograph by Billie McAleer

Photograph by Billie McAleer

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:

Kevin

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

me and marty mad

 

Thank you, Kevin!


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A touch of the meadow

There’s a touch of the English meadow about this shirt in Liberty’s classic floral, ‘Capel’ in the soft green colourway.

It’s a while since I showed the fabric and announced excitedly that it was on its way. Christmas intervened! And then I found I didn’t have enough of these green snaps that match the piping so perfectly, so I had to wait for more to arrive. And on top of that, this style is so blooming difficult to make and I have to keep stopping to mutter and swear, so it takes forever to complete.

Tomorrow the shirt will be winging its way to Chicago, where it has been ordered by a very nice fellow who loves western wear and owns some garments made by Jaime Castenada. I’m quietly hoping he wears his shirt under a Jaime jacket – that will be a Dandy & Rose first!

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At last – flowers!

Liberty are famous for their tiny floral prints, but it seems like I hardly ever use them.

So I was delighted when I received an email via my etsy.com shop from a new customer in the US, who had gone ahead and picked out the simple, charming floral, Capel, which Liberty have been printing on tana lawn since 1978.

Capel and I have some history. Back in the early 1990s, I had a fit-and-flare button-through dress with a bit of a 40s look to it.  I can remember wearing it with Kickers and grey chunky socks (the closest I could get to grunge) and sometimes  with some cream wedge sandals. There seems to be no photographic record of either, perhaps fortunately.

I must have bought more than I needed, because a few years later I had enough to make this little dress for my daughter, Martha Jane. Aaaaaw.

mj capel0003

My new American customer has chosen this soft green colourway with creamy flowers and leaves outlined in dark blue. We’ve chosen to pipe it – smile pockets and all – in teal. Can’t wait to get started!

capel L


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More grooviness

A while ago, I made a shirt in the grey/blue colourway of this Sixties-looking print, Liberty’s Amelia Star. This one is for the same customer, but in the purple colourway, accented with lime green piping and snaps. It’s cheering up this grey November day!

Shirt made for David Liston in Liberty ‘Amelia Star’
Shirt made for David Liston in Liberty ‘Amelia Star’ https://dandyandrose.com/2013/11/24/more-grooviness/


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Mixing it up

I’ve always loved mixed print shirts.One of my most-worn garments is a ruffled shirt I bought years ago that mixes two stripes and a paisley. Every time I wear it, people ask if I made it myself and I wish I could say ‘yes’.

The trouble is, mixing prints is pretty tricky and mixing Liberty prints is even more of a challenge, because most of their prints contain loads of colours, squaring up to fight with each other.

I’m slowly building up my confidence with mixing it up though. I’m really pleased with this shirt in Liberty’s classic paisley ‘Bourton’ with yokes in ‘Ellie Ruth’. At this time of year I like to make something in Autumn colours and today the rain stopped long enough for me to take my model (I call him ‘Bud’. Not after the John Travolta character in Urban Cowboy, but because he came in a box marked ‘Budget Price’) outside to be photographed in the Autumn light, The rich rusts, reds and greens of the fabrics come through really well, I think. The shirt has green snaps.

Shirt in Liberty ‘Bourton’ and ‘Ellie Ruth’ https://dandyandrose.com/2013/11/09/mixing-it-up/

Find this shirt for sale at:

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/168609039/hand-made-one-of-a-kind-mans-western?


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Sharron’s shirt

This shirt was made for a customer who wanted something classic, and blue.

So I made a few suggestions and from them she picked out a thistle-themed print called ‘Lodden’ which William Morris made for Morris & Co in 1884. Liberty adapted it and added it to their tana lawn range in 2007.

Sharron Manley’s shirt in Liberty ‘Lodden’ https://dandyandrose.com/2013/10/30/sharrons-shirt/
Sharron Manley’s shirt in Liberty ‘Lodden’

As a teenager, I was a great enthusiast for Morris and even belonged to the William Morris Society. Yes, it would be fair to say I was a bit of a swot. But then alcopops had not yet been invented and there was little for a young woman to do except sit in her room, obsess over design history and listen to David Bowie. Wondering.

Anyway… I so enjoyed making a shirt in this very traditional Arts & Crafts design, even though the detail in it made pattern placement a challenge. I love how many blues they have managed to incorporate here.

Sharron wanted a nice close, curvy fit. We weren’t able to meet up, so she sent me a favourite shirt to work from; she also took some measurements  herself. She tells me we got it spot on!