THE BUDDHA OF MOUNT STREET

See Also: SOCCER Park Football; TAILORS; TOYS & GAMES Teddy Bears

Doug Hayward's father was a boiler cleaner who had a streak of eccentricity - he painted the family's semi-detached house in Hayes a vibrant pink both inside and out. Hayward fils was unable to find an apprenticeship in Savile Row because he was regarded as speaking with an inappropriate accent. Instead, he worked for a tailor near Shepherd's Bush Green. Subsequently, he spent his national service in the Royal Navy; the experience exposed him to people from a variety of social backgrounds. Subsequently, he had a holiday job as a Butlin's redcoat at Clacton-on-Sea; this helped him learn how to put people at their ease.

Hayward established a connection to the acting profession through his first wife who was a sister-in-law of the movie director Basil Dearden. Having modified his voice, he went on to work in partnership with another theatrical tailor, and then to establish his own business in Pall Mall. Other people would want to know who Fred Astaire or Cary Grant's tailor was, whereas Hayward wished to learn who had provided Sydney Greenstreet with the suits that he wore in The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Casablanca (1942).

In 1967 Hayward acquired premises at No. 95 Mount Street. During the week he lived above the shop. His tailoring overlay British structuring with Italian nonchalance. He would receive his customers while sitting in a wing-backed chair and offer them a glass of champagne. His clients would often call in upon him socially or ask him his advice about matters that were not sartorially related. This led to his being tagged the Buddha of Mount Street . He established his own Sunday morning soccer team that played in Hyde Park. Upon occasion Bobby Moore would turn out for the side.

Ralph Lauren's Purple Label range was inspired in part by Hayward's work. In acknowledgement of this the American clothes designer presented him with a number of besuited teddy bears. These were displayed in the shop. There, they were subjected to a reign of terror by the tailor's scrofulous jack terrier.

Harry Pendel the central character in John le Carr's novel Tailor of Panama (1996) was modelled on the Buddha .

Hayward s mother died in 1984. Under her bed, the family found a note and fifteen ice cream boxes that were filled with cash. The message read, This money is to get Doug out of prison when they finally get him. She had never been able to believe that her son's visible affluence had been derived from tailoring. She had long assumed that he had some form of involvement in crime.

In 2006 Hayward's daughter Polly took over the daily running of the business.

Location: 95 Mount Street, W1K 2TA (blue, brown)

Website: https://douglashayward.com

David Backhouse 2024