Whenever a word I’ve never used or even heard of keeps popping up, it gets my attention.
Bespoke, an adjective, pertaining to the matter of dress…a natty, well-heeled, personal style…custom-made, made to order to a particular specification.
To display…he lived on a high-end street which bespoke of money. Demonstrate, indicate, show and reflect…register, reveal, express and disclose.
Don’t synonyms just turn you the fuck on?
In the current book I’m reading, it said, “He wore Bespoke Suits, impeccably pressed with a crease down his pant leg that could carve a roast.” Wouldn’t that have gotten your attention?
There’s an actual place on West 29th Street in Manhattan called House of Bespoke. Would love to have a gander at that clientele.
My friend Ed always comes to mind being nattily attired on any given day, and his trouser folds are so crisp, they could scare a girl.
Not much of an ironer, it made me reassess my own creases I had to search to find. My mother came to mind who ironed every afternoon while watching The Guiding Light, her favorite soap opera. I can almost guarantee her creases could have carved a roast, a whole steer even, a talent not passed down to me. I will say, I’m fussy how things fit, so when you figure, bespoke means, a precise uniqueness in the way one looks, I certainly qualify, even in just a casual way.
The way her tights clung to her non-existent butt, bespoke care (and just a touch of Spandex) as she tooled down the avenue. Ho hum
What every girl needs besides gloss, mascara and her rent paid every month, is a good tailor.
You thought I was going to say a good iron.
Fooled ya.
SB
I love introducing new words into my vocabulary.
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Me too! 🙂
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I know a bespoke tailor who makes men’s suits on London’s Saville Row.
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You do, really? When I Goggled photos all these tailors measuring and pinning came up. It bespoke, Bespoke…:)
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I think we Brits go for “made-to-measure” instead for clothes, or “customised” elsewhere. I’ve even heard “customerised” which seems clumsy to me.
I like the Peter O’Toole photo too: he would much appreciate being chosen to represent high quality and uniqueness.
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He, to me, is your Cary Grant. Who was more elegant than Peter O’TOOLE…sigh
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It just dawned on me, Cary Grant is British too, but, he is our symbol for panache and well-heeled nonetheless. 🙂
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We always do stuck-up best. It comes from centuries of (albeit unjustified) lording it over the world. #snobsRus. 😉
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Royalty is very influential.
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Susannah, I also was introduced to ‘bespoke’ through reading. I don’t recall that I’ve ever heard it used in actual conversation. So many great words gathering dust.
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Me either, but it’s very attractive on the page.
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The word “iron” was a novelty for me. Vaguely I remember it from the 50s. Not so much now. My husband loves perfect shirts, even his casual ones. Wisely he takes them to the local Chinese laundry.
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Me too. All my button-downs are washed and pressed at Jolly Chans…on hangers.
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Definitely on hangers. I have a fun plaid lightweight shirt. Love the colors but it wrinkles up like seersucker when washed. I don’t wear it as often as I would if it wasn’t so needy.
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Sounds great. Sneak it in with your husband’s. 🙂
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Great idea!
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Lol
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My iron stays plugged in daily because I use it as I see. H irons every morning for work while I do coffee and breakfast. Andrew has two shirts he loves to wear, but they need to be ironed because they always come out of the dryer wrinkled. He brings them home when he comes for me to wash, dry, and iron. He does have an iron, but it’s easier for him for me to do it! 😉 my girls also iron as little as possible. It’s a dieing art! ~Elle
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Andrew’s no fool. 🙂
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Yeah, who wouldn’t want a free ironing woman! 😉
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True. You’d go for a fortune in auction. 🙂
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Susannah,
when I saw your title, bespoke was the word that popped into my head, so I think we’re on the same page. 🙂 I first heard that word in the movie Kingsman and I’ve noticed it ever time I’ve heard it since then. It’s a good, distinctive word.
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Really? Wow. I’ve only read it, but wait, someone will use it in casual conversation any minute.
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This post bespoke class.
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LOL
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What a great word! I just wish there were more people walking the streets in impeccable dress to use it on a daily basis. It just doesn’t apply to this elastic era we are living in today ..ugh.
I remember BEGGING to iron my dad’s hankies … BEGGED….hahaha! Oh my how things have changed.
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I still iron napkins, go figure, but my shirts all go to Jolly Chan’s Laundry. I always think he’s made me because he’s so loud. ‘STOTCH???” I shudder.
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