The Famous of Cheltenham opened on the High Street in 1886. Bought by A N Cole in 1896, kept in the family through four generations. Closed 2012 after 126 years on the same shopfront. Relaunched 2013 by Richard Cole, fourth-generation, as a visiting semi-bespoke service. Same name, same family, the tailor comes to you.
Consultation in your own home or office. Choose from over 1,000 cloths, mostly British made, including suiting, corduroys and authentic Harris tweeds. Half-canvas, padded-lapel construction so the jacket moulds to you over the first year of wear. Over 60 detail decisions, working cuffs, button fly, contrast jets, pursed linings. Delivered for final fitting within eight weeks.
Over 700 cloths, plain, dress, striped, checked. 100% Egyptian cotton, long staple, up to two-fold 140s. Country brushed cotton, summer linens, weaves in marcella, oxford, houndstooth, herringbone. Ten collar styles, fifteen cuff options, four fit levels. Body figurations taken into account, the shoulder slope and chest fullness measured properly. Repeat orders carry a discount.
The visiting service runs across Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Gloucester, Cirencester, Winchcombe and Broadway, twenty miles from the centre at no travel fee. Further afield by arrangement. Cash, cheque, bank transfer, card. Fifty per cent deposit on orders over £300, balance at final fitting. Alterations included on the commission, future alterations at cost. Express service available for race week.
The Famous opened its doors in 1886, the same year as Coca-Cola was launched and Cheltenham Town and Arsenal football clubs were founded.
A tailor styling himself as the famous tailor from London opened the shopfront on Cheltenham's High Street. Ten years later, in 1896, A N Cole bought the business and kept the name. The Cole family ran it through the spa-town seasons, four wartimes, the Festival, generations of Gloucestershire menswear and schoolwear, customers wearing the cloth at Ascot, Buckingham Palace, Hong Kong, Sydney and Los Angeles, among many others.
The recession ended the lease in 2012, after 126 years on the same building. The marble door threshold reading THE FAMOUS stayed set in the stone. The following year, Richard Cole, great-grandson of A N Cole and fourth-generation in the trade, relaunched the family name as a visiting service. No shopfront. The tailor comes to you.
The marble threshold remains set into the stone of the original Cheltenham High Street shopfront. Cheltenham High Street · original site of The Famous, 1886 to 2012
The library leans on heritage British mills. Harris tweed weavers in the Outer Hebrides, Yorkshire suiting houses, Lancashire shirting. The semi-bespoke shelf carries over a thousand bolts, the shirting library over seven hundred. Customers choose cloth in their own light, against the wardrobe the suit will join, and the order is cut to body figurations measured properly, the shoulder slope and chest fullness taken into account.
Half-canvas, padded-lapel construction sits behind the lining of every jacket. It is the difference between a jacket that holds its shape from day one and a jacket that moulds to the body over the first year of wear. There are over sixty detail decisions on a single suit, working cuffs, button fly, contrast jets, pursed linings, the marks of a hand-tailored garment.
I don’t like being the centre of attention, and I got so many compliments it was actually getting a little awkward, but suffice to say I was very, very pleased with the suit.
Mr MelroseThanks again for all the help, I’ve really been impressed and over the moon with the jacket, waistcoat, shorts and the service.
Mr Olly RamseyI can really feel that it was made for me, such a difference from an off-the-peg suit.
Mr BarnesI have ordered a number of suits from Richard. I have been very happy with the quality and the fit, a number of clients have passed comment on how nice they look.
Mr BishopCongratulations Richard, you have made me very happy, it fits perfectly.
Mr RatcliffeOh, it looks so much better than your other suits.
Mrs OldfieldThe visiting service runs across Cheltenham and the surrounding towns and villages within twenty miles of the centre, no travel fee. Beyond that, by arrangement. Send a short note below or call 07775 751741, text or WhatsApp on the same number.
A short, no-obligation consultation. Call, text or WhatsApp 07775 751741, or email richcole@thefamous1886.com. We agree a time and I come to your home or office, look at the wardrobe the new garment will join, talk through cloth, lining and detail decisions. No commitment, no pressure, no charge for the visit.
Allow eight weeks for a suit, four to five weeks for a shirt. An express service is available for an extra charge if a race week or wedding moves the timing on you. Better still, book in early in the winter for the spring season, Cheltenham Festival week books up fastest.
Twenty miles outside Cheltenham at no travel fee, that covers Tewkesbury, Stroud, Gloucester, Cirencester, Winchcombe, Broadway and the surrounding villages. Further by arrangement, often combined with another fitting visit in the same direction.
Cash, cheque, bank transfer or card. On orders over £300 a fifty per cent deposit secures the cloth and starts the cut, balance due at final fitting. Orders under £300 are paid in full at order. A two-day cooling-off applies if you change your mind.
Yes. Alterations on the new commission are included, future alterations are charged at cost. Bring the suit back when the season changes the fit or the waistband moves and we sort it on the next visit.