Gérard Mayeu knows a good suit. “I was born into fabric,” says the owner of Mayeu Tailleur. Though he didn’t get into the business until the late seventies, Gérard spent quite a bit of time in the shop as a child, watching his father make custom suits.
Gérard’s father opened the tailor’s shop in 1946. “This was right after the war,” says Gérard. “There was nothing.” Things slowly got back on track. “The custom suit business was busy in the sixties,” he recalls. “Men would come in and get fitted, and at home their wives would ask them what colour they chose. ‘I don’t know’, they would reply, ‘the tailor chose it.’”
These days men are more selective with their fabric, and there is no shortage of choice at Mayeu. Behind the stately granite counter the bolts of fabric are stacked in neat rows, and Gérard is happy to take a few down for a closer look and feel.
Wool, to Gérard, is the best thing you can wear next to your skin. “The advantage of wool is that it will probably last longer,” he notes. “And it’s comfortable. It breathes, it’s natural, and it’s the easiest fabric to maintain.