You could say he’s at the sharp end of Huddersfield’s textile industry.
Shears, needle and thread are the stock in trade of Dale Rhodes, who has spent almost 40 years in the tailoring business.
Dale followed in the footsteps of his father, Bert Rhodes, to make up smart, bespoke suits for professional people, bridegrooms-to-be and aspiring employees wanting to impress at job interviews.
Now he is working to refashion the image of the industry – while lovingly recalling its colourful past.
Dale joined his father – perhaps Huddersfield’s best-known tailor in his day – at the age of 15. “My first job was cutting sleeve linings,” he recalls. “I started at the bottom in the cutting room and was given the most boring job to do!
“My father had 14 shops at the time, including ones at Westgate, Marsh, Folly Hall and Chapel Hill.
“Huddersfield was steeped in textiles. People would bring in suit lengths to be made up. They would bring in the fabric tied up with string.
“Christmas would be a busy time because men would get their Christmas bonus at work and spend some of it on a new suit. Their previous best suit would be relegated to second best and worn for work.
“All the mills gave out suit lengths as presents. There must be thousands and thousands of suit lengths still sitting drawers and cupboards just waiting to be made into suits.”
Dale recalls the decline of textiles in the town during the early 1980s as several major mills succumbed to competition from cheap imports and – in some cases – their own complacency.
“A lot of Huddersfield mills closed,” he says. “It was a crying shame to see. We used to go handing out our business cards to the people who were buying up the stock to see if they would sell the cloth to us.”
Dale says: “Some mills did not invest in new machinery. They got away with years of not having to invest – but the rest of the world caught up with them quickly.”
Now Dale and his team of six based at Netherfield Road, Ravensthorpe, are among only a handful of tailors still plying their trade in “cut, make and trim”.
Says Dale: “There are not many ‘younger generation’ tailors. Burtons used to have their own fleet of vans and a tailoring service in every major city store. The skills have almost completely gone. Where can you go for advice about buying a suit, never mind finding a tailor?
“Years ago, the older generation knew what a good suit looked like. Now the younger generation are more label-orientated.”
Despite the trend for off-the-peg, wear today-throw away tomorrow clothing, Dale sees a resurgence in demand for smart suits, which he attributes to the male-orientated fashion features which run in magazines and newspapers
The company sources much of its high quality cloth from long-standing textile merchant Dugdale Brothers & Co, based at Northumberland Street in Huddersfield and sings the praises of those high-end manufacturers who have moved with the times while retaining their reputation for quality, such as Moxons, Taylor & Lodge and Bower Roebuck.
And there’s no compromise on quality. The firm’s website features handmade suits ranging in price from £600 to £1,600 and jackets priced from £375 to £1,200 along with shirts, waistcoats and trousers.
Customers have included former LibDem leader Charles Kennedy, who was supplied with six two-piece suits, a jacket and a pair of trousers for one general election campaign.
While Bert Rhodes’ 14 shops may no longer be operating, Dale Rhodes Tailors has a showroom at Dugdale’s offices in Mill Street, just off Savile Row in London, which continues to put Huddersfield cloth at the heart of the country’s capital.
Dale travels to London by Grand Central train, which takes him to King’s Cross from Mirfield station, close to his home. “I used to go by car,” says Dale. “But I would arrive stressed out from driving. Now I can get more work done on the train between 7am and 10am than I can during the rest of the day.”
He says: “We do a lot of business as visiting tailors, We go to London, Manchester or Leeds to measure people up for suits. We provide suits for a lot of professional people, such as barristers, for example.
“We are also in talks with a couple of high street retailers who want to put our suits in their stores. People want to see and feel the fabric before they buy.
“We are still competing against cheap imports – but our suits don’t wear out!
“The industry is constantly evolving. The tailoring industry has changed. One thing we are pursuing is that more and more people are buying online.
“We are offering a service where tailors can send customers’ measurements to us online and we will make up the suits. We are selling our expertise in the hope that we can bring back bespoke tailoring.”
Dale admits it is hard work, saying: “You are never away from the pressure of running a business.”
Dale once harboured ideas of being a builder, but says: “My dad said ‘you’re going into the family business’. it was the done thing. You know – ‘one day all this will be yours!’
“But tailoring is in my blood. I’m passionate about it.”
Dale’s affection for the town’s textile heritage is clear – and he hopes his reminiscences about Huddersfield’s textile past evokes memories for others who remember the shop signs bearing the legend “G H (Bert) Rhodes High Grade Tailoring”,
He says: “I’d love for people who have been involved in Huddersfield textiles to email me with their stories so I can put them on our website.”
Role: Director
Age: 53
Family: Partner Alison with sons
Dean, 24, and Darrol, 17, and daughter Georgina, 21
Holidays: My first holiday for five years was to Portugal. I went to see a shirt-making firm, but stopped the week!
First job: Cutting out sleeve linings – it’s the most boring job!
Best thing about the job? The many interesting people you meet
Worst thing about the job? You are never away from the pressure of running a business. It never leaves you alone
Business tip: Do plenty of research before you make a decision. It is so easy just to jump in. The information is there, so use it. And in a time when things change so quickly, ask yourself: “Where will this business be in the future?”
Work: Bespoke tailoring
Site: Netherfield Road, Ravensthorpe
Phone: 0800 2346809
Email: tailors@dalerhodes.co.uk
Web: www.dalerhodes.co.uk
