ACCESSORIES
I
hope this is an apocryphal story. Some years ago, a European traveller was enjoying the variety of Chinese culture when she felt a little peckish. Eschewing what street food was available, she entered a restaurant with her tiny dog in a bag. The lady sat with her dog and indicated to the waiter through sign language that she wished to order and also to feed the dog. With great politeness, the dog was taken away and in time the waiter returned with a steaming dish of noodles and spicy meat. No dog as such, was in sight. Lost in translation? I ' d say.
But the truth of the canine matter is that, in general, most of the world loves dogs – as pets, not indeed all belonging to lettuce-munchers in Chanel-at-lunch. Some have to work for their keep with sheep, guide those who are visually impaired, or scour the forest ' s ferny floor for fallen pheasant. Cute / useful( or both) spring to mind.
So, a paws( sorry!) for a bright thought which occurred to Mark Rodrigues and Lisa Yatabe who have come up with a concept to clothe beast – and man – in the best threads available, courtesy of Savile Row stalwarts, Holland & Sherry. While pieces for pooches is not a new idea per se, Tail-or-Made looks to bring functionality and glamour to both with three labels to choose from – Black Label( bespoke), Green Label( made to measure) and White Label( ready to wear). The pair are serious about their coats so you ' ll find no sparkly collars or leg warmers here – just immaculately tailored pieces to help both master and hound repel the inclement elements.
Dogs provide work for many hands from leather workers to the pet food industry, vets to doggy parlours( dodgy description!). And when that dreadful time comes – think of the pet undertaker, even the taxidermist – and Tail-or-Made seems to be right on trend. And with the many fashionable ' mix-ups ' currently finding favour- cockapoos, labradoodles, puggles and chuskies – dogs like these may be the ideal customers.
The poet Alexander Pope wrote the following lines –“ I am his majesty ' s dog at Kew, pray tell me sir, whose dog are you?” Now this is the kind of dog Tail-or- Made was, well, made for. Unashamedly, Rodrigues and Yatabe explain that R
SAVILE ROW STYLE MAGAZINE 37