Many years ago when I began practicing law I was unwittingly introduced to what I have since learned is a “bespoke” product. I was informed of this through a client named Jeremy Godfrey who, although of British descent was not to my knowledge of princely lineage. Nonetheless he had a distinguishable familiarity with worthy products. In particular he familiarized me with Asprey’s with whom I ended doing business of two occasions, both very satisfactorily.
For whatever reason (and honestly I couldn’t begin to speculate) I have always harboured an interest in quality products, whether made of metal, wood, porcelain, silver, gold, steel or crystal; or, even words! The substance is not the only performance of course. What is required to pique my interest is notable excellence, what I might in the best exposure call an artistic appeal.
As bespoke became increasingly associated with the British elite and high fashion, it started to become used interchangeably with ‘customised’, which was more affordable for a mass market. But a customised product is very different to a bespoke product. If we go back to Saville Road, a customised suit is one that has been ‘made-to-measure’ – it can be altered and adjusted, but only to a certain point. On the other hand, in the words of Geoff Souster from Souster & Hicks, a bespoke suit is “not just shopping, it’s a whole experience”. It’s a whole process derived from the very first fitting, allowing the tailor the creativity and freedom to match the suit to the person.
I like that model of perfection not only because it captures the necessity of superiority but also because it engages the spirit. I needn’t tell you that the mind is a clever device for encouraging myths and dreams. But nothing in my opinion beats the advantage of the senses (predominantly sight and touch but also of course sound). I do however acknowledge as willingly that mooring oneself to strictly bespoke products is not imperative. The modification to customized is close enough for me in most instances (but not all). It’s the difference between a Rolls Royce and a Cadillac. For my purposes I can on the whole live with General Motors.
It wasn’t until I went to New York City that I broadened my opinion of retail to include the ephemera of luxury. I have always got a buzz out of things I like; but having lunch at Bergdorf Goodman immeasurably brightened my image of the retail experience, if I may call it that. There is no question that things of themselves are no answer to inner yearnings; but they can provide temporary ecstasy. Just being in the highly controlled environment of superlative things was oddly uplifting.
Ephemera
late 16th century: plural of ephemeron, from Greek, neuter of ephēmeros ‘lasting only a day’. As a singular noun the word originally denoted a plant said by ancient writers to last only one day, or an insect with a short lifespan, and hence was applied (late 18th century) to a person or thing of short-lived interest. Current use has been influenced by plurals such as trivia and memorabilia.
Bergdorf Goodman The company traces its origins to 1899 when Herman Bergdorf, an immigrant from Alsace, opened a tailor shop just above Union Square in downtown Manhattan.
Saks and Macy’s both were on my retail ventures; yet both were predominantly elevator/escalator rides between floors. Tiffany – though predictable – was for me a disappointment but only because I am so exceedingly particular about certain things about which Tiffany maintained the most conservative renditions. That all compares with Ogilvy’s in Montreal which had an exceptional variety of Paul & Shark garments plus extraordinary furnishings made of pecan wood.
Pecan falls into the Pecan-Hickory grouping, which tends to be slightly stabler but weaker than the True-Hickories, and is considered to be a semi-ring-porous wood. The strength characteristics of Pecan are somewhat influenced by the spacing of its growth rings. In general, wood from faster-growing trees, with wider spaced growth rings, tends to be harder, heavier, and stronger than wood from slower-growing trees that have rings which are closer together.
My Canadian acquaintance with Birks amusingly corresponded to my employment as legal counsel for Drummond Birks on a personal family matter. As for further celebrity I was invited by Jacques Campeau and his wife Suzanne Flesher to visit them at Jacques’ mother’s house in the Village of Dunrobin on the Ottawa River. I had the pleasure to represent Jacques and Suzie in certain of their legal interests.; and we did of course allude to the Bloomingdale connection.
Strangely the place where I have derived some of my greatest retail satisfaction is a more independent (though longstanding) firm called Dixon Jewellers on Sparks Street in Ottawa. I discovered that it was in fact they who had made a ring I purchased at Birks (but don’t ask me how I discovered that vicarious detail; it’s a long and convoluted story). Serendipitously Dixon’s was located on Sparks Street where my law office Macdonald, Affleck was then situate; which office was also directly across the street from Birks.
OUR FOUNDER, RALPH DIXON, BEGAN HIS JEWELLERY CAREER AT THE TENDER AGE OF 14, SWEEPING FLOORS AND RUNNING ERRANDS FOR SKELTON JEWELLERS IN MONTREAL. BY THE LATE 50’S, ALTHOUGH ONLY 25 YEARS OLD, HE ESTABLISHED HIMSELF AS A MASTER JEWELLER AND WENT ON TO CREATE STUNNING PLATINUM AND DIAMOND DESIGNS FOR MANY OF THE FIRM’S FAMOUS CLIENTS, INCLUDING PRINCESS MARGARET AND PRESIDENT EISENHOWER.
Currently I have revived what I had thought to be a disappearing sentience for shopping. While lately searching the internet for a very singular object I unearthed Aspinal of London. No doubt if I were an urban dweller with a cosmopolitan lifestyle I would already have found my way to this emporium. For the time being however it is a new discovery but one which already is promising to be of more interest. In the process of my on-line investigations I uncovered yet another of Britain’s contribution to discretion; namely, the term “Outlet” which though popular in certain models is to my knowledge uncharacteristic of luxury stores. In fact, just the opposite. As you may already know or have gathered, the term “Outlet” means bargain basement; that is, stuff for half-price. I have already identified at least one critical element of my mercantile vocabulary, one which I hasten to employ when the weather turns to autumn and the temperature drops.
Aspinal of London is a British designer, manufacturer and retailer of luxury leather goods and accessories, founded in London in 2002 by Iain Burton. It was a supplier of leather accessories to the gift shops of museums such as the National Gallery, the Louvre and the Vatican until launching their first store in Selfridges in 2007.
Princess Catherine
The Duchess of Cambridge first carried the Aspinal of London Midi Mayfair bag in 2013, and has since carried the bag on several occasions in both Black and Lilac colourways.
Prior to her wedding, a Kate Middleton “Princess Catherine Engagement Doll” was sold, which came with a toy Aspinal bag as an accessory.
The Duchess of Cambridge has carried the Beulah x Aspinal of London Clutch on several occasions.
Asprey was established in England in Mitcham, Surrey, in 1781. Founded as a silk printing business by William Asprey, it soon became a luxury emporium. In 1841, William Asprey’s elder son Charles went into partnership with a stationer located on London’s Bond Street.
Harrods The store occupies a 5-acre (2 ha) site and has 330 departments covering 1.1 million sq ft (100,000 m2) of retail space. It is one of the largest and most famous department stores in the world.
Birks Group Inc. (formerly Birks & Mayors Inc.) is a designer, manufacturer, and retailer of jewellery, timepieces, silverware and gifts, with stores and manufacturing facilities located in Canada and the United States. The Group was created in November 2005 through the merger of Henry Birks and Sons Ltd. (Canada) and Mayors Jewelers Inc. (United States).
Bloomingdale’s The first Bloomingdale’s was founded in New York City by Benjamin Bloomingdale and his son Lyman Bloomingdale in 1861 in its Lower East Side area, originally under the name Bloomingdale’s Hoopskirts, initially focused on selling hoop skirts and European fashions.
As his empire expanded, Robert Campeau, a Canadian real estate developer from Dunrobin, Ontario, ventured into the United States looking for acquisitions that would add shopping mall real estate to his portfolio of assets. In 1986 Campeau acquired Allied Stores. In 1988, the company followed with the purchase of Federated Department Stores, owner of Bloomingdale’s. Robert Campeau died on June 12, 2017 at his home in Ottawa. He was 93.
Tiffany & Co. was founded in 1837 by the jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany and became famous in the early 20th century under the artistic direction of his son Louis Comfort Tiffany. In 2018, net sales totaled US$4.44 billion. As of 2023, Tiffany operated over 300 stores globally, in many countries including the United States, Japan, and Canada, as well as Europe, Latin America, and the collective Asia-Pacific region, and is exploring opportunities in Africa. The company’s product line features fine jewelry, sterling silver, watches, porcelain, crystal, stationery, haute couture fragrance and personal accessories, and leather goods.