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Carol Alayne ~ master tailor

a blend of haute-couture and Savile Row

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Born again clothes!

Nov 7, 2018
1 min

Born again clothes!

I was helping a male client with his wardrobe edit the other day; what to keep, amend, archive or recycle. He was convinced his old DJ had seen its day and needed discarding when suddenly his wife inquired if it could be amended for her. But of course! It’s a great look when women wear mens clothing - sometimes considered more fashionable than the most feminine ensembles. For me, the iconic image of the tuxedo’d Marlene Dietrich immediately comes to mind. In the 70’s it

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Button up your overcoat, when the wind is free…

Dec 1, 2017
2 min

Button up your overcoat, when the wind is free…

t’s time to sing that chorus again. With the evenings drawing in and the temperature falling, we will need to think of bundling up in a few more layers when we go out. For those who plan ahead, the ever reliable overcoat waiting in the back of the wardrobe can be taken out for an airing and a good brush…an old friend with lots of memories, here again to keep you snug. Overcoats come in all sorts of styles; topcoats, peacoats, cover coats, crombie etc. They are as wonderf

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Sensational Butterflies

Aug 1, 2017
2 min

Sensational Butterflies

The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the publicity’, supposedly said the comedian George Carlin. I guess this is true in most cases. The finished product is far more attractive to look at than the work in process. But then, both can be equally amazing. I am talking about the brilliant mosaic mess you can find on my cutting room floor after a job is done! So let’s not discount the whole metamorphosis thing; what we think is an unremarkable worm is a

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Women tinkering with tailoring! Why not do it for real

Jul 27, 2017
2 min

Women tinkering with tailoring! Why not do it for real

“Annie Hall” hit the mark perfectly some 30 years ago in the eponymous film by Woody Allen. From top down, her combination of trilby, shirt and tie, waistcoat and chinos hooked a generation of women into the masculine look. Although she was by no means the first person to do so. Think of Marlene Dietrich and the allure of her androgynous cross-dressing. It seems that every autumn the fashion press re-visits this theme of masculine dressing and it appeared again in the Lon

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The credit crunch, suits, and a pricing conundrum

Jul 16, 2017
2 min

The credit crunch, suits, and a pricing conundrum

With the current financial turmoil that surrounds us it seems appropriate to talk about price of goods, but on this occasion I intend to do it from the ‘makers’ standpoint. The reason is that I have been more than slightly surprised recently by some of the prices claimed for ‘high quality, custom, hand made’ suits. Here in the City you are either accosted en-route across London Bridge during the morning rush hour by ‘banker look-alikes’ handing out vouchers for commodity-pr

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NHK – Bespoke for Japan; A woman’s point of view

May 14, 2017
2 min

NHK – Bespoke for Japan; A woman’s point of view

In the midst of a hectic time here in the studio; a royal wedding in Monaco, early planning for the shooting season, and gowns for the BBC Promenade concerts, I received a call to participate in the filming of a short documentary for the Japanese national broadcasters NHK. They wanted to know more about the tailoring tradition and Savile Row from a woman’s perspective. They were very much aware of how the demand for tailored clothing is changing among women as their professio

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Dressing for the stage

Feb 19, 2017
1 min

Dressing for the stage

When I first started business in the UK it was through a company I created called ‘The Concert Store’. Music is a great passion of mine, and this business brought me into contact with a wide range of concert performers. Mary Carewe was one of my early clients and here she is pictured with her duet partner Sara Eyden at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool performing at a Bernstein Spectacular with the conductor Carl Davies. Later in July Mary flies to the States to perform in

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All in a day…dress

Jan 10, 2017
2 min

All in a day…dress

The V&A seminar, an invitation to speak on the BBC’s iconic radio programme Woman’s Hour, and a new commision from the King’s Singers have all given life an added spice just in time for Christmas. That is excluding the daywear pieces I have had to see through for my regular clients. I don’t know why, but there appears to be a resurgence in the orders for daydresses amongst my clients. This one will be sent off to Amsterdam in the next couple of days. It makes a change from

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