I learnt the story behind the word 'bespoke' this morning, and I thought I would share!

I've always liked the word bespoke - it's kind of sharp and purposeful. Just like a bespoke suit, I guess.

So I was researching a 'Where are they now?' feature about child stars (specifically MK + Ashley Olsen, above), and I read up on their fashion empire, which includes the high-end label The Row.

The Row was named after Savile Row, the high-street shopping strip in Mayfair, London that is famous for its traditional men's bespoke tailoring.

And thus I discovered that "bespoke" - which refers to an item that has been custom-made to suit the buyer's specification - was first coined on this street. According to all-knowing Wikipedia, the word originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers.

The Row's latest collection offers tshirts, pants and jackets that start at $290... so needless to say, none of their clothes will "be spoken for" by me! I couldn't even afford the sales tax on one of their cardies...