By Francesca Olsen
Photographs by Stephanie Zollshan
With every stitch, Siân Jones, owner of FEN on Railroad Street, combines centuries-old techniques with a fresh perspective on what bespoke tailoring can be. Funnily enough, when she originally came to the U.S. a few years ago, it was to take a break from tailoring. She worked at Camphill Farm in Hudson, New York, as part of Camphill’s residential community for adults with disabilities. Jones met her husband in the States and decided to stay, returning to her craft and starting a small tailoring business that picked up fast.
Now Jones has a storefront that has drawn eccentric artists, future grooms, and fashionistas alike. Jones attended London College of Fashion, and started working on Savile Row—a street in the Mayfair section of London that’s synonymous with fine tailoring—through apprenticeships before becoming full-time. “It was my dream job, and one of the hardest learning curves I’ve ever had,” she said.
Savile Row has been known for handmade clothing of the finest quality since the late 1700s (in true traditional form, the shears Jones uses were passed down to her from another Savile Row tailor). “Being a woman on Savile Row is fairly rare,” said Jones. She learned a lot, but realized she could do things her own way. “There are a lot of archaic traditions on Savile Row,” she said. “Bottles of whiskey, cigars, and bowties.”
While she once helped create 20 suits for each of the Prince of Bahrain’s 12 houses (yes, that’s 240 suits), at her shop in Great Barrington she often makes comfy linen pants and shirts as well wool overcoats and suit jackets. Shirts start at $300 and take around 10 weeks to complete. “With the price comes a lot of thoughtfulness,” Jones said. “I’m also designing things to be cherished, worn again and again. I think that encourages people to really think about it and make the most of that piece.”
Clients normally have an idea of what they want, like a suit jacket for a wedding that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. They look through Jones’ fabric samples—she sources sustainable fabrics from UK-based mills and only uses natural fibers like cotton, linen, and wool. They discuss style: what lapels should look like, cuffs and pockets, how many buttons, and so on.
Jones said she loves this work because, like many women, she’s had experiences shopping where nothing fits right. That’s not your fault, she says; it’s the product of a world caught up in the fast-fashion cycle, where clothing is made in big batches without the kind of precise grading you’d find in a bespoke garment.
There’s also a sustainability angle. Fast-fashion companies need to create a huge amount of garments without the guarantee they’ll sell. Besides sourcing natural materials, Jones is able to order only what she needs, down to the inch. “There is next to no waste,” she said. “I have no back stock, and I also sell my samples.” (One sample, a camel hair overcoat, has resulted in five separate orders.)
“I love that people come in and we can sit down and find out what they love about their figure,” she said. “I want to help them have something they can put on and say ‘this is what I’ve wanted.’ They’re not dressing to match a trend. They’re dressing according to their figure, their skin tone, what they love. We don’t need to be driven by constantly searching for the next thing to wear.”
