Reverse Culture Shock

I was pleased to hear that we’re not the only ones who go to Gieve and Hawkes – it looks like the Savile Row tailor will make Prince William’s wedding ensemble.

While I’ve never purchased military attire from the tony tailors, I have bought trousers for my husband when I’ve felt compelled to splurge (they are not cheap).

And the shop, which always seems to have about twenty assistants working the floor, no matter how few customers are there, will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Like Prince WIlliam, my husband went to Gieves and Hawkes to have his wedding suit made (which again, wasn’t cheap, but then, you only get married once — and not just because most people can’t afford two bespoke suits from Savile Row).

I was also impressed by how enterprising and helpful the staffers are. When I went in to buy a jumper (aka sweater) there one winter, my baby daughter started to cry. All of the assembled tailors and shop assistants looked alarmed. I asked if I could feed her in the store, since it was raining hard outside.

While this clearly wasn’t the type of request he was used to accommodating, one morning suit-clad employee told me in his incredibly plummy accent that he would be happy to direct me to a dressing room in the back of the store.

And as Prince William has probably discovered, that was one posh dressing room.