Teba Jackets

This man is wearing a Teba de Punto.
Teba is the style of jacket, punto is the jersey fabric it's made from. I have seen Teba jackets in linen and cotton but the most popular seems to be this light weight wool jersey. They are four buttoned, unlined and unvented with button cuffs, a sort of cross between a jacket and a cardigan. I've looked online a bit and they appear to descend from a type of hunting jacket made for the Count de Teba in 1946 - see this article for more details.

Tebas are hugely popular, the typical look of the older, elegant Spanish gentleman out for a post-siesta stroll.

Guantes Luque Glove Shop. Madrid

Guantes Luque is a glove shop and manufacturer that has been in business since 1896, as the plaque on the pavement outside testifies. These plaques are given by the mayor to shops which have been open for more than 100 years.
Owner Alvaro is a member of the fourth generation of this family business, he proudly has no website and his only concession to 'new ways' is the telephone. The old mechanical till is still in use.

Alvaro manufactures all the gloves here in Madrid and does special orders for film and TV.
There is good period stock still on the shelves  and minimum orders start at a very reasonable 50 pieces.

Also I notice a coincidence -  there is a Guantes label still attached to the vintage gloves I posted a photograph of on my Pepita is Dead page a few weeks ago.

Guantes Luque - Calle De Espoz y Mina 3, Madrid.
Contact by telephone -  0034 91 522 3287

Sesena Cape Shop, Madrid

Famously worn by Picasso, Sesena capes and shaws can be found in a shop around the corner from our apartment and they've been there since 1901. I've yet to go inside, I seem to pass at the wrong time every time but I shall visit properly before we leave.

Sesena have a website right here with all the history of the business and information about how to wear your cape. I've actually seen a man wearing one in the street but I wasn't bold enough to snap a photo.
Definitely worth noting for costume purposes at some stage in the future, I'm sure.

Independent Specialist Shops. Spain

I've mentioned it before, I know, but the amount of characterful, independent specialist shops in Spain is something I really hope is valued and supported. Someone at work said they thought these shops were in their last days. I hope not.

Years ago I did a theatre tour around England and it dawned on me then that every High Street in the country was the same - we used to forget where we were if we went exploring the shops because nothing was very different from place to place.

The shift in our shopping choices from independent retailers to a majority of predictable chains means our experience of shopping has given us a new set of expectations. We are used to speed and consistency and the stock will be virtually the same in High Wycome as it is in Edinburgh. It may be served up with a highly perceived level of skill but try asking staff about fine detail and things often get a bit trickier.

Who wouldn't choose to go to a Corseteria, piled high with tempting boxes and packets where you can be measured properly and take some time to consider your purchase rather than charging through a department store trying to get the whole thing over and done with as quickly and invisibly as possible?

It's not only the variety of the stock and the personality of the old shops that we've lost, it's the way things are done; knowledgeably and with care.
There is also occasionally the possibility of finding something unexpected hidden away from sight which only the shopkeeper knows about and will offer up after conversation with you. That's how I've found most of the dead stock from the seventies I've bought here in Madrid.
I've even started to enjoy waiting in the queues.
In London I find myself hopping from foot to foot if I need to wait two minutes in a shop but here, when it's my turn, I am not expected by the person behind me to rush so I take my time and allow the process to be an enjoyable and thorough one.

The thing that's most interesting about this experience for me is Madrid is a busy city; I'm not sightseeing in a country village enjoying the novelty, I am working at the same pace I always do and achieving the same amount in a day. Proof that it's not our contemporary lifestyle which demands high speed chain stores, it's just that we've bought into the idea of needing them.

Calzados Toledo Footwear. Madrid.

I finally made it back to La Latina neighbourhood and found the shoe shop I blogged about after my research trip.
No web presence, no english, pure artisano, hand crafted, leather footwear in a friendly, welcoming shop. Easy. I may even have found a place in this film to use a pair.

Calzados Toledo can be found at Calle Toledo 20, 28005 Madrid. Tel. 91 366 54 71

Shirt Shopping, Madrid.

J. Zorrilla was a lot of fun.
Once again, no english, just me using every noun and adjective I have in order to buy some old fashioned shirts. I must learn some verbs, just smiling lots and saying -
'Shirt, short sleeve, blue, pocket please, thank you, thank you, reciept please, thank you' works okay but it's a bit embarrassing.
But they gave me a free pen after I spent another €40 on dead stock 1970's children's tracksuits, underwear and socks, all for a film I imagine I will one day design.

A costume observation - see the younger man's purple t.shirt matches the older man's tie. 

As well as a vast selection of shirts, J. Zorrilla have good workwear, waiters uniforms and aprons.

Calle Toldeo 29, 28005, Madrid. Tel - 91 366 52 27
www.confeccioneszorrilla.com

Pedro Munoz, Madrid.

Madrid is full of traditional, independent shops like this one, Pedro Munoz.
When shopping for traditional menswear in London, particularly for older characters, I feel we lack a lot of the departments and independent shops that used to sell all the best items for for these gentlemen. Every place got fashion conscious and it's hard to find even a good cardigan these days. Not so in Spain.

Spanish Mechanic

The latest addition to my workwear project.

Pepita is Dead

Pepita is Dead in Madrid is a vintage shop and rental house stocking mostly 1960's and 1970's dead stock. It's packed with unworn clothing, they have loads of kids stuff which is always hard to find and everywhere I looked original labels were dangling off garments, the graphics themselves making me want to buy things.
It's like going back in time and into a clothes shop, circa 1976, to shop for costumes.

Antonio Garcia's Couture Studio. Seville

The first Antonio Garcia I met in Seville is a fashion designer with a calm, cool, couture atelier in the centre of Seville.
Antonio has worked with us to produce two dresses for our film. The minute I met him I knew we were in safe hands, the creative process was relaxed and the fitting room was as it should be - a space open to ideas and discussion. With my Supervisor, Cristina Sopena, acting as interpreter the three of us along with Antonio's cutters, Marta and Alberto, managed to communicate really well. I find this is often the case, if you share a similar level of experience and a great deal of enthusiasm for your subject, communicating without a common language isn't usually much of a problem. You just need to go at it with some gusto.
Antonio and his brother, Fernando have both designed costumes for films so they understood our crazy schedule, I was amazed and relieved when they turned around a dress ready for its first fitting within 24 hours.

A Torero's Suit of Lights at Justo Algaba

Justo Algaba's place was great.
Justo met us in the showroom where he is used to visitors being distracted by the showcases so he didn't mind at all that I started thinking about blogging as soon as I arrived.
He provides for all of a torero's sartorial needs. I particularly liked the montera hat boxes and it was no surprise to learn Justo makes a lot of items which are adapted for the fashion market in Japan. He had some beautiful leather riding boots which unfortunately I didn't manage to get a good enough picture of to share here.
The full torrero costume, or Suit of Lights, consists of a frill-fronted white shirt, black silk tie, pink stockings with black clocks, breeches and braces, waistcoat, jacket, black leather slippers, black montera and of course the cape which is called a Capote de Paseo. The heavily decorated capote de paseo is only worn, along with the montera, as the torero enters the arena and prepares for the event; he swaps over to a lighter, pink cape called a muleta and takes off his hat for the bullfight.
The shoes are like those strange patent evening slippers you can still buy on Jermyn Street, such an odd relic of 18th century men's fashion to remain in use in the 21st century but they do work well on a primped and poised torrero.

Having said that, the bullfight itself is something I find hard to believe thrives to this day. Spain is continually surprising me, so many ways of life survive and contribute to the brilliance of things like the many, many independent family-run shops and businesses  - something we have almost completely lost - whilst on the other hand there are the religious ceremonies and bullfights which are so alien to my culture. It's easy to forget how different Southern Europe is from Northern Europe until you are submerged in it.
Having the opportunity to work in a country is such a completely different experience to visiting as a tourist, it's something I love about my job, we often film in parts of buildings that are closed to the public or get to visit places and witness customs we wouldn't have found ourselves researching without the framework of a script.
I  am thoroughly enjoying discovering more about Spain every day.

Montera - Torero Hats

A charming wooden box arrived at work this morning containing the first part of our Torero's costume. This Montera or bullfighter's hat, comes from Justo Algaba in Madrid.
I can't bear the thought of an actual bullfight but researching the costumes and the making techniques is, of course, fascinating.
Tomorrow I'm going to Justo Algaba's studio to look at costumes and consider what we need for filming purposes. Can't wait.

Flamenco Fashions

Unlike other Spanish folk dresses and regional dance costumes which have remained largely unchanged, flamenco costumes follow fashion and change as the years pass.
Currently the trend is for these retro styles; the long sleeves and flower patterned fabrics are inspired by the flamenco fashions of the sixties.