I'm sure when you read the title you asked yourself: "SEH who?"... and That's good! Today I'm introducing you to this little English brand that is unjustly overlooked.
Let's go!
Disclaimer: After an article on how to dress when you are short and thin , Jonathan - a loyal reader and contributor - is back in our columns. This time, he is interested in SEH Kelly and his wardrobe. The floor is his!
Interview with Paul Vincent, co-founder of SEH Kelly
Paul Vincent and Sara Kelly are the founding duo of the SEH Kelly brand. I asked Paul to answer a few questions to learn more about their project. He kindly retraces for us their respective journeys, the genesis of the brand and its evolution.
As you will see, SEH Kelly is more than just a clothing brand. It is a carefully thought-out project, with quality and local production as obsessions. Despite high costs and very gradual development, nothing seems to deviate the founders from their initial vision.
"My name is Paul Vincent and together with Sara (Kelly) we are the founders and sole owners of SEH Kelly. We are based in London and design menswear with mills and manufacturing located exclusively in the British Isles."
How did you come to create your brand?
Sara worked for years on Savile Row for tailors and fashion houses - the kind of workshops that make housecoats for lords, three-piece suits for industrial tycoons and ball gowns for the royal family.
A strategic location in short, since it has established good relations with several high-end British manufacturers.
Savile Row is London's bastion of tailoring and made-to-measure.
At the end of that period – which for me was a time when I was twiddling my thumbs and wondering what I was going to do with my life – we decided it would make sense to use the same suppliers to design casual, everyday clothing.
This is how the story of SEH Kelly began...
What is SEH Kelly's philosophy?
It’s simple: make a durable garment. By “durable,” we mean robust, timeless and timeless from a design perspective.
Why did you name your brand SEH Kelly?
Kelly is Sara's name, and SEH are her initials (except for one, which we're keeping secret). We had been trying to come up with a good name for the brand when we started it, and Sara had a big list of suggestions.
We agreed that most of them lacked depth, and my first contribution as brand manager was to suggest that she use her own name. "Why not?" she replied...
What would be a typical SEH Kelly outfit?
The most "signature" ensemble would start with a Kelly collar shirt, complemented by a profusion of other SEH Kelly garments covering the entire body (except the feet).
We design our clothes to be a versatile and interchangeable wardrobe, so that a piece of clothing purchased today can be worn with a piece of clothing purchased five years ago.
Which piece are you most proud of?
The trench coat... It's the most complicated, the one that took the longest to design. It sums up what we want to achieve in terms of design.
It is very traditional in its construction and proportions - in this respect it reflects a hundred-year-old design - but it also brings features that we hope are useful and contemporary.
It comes in several fabrics: Ventile in spring, or something thicker in winter.
Why do you work exclusively with British workshops?
A fundamental principle of our business is to work with manufacturers in the British Isles. These are the suppliers we know best. We have special relationships with them and a desire, in our small way, to share this with a wider audience.
We are completely satisfied with this and we never look elsewhere. I am convinced that there could be good opportunities to work with foreign suppliers - different styles of tailoring, other product categories, an unimaginable variety of fabrics - but we are simply not interested because they have no connection with our company.
What is your mode of collaboration?
We don't "collaborate" with them per se: we work with them according to the classic designer-supplier model.
We cooperate with spinning mills to create new fabrics, or print new colours on existing fabrics, and with manufacturers of buttons or other parts made exclusively for our company.
Day 3 of the Heavy Woolen Odyssey.
In addition, we communicate daily with partner manufacturers to ensure that the initial idea is reflected in the final product.
We work hand in hand with our suppliers so that we know what they do, how and why. This allows us to constantly re-evaluate the opportunities available to us to continually improve our products.
What is your opinion on the British textile industry today?
It is strong, varied and healthy. There are small and large designers catering to all categories in the market and a wonderful variety of suppliers - especially weavers and especially woollen mills.
I do not claim that this is an irrefutable analysis, but it is my opinion, knowing that I am a little more informed than the layman and a little less than an expert.
What are the disadvantages of producing in the UK?
I don't see any. It's our life. It would be like asking "what are the disadvantages of living in Europe?" or "what are the disadvantages of being called Paul?"
We don't see our lives that way. We take the good and the bad together, but we don't separate them into columns to analyze them.
We are in the UK as a business and have not yet found a reason to look elsewhere.
Why is your brand mainly distributed in Japan? Does the Japanese consumer have something more than the European consumer?
We were contacted by quality Japanese shops right after we started the company. It's a country where there's a big, growing niche that fits with what we like: good manufacturers, plus designs that are both traditional and progressive.
SEH is successful in Japan, particularly thanks to its timeless spirit.
I don't think that only Japanese customers share our vision, but there are probably more of them there than anywhere else in the world. Proof of this is the number of magazines in Japan that deal with men's fashion.
They also encourage small brands and are very loyal. The vast majority of the Japanese stores we work with have been working with us since the first season, and I know some customers have been saving up to buy SEH Kelly clothes all this time.
It is a privilege to work hard to honor them and keep them as customers.
Regarding your communication, what is the interest of using Instagram rather than other channels?
We use Instagram a lot, and I think it would be wrong to deprive ourselves of it given the millions of daily users.
Similarly, we have Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and the excellent Google+. I can't imagine not using them.
Each network has its pros and cons, but it makes my day interesting: I have an easy way to express what's on my mind or show our world.
The workshop. Today. Today being a day in June. Umbrella not shown.
In this age of instantaneous information, why are your newsletters only written and do not include any photos?
Words are good. Words are great. They are able to communicate thoughts and opinions in a special way that photography cannot.
In the emails we send, we can share with our clients the ideas we had, the things that kept us busy in the previous weeks...
So we encourage the old-fashioned "conversation" in a "I say something, you say something back" format. We prefer this idea to using ultra-modern marketing terms.
Again, variety is important in my work. When a multitude of words run through my mind to talk about a piece that has occupied me for hundreds of hours, being able to express them is a salutary thing. It is perhaps a form of therapy...
What are your plans for the future?
Making the collection stronger through better design, better fabric, better manufacturing.
We are happy to work as a duo and to do every day exactly what we wanted to do when we started in the business seven years ago.
We have no desire to "grow" in the business sense of the term.
Someone once told me, "You know what they say about business? They say 'grow or die'." Ever since then, I've been trying to prove him wrong.
What can we learn from this lengthy interview?
The story of SEH Kelly is that of its founders. After some experience in the textile sector, they joined forces in 2009 to create a project that resembled them. All with a single idea in mind: to showcase the British textile industry.
Paul Vincent and Sara Kelly, founders of SEH Kelly. Photo credit: ism.excite.co.jp
SEH Kelly uses specialist workshops, exclusively British and Irish . Despite higher production costs than in other countries, they buy their fabrics, supplies and have the tailoring done there.
Their goal is to produce high quality classic pieces , combining modern casual design and historical know-how.
Warning about made in the UK : a part made in the UK is not necessarily a quality part . British standards guarantee “ethical” manufacturing but not at all the quality of a product. The challenge for a high-end brand that chooses to manufacture locally is therefore to carefully select workshops that are masters in a specialty to obtain the best possible quality final product.
The brand claims an idea of timelessness in its collections. To do this, it uses raw materials that develop a patina over time, creates new pieces drop by drop and regularly reworks its existing wardrobe. Logical consequence: the brand never sells, not even in private sales.
As you will have understood, SEH Kelly has a special soul. Its stylistic signature is the expression of a carefully considered project, which has served as a guiding thread for the founders since its creation.
Review of the Kelly collar shirt in light blue linen (£140)
The shirt is made in London. The workshop used by the brand is renowned for the care taken in the finishing of its productions. As we will see, the seams and buttonholes are impeccable.
Let the dissection of SEH Kelly's iconic shirt begin!
Carefully crafted
The Kelly collar is the brand's signature detail. It is a tab-collar twisted in a casual way. It alone symbolizes SEH Kelly's bias: to combine classic know-how and relaxation .
The collar can be worn open (if you have a Jack Lang side) or closed. Its tabs are sewn between the two sides of the fabric and should therefore not tear off anytime soon...
Open collar...
...or closed!
The seams are English seams. Oddly enough, we speak of “French seam” in English.
We are on 5/6 points per centimeter, with seams most often two millimeters from the edge. These details are rarely done on a casual shirt and more generally testify to careful manufacturing.
The cleanliness of an English seam is always appreciated.
The chest pocket is well designed: it always remains firmly attached to the body. Real attention is paid to details : two stopping points, on the heart side, materialize a pen compartment. This choice illustrates the complementarity between refinement and workwear style.
The well-stretched patch pocket is divided by a solid bartack.
The cuffs are round and closed with two buttons. Their shape reinforces the casual dimension of the piece . They are not very fitted, which I personally appreciate for a casual shirt with a straight cut.
Here we notice the weave of the linen and the raw appearance of the horn button.
Finally, the bottom of the shirt is very clean and the seams seem solid. The fact that there are no reinforcement swallows on a casual shirt might be surprising but I interpret it as a bias of the brand to purify the design of each piece as much as possible.
Precious and raw buttons
The workshop that makes them is located in the West Midlands. They are made of horn and each one is unique. Their raw side, shaped by nature, has been preserved. At SEH Kelly, the raw material is at the heart of the product, and the design is thought out to magnify it.
They are cross-stitched . This is a guarantee of solidity that one would expect on a shirt at this price.
The buttonholes are neat and fine.
The material: linen from the Irish coast
The weave mixes a blue monochrome and white threads. The material is fine and has without a doubt the most "nervous" hand I have ever touched. This gives it a really interesting drape.
The fabric has irregularities, which gives it character, and is absolutely not transparent. The drape is fluid and the folds are generally not very noticeable for linen (in my opinion).
As with jeans, the few creases that appear throughout the day show that the garment is alive and are not a problem. Last but not least , it will keep you cool during the summer.
Close-up on the fabric. The small white and blue dots are slightly raised.
A few words about the cut
The cut is loose and the length is substantial for a casual shirt, but I have to admit that it runs large . Their XS (the size I usually take) is more like a good French S.
This shirt is easy to wear as long as you stick to a looser than slim outfit. Its loose cut and raw look don't go well with smooth skinny jeans , for example.
In my eyes, SEH Kelly embodies THE timeless workwear cut. : aim for comfort without going oversized .
From Italian style outfits to workwear
For the first outfit, I chose to play the summer card, with light colors and loafers . The colors bring freshness, the whole is bright.
We easily escape the total white look thanks to this fabric composed mainly of blue threads, and its irregular appearance creates a successful contrast of material. The cuts of the shirt and pants are relatively straight, so complement each other well. In itself, nothing complicated!
The fabric is soft and wiry, hence the creases when I put my hands in the pockets. (SEH Kelly shirt, De Fursac pants, Septième Largeur loafers.)
The second outfit is a little stronger, because it has a strong military connotation .
Two constraints arose:
- keeping the shirt collar closed meant wearing a tie,
- The raw look of the fabric pushed me towards non-neutral pieces for the top of the outfit. So I chose a textured tie, in silk grenadine, and a vintage overshirt whose fabric has lived well.
The result is unexpected and rather original!
Here we can clearly see how to play with raw materials to create a beautiful set of textures: all the pieces have a particular hand and go well together, none of them seem bland or smooth compared to another. (SEH Kelly shirt, vintage overshirt found at Jinji, Howard's tie.)
A motley collection of clothes for a sophisticated outfit. (SEH Kelly shirt, vintage overshirt found at Jinji, Howard's tie, Ralph Lauren chinos, Septième Largeur boots.)
If I had to sum it up, I would say that this shirt symbolises SEH Kelly's polished workwear . The attention to detail is impressive but implicit enough not to blur a resolutely raw style. The cut is loose , in keeping with this style, and manages to avoid the pitfall of "too wide".
Wearing this shirt might require a little more thought than wearing a plain blue shirt, but your style will only be better for it.
Note: on the new version of this model , everything is identical except for the cuffs which only have one button and a buttonhole fastening system. Mine has two buttons and a small strap. Proof that the same model is constantly reworked .
Linen Herringbone Raglan Shirt Review (£160)
Wanting to buy my first overshirt, I fell for this model with its assertive design. The sand color is original, the material raw and the design resolutely workwear .
SEH Kelly overshirt, SEH Kelly shirt.
Decryption of the assembly
The first remarkable detail is the raglan sleeve. This cut offers more comfort and freedom of movement than classic assemblies. What's more, it is ultimately quite rare on the market...
The famous raglan sleeves, an unusual detail in ready-to-wear.
The club collar of this overshirt illustrates the brand's ability to twist a formal detail and insert it naturally into a workwear piece .
How to make a collar that was originally very formal look casual.
The throat is unusual. It is simple on the first half of the overshirt, then a large reinforcement square marks the birth of a hidden throat.
Note that each button is isolated in a small alcove closed by reinforcement stitches, made by hand , invisible because sewn between the panels of the fabric.
As with the shirt, the chest pocket is very clean. It stays flat, even when the shirt is folded loosely. This underlines the perfect tension that holds it.
This pocket is not quite closed: the flap is just resting. In this case, the seams are a millimeter from the edge: a goldsmith's work for such a casual piece.
An illustration of what I was explaining to you about the throat, with the reinforcement square here in the center of the image. The pocket is well flattened, and its flap is in place.
The cuffs are closed with a button. Small downside: the absence of a button on the capuchin placket . If the ironing is not perfect, the sleeve tends to twist, allowing the capuchin placket to open.
Adding a simple hidden button would probably have solved this problem.
The buttons are also made of horn, sewn crosswise, and the buttonholes are neat .
A herringbone fabric with character
The linen is Irish. The weave is herringbone , a twill -type V-pattern. The hand is less nervous than for the shirt, because the greater weight of the fabric implies a heavier drape .
The creases show very little and the ironing is easy. It is consistent with SEH Kelly's style, which favors raw fabrics.
The characteristic weave of herringbone.
Note: regarding the care of this overshirt, I advise you to hang it on a jacket hanger as soon as you have finished washing it.
The style
The back of the shirt is longer than the front . The spirit is therefore clearly utilitarian: one must be able to move and bend without restraint.
As for the cut, it is a little fitted at the waist to avoid the impression of the fabric floating. The tension pleats are light.
Two pieces with twill weaving technique, but what a contrast! (SEH Kelly overshirt, APC jeans.)
How to wear an overshirt?
Raw material, raw outfit!
To highlight the overshirt, I opted for its light color. Surrounding it with dark pieces, here a turtleneck that highlights the overshirt, is a wise choice.
This linen is so raw in appearance that it is almost only wearable with fabrics with character. Raw selvedge denim is your best ally here.
Finally, a substantial rolling of the bottom of the jeans and brown ankle boots complete the outfit's workwear style.
There is no rule as to the number of buttons to fasten when wearing an overshirt. I personally opt for two or three because I am rather short and I like to keep a certain verticality in my outfits, despite the layering of pieces. (SEH Kelly overshirt, COS sweater, APC jeans, Septième Largeur boots.)
Finally, a little combination of the two SEH Kelly pieces. The two collars go well together, their rough materials subtly echo each other.
For the rest of the outfit, I kept my raw jeans but swapped the ankle boots for a pair of derby shoes. The outfit is immediately less workwear and more urban . But it is not bland for all that, the derby shoes also have a patina look.
(SEH Kelly overshirt, SEH Kelly shirt, APC jeans, Uniqlo socks, Dr. Martens derbies.)
This overshirt is, in my opinion, the ideal mid-season piece. Its material is dense but retains the breathable properties of linen. The combination of the fluid drape of the material and a very raw weave remains quite rare in ready-to-wear.
On the other hand, its design and material are so workwear- related that it is practically impossible to wear it with anything other than raw jeans . The smoother the clothes you pair it with, the more it will clash and make your outfit incoherent.
Personally, I like to own pieces that are specific to a universe. It gives a real direction to your look. Something to spice up your wardrobe!
The final word...
SEH Kelly evolves in a resolutely casual , even workwear style, by combining quality materials and assertive design.
They rely on British fabrics and tailoring, with an emphasis on pieces with a timeless feel.
They build a rational wardrobe over time. To illustrate their habit of constantly reworking their classics, I can only quote Boileau ( L'Art poétique , 1674): "Make haste slowly, and without losing courage / Twenty times on the loom, put your work back / Polish it constantly, and polish it again / Add sometimes, and often erase."
The photos were taken in Les Baux-de-Provence by Sarah Meyssonnier .
