Austin Reed

Several years ago I bought the jacket in the photograph in a sale for £10. That was surely a portent for what was to follow. In April, 2016, after years of falling sales, mounting debts and cash flow problems, Austin Reed fell into administration. No viable offers were received for the business. 120 stores closed and 1,000 jobs were lost.
Austin Reed was founded by tailor Austin Leonard Reed (1873-1954). The company started as a tailoring business in the City of London in 1900, selling off-the-rack suits that could pass as made-to-measure. The retailer once counted prominent and well-to-do men, including Winston Churchill, as customers. Much later, it counted less prominent and less well-to-do men, including The Limbo Connection, as bargain-hunters. The writing was unfortunately on the wall.
Nikon D700 and Nikon Series E 75-150mm f/3.5 lens.