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Welcome to the Tender Stores. Orders are charged in US$ and are dispatched from Pennsylvania USA.
Please contact us with any questions.
Woad, Isatis tinctoria, is a member of the brassica family, which also includes cabbages, and is native to Europe, where it is has been cultivated since the Stone Age. Similar to vegetable indigo, but less easy to process, and more delicate in colour, woad must be oxidised, turning the dye from a yellowish-green to blue.
The French Revolution (1789-99) caused the fall of many previously royal or bourgeois industries, but when Napoleon declared himself Emperor in 1804, he took to wearing blue (woad dyed) silk as the Imperial colour, very much as the aristocracy had done before the revolution. Over time indigo was imported with cotton, first into the port of Nîmes, and as cheaper blue fabric became available commoners started to adopt indigo dyed cotton garments, imitating the woad dyed silk of the ruling classes. Serge de Nîmes gradually became the staple that it is today, and the much more expensive and complex art of woad dyeing died out.
The first Tender jacket, cut with yokes grown on to the back panel, so that the shoulder is seamless and cut on the bias, for a particularly comfortable fit over time.
To shape and stiffen the shoulders, the fronts and backs of the Dart Shoulder Jacket are cut in a single, straight, piece, which is darted at an angle where a shoulder seam normally would be.
The panels for Lobster Tail Jackets are all individually lined and bias-bound, before assembling with flat lapped seams.
Bias cut trews are based on early trousers, which replaced knee-britches worn with knitted hose as practical leg coverings for men. They are cut entirely on the bias, so they will stretch around the knee and seat, shaping to fit the wearer over time.
Fitted pyjama trousers are a further evolution of the versions that have been in the collection for many seasons. This time, rather than an elasticated or drawstring waist, the tops are darted in for shape, and the sides are equipped with cast brass loop adjusters, for fine tuning the fit.
Strap Back Jeans are an adaptation of type 130 Tapered Jeans, with the waistband removed. This lowers the rise and forces a change in the pocket finishing.
Slim jeans with a high rise, slim seat and gently tapered leg.
High waist extra wide jeans with a generous seat and thigh, and a very roomy straight leg.
The Raglan Sleeve Pullover is an interpretation of simple jersey sweatshirts and T shirts, constructed as traditional Scottish knitwear.
The Bound Edge Flipped Collar Shirt was and experimental tangent on the way to developing the 468 Flipped Collar Shirt. The entire edge of the shirt, including the entire collar, is bound in a continuous sweep of ecru cotton bias binding.
The collar panel of the Flipped Collar Shirt, once cut, is flipped upside down and the long side, not the short side, is sewn into the neck of the shirt.
The Baste Pocket Shirt is named after a tailor's baste- the first rough fitting for a bespoke garment. The shirt is cut with long straight front panels, which are folded up to form a pocket, and back at the fronts to form a cut-away, like the basted front of a bespoke waistcoat.
