Fashion History Now #37: An Interview with Savile Row Tailor Jihae An (Dressed Classic)

Summary

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Dressed: The History of Fashion

Episode: Fashion History Now #37: An Interview with Savile Row Tailor Jihae An
Original Air Date: January 30, 2026
Host(s): April Callahan, Cassidy Zachary
Guest: Jihyeon (“G”) An, Savile Row Bespoke Tailor

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Episode Overview

This episode offers an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the world of Savile Row tailoring through the experiences and insights of Jihae ("G") An, a bespoke coat maker at the legendary Eden Ravenscroft. The conversation explores G’s personal journey into tailoring, the traditions and communities of Savile Row, the practical and creative aspects of the profession, and the changing face and future of bespoke tailoring. G shares her perspective as a young, female, and immigrant tailor—challenging stereotypes and highlighting the role of representation in this traditionally male-dominated field.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Heritage of Savile Row (01:34–03:35)

• Savile Row’s Reputation:
  The hosts discuss the global renown of Savile Row, synonymous with exquisite tailoring and unmatched craftsmanship.
  “Tailoring is synonymous with the globally renowned Savile Row in London.” — Cassidy Zachary (01:34)
• Historical Highlights:
  • Henry Poole’s role as “father of Savile Row” (est. 1806, 32 Savile Row).
  • Eden Ravenscroft predates Savile Row itself, tracing roots to 1689 as London’s oldest tailor and robe maker.

2. Jihae An’s Journey into Tailoring (04:12–07:42)

• Formative Inspirations:

  • G grew up inspired by her mother, who dreamed of being a fashion designer and made clothes for her with leftover fabrics.
  • Initially aspired to design wedding dresses, but was drawn to tailoring for its practical career security and creative boundaries.

  “I always had a really clear path of wanting to become a fashion designer. And lo and behold, I didn’t become one—I actually became a tailor.”
  — Jihae An (04:27)

• Why Tailoring Over Design:

  • Sought a creative trade with defined traditions and skills that improve over a lifetime.
  • Tailoring offered “timelessness” and lifelong mastery.

  “It’s the timelessness that appealed to me. I still go back to wedding dresses sometimes, though. It’s romantic.”
  — Jihae An (07:42)

3. Inside Eden Ravenscroft and Savile Row (08:03–10:58)

• Work Experience:

  • Apprenticed at Tom Sweeney, freelanced with several prestigious houses (Huntsman, Kilgour, Montague & E. Davies & Sons, Norton Sons).
  • Drawn to Eden Ravenscroft by its history and unique offerings (legal dress, graduation robes, special garments).

• Wig and Robe Departments:

  • Unique to Eden Ravenscroft: still produce wigs and robes by hand, using centuries-old techniques.

  “The tradition of making has...hasn’t changed since the design was established in the 18th century.”
  — Jihae An (09:58)

4. The Apprenticeship System (11:31–15:16)

• Training and Hardship:

  • Apprenticeships typically last 3–4 years for coat makers; G completed hers in about 1.5 years thanks to a demanding mentor.
  • Notoriously low pay, requiring personal and familial sacrifice.

  “I was really, really keen on to finish my coat making apprenticeships. I could earn some real money as a coat maker. So money was a motivation and I got through it in about a year and a half.”
  — Jihae An (13:21)

• The Value of Hands-On Learning:

  • Tailoring involves tactile learning that cannot be replicated by video or classroom instruction.
  • Hopes future apprenticeships will improve to offer living wages.

5. The Art and Process of Tailoring (17:45–24:08)

• Commissioning a Suit:

  • Customer meets with a cutter for consultation and measurements.
  • Team includes the cutter, undercutter, coat/waistcoat/trouser makers, finishers, pressers, and others.

• Step-by-Step Suit Creation:

  • Cloth is selected, cut, basted, and fitted (up to three fittings typical).
  • Makers adjust for individual differences, constructing each garment piece by piece.
  • Finishers complete with detailed work (handmade buttonholes, lining).
  • Pressers finish the garment.

• Freelancing and Community on Savile Row:

  • Most tailors work freelance and for multiple houses, fostering a unique ecosystem and camaraderie.

  “It’s a very old way of working, I suppose. I still wrote my invoices by pen and paper and I would hand-deliver my garments with invoices.”
  — Jihae An (22:55)

6. Evolution of Savile Row: Community and Demographics (24:08–27:00)

• Changing Culture:

  • Previously more cutthroat and hierarchical; now a collaborative, warm community.
  • Surge in female and immigrant tailors; social media is helping foster openness and collaboration.

  “Young people, especially social media, has helped open a lot of people up about the possibility of working together and that, you know, we all have this common thing of really loving Savile Row.”
  — Jihae An (25:12)

7. Social Media and Representation (27:00–31:54)

• Why Share Her Work:

  • Sought recognition for behind-the-scenes tailors and transparency about why bespoke suits are valuable and costly.
  • A way to connect with clients, educate public, build personal diary of work.

  “Sometimes the brand shiny men at the front of the house would get the thanks...I’m down here in the windowless basement.”
  — Jihae An (27:20)

• Representation and Challenges:

  • Experiences some online negativity, but benefits far outweigh drawbacks.
  • Her visibility helps inspire and encourage others—especially women and immigrants—to consider careers in tailoring.

  “I didn’t realize how important representation could be. And when I have students contacting me and say, I want to be a Savile Row tailor and they look like me, and I hope I helped a little bit towards that aspect.”
  — Jihae An (30:06)

8. The Power of the Suit (31:54–33:06)

• Empowerment Through Garments:

  • Wearing a bespoke suit changes posture, self-perception, and treatment by others.
  • Personal anecdote: making a wedding suit for a friend, who described the fitting as a “princess moment.”

  “You hold yourself differently when you have something that’s especially made for you. And I love that feeling.”
  — Jihae An (32:07)

9. What Tailoring Means to G (33:18–35:16)

• Tailoring as Expression and Identity:

  • Foundational to her creative expression and professional confidence.
  • Connection to her identity as an immigrant in England: Savile Row has always been shaped by immigrant tailors.

  “For something that’s very, very British, it has always been powered by immigrant tailors. And there’s me and him, who’s a Cypriot British tailor, in a room handcrafting these garments...”
  — Jihae An (35:03)

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Notable Quotes

• “I always had a really clear path of wanting to become a fashion designer. And lo and behold, I didn’t become one—I actually became a tailor.” — Jihae An (04:27)
• “It’s the timelessness that appealed to me.” — Jihae An (07:42)
• “The tradition of making has...hasn’t changed since the design was established in the 18th century.” — Jihae An (09:58)
• “You can watch as many videos and get your information. But the things that I was taught were like, so tactile...those kind of things can’t be taught purely by watching.” — Jihae An (14:25)
• “It’s a very old way of working...a lot was happening on this one street and a lot of communication, a lot of work being exchanged...actually it’s more like a community.” — Jihae An (22:55)
• “I didn’t realize how important representation could be...” — Jihae An (30:06)
• “You hold yourself differently when you have something that’s especially made for you.” — Jihae An (32:07)
• “For something that’s very, very British, it has always been powered by immigrant tailors.” — Jihae An (35:03)

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Key Timestamps

• Savile Row and Its History: 01:34–02:54
• G’s Early Inspirations and Transition to Tailoring: 04:12–07:42
• Apprenticeship Experiences: 11:31–15:16
• Making a Bespoke Suit Explained: 17:45–24:08
• Work Culture and Changing Demographics: 24:08–27:00
• Instagram, Representation, and Challenges: 27:00–31:54
• The Empowerment of the Suit: 31:54–33:06
• Identity, Expression, and Immigrant Roots: 33:18–35:16

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Memorable Moments

• G describes her first suit for herself, the longing to be seen as a real tailor, and how that shaped her Instagram presence (27:00–30:06).
• Emotional reflection on how being part of the Savile Row community gave her a sense of belonging and a bridge between her British and Korean identities (34:21–35:16).
• The anecdote of making a wedding suit for a friend who experienced a “princess moment” during a fitting, highlighting the joy and transformative power of bespoke tailoring (32:07–33:06).

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Conclusion

This episode not only demystifies the technical and communal aspects of Savile Row but also spotlights a new generation of tailors—women, immigrants, and creatives—redefining both tradition and innovation. G’s insights provide a powerful testament to the value of craft, the importance of representation, and the profound ways that something as simple as getting dressed can be an act of expression, identity, and empowerment.

Follow Jihae An on Instagram: @bspokenbyg
Follow Dressed: @dressed_podcast

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Transcript

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[Cassidy Zachary]

Please enjoy one of our favorite episodes from the Dressed archive of over 500 plus shows.

[April Callahan]

Over 7 billion people in the world. We all have one thing in common. Every day, we all get dressed.

[Podcast Narrator/Host]

Welcome to Dressed the History of Fashion, a podcast where we explore the who, what, when of why we wear. We are fashion historians and your hosts.

[April Callahan]

April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary. So April, I don't know if you agree with me, but tailoring is one of those evocative fashion words that brings to mind both an item of dress. So like an impeccably crafted and finely fitted suit, for instance, but also a very specific place. And that is because dress listeners, tailoring is synonymous with the globally renowned Savile Row in London. And this unassuming street might at first glance be indistinguishable from, say, hundreds of others in the bustling city upon first appearance if it were not for what its buildings literally and figuratively house. And that is the history and the heart of the English bespoke tailoring tradition.

[Podcast Narrator/Host]

Yes, and that is because the suits produced on this street are inarguably the most coveted in the world, a reputation the street has earned ever since becoming a tailoring hub in the 19th century after Henry Poole, the so called father of Savile Row, expanded the tailoring premises he had inherited from his father, James Poole in 1846 to include an entrance at number 32 Savile Row. And Henry Poole still exists today, proudly offering the same level of excellent service and master craftsmanship offered since Henry's Father opened his first tailor shop in 1806.

[April Callahan]

But Henry Pool is not the only Saville row house to come with its own extensive history and heritage, nor is it, by any means the oldest tailoring establishment on the street. That designation is reserved for Eid and Ravenscroft, who proudly claims the title of, quote, London's oldest tailor and robe maker. And the origins of the business actually date back to 1689, so they obviously relocated to the street much later. But, yeah, super old establishment. So while this tailoring street and profession comes with a long and prestigious history, today's guest undeniably represents its future. And we are so pleased to welcome Eden Ravenscroft Taylor Jihyon to the show.

[Podcast Narrator/Host]

She joins us for a behind the scenes look at her craft, shattering many preconceived conceptions about the profession along the way. G. Welcome to Drest.

[April Callahan]

G. Hello, how are you today?

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Hello, Cassidy. Thank you so much for having me on the show. I'm a huge fan and I've been so excited.

[April Callahan]

Oh, I am so excited to talk to you. I'm a huge fan of what you do and I can't wait to hear all about it. I actually think you are. Well, I don't think. I know. You are the first Taylor on our show. So very excited to talk to you.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

What an honor. Thank you.

[April Callahan]

Yeah, of course. I would love if you could start by telling us a little bit about yourself and perhaps share some insights into your formative relationship to clothing or textiles. For instance, do you have an earliest memory that sparked your interest in clothing or dress?

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Absolutely. So my name is Jiheyan and I am a Savile Row bespoke tailor. More specifically, a coat maker. And I am currently in employment with Eden Ravenscroft. I have been tailoring for about five, six years, including my apprenticeship. I would say my earliest memory was always my mum. I'm sure everybody thinks their mum is a superhero, but my mum always said she wanted to be a fashion designer and she had kids and just didn't happen for her. And she used to draw sketches and we used to color them in or she used to make us little outfits. I would like leftover fabrics. And I would always tell her, I was like, oh, don't worry, I'll do it for you. I'll be a fashion designer. And I don't know when that turned into something that became my own, like not just doing it for my mum, but it definitely. I always had a really clear path of wanting to become a fashion designer. And lo and behold, I didn't become one I actually became a tailor. But, yeah, I was convinced I wanted to be a wedding dress designer for the longest time, until I went to university and I decided that fashion seemed so subjective. And also my friends were coming back with such horror stories of working in the industry. Absolutely. You know, like sleeping on the table, that McQueen or they wouldn't let you go home for days when you were working on the show, that kind of thing. So I ended up choosing the practical route of tailoring. And if you're going to do tailoring, why not travel road tailoring?

[April Callahan]

So what appealed to you about tailoring? Because going from wedding dress designing to tailoring could not have been the easiest. I mean, maybe it was an easy transition. I don't know much about construction, admittedly.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Absolutely. It was a pretty easy choice to make, but I wish I could embellish it and say it was a much more romantic story. But somebody described it to me as, it's like learning a trade. They were like, a plumber is never out of a job, woodworker is not going to be out of a job learning something. So from the basics upwards in sewing, like tailoring, you'll never be able to work. And maybe it's my immigrant mindset, but it really encouraged me that this was the type of creative I wanted to be creative, but this was the type of creativity I wanted to get into. I think I described myself as. I couldn't. I knew three walls to bounce off and the fourth wall to be something I can break through. But if you gave me, like, no walls, I'd be a bit lost having tradition, heritage and rules and some form of things I can build upon. In tailoring, it really appealed to me, too, that I could get better at it with years. And I saw people doing it for 10, 20, their whole lifetime, so. So I think in that aspect, I found it really encouraging to become a tailor and not be so subjected to change. I think it's the timelessness that appealed to me. I still go back to wedding dresses sometimes, though. It's romantic.

[April Callahan]

Yeah. I think they're both romantic in their own way, because the tailoring tradition has this long, long, long history, as we're going to talk about something you've stepped into by working on, you know, just a little street called Savile Row in London, you work for one of the most prestigious firms, Eden Ravenscroft.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Well, as stated on their website, they are known to be the world's oldest tailors, established in 1689, and they do have a timeline. So I think it was a mixture of the wig makers and the robe makers, son and daughter getting married that established Eden Ravenscroft. But they must have been firms way long before that as well. I'm really proud of their heritage. Before working at Eden Riverscroft, I actually worked at a tailor's where I did my apprenticeship called Tom Sweeney and I went freelance for a while which allowed me to have my pick of houses that I worked for. So there was Huntsman, Kilgore, Montague and E. Davies and Sons, Norton Sons that worked.

[April Callahan]

These are all tailoring shops you worked for?

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Yeah, that's all on one street that I worked for. Eden Ravenscroft was one of the places I worked for and I just had a huge draw to it because the head cutter there, Chris Potter, he really drew me in. He like taught me a lot. He used to be a coat maker himself and then progressed into being a cutter. And I'll explain to you all the different roles in Savile Row later on, if you want me to. He really explained to me the difference between EID is that we focus on graduation robes and legal dress. And he was like, oh, if you come work here, if you come in, then there's going to be so much more work and so much fun stuff. And by fun stuff he means things like velvet tail coats, dinnerware, tuxedos, white tie, black tie, all the things that aren't maybe normal dress. But he, he just really drew me in.

[April Callahan]

I love that they have this long tradition of making wigs there as well. Can you talk a little bit about that? Because I think that was super unexpected.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

So we actually still have a wig department and a robe department and the wig department I wasn't even aware was that existed until I got to the headquarters. And it's like a room full of women. It's an all women team. And when I say hand stitching, I feel ashamed to say that I do hand stitching in my coats because every single bit of their work is hand stitched. I have the benefit of using a sewing machine every so often, but they still curl horse hair by hand and by ironing rods that look like, you know that they still existed from the 18th century. And the tradition of making has. Hasn't changed since the design was established in the 18th century. It's a lovely room of four or five women sat around and they all construct little aspects of it and then pass it on to each other until it's completed as a beautiful handmade process.

[April Callahan]

It's so cool. I've only witnessed it when I worked in theater, but it's very much the same thing as that or an opera, I should say. They do it individually by hair. They pull it through this net one by one. It's an incredibly intricate process. It's really beautiful to watch. And as you said, entirely by hand. And something you yourself know very well. You've talked a little bit about your apprenticeships. Can you talk about what it was like to be an apprentice? Like, how many hours do you need as a tailor's apprentice before you move on to the next stage?

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Right. I think I had quite a unique opportunity because I met my teacher, Julia Mumper, who literally changed the course in my life after I met him. He was a very strict and firm teacher and when I used to bring him work, he'd be like, is this your best work? Or if it's not your best work, don't bother bringing it to me to check. And I would be absolutely terrified. But I think he taught us very fast. So, like traditionally apprentices are like 16, 17, 18, they come straight from school and you're expected to spend three to four years in coat making. And I think maybe the years vary if you're a waistcoat maker or a trouser maker, as a coat maker, that's how long you were expected. But for me, I just came from a degree doing a three years degree in fashion atelier, which was quite focused on making anyway. So I kind of thought I would have a little bit of a step up. But actually I was really wrong. I was retaught everything I learned at university, but it took me about rough. It was under two years, like one and a half years I think, and I think that's extraordinarily quick. But I think that was from my teacher kind of going hard on me because I told him like, you know, three years worth of education later to be on apprenticeship wages is something. It's really hard in London and sometimes I find it really sad because it's the most common question that's given to me on Instagram is do you recommend an apprenticeship? How do you find one? How do you get through it? And it is low wages and I couldn't have done it without the help of my mum giving me like the extra £20 here and there to get through the week while surviving on like beans and loaves of bread. So, like, I was really, really keen on to finish my coat making apprenticeships. I could earn some real money as a coat maker. So money was a motivation and I got through it in about a year and a half. I would say the Hours. I'm not sure how specifically put amount of hours onto it. Isn't there a mad phrase saying that you need to put like 10,000 hours into anything before you become a master of it? Yeah, I'm not sure if I did put in 10,000 hours, but I definitely. I'd say throughout that year and a half, I didn't really have much of a life. My focus was solely to. I had an additional job as well, on top of being a full time apprentice so I could pay my rent in London. And that was a big motivation to be like, hey, if I can do other jobs, then I can actually tailor for like 10 hours straight or 12 hours straight. Like, I don't glamorize burnout. But it was a big motivation to get out of poverty.

[April Callahan]

And it sounds like that's the standard too, right? You have to apprentice if you want to work at one of these houses.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Yeah, a lot of houses still go by apprenticeships and I personally feel like it's a great way of learning. You can watch as many videos and get your information. But the things that I was taught were like, so tactile. It was things like, can you. They would say, can you feel that amount of ease? Like, it differs because it's this cloth, because it's this weave and this is how much you can shrink and this is how much it won't shrink and this fabric behaves like this. It seems like those kind of things can't be taught by watching, just purely by watching an explanation. So, yeah, I'm a big fan of apprenticeships. I obviously hope that, you know, it would follow living wages in London so that we don't have to be cruel to our apprentices. But yeah, I know what I was taught was special. So I always think in the future I will pass it on.

[April Callahan]

Absolutely.

[Guest Host/Co-host]

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[April Callahan]

Well, I'd love if you could share some insights into the tailoring profession and art form. Maybe you could take us from the beginning of making a suit to the finish, you have an integral role in what is really a team effort. So I'd love if you could illuminate that process for us. For us who don't even know how a customer begins to order a custom tailored suit.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Right. I guess. Savile Row, I felt it too, like, just like anyone else, these shops are big and scary and you feel like slightly peasant when you're like walking in. But you do not have to be at all intimidated by these establishments. Like the people working there are genuine and they want to, they just want to have the customers to genuinely perform their own artistry or craft that they've been practicing for many years. So I'd say that it is absolutely a team effort and there's so many people, more people involved that I'd like to talk about rather than just myself as a coat maker. So when you walk, as a customer, walk into a shop you may encounter front of house or sales or even the cutter themselves. And a cutter is the person that will measure you, will make your paper patterns and also consult you in what type of suit you want and what style, what practicality. They can give you a lot of advice through their experience. A cutter usually has an undercutter and that is their apprentice that they're training at. And then alongside that, with them, there'll be a team of makers. So a coat maker, waistcoat maker, trouser maker or britches maker. And after the making process, so if I talk you through. So if you were getting a brand new suit, you would walk in, get in a consultation, you can go away or come back or on the spot, get measured. They will ask you to come back in three to four weeks. And they would put together a first fitting. So the cutter at this point would have cut the cloth that you selected, chalked it out from the paper patterns that they made, pass it on to somebody like me, I would make a first fitting. This means that on the first fitting, everything can be altered at this point. So that's where you see all these white basting stitches, lines. These are temporarily constructed so that they can be deconstructed again to the fitting, according to the fitting. So you might have a second fitting and hopefully, if there isn't too many alterations, then it can go get finished. But if it's not perfect, then we can go for another fitting. I think two to three fittings on your first coat is not a bad going. I know that now with the clientele being quite international, that can be quite difficult. But I think two to three fittings is recommended. And I think quite often the customer really enjoys the experience of getting something really made and the cutter to understand their body. And quite often people be like, oh, this is how I wear it, or I sweat a lot more. So we'll go for sweat guards underneath the arms. Or the most common thing is the shoulders not being straight. So we always have a drop right or a drop left about 50% of the time, I would say. Nobody's body is symmetrical once the makers are all done. So we'll construct this piece by piece. So you might have a first fitting on the second fitting. I might put some pockets in if we're confident with the pocket placement. And then the next fitting, I might finish off the lapels and the ends of the cuff and then still put it back together and you can still alter different parts of it. Once I'm done with my coat making process, it's a Stage called fin bar fin. All the constructions are permanent, but the lining is very loosely tacked on with the basting stitches. So the finisher fells in very small stitches all the lining to the jacket, and then makes handmade buttonholes and does all the edge stitchings. And the buttonholes are really, really beautiful. And I recommend everyone looking up bespoke handmade buttonholes because it's such a feature of coat. Once the finishes are done, they pass it on to the presser and quite commonly there's like only a few presses and all the shops on Savile Row uses them and the effect they can have on the finished garment is incredible. And other people that are involved is people like cloth merchants and the haberdashery merchants, the delivery, the runners in between the houses. Also, the tailors are quite often freelancers and I'd say about 90% of tailors are freelance and that's how traditionally they work. So you may be in Huntsman or you may be in Henry Pools, but you are allowed to take work from other places. So you can work from multiple firms whilst being established somewhere. I'm solely working for Eden Ravenscroft, but that wasn't the case before I joined them. And it's funny how people think that there's like house styles and that it's really strict, but actually all the tailors are really versatile to any of the customers wants and needs. And I'm guessing cutters would choose tailors that they want to work with because they're able to bring the construction that they feel complements that style. So whether you where you get your suit from, like one shop, actually the tailor might be working from a couple of shops down the road and you can see quite often people running around with bundles handing it off to each other. It's a very old way of working, I suppose. I still wrote my invoices by pen and paper and I would hand deliver my garments with invoices. And it felt like a lot was happening on this one street and a lot of communication, a lot of work being exchanged, despite everyone thinking that it's one company separate to the next company and that we're all in competition, but actually it's more like a community.

[April Callahan]

Yeah, that's exactly what I was going to say, is it sounds like. And I know you're friends with Taylors from other houses and there's really a positive welcoming culture.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Absolutely. I think in the past it was definitely a lot more competitive and I get a lot of my historical information about Savile Row from My colleague, who's John Theodora, he's a Cypriot tailor and he's 78 years young, and we share a room together. And he tells me, you know, how it was since he was 17, that it was a lot more tougher and there was a lot more coat makers. So the competition tends to be very tough, and they were undercutting each other's prices in order to get the job. And I think there was this very much upstairs, downstairs routine of the upstairs cutters being the governors, and then you'd have to ask the governor for work. Whereas I think the demographic of Taylor's has really, really changed. Actually. There's a lot of female coat makers now. And what I found when I went freelance is like a really lovely community spirit. Like, I happen to go into a workshop of three other women and, you know, they could have been. We were all coat makers, so they could have been a bit more secretive and not told me a lot, but the amount of help, knowledge and warmth I received and job. They would pass on jobs to me if they were too busy or vice versa. We really helped each other out and taught each other things. Yeah. Moving along to cutters, I've made friends with a lot of the cutters, and there's no barriers with this part of it being a competitive thing anymore. I think young people, especially social media, has helped open a lot of people up about the possibility of working together and that, you know, we all have this common thing of really loving Savile Row, so why not enjoy and embrace the community?

[April Callahan]

Absolutely. You led me right into my next question, and I'm really glad you mentioned the demographic change, because Saville Rowe is famously associated with the creme de la creme of men's tailoring and men's tailor. But largely thanks to creators like yourself, we now know that women wear and make Savile Rose suits, too. You have a wonderful Instagram account, which, of course, we will link our listeners to in our show notes. And one of my favorite parts of your Instagram, on which you take followers behind the scenes of your work. It's really, really cool. Is when you share posts that highlight the impeccably tailored suits you've made for yourself, which are just amazing. But this is just one of the many aspects you share with your 20,000 followers. So I'd love to hear a little bit more about what inspired you to share your work with the world via such a public platform. We've talked a little bit about it.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Thank you so much. That's a. It's really flattering. I find it really flattering that people want to follow my day to day videos. And I'm still quite amazed that my little sewing videos, as you know, there's so many people who enjoy it. I think my first reason for setting up that Instagram was because there was an occurrence of like, I would spend. I think it takes me like 18 to 28 hours to roughly make a coat. And you know, like I said, it's a lot of teamwork. But sometimes the brand shiny men at the front of the house would get the thanks from, from the customers and they would be like, oh, thank you so much for making my suit. And I'll be like, oh, I'm down here in the windowless basement. So I think that's what got me started. And also I think people would ask questions to me so often, oh, these suits are so expensive. That's crazy. Who would spend every ever that much amount of money on a suit? And to me, I wanted to be like, oh, well, I want to show you what's inside a suit, what looks beautiful to me. So that was part of the reason because I wanted to show. I think customers do so much research before purchasing now. So if they were to come across my page and they could see the work put in, they might appreciate their garments a little bit more or enjoy it a little bit more. But it's crafted and especially made for them and they have little people like me downstairs making it just for them. I really. It's partly that and it's partly a daily diary to myself. I actually used to keep a cutting of every single jacket I made a little fabric sample, but then it got so big and it got difficult to keep up with. So this was, this is a personal thing that I do to keep on top of the different coats I make. It's had a really positive influence on my work. I feel like it's kind of made me want to show other aspects of coat making, the details. And personally, I want to evolve and make each coat better than the last one. But it has come with its negativity as well. Sometimes with Instagram, I think I've had people steal my pictures or claim that I work for them, that I work in their workshop.

[April Callahan]

Oh, no.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Or I'm not sure if other tailors get this too, but I don't think like my male counterparts get it as much as sometimes I receive some misogynist, oh, why are you getting involved with this? Or slightly racist comments. But it's so far outweighed by the positives. Which is, I have. I didn't realize how important representation could be. And when I have students contacting me and say, I want to be a Savile Row tailor and they look like me, and I hope I helped a little bit towards that aspect. So, yeah, like, it's. I love doing it and it's made me up my game, it's made me be aware of things I want to do. And also it's encouraged me to express myself in tailoring by making suits for myself and hopefully encouraging other women to wear suits too, because it's just fun and it's quite powerful. I guess if I go back to what was one of my formative experiences, I think it was when I was first got into my internship, I was wearing a very cheap suit from, you know, like a high street retailer. And I was out with all the company of guys and they were all wearing bespoke. And I think it made me appear like I was wearing a bespoke suit because who I was hanging out with and I was desperate to cut my own suit and wear bespoke as well. But obviously it wasn't something I could afford at the time. And it was that experience of being like, oh, this is why men do it. Like, when I was doing fashion theory at university, they were like, oh, what is the suit? And we did it into quite depth. They were like, is it confirmation or is it actually something that you can change very small amount of and it be a very. A flair to style? And I find it that for women wearing a suit, it feels really. I'm like, this is why men do it. You can feel quite powerful in it. I feel like I can understand why they wear it. It's comfortable, you treat it differently, which is awful. No one should be treated badly or better because they're wearing a suit. But, like, I did feel like I was going from a young woman who often get mistaken for being younger to being very respected. And I quite like that feeling.

[April Callahan]

Yeah, well, you're. You're also talking about being empowered by the suit because a lot of the way you're being treated is probably because of this aura you're putting off because you feel so confident in this suit that you made.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

That is the feedback I get quite often from customers is that you hold yourself differently when you have something that's especially made for you. And I love that feeling. I have a. I made a wedding suit for a friend and I particularly love making wedding suits. And this was a friend who really, really helped me out in London. So when they got engaged. I made him a suit, and when we were doing having these fittings, he was like, oh, I think I'm having a little princess moment. I feel like a little princess in front of the mirror where, like, his suit's all basted up and, you know, we're going around clipping little bits and pinning it so that it matches him a little bit better. And he was like, oh, I'm having a princess moment. And that made me feel really good that I'm not a doctor and I don't actively save people's lives, but, like, I'm doing work that makes people happy and feel the best in themselves.

[April Callahan]

Exactly. And you're enriching people's lives in this very tactile and tangible way. So, in closing, thank you so much. This has been a wonderful conversation. What does tailoring mean to you?

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

I would say it was my found medium of expression. It was the springboard to the rest of my career. So I don't know where my career can lead to next. But like I said, being a tailor has given me a really good foundation of sewing to. For me to be like, I can take on most things if I look at things I want to make it. And my boss is super supportive, and he's like, come on, let's have a go at making that and test you through your paces. But I think tailoring most of all has given me a big identity, and it's a found connection between me wanting to be more British, maybe when I was a younger person, and I hadn't found my identity as a immigrant in England, but also being able to be comfortable with my representation within this industry is something that I'm really grateful that I found tailoring.

[April Callahan]

Absolutely.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

I really did struggle with being, like, an immigrant, but being raised in England, and I didn't have much connections with Korea. And then when I joined EAT and I started working with John, my colleague, he told me that when he first started tailoring, like, when he was 17, in the 50s and 60s, actually, it was like the Italian and the Polish tailors that were always the powerhouses of tailoring, and then it became the Greater Cypriots. And he was like, and then there's this whole new demographic of tailors. And I think that was a full circle moment for me when I realized, actually, for something that's very, very British, it has always been powered by immigrant tailors. And there's me and him, who's a Cypriot British tailor, in a room handcrafting these garments that are meant to be, like, great representations of Britishness.

[April Callahan]

Yeah, absolutely. And you're changing, literally changing the face of tailoring by being on this public platform of Instagram and like you said, just showing this power of representation to children that look like you, who can now say, I can be a tailor. I can be a tailor on Saville Row. Like nothing is outside of their reach. And that's largely thanks to people like you showing them that anything's possible. So really, really wonderful what you're doing and we're all going to go out and follow you if we are not already. G, thank you so much.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

I'll try and put much more interesting and fun content out there relating to goat making. I really enjoy doing it and it's become a wonderful way to incorporate part of my day as a because it can be quite repetitive. Coat making, as glamorous as it looks, actually I am in a windowless room doing the same thing every single day, which I love. But it can be repetitive. I'm glad it's given a creative edge to what I do.

[April Callahan]

Absolutely. And we are so excited to continue to follow you. Thank you so much.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Thank you.

[Podcast Narrator/Host]

Thank you G for joining us. Cass, that was a super fascinating insider's look at Solile Row.

[April Callahan]

I loved it. Absolutely. And for more daily behind the scenes glimpses at G's work stressed listeners, be sure to follow her Instagram at bspokenbygh. And that's J I H A E. And definitely check out our Instagram this Week Rest podcast for some of G's content which is going to be custom tailored just for dressed.

[Podcast Narrator/Host]

I see what you did there with that pun.

[April Callahan]

That does it for us this week Dressed listeners, may you consider the art of tailoring that resides in your closet. Next time you get dressed.

[Jihyeon (G) - Savile Row Tailor]

Please head.

[Guest Host/Co-host]

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[Cassidy Zachary]

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[Guest Host/Co-host]

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[Cassidy Zachary]

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[Cassidy Zachary]

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