29 Jul – 3 Aug 2026
New York
Appointments by arrangement.
Welsh & Jefferies
Savile Row bespoke tailors. Established 1917.
Military structure, worn softly — cut by hand for clients from London to Shanghai.
- Established 1917
- Golden Shears 2011
- Royal Warrant as military tailor, 1990
- London & worldwide fittings
The house
A century on the board
Welsh & Jefferies was incorporated in March 1917 at 15 Duke Street, St James’s, with roots as Eton College outfitters from 1901. Its first trade was military: dress and service uniforms for officers of many regiments, among them the Rifle Brigade and the Coldstream Guards.
In 1990 the firm was granted the Royal Warrant of HRH The Prince of Wales as military tailor. In 2012 the house passed to James Cottrell and Yingmei Quan, and the same discipline now shapes suits, ladies’ tailoring and the occasional piece of jewellery.
Military structure, worn softly — that has been the signature for over a century.
1917
Established
2011
Golden Shears
2
Master cutters
Services
What we cut
Bespoke for gentlemen, ladies’ bespoke, and the military and ceremonial work the house was founded on.
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Full Bespoke
One cutter, a hand-cut paper pattern kept for life, and cloth chosen from thousands — tailoring in the house’s military-bred cut.
Ladies’ Bespoke
Led by Yingmei Quan, winner of the 2011 Golden Shears — jackets, three-pieces, capes and coats cut to the figure.
Military & Ceremonial
The trade the house was founded on — WWI officers’ uniforms, a Royal Warrant granted in 1990, and ceremonial craft still on the board.
The making
Measure, cut, baste, finish
The house cut is military in its bones — a roped shoulder, a hand-padded chest, a clean waist — carried lightly in whatever the cloth wants to be.
Measure
Twenty-odd measures, and a reading of how you stand and move.
Cut
A paper pattern drawn for you alone, then struck through the cloth by hand.
Baste
The garment is sewn loosely for a first fitting — then taken apart and recut.
Finish
Hand-padded canvas, hand-sewn buttonholes, and a press that sets the shape.
The gallery
Recent work
“Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavour.” — William Cowper. Suits, jackets and coats, ladies’ tailoring and house jewellery, photographed as they left the board.
“The owner may not be going into the trenches with this coat on, but I am reasonably certain that he could.”
Our story
James Cottrell
Head Cutter
James Cottrell began on the board at Kilgour at sixteen, spent five years in Tommy Nutter’s workshop and eighteen years at Henry Poole, rising to head cutter. He joined Welsh & Jefferies as head cutter and took over the house with Yingmei Quan in 2012 — more than fifty years, so far, refining one trade.
Yingmei Quan
Master Cutter & Director
Yingmei Quan came to London from Mudanjiang, China, trained at Central Saint Martins, and won the 2011 Golden Shears with a ladies’ wool overcoat. Widely reported as the first Chinese female master cutter on Savile Row, she is the house’s master cutter and director — and the reason its ladies’ tailoring and its Chinese clientele are what they are.
Worldwide visits
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@welshandjefferies
A working shop, photographed as it happens — new commissions, cloth on the table, and the occasional travel notice.
Visit
Visit us
Savile Row tailoring, now at home in St James’s. The shop is open Monday to Friday, 10:00–17:30 — appointments are recommended, and visitors from abroad can often be seen around our travelling schedule.
10A Charles II Street St James’s, London SW1Y 4AA
- Monday – Friday 10:00 – 17:30
