12th Day of Christmas - Vintage Head & Griffiths

A collection of images which were created during our university days when 
Head & Griffiths was just a name.

11th Day of Christmas - Behind the scenes of the summer photoshoot

10th Day of Christmas - Personalised Garments

At Head & Griffiths we pride ourselves on offering a very personal service. Cutting every suit by hand means we can provide you with a garment with personal touches which are unique and special to you. Stepping into a suit which is exclusively yours is quite an incomparable feeling.


Personal embroidery inside a suit or on a shirt cuff can really express your personality. It may be a simple as your name or initials. It could be a phrase, quote, company name or whatever it is that defines you. This instantly distinguishes your garment and makes it that little bit more special. But, how much does personal embroidery cost? Well, at Head & Griffiths we like to offer it to our clients absolutely free, because we're nice like that.

9th Day of Christmas - Silk Linings

The beauty of having a made-to-measure suit is you'll have a garment that fits you perfectly.  Having the opportunity to create something using the cloths you have selected can be a proud moment for any customer.

As well as being able to choose from a variety of suit cloths, you may also choose from a whole wealth of lining options in silk. Choose from a range of plain silks or perhaps one of our silk pattern linings to give your Head & Griffiths suit the wow factor.  

If you wish to book an appointment with us to view some of our suit and lining cloths simply click the links below.

Personal Fitting Service

Traveling Tailor Service

8th Day of Christmas - Editorial in dluxe magazine

Head & Griffiths have recently been featured in the winter edition of local magazine dluxe. dluxe Leicestershire is a new breed of magazine aimed directly at the county’s exclusive population of high net worth Achievers and Aspirers who hold both style and substance in equal esteem. If you're the aspirational type, make sure to go grab yourself a copy!

7th Day of Christmas - Silk Ties

Socks, pants and ties. Think of a Christmas present to get your Dad or uncle Dave and these are the three items which usually crop up such is the stereotype. Patronising socks for each day of the week, underwear with jingle bells on and a tie with a snowman on. Yuk.

However, Head & Griffiths are doing their best to break the taboo of giving ties for Christmas with their new range of 100% silk ties. The quintessential item to complete any suit not just for Christmas....but for life.

6th Day of Christmas - Wool cashmere overcoat

With the recent freezing temperatures we can bet your overcoat is coming in handy at the moment. Our fully made to measure overcoats use wool cashmere cloths and you have the opportunity to add your own personal touches to them in the same way you do with our made-to-measure suits. Wearing a good overcoat is very much like putting on your favourite suit - if it's something a little special and unique, you'll want to wear it again and again.

For more information regarding our overcoats please contact us on 0116 207 8825

Or if you wish to book a fitting simply click one of the links below

Personal Fitting Service
Traveling Tailor Service

5th Day of Christmas - 5 Made-To-Measure Shirts!

If you live in Leicestershire and the East Midlands you may have spotted some of our special offer flyers.


We currently have two offers for our made-to-measure shirts. Five shirts for each working day and another offer of two shirts for the weekend.


You can choose your own cloth and add your own unique touches - you can even have your initials or a phrase embroidered on your cuff! 


Why not book a fitting with us today?

4th Day of Christmas - Luxury Leather Bags

For the man who does a lot of traveling, these leather bags make carrying your belongings easy and classy.

Contact us on 0116 207 8825 if you are interested in purchasing these bags

3rd Day of Christmas - 3 Piece Suit

Investing in a 3 piece suit is another great way to add to your wardrobe. By choosing versatile cloth colours you will find it easy to team particular items with other jackets and trousers for both formal and informal occasions.

2nd Day of Christmas - Two smart blazers

When developing your wardrobe it is a good idea to have five good quality suits which you can rotate. Maybe even as many as ten if you have to wear suits regularly. 

This is really the foundation of any formal wear wardrobe. Once you have established a strong collection of 2-piece and 3-piece suits, it's time to add some blazers to your wardrobe.

These can typically be worn when socialising with friends with a good pair of jeans. If you are the creative type and don't have to wear suits on a regular basis, having a couple of blazers you can chuck on when going to meetings is invaluable. However, to make them as versatile as possible, think about how you could team them up with some trousers from other suits. A contrasting jacket and suit trousers is something were seeing more regularly at the moment.

Sharp Tailored Blazer Gift Voucher

1st Day of Christmas - One Made-to-Measure Suit

At Head & Griffiths we offer the wearer the opportunity to create something that is just about him....a garment that looks and feels unique. But wouldn't it be lovely to wake up on Christmas morning knowing that you could have a suit that fits you perfectly also?

Here are some useful tips to keep an eye out for when you're purchasing your tailoring

Is your suit fully canvassed? Semi-canvassed? Or not canvassed at all?!

Canvas in a suit gives it structure, shape and strength throughout a suit jacket. If your jacket isn't canvased it may be 'fused'. This is where a glue is used to fuse (as you can see these names took ages to come up with) the fabric together and so make it appear a lot stiffer. The glue is water resistant so on a hot summers day, all the moisture coming from your body has no where to go and so you can literally stick to your suit. This makes fused suits quite uncomfortable to wear. A semi-canvas jacket will still give it this structure but merely around the chest area and the rest will be fused. This sounds appealing, however it is a little like having Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton driving for the same team. It doesn't work together properly so a full canvas suit will always look, travel and drape better.

Is your suit hand cut?

If you are fortunate enough to have your suit made-to-measure it will be hand cut. Cutting every suit by hand means we can match up all the pinstripes and patterns in a cloth. This gives itself a much cleaner finish. It may appear to be a small detail, however it is something which will separate your suit from the rest.

Made-to-measure suits give you choice

Whether it be when buying food or a brand new car, we like to have choice don't we? Along the high street you can be limited to just navy and grey cloths. Having a suit made-to-measure gives you choice from a whole range of premium cloths and lining fabrics.

Practicality helps to give a suit longevity 

There are little extras within a made-to-measure suit to improve your suits life which you can sometimes struggle to find when purchasing a suit on the high street. Padding in the trousers and around the armholes, tapering around the hem of the trousers will reduce wear and tear.

Off-the-peg or made-to-measure suits?

For the average man it seems logical that an off the peg suit should fit. So why have I not found one person that says this is so?


I spend most of my time meeting people who wear suits regularly and most say that they usually buy a suit that is off the peg. M&S have the autograph collection which often gets a reasonable response, but still people find that they are settling for a jacket too big just so the sleeves fit them correctly. Even a few people who say “I am pretty lucky I can walk into an off the peg suit and it fits perfectly” could often look better with having some adjustments made to their current look.

However, is it worth it? You can get an off the peg suit from Tesco for around £50. You'll wear it two or three times and chuck it - it's certainly not going to like being dry cleaned. Topman offers suits for £125 to £225. The more expensives suits from Topman coming from other brands. The Suits on the cheaper end of the scale are over 50% polyester and will certainly not last the same length of time as a suit from a quality cloth. However, the suits on the top end of the scale are a collection from Ben Sherman which look fine for the job hunter who doesn't want to look cheap. So, a good off the peg suit for the aspirational gentlemen is likely to cost you around £250 yet still may not fit correctly. More than anything, a good fitting suit is what will separate you from others so it is paramount that this is right.

What about our designer friends Hugo, Paul and Ted? Paul Smith’s suits start at £479 off the peg, they’re well made and will take a bit of a battering however, they are often semi canvassed. This sounds appealing however, a fully canvassed suit will give it better structure, shape and strength, and so will always drape better. Ted Baker and Hugo Boss are similar in their construction to suits from Paul Smith. They're not better than a suit from M&S, the cut may be preferred, or even the brand name for that matter.

Gieves & Hawkes start at £695 and going up to £1,895 for off the peg. These suits are going to be well made and have good fabric and last but they still may not fit. Like designer suits, here your money is going towards the Savile Row reputation. It’s easy to say that if you pay more it will last longer and if you pay less it doesn’t matter. Isn’t the most important thing about a suit to look and feel great? If you know you look fantastic this positive energy is passed on to the people around you. I know I would prefer this to knowing that you have paid a lot for a suit and it should look expensive. 

If you could get something that looks great, but be safe in the knowledge that it fits perfectly, surely this makes sense?

Head & Griffiths Suiting Sessions

Our Suiting Sessions are great way to get colleagues and clients together for a bit of a bonding sesh! 


We will visit your company at a time that is convenient for you, whether it be a lunchtime or after office hours in a more relaxed environment and take you through the telling signs of a quality suit. 


Have a peek at our Suiting Sessions information pack via the link below. If you feel that this may be something of interest to you and your company then feel free to contact us at any time.

Branding Your Tailoring

Head & Griffiths appreciates the importance of making a good first impression. You reflect your company, so it is important to dress to impress and have a team around you that likewise, shares your ambition for looking good, whether it’s when meeting clients, giving a presentation or just having a few drinks after work. It might be that your company wants to adopt a uniform or a particular corporate style for a team of employees and there are few ways in which to do that.

Cloth

Cloths have various personalities and connotations so is important to choose a cloth that communicates your brand in the right way. For example a wide rope pinstripe has associations with bankers and high flyers so it's important to think about what your suit cloth says about you. There might be a particular colour pinstripe or Prince of Wales check which links in with your branding.

Style

Like the cloth what does the style of your jacket say about you and your company? If you offer financial services is a double-breasted jacket appropriate? Or if you're in a creative industry perhaps you want a single breasted jacket with a neat trim to best portray your creative style. A waistcoat in a contrasting cloth may be the way to give your tailoring the brand treatment.

Lining

It may be hidden away but one of the more obvious places to incorporate your brand in your tailoring is with the lining colour. We have a whole wealth of colours to choose from so you can be guaranteed to find something that is right for you and your employees. This can then be linked with nice subtle details around the suit like coloured buttons, button hole stitching on the sleeve or lapel, lapel stitching and so on.

Embroidery

Typically embroidery is reserved for just the name of the owner of the suit. However, it is very much open to interpretation and more importantly what you want to have embroidered on the inside or outside your suit jacket. It could be the name of your company or just the initials of your company. Or it could your company's memory hook - 'Live well, feel great', 'Profit from good advice' or 'Law in your language'.

Mark Selby

Around Leicestershire in your local pubs and cafés you should be able to spot the latest issue of Soar Magazine. If you can't then there is a link here so you can download it. Inside you'll find an article on Snooker's Mark 'The Jester from Leicester' Selby who we made a suit jacket and shirt for his interview with the magazine. The jacket worn by Mark is a shawl collar with contrasting trim and patch pockets. It's been an absolute pleasure dealing with Mark and we were very fortunate to have a small editorial in the magazine which we have to thank Mukesh for making possible. If you haven't done so already, make sure to read our article with Mark now!

http://www.markselby.info/
http://www.soarmagazine.co.uk

Plus size tailoring

Tailoring is for gentlemen of all shapes and sizes with the real aim being to highlight your assets and hide what you don’t like. If you often have to buy plus size clothing then there are some hints and tips that can help to make you look and feel better in the clothes you’re wearing. 

Cut 

It’s important that the cut is flattering and not overly baggy. It may be more comfortable to have extra space but this wont make you look as good as you can do. To have fabric snug around your stomach and arms can work to create light between them, giving the appearance of a more slender physique. 
    
However, this does not mean that the tighter the better, having pull lines from the buttons is not a good look for anyone.

Shoulders

Having broad shoulders on a jacket can draw attention away from areas you want to hide. This is something that a good tailor will highlight with you. Considerably larger shoulders would not be suitable but squarer shoulders can make your waist appear smaller. 

Trousers

Baggy suit trousers can give the impression that you are bigger than you actually are. Having fitted trousers with a suitable hem, will not only feel comfortable but will make you look great too.

Colour

Choosing colours that will improve your figure is important. Black has always had the reputation of being able to hide your physique. However, a charcoal, dark grey or navy colour is equally as flattering. Most importantly wear a colour you feel comfortable in as feeling good will make you look better. 

Length 

The length of the jacket should be enough to cover the largest part of your bottom. A jacket which is too long in length can make you look drowned in fabric and appear bigger. The length of a traditionally cut jacket should reach your thumb when your arm is relaxed. If you are below 6" it is important not to have a jacket too long as it will make you look smaller and larger. 

The combination of these tips will hopefully help you to get the best fitting suit. Sometimes just by doing one of them can make all the difference. The next time you purchase a suit, why not have it made-to-measure to ensure you are always looking your best.

What kind of party doesn't have a DJ?

I don't want to use the c-word too early but.....it's 9 weeks till Christmas! 

You can picture it now can't you? Sitting down on Christmas day - you've got you're huge turkey in the oven, wrapped Head & Griffiths presents are under the tree, copious amounts of booze chilling in the cellar. But wait - what are you going to wear to all those glamourous events you've been invited to?

Well, a dinner jacket naturally. It is perhaps the quintessential item for any man's wardrobe. Whether you hire or have purchased a dinner jacket, ready-to-wear items can all look very much the same. However, how about a made-to-measure dinner jacket?

Although there are some rules to black tie dress, there is considerably more room for variation unlike white tie dress which is typically worn at banquets, balls and if you're in the mood, the opera. Why not choose a wool cashmere black cloth with a subtle birdseye pattern? Perhaps a black silk trim or collar? It could even be double breasted. No one said the lining had to be black so why not opt for a rich purple silk lining?