a preview

just a sneak preview… more info soon!

Registration

Registration came and went this morning. We opened the floodgates at 10 am; by just after 11 am, all 400 spots were taken and the ride was full! Looking forward to seeing you all in six weeks! And sincerest apologies to those who couldn’t get onto the ride.

winter olympics style

curling’s our winter sport of choice. but we have to admire the tache on french half-pipe snowboarder mathieu crepel.

image from gawker

graphic loveliness

the illustration for our 2010 tweed run is ready

special thanks to wayne peach and matt bibby for their illustration work. we’re definitely going to turn this into posters! stay tuned…

king mcqueen

in memory of alexander mcqueen, a great among greats, and without a doubt the most creative force in fashion for our generation. at 16 years old, lee got his start on savile row by knocking on the door of anderson & sheppard and demanding an apprenticeship. he later moved to gieves and hawkes, where legend has it he drew a giant cock and balls into the lining of one of prince charles’ coats. he applied to central st martins for a course in pattern cutting, but his portfolio was so strong that he was accepted onto the masters degree course. his final degree show was famously bought in its entirety by isabella blow, who went on to become a mentor and good friend to lee. he began his own label soon after graduation, becoming famous for his intricate and theatrical, headline-grabbing fashion shows that were spectacles in their own rights. mcqueen was always the “bad boy of fashion” – after having been head designer at givenchy for several years, they parted ways, givenchy calling him “too irreverent”. in a fruitful but frought relationship, gucci group bought 51% of his eponymous label. he continued to create his amazing mens and womenswear from his design studio on old street.

mcqueen was truly one of the world’s greatest fashion designers. his mastery of technique and form was outshone only by his brilliant creativity and wonderful sense of rebellion. the world has lost an incredible talent. rest in peace, lee.

alexander mcqueen, 1969-2010

nice, but expensive!

rapha, everybody’s favourite posh bike clothes company, is having one of it’s legendary sample sales this weekend. expect a big queue and possibly a bit of jostling, but also cheap baselayers, merino socks and ridiculously good deals on end-of-line stock. just in time for valentine’s day.

rapha sample sale
condor cycles, 48-51 grays inn road
friday 12 feb, 5 – 8 pm
saturday 13 feb, 10 am – 5 pm

a bit about bikes4africa

for the second year running, the tweed run will benefit bikes4africa. it’s a charity that i really believe in. they take donated bicycles, teach inmates in uk prisons to refurbish them, then ship the bicycles — along with repair tools and skills/mechanical upkeep training — to the gambia, one of the poorest countries in africa.

in africa, the bikes are given (on a longterm loan basis) to students who have great distances to walk to school. many african children live in remote communities a long way from schools. there is no bus system, so these students have to travel extremely long distances to receive an education. bikes4africa helps the students to:

• get to school
• arrive at school on time instead of late
• begin the school day alert instead of exhausted
• stay for extra lessons at the end of the school day
• reach higher academic achievement
• arrive home earlier
• help their families more at home
• remain safe by travelling home from school in daylight

education, skills training and community support are one of the only ways to lift communities out of poverty and help them along the way to self-sustainability.

to date, bikes4africa has sent over 5500 bikes to africa. the tweed run is proud to support their efforts.

a little sartorial inspiration

the duke of windsor’s golfing suit (dated 1924). coat by legendary london tailor frederick scholte, trousers forster & sons.

you’ve gotta love how the duke dressed. i’ve never seen a photo of him in a bad outfit. this is an impecably cut (check out the nipped waist and cutaway fronts!) sports suit made from rust harris tweed. i’m ringing my tailor now…

image courtesy blackwatch

deadman walking

a bespoke suit is a work of art. infact, a bespoke suit is a million different tiny works of art, from the invisible handstitched felling on the lining to the near-magical way a collar is stitched to make it curve in two opposing directions. one of the beautiful but unseen ingredients that go into a bespoke suit is the paper pattern, hand drawn specifically for each client on heavy oaktag paper and stored in a tailor’s cellar to be pulled out and updated over the years as a client contracts and expands.

hormazd narielwalla is a london-based artist who takes tailors’ old porked patterns (patterns from clients who haven’t ordered for many many years and are presumed dead) and turns them into, well, new works of art. he calls his project deadman’s patterns.

images courtesy hormazd narielwalla

dressing up

angels and bermans has probably the best collection of vintage clothing in the uk. they do regular shifts through and sell off their excess (at silly low prices). this saturday is another one of their famous warehouse sales. highly recommended, if you can bring yourself to get to wembley and fight the crowds.