Jermyn Street, London

UNCLE27

I experienced a little of the Bond lifestyle today and went shopping in Jermyn Street, London.
For those that aren't aware, within one street about 200m long you can find Turnbull & Asser, Crocket & Jones, Curch's, Floris, Sunspel plus other shops for Gentlemen selling shaving products and clothing.

It's a very different to shopping in the high street or shopping centres and the customer service in all the shops I went in (mostly those listed above) was superb. Polite, knowledgable and very helpful. I didn't feel pressured to buy in any of them. Not that I needed much pressure!

Special mention must go to Turnbull & Asser who were very helpful in helping me find the right shirt and taking the time and measurements for having it tailored. It was an excellent experience and makes me feel like I'm having a very special shirt, made just for me!
Also, the delightful young lady in Floris!

If you're in London, I highly recommend paying a visit to Jermyn Street! :007)

UNCLE27

Interestingly, the young lady in Floris, who I believe to be fairly new (she referred to a chart a couple of times to describe the flavours used in each aftershave) mentioned a couple of times Ian Fleming, Bond and 007. They're clearly teaching them the Bond connection on their sales course!

welshboy78

Interesting!! I love wandering around there!!

What kind of time frame are T&As tailoring on shirts? I have a CR ltd edition that is a size too big

UNCLE27

They told me it should be ready on Thursday.

welshboy78

Excellent. Must pop in next month!

Did you buy a Bond or inspired shirt?

UNCLE27

A classic plain white herringbone shirt with T&A classic collar.
My choice was definitely inspired by Bond!

Matt S

UNCLE27 wrote:

A classic plain white herringbone shirt with T&A classic collar.
My choice was definitely inspired by Bond!

Nice! That's what Pierce Brosnan wore in the Thomas Crown Affair. I'm not sure if Brosnan's is the Turnbull & Asser classic collar or a similar collar style made bespoke for Brosnan.

UNCLE27

Matt S wrote:

UNCLE27 wrote:

A classic plain white herringbone shirt with T&A classic collar.
My choice was definitely inspired by Bond!

Nice! That's what Pierce Brosnan wore in the Thomas Crown Affair. I'm not sure if Brosnan's is the Turnbull & Asser classic collar or a similar collar style made bespoke for Brosnan.

Thanks Matt! That endorsement means a lot coming from you!

bondpropfan

We fitted out the Aquascutum in Jermyn St last year -{

welshboy78

Very nice Bondpropfan!

chriscollins007

good to know my birthday in nov we always go to london , guess where im going , thanks.
I have the Dr No TA shirt in blue and its amazing.
you wont be disappointed.

UNCLE27 wrote:

I experienced a little of the Bond lifestyle today and went shopping in Jermyn Street, London.
For those that aren't aware, within one street about 200m long you can find Turnbull & Asser, Crocket & Jones, Curch's, Floris, Sunspel plus other shops for Gentlemen selling shaving products and clothing.

It's a very different to shopping in the high street or shopping centres and the customer service in all the shops I went in (mostly those listed above) was superb. Polite, knowledgable and very helpful. I didn't feel pressured to buy in any of them. Not that I needed much pressure!

Special mention must go to Turnbull & Asser who were very helpful in helping me find the right shirt and taking the time and measurements for having it tailored. It was an excellent experience and makes me feel like I'm having a very special shirt, made just for me!
Also, the delightful young lady in Floris!

If you're in London, I highly recommend paying a visit to Jermyn Street! :007)

always shaken

Paxton@Whitfield ,a cheese lovers delight ,on a good day you can smell it 25 yards away .I always make a point of getting the family stilton from here for Christmas , I cant believe its never got a mention in any of the Bond books . Im sure Fleming would have shopped there .

Asp9mm

You certainly can smell it. You walk past Floris with their beautiful smelling products and then hit a brick wall of fetid cheese aroma )

always shaken

Another Jermyn street gem ,is the hat shop, BATES, they used to have a stuffed (dead ) cat in the window ,which wore a small top hat ,whilst smoking a cigarette ,very un -pc now , I think he was a pre runner to Bagpuss ) ,

Asp9mm

I remember him, he moved inside for a while... Fagpuss.

always shaken

And to top it all, on the corners of Jermyn, and St James is Beretta, and Davidoff ,guns and cigars ,what more could a man want . )

Peppermill

UNCLE27 wrote:

Interestingly, the young lady in Floris, who I believe to be fairly new (she referred to a chart a couple of times to describe the flavours used in each aftershave) mentioned a couple of times Ian Fleming, Bond and 007. They're clearly teaching them the Bond connection on their sales course!

As long as they are not telling them to say that Bond uses No. 89 in the novels because that is not true.

Charmed & Dangerous

Back in the 90s/noughties, the Turnbull and Asser window looked like Pierce's wardrobe ) I a aged to pick up a few of the Bond ties and always used to get a kick out if walking down that street (and the arcades off it).

Peppermill

I will be in London during SPECTRE's opening week. Visiting Jermyn Street was on my to-do list already but reading your experiences makes me want to go there even more. The last month I have bought two pair of Church's shoes, I already have two Sunspel polo shirts but I was planning on buying a nice T&A shirt and (maybe) tie as a souvenir.

welshboy78

Peppermill wrote:

I will be in London during SPECTRE's opening week. Visiting Jermyn Street was on my to-do list already but reading your experiences makes me want to go there even more. The last month I have bought two pair of Church's shoes, I already have two Sunspel polo shirts but I was planning on buying a nice T&A shirt and (maybe) tie as a souvenir.

Maybe eat at Rules restaurant too? -{

Peppermill

Good idea! We might do that too.

Skippy

Ah, bless'ed place Jermyn Street and just a short walk across the park from the office B-)

As well as all the other fine establishments already mentioned, if you turn off JS into Piccadilly Arcade where the bronze statue of Beau Brummell stands dandy as ever, up there on the right is a shop called The Armoury of St. James's where they have a semi regular appearance of original 1940's Royal Doulton 'Jack' bulldogs in all three sizes depending on what they have managed to get hold of at the time.

That's where I got my original mini Jack from:




...nope...can't work it out... no matter what I do the image uploader throws my pic on it's side, sorry

welshboy78

Very nice Skippy! Didn't realise you were in London!

I guess those originals go for a pretty penny!

Skippy

If I remember right the largest goes for about £800 'ish and the two smaller sizes about £600 and £400 odd.

But like I said on the SPECTRE Clothing thread, never pay full price for Bond stuff! So if you walk into the Armoury with cash you'll get at least 10% of the ticket price depending on how good you can haggle

welshboy78

Im ashamed to say I never bought the Skyfall version because I never liked the paintwork in the pictures (too new kinda thing) hence never paid attention to size!! What size is it based on - the medium??

PS - thanks for the tip, will look in when I'm next over!

Asp9mm

The screen used ones are 1918-1922 production (this paint variant is much different from the newer WW2 period versions most notably around the eye). The vintage ones are also just a tad smaller than the newer SKYFALL production models. On screen they used the medium version of the original vintage Doulton bulldogs for the Bond productions. All the info you need here....

http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/42409/royal-doulton-bulldog-size/page/2/

welshboy78

Cheers -will read up!!!!! {[]

Gebruder Gumbold

Bates has the Weekender, which could have been one of the OHMSS hats, as the trilby comes in dark Navy, which looks to be the College of Arms and Gunbarrel hats. Lock Hatters isn't that far either, nor Swaine--Brigg, if you want an attache.
Lovely place to shop, pics next time?

UNCLE27

I also spotted at least 3 shoulderless Bond Submariners in Burlington Arcade (No prices!) and a little further afield off St Martins Lane a vintage bookshop with some Bond First Editions in the window.

It was an interesting shopping day!

Matt S

Gebruder Gumbold wrote:

Bates has the Weekender, which could have been one of the OHMSS hats, as the trilby comes in dark Navy, which looks to be the College of Arms and Gunbarrel hats. Lock Hatters isn't that far either, nor Swaine--Brigg, if you want an attache.
Lovely place to shop, pics next time?

Bates has very nice hats, but it's impossible compare what any hatter sells now to what they sold in 1969. I have vintage Lock hats that don't perfectly resemble anything they sell now.

Miles Messervy

Matt S wrote:

Gebruder Gumbold wrote:

Bates has the Weekender, which could have been one of the OHMSS hats, as the trilby comes in dark Navy, which looks to be the College of Arms and Gunbarrel hats. Lock Hatters isn't that far either, nor Swaine--Brigg, if you want an attache.
Lovely place to shop, pics next time?

Bates has very nice hats, but it's impossible compare what any hatter sells now to what they sold in 1969. I have vintage Lock hats that don't perfectly resemble anything they sell now.

Slightly off-topic, but when buying a hat, do certain styles, i.e. trilby vs fedora, compliment specific face shapes in the same way as collars on shirts? Or is it strictly a matter of personal taste?