Meg Lukens Noonan

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this fascinating book. Meg Lukens Noonan follows the created of a $50,000 coat from buttons, fabric, lining, Andes Mts and ultimately to Vancouver. The author weaves a story that captures the reader from the first chapter. I found myself wanting to savor this bespoke world. I wanted to live like I, too, could afford $4000/ yard fabric. I tried to read slowly so I wouldn't have to go back to my H&M world. This book truly made me think about the show more clothes that I purchase and what their craftsmanship says about my character (I feel that it currently screams that I work in the non-profit world).
The author has charming and engaging way of writing and you find yourself discovering this super luxury world with her. Surprisingly, this ultra high end world is a resilient niche in today's economy. However, the world of bespoke tailoring is dying out .
A fascinating, entertaining book that I cannot recommend enough, even for those not remotely interested in clothing. By the end of this book, you will be saving your money for a custom-made suit. show less

I was also pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book, daughter of a seamstress I was always distraught at the fact that I had to wear home made clothes while my school friend donned their new matching 'Garanimals'. But today I appreciate the fact that my clothes were unique and yes they did fit nicely. This journey was wondrous from the mountains of Peru to the basements of silk printers in Italy. I have had the opportunity to know a local bespoke tailor and have seen the struggle show more with the misunderstanding and under-appreciation of their trade. Ready to wear providers continue to make the news with warehouse collapses and worker abuse, perhaps the media coverage will help to turn at least some consumers further away from ready to wear and a little bit closer to custom or at least locally made, sustainable clothing. This book will certainly whet your appetite for the finer things in life, even if I may never have a Vicuna coat, I probably could swing for some special buttons for my favorite jacket! Well written and highly entertaining. show less

Meg Lukens Noonan wrote The Coat Route after reading of an overcoat made by Sydney tailor John Cutler for $50,000. The book is a loving description of the fine materials and expert labour that went into creating this unique garment. Noonan tells us the stories behind the vicuna wool, the fabric, the silk, the horn buttons and the other elements of the coat's construction. Along the way she gives us potted histories of Savile Row, the Andean vicuna industry, the Yorkshire mill towns, button show more manufacture and Italian designer fashion. We meet some larger-than-life characters, but we are never too far from the realisation that all of this history is at risk of soon being swept away by the tide of mass manufacturing in the modern world. The Coat Route is a delightful and interesting read, with an elegiac tinge of sadness to it. show less

This work takes the reader effortlessly through the creation of a magnificent navy vicuna overcoat -- silk-lined, horn-buttoned, and gold-labled. Along the way, we learn of the conservation efforts in Peru to save the vicuna, the creation of the modern industrial age in English mill towns, and the turf wars on Savile Row between bespoke tailors and disposable fashion houses.

The author first learned of the $50,000 overcoat created by J. H. Cutler in a newspaper article. The book takes the show more reader on the author's journey to the places from which the main jacket materials were sourced: from the highlands of Peru for the jacket fiber to the villas of Italy for the one-of-a-kind silk lining. This isn't a book that dwells on the intricate machinery or the economics of making: it focuses on the people who devote their lives to craft. Along the way, reader meets the iconoclast silk designer, the third generation button maker, and the dedicated metal engraver, to name a few. Stars of the show are of course the tailor himself and his clients, including the owner of the overcoat. Upon finishing the book, one can understand why that coat was worth the money spent, why the many craftsmen who worked on it deserved their pay, and what the real price is for the disposable fashion most people wear today.

***This book was received through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program which requires a review, but the content of the review was in no way affected by the free book.*** show less