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IN CONVERSATION WITH TOM WHARTON OF BARRINGTON AYRE

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In Conversation with Tom Wharton of Barrington Ayre


Barrington Ayre make luxury bespoke and made to order clothing from their Cirencester showroom located in the historic Market Place. Operating a full visiting tailoring service across The Cotswolds, The South West and London as well as the UK by appointment, their clothing is worn by the likes of Michael Vaughan, Robbie Savage, Jos Buttler, Greg James, and David 'Bumble' Lloyd to name a few. They pride themselves on making the finest clothing and have a real niche for tweed wedding suits. They have our own range of Made in Cirencester clothing, made by in house Savile Row tailor, Sian, studied tailoring at the London School of Fashion and then went on to work in Savile Row for Dege and Skinner for 3 years before returning to The Cotswolds.


In a recent episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interviewed Tom Wharton, Founder of Barrington Ayre about the founding story of his men's tailoring brand which is currently in its 11th year of operation. Popular with the wedding market and known for their tweed formalwear, they have an in-house Savile Row tailor working from their workroom above their Cirencester showroom. Our host Peter Brooker and Tom also talked about adapting and staying positive through Covid-19, their global celebrity and sporting clientele, moving into womenswear, and their love for cricket.



“We set up initially as a bespoke shirts maker which operated on some evenings and weekends. That escalated when people started asking us to make suits and clothing for them. It developed from there and now we make literally everything. We have now also got a lot of customers from America, Australia, and Norway. Our signature look is very English with sharp and very traditional tailoring. It's just a great look that will never go out of fashion. During the Covid-19 lockdowns we've done a number of fittings and appointments via video conferencing. You just have to adapt in this situation. If you get negative about it, you will get down about it. If it doesn't work out in the end, but you've tried everything, you can sit back with ease knowing you tried your best. However, we are a tactile company where you've got to feel the fabric, you've got to build a relationship. So, speaking to customers over Zoom is just not the same. You don't pick up on the little things, you don't have the same banter, you're not sharing a coffee, and you just don’t get a true feeling of the fabric.”



This is a shortened transcribed edit of episode 108 of the MenswearStyle Podcast with Tom Wharton, Founder of barringtonayre.co.uk. You can listen to the full version below or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast player.


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