October 1, 2019

By BARRY SINGER

Winston Churchill was always drawn to fine clothes. As a young man he bought breeches, and his first military uniforms as a cadet, from E. Tautz & Sons of Oxford Street—tailors to Europe’s sporting military elite. When he first entered Parliament at the start of the Edwardian era in 1901, he added to his Tautz purchases frock coats, trousers, and vests (waistcoats).

The MP for Oldham had his suits and overcoats made by Bernau & Sons of St. James’s Street or Henry Poole of Savile Row. To complete his ensemble, he purchased his walking sticks, canes, and umbrellas from Thomas Brigg & Sons, also of St. James’s Street; his hats from both Chapman & Moore and Scott’s hatters; his boots from Palmer & Co.; and his gray antelope slippers from Hook, Knowles & Co.

Young Winston furnished his Mount Street flat with furniture from Maple & Co., the vast, high-end furniture emporium  in Tottenham Court Road. He bought his stationary and pens from Waterlow & Sons; his newspapers from Bingham & Co.; his spectacles from Dixey & Son; his lotions and ointments from Squire & Sons Chemist; his travel trunks from J. W. Allen; and his pistols, rifles, and ammunition from John Digby & Co.

These and other lavish tastes were never to be abandoned.

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Barry Singer is the author of Churchill Style (Abrams Image, 2012) and the proprietor of Chartwell Booksellers in New York City.