About the author
Richard Woolnough has been involved in the menswear business for nearly fifty years.
He started as a schoolboy with a Saturday job in a suburban ‘gentlemen’s outfitters’ in London. This gave him a taste for fashion and for the enjoyment of retailing. His original career goals of a life in the British Army were cast aside and he joined the prestigious London department store of Harrods as a Management Trainee at the age of eighteen.
During his time there he crept up the ranks from the lowly opening position of Junior in the Boys Department (where he seemed to spend his time filling in football shorts) to Senior Sales in the Younger Men’s Shop, the pinnacle of fashion and chic for men in the early sixties.
He left there to go to London’s trendiest department store, Woollands as Manager of the 21 Shop, the first in-store boutique in England and destination for the leading pop stars and entertainers at the start of the Swinging Sixties.
This was followed by ten years at one of London’s leading custom shirt makers – Coles of Knightsbridge - where he was Managing Director and learned many of the finer points about quality and make. He further improved on this when he went to Burberrys and then moved to Triminghams in Bermuda. There he expanded his knowledge with offshore sourcing and Private Label development work in his role of Menswera Merchandise Manager.
Richard is now running his consultancy, Bespoke Solutions Ltd., which aids businesses with e-commerce and web design. He also develops and sources merchandise for small to medium sized menswear retailers.
All these years of experience are now ready to be passed on to the next generation. The information is aimed at people who are involved in the menswear business at the sharp end, whether retail, wholesale or manufacture.
Knowledge means nothing if it is not passed on.
ome
efinitions
ow to
ook
ranslations
ontact
