Spitalfield; Perhaps it’s not the most attractive name for a London suburb. But its early music halls propelled Charlie Chaplin to international stardom. As a major entertainment district for many decades, fashion styles evolve in the evenings as the pub and cub scene come alive. Up and down the streets and alleyways in a mixture of classes and cultures.

Also famous for The artist Mark Gertler (1891-1939) is perhaps most admired for his 1916 painting The Merry-Go-Round, which hangs prominently at Tate Modern. He is less favourably immortalised in the 1995 biopic Carrington, in which he is portrayed as the tormented lover of the androgynous Bloomsbury artist Dora Carrington.

Spitalfields takes its name from a hospital and priory known as St. Mary’s Spital founded in 1197. Most of the area was built after the Great Fire of London and Spitalfield’s market was first established in the 1680’s. Most of the beautiful houses in and around Fournier, Princelet and Wilkes Street date from around 1685 when the Huguenots fled France, bringing their silk weaving skills.

The United States’ Liberty Bell was originally cast in the Whitechapel Bell Foundry in Whitechapel Road. The pavement here is extra wide – this was the main way via Aldgate for cattle and sheep to be driven into London, together with carts laden with hops for brewing and hay for cattle.

Renowned tailor to Tom Cruze and David Beckham, Timonthy Everest concludes many decades of change to the area by opening up shop at 32 Elder Street, once the residence of Bloomsbury artist Mark Gertler. He politely shunned the inherent stuffiness of traditional tailoring, by, saying “moving to Savile Row would be like moving back in with my parents”

He rejuvenated British fashion icon Daks and helped prop Marks and Spencers return to traditional pound for pound quality with his outstanding “Autograph” range of men’s clothing and fashion accessories.

Timothy’s move to the area and adopting the Spitalfield flower as his signature marked a new direction for men’s clothing and accessories. Savile row is far removed from the hub of style evolution. Perhaps the beginning of a new era has begun and more tailors will follow to set up shop in Elder Street.

Now the Spitalfield flower blooms on jacket linings and ties, as though culminating centuries of historic events. And to push the boundaries of innovation even further he has re-invented Swank silver cufflinks, styled on designs from the 1940’s.

Swank Inc a popular designer and manufacturer of men’s cufflinks were incorporated on April 17, 1936. When Cufflinks peaked in the 1960’s they were making 12 million a year.

Even though these were aimed at the lowest end of the market, retailing for an average of $2.50 a pair, that still adds up to a lot of men wearing cufflinks. These days the figure is closer to 200,000, but cufflinks are making a strong comeback with gross sales having increased consistently over the last ten years, while the French cuff continues to be the most prestigious type of shirt.

Nothing in Spitalfield lays to wrack and ruin for long. It’s constantly being rejuvenated and with each new generation evolves different styles from all walks of life up and down the streets of Spitalfield.

You can manufacture fashion clothing, but style is an evolution. Ask Vivienne Westwood

To draw a comparison; The Beatles evolved, The Monkees were manufactured.

Perpetuating traditional values of English made clothing and accessories is part of our ethos.

A guide to the essential styles of guitar playing, from the ’50s to the present

By its very nature, the guitar is a rhythm instrument. Sure, it can be used to create vocal-like, single-note melodies and sizzling lead breaks, but more often it’s found at the heart of the rhythm section, driving the progressions of your favorite rock and pop tunes. So, what does it take to be a good rhythm player? Well, the most obvious answer is to know a lot of chords. But while a knowledge of chords and chord construction is vital, it is not sufficient by itself. To be a truly proficient rhythm guitarist, a player must be familiar with a variety of styles and how the guitar typically functions in each. For instance, does the guitar play a busy part with double stops and triads, or take the opposite approach with fully-voiced, sustained chords? Is the guitar just one component of a tightly-structured rhythm section, or does it have considerable freedom to create its own part? What’s the underlying rhythm the guitar plays-straight eigh ths, shuffle eighths, 16th-note funk-and how is that rhythm played?

In this article, we’ll answer these questions by taking a look at a broad survey of styles, from the ’50s to the ’90s, with an emphasis on the most famous players in each genre.

’50s Rock ‘n’ Roll
When ’50s rock ‘n’ roll is mentioned today, one can’t help but think of Chuck Berry, the founding father of early rock ‘n’ roll guitar. Berry popularized the driving, muted eighth-note figure referred to by many as the “Chuck Berry rhythm.” Notice how both voicings use only two chord tones: root/5th, and root/6th. This makes the riff easily applicable for major and dominant 7th type chords. Heard in such Berry classics as “Johnny B. Goode” and “Roll Over Beethoven,” it is still used to this day as the basic rhythm for many songs. For example, Bachman Turner Overdrive added some eighth-note syncopation to it and came up with the opening riff to their huge 1974 hit “Takin’ Care of Business”.

Also in the ’50s, artists like Carl Perkins (“Blue Suede Shoes”) and a young Elvis Presley (“That’s Alright Mama,” “Hound Dog”) were burning up the record charts with an infectious blend of country, blues, and jazz that came to be known as “rockabilly.” Thanks to guitarist Brian Setzer (Stray Cats, Brian Setzer Orchestra), rockabilly enjoyed a revival in the ’80s and is now firmly ensconced in the current swing revival. This style is based upon the shuffle eighth-note rhythm, and guitarists tend to use “jazzier” sounding 6th-, 9th-, and 13th-type chord voicings to flesh out their parts

’60s Rock and Folk
The guitar’s popularity exploded in the early ’60s: The Ventures were inventing guitar instrumental rock, the Beach Boys were singing about the surfing craze and drag racing, and waiting in the wings were the Beatles. Rhythm guitar was “cool,” and every kid wanted to learn the opening chords to the Ventures’ mega-hit, “Walk Don’t Run”. The movable shape of the barre chord opened up a world of possibilities and was in large part responsible for the adventurous progressions found in the music of the Beatles, psychedelic, and modern rock. Keep in mind that the barre chord’s full sound makes it a perfect choice for voicings in a two-guitar band or trio situations, but it should be used with care in conjunction with a keyboard, as the sound can get too dense.

Sharing the airwaves in the early and mid ’60s was folk music. The popularity of Peter, Paul & Mary, the Kingston Trio, and Bob Dylan brought the music to the fore, drastically boosting sales of acoustic guitars along the way. This folk style of strumming can now be heard in songs by a range of artists, from the Beatles, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Eagles, and Tom Petty to R.E.M., Counting Crows, Oasis, and Matchbox 20. Open position chords are where it’s at for this timeless style, which is based upon simple eighth-note strumming patterns. Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life” offers a revved-up version of a time-honored folk progression.

Another highly useful “folkism” is the classical-inspired, fingerpicked arpeggiated pattern made famous by Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin’s folk/hard rock ballad, “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You.”

Rhythm & Blues
R&B, a unique mixture of blues, gospel, and soul, finally began getting the attention it deserved in the mid ’60s. The man who virtually wrote the book on R&B guitar is Steve Cropper. That’s him on “Green Onions” (Booker T. & the MGs), “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” (Otis Redding), and “Soul Man” (both Sam & Dave and Blues Brothers versions). Cropper often eschewed fully-voiced chords, opting instead for stripped-down parts involving the use of 3rds, 4ths, and 6ths. For example, on the intro to “Soul Man,” instead of playing fully-voiced chords, he plays only the 5th and 3rd of each voicing, all on the same strings This style of “hook” rhythm playing can create magic in a song.

Hendrix
Although widely remembered for his baffling soloing techniques, sound effects, and wild stage antics, the multi-faceted Jimi Hendrix laid down some of the smoothest and most soulful R&B rhythms ever. On ballads like “The Wind Cries Mary” and “Little Wing,” you’ll hear his trademark hammer-on 3rds and sliding 4ths along with his groundbreaking chord/scale rhythm technique. Hendrix tended to play his chord/scale rhythm fills by superimposing scale patterns over basic barre chord shapes. If you know your scale patterns and follow a simple rule (major chord/major scale, minor chord/minor scale), you’ll find a wealth of notes to choose from. Left-hand muting is a key factor in keeping the surrounding strings from ringing. Keep in mind that in this style, it’s easy to go overboard and play too many notes, sounding more like a soloist than a rhythm guitarist. A good rule of thumb is to play simple rhythms, while waiting for spaces in the phrasing of the vocalist to employ your fills.