The Cutter's Practical Guide, Part 11
Shirts and Undergarments
1st Edition
Published on 30. September 2025
Book
Hardback
80 pages
978-3-8192-9833-2 (ISBN)
Description
We take great pleasure in presenting this Work to the trade, confident that it will meet a long-felt need. Although it addresses garments somewhat beyond the usual scope of tailoring practice, they nevertheless form a legitimate, and indeed essential, part of it. There is no more reason to decline orders for such garments simply because certain firms have chosen to specialize in them than there would be in refusing to make a pair of breeches or any other item that naturally belongs within the tailor's craft. It is the duty of every progressive house to embrace those branches which, though sometimes neglected, are vital to the completeness of a craftsman's repertoire.
As regards the Work itself, the systems, instructions, and details of execution, we submit with confidence that they will be found both reliable and of genuine practical service. They are not the product of theory or speculation, but rather of one who has gained wide and varied experience in this particular branch of the trade and is therefore well qualified to speak with authority.
Both the diagrams and the accompanying text have been prepared with the greatest care, uniting clarity with refinement. Every line has been drawn with precision, and every explanation phrased with utmost attention, so that the student may proceed with confidence and the experienced practitioner may find their skill further enriched. No effort has been spared to make this Work worthy of its title: a genuine Guide to Shirt Cutting - not merely a compilation of rules, but a practical manual filled with hints and suggestions of lasting value to both learner and expert.
As regards the Work itself, the systems, instructions, and details of execution, we submit with confidence that they will be found both reliable and of genuine practical service. They are not the product of theory or speculation, but rather of one who has gained wide and varied experience in this particular branch of the trade and is therefore well qualified to speak with authority.
Both the diagrams and the accompanying text have been prepared with the greatest care, uniting clarity with refinement. Every line has been drawn with precision, and every explanation phrased with utmost attention, so that the student may proceed with confidence and the experienced practitioner may find their skill further enriched. No effort has been spared to make this Work worthy of its title: a genuine Guide to Shirt Cutting - not merely a compilation of rules, but a practical manual filled with hints and suggestions of lasting value to both learner and expert.
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Persons
Author
W.D.F. Vincent began his career as an apprentice with Frederick Cooper in Yeovil. After completing his training, he briefly established his own businesses in Oxford and later in Maidenhead as a clothier and tailor, though neither venture was financially successful.
While in Maidenhead, Vincent won an essay competition on tailoring, which was open to all members of the National Federation of Foremen Tailors, titled "The Great National Work on Trouser Cutting, or Defects in Trousers." He submitted his entry under the pseudonym "Oxonian" and won the first prize. This success led him to secure a position with The Tailor and Cutter magazine.
In the early years, Vincent contributed numerous articles on tailoring methods and techniques to the magazine. However, due to the terms of his employment, these articles were published without attribution to him.
By the 1890s, Vincent became a leading tailoring authority. His books, such as The Cutter's Practical Guide to the Cutting & Making of All Kinds of Trousers, became a standard reference work.
By 1917, Vincent referred to himself as a journalist.
The Tailor and Cutter magazine and academy were operated by John Williamson & Co Ltd.
In the 1950s and 1960s, many tailors displayed their Tailor & Cutter Academy Diplomas, signed by W.D.F. Vincent, as the Chairman of Examiners, as a centrepiece in their shop windows. One such example can still be seen on display at the Museum of Welsh Life at St. Fagans in South Wales.
Website: https://www.becomeatailor.com
Editor