this article appears to have a close connection with its subject . it may require cleanup to comply with wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view . please discuss further on the talk page . september 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message hawes & curtis type private industry clothier founded london united kingdom 1913 headquarters london united kingdom key people touker suleyman chairman products clothing parent low profile holdings website hawesandcurtis.co.uk hawes & curtis is a british heritage brand founded in 1913 currently operating 29 stores in the uk and two of them located in jermyn street london . contents 1 history 2 designers legacy 3 notable customers 4 today 5 references 6 external links history edit the company was founded by two tailors ralph hawes and george frederic freddie curtis who opened the first store in piccadilly arcade at the corner with jermyn street in london in 1913 . 1 on 1 december 1922 hawes & curtis hosiers was granted a royal warrant by the then prince of wales the future king edward viii and duke of windsor . 2 in july 1938 king george vi awarded the company a second royal warrant and then in 1948 a third one to hawes & curtis tailors . this warrant lasted throughout the king s reign . 3 in 1957 the duke of edinburgh awarded hawes & curtis with a third royal warrant which remained until 1985 . businessman touker suleyman 4 acquired the company under the group low profile holdings in 2002 for the symbolic amount of 1 one british pound . 5 designers legacy edit hawes & curtis are known for having introduced the backless evening waistcoat . 6 it was an innovation of the dress soft era popularised by the duke of windsor . the waistcoat was designed without a back and held in place by means of bands fastened with a buckle or button across the back at the waistline . when worn the waistcoat always remained in position under the tailcoat and was renowned for its comfort . fred astaire allegedly approached hawes & curtis to have one made of his very own only to be regretfully refused due to the high demand for such garments from the british aristocracy . 7 according to the review of savile row tailors by the 1930s mr. curtis was an authority in evening dress and had done more to keep shirts from bulging out of up creeping waistcoats than any other young man in london . evening shirts and waistcoats were made on scientific mathematical lines yet were chic withal . 8 hawes & curtis also assisted the duke of windsor in creating his now famous windsor knot by introducing an extra layer at the inside of the tie . notable customers edit notable customers have included prince philip 9 cary grant 10 the duke of windsor 11 earl mountbatten 12 frank sinatra 4 fred astaire 13 and donald sinden . 14 today edit the company celebrated its 100th anniversary in october 2013 . 15 it currently operates 29 stores in the united kingdom with the main store on jermyn street . 16 hawes & curtis also has a store in cologne germany and the uae . the company operates a british german and australian website . in common with many competitor brands manufacturing is now offshore . references edit hawes & curtis eyes us and concessions in growth drive . retail week 10 april 2008 the london gazette 5 december 1922 the london gazette . 12 july 1938 . a b hawes & curtis ties up 3.2 m middle east deal . alistair osborne . the telegraph . 11 august 2013 hawes & curtis eyes us and concessions in growth drive . retail week . 10 april 2008 men s style dictionary tailor mens suits custom shirts wedding suits business shirts wil valor 1300 309 272 . m.wilvalor.com.au . retrieved 2016 01 20 . 19 may 2011 not fashion . style . hornetskensington.wordpress.com . 2011 05 19 . retrieved 2016 01 20 . review of savile row tailors 1930 london is a man s town by helen josephy and mary margaret mcbride bell matthew . prince philip ranked 12 in a list of britain s best dressed men by gq magazine . dailymail.co.uk . retrieved 2016 01 20 . torregrossa r 2006 cary grant a celebration of style bullfinch press hackette book group usa london . p. 32 the duke & duchess of windsor the private collections 1997 sotheby s new york the duke s famous windsor knot was achieved by having his london shirt makers hawes & curtis put a thick interlining in his ties to make the knot fatter . the windsor style .1987 . suzy menkes . grafton books how hawes & curtis built an online international business . veebs sabharwal . retail gazette . 12 february 2008 . style setters mr. fred astaire . mr porter the journal . june 19 2012 . http www.dailymail.co.uk femail article 3391260 style secrets dapper duke trousers half century 34in waist hatred pleats tailor s measured philip s inside leg 50 years reveals all.html hawes and curtis celebrate 100 years of luxury shirts . james haskell . the sloaney . 10 october 2013 hawes & curtis flagship store . jerymn street . external links edit official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title hawes % 26 curtis & oldid 738058441 categories clothing retailers of the united kingdomretail companies based in londonretail companies established in 19131913 establishments in the united kingdomhidden categories wikipedia articles with possible conflicts of interest from september 2016articles created via the article wizard navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages e tina edit links this page was last modified on 6 september 2016 at 17 49 . text is 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