Even before the U.S. economy's present hangover, Savile Row was out of reach for all but the most affluent. And, well, plus ça change: It still is. But that doesn't mean that London's erstwhile tailors have nothing for the man of (slight) means. Venerable firm Norton & Sons—which has been suiting fine gentlemen since 1821 and can boast that its clothes were present when Stanley found Livingston and Lord Carnarvon, King Tut—is now selling "trotter's bags," the same cotton canvas satchels in which the company's errand-boy "trotters" ferry cloth from the tailors to the shop. Fair warning: Entry-level pricing telegraphs entry-level status. The trotter is the most junior rank a worker can hold on the Row.
About $130, Norton & Sons, 16 Savile Row, London, nortonandsons.co.uk

[A Continuous Lean]