During my recent trip to London, I was faced with a bit of a problem; many things to see and not long to do it. I was great just to be in one of my all time favorite cities and I was lucky to meet a lot of like minded people, many of whom I had been corresponding with over the past few years. The downside was my short schedule forced me to abandon an entire arm of my planned exploration. One place I knew I had to visit was the Soho store of the English label Albam.
You don’t see a lot of Albam in the U.S., actually I’m not sure of any shop that stocks the line. (If I’m wrong, correct me in the comments please.) So getting to see the shop, the clothes and the folks that work for the company was a real treat. I ended up buying a navy waxed canvas (American waxed canvas I may add) jacket that has yielded me many a compliment back home in New York. Albam makes good clothes and at the same time, it has a great brand philosophy. The company puts an emphasis on local production and sourcing, which sort of aligns with what Rob is doing at Grown & Sewn (or vice versa). I have to think that manufacturing in England is much more difficult than doing it here in the USA – which makes what the guys at Albam (and some others) are doing pretty impressive. That being said, people would probably care less if the clothes weren’t go nice. Albam is definitely a look-good and feel-good type of situation.
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Albam Soho | 23 Beak Street W1F 9RS | Tel: 02 3157 7000
very nice, can’t really tell but is picture number 11 the waxed canvas jacket you mentioned?
Americans should sign up for their emails because they have sale codes sent out sometimes that facilitates some of these items being affordable for people stuck with US currency. Shipping’s not too bad..I really like the things I’ve ordered from them and regularly receive compliments on them.
For me this is one of those ‘when I get rich and famous’ brands. It looks so nice. And I love that stenciled mirror — way to use space efficiently, Albam!
I’m with Mitch on this one. Maybe not famous, but rich will definitely help.
I hope you had time for some fish & chips with some fine English beer!
Nice seeing the issues of Alpinist on the shelves. Its good to see a bit of vintage mountaineering peek its head out in the stuff they do. Great looking shop and hopefully we can trick them into making it available stateside. Thanks for the writeup.
You should have come to Capsule in Vegas, Albam was there, right behind me. Great stuff and I’m pretty sure UnionMade in San Francisco picked them up. As far as it being harder to produce in the UK than in America, I don’t think so. Almost every factory in the US was closed in the last 20 years, and while we were competing on price almost for our entire garment making history, England has had and continues to have a long tradition of high-end shoe, glove, fabric and suit makers. Think Harris tweed, Edward Green, Anderson and Sheppard etc.
Keep up the good work!
Album is hands down one of my favorites right now. Too bad the XL stuff fits me like doll clothes. Went into both stores a in London and everybody that worked there was super friendly and helpful. I left with some magazines and a bone fish keychain.
Great merchandising.
Thanks for the suggestion! I’m leaving for London next friday and will def. visit Albam..(ps. those sneakers are superga?) In case you have any other suggestions..would love to hear! Thanks again and take care, Frank
Albam was featured in Monocle magazine and on their website. They also sell Quoddy Shoes.
I bought a pair of their jeans while I was in LDN, however they’re too long.
Does anyone know the best way to take them up? They’re far too long for cuffing even.
Great jeans and great store. I’d love to have something like this in my town in Australia.
@ Nick, best thing to do would be to take them to a tailor and get them properly taken up. The great thing about Albam is that they do this for you for an extra £5, it usually takes a day or two depending on how busy the tailors they use are (obviously if you were just visiting from overseas this isn’t as viable).
It’s a great brand, with two great stores and really friendly staff, plus James and Alaister who own it are really down to earth and approachable, I’ve been shopping there since it opened and often just pop in for a chat on a lunch break.
@ Frank if you want other mens stores in London have a look here: http://tinyurl.com/yavr8sd
Thats great you got to visit Albam in London. It is one of my favorittes!