WHEN bespoke tailor Jeremy Gower turned up at the pub in a college hoodie, his friends were, understandably, distinctly unimpressed.

So he went back to his cutting table and, as a joke, quickly ran up a tweed version. When he returned to the pub a short time later, the reaction of his drinking pals was somewhat different.

“They turned round and said ‘we’ll have one of those’,” recalls Jeremy.

It was the “eureka moment” Jeremy needed to create a whole new business venture, Thomas Crown Bespoke, which now sees products shipped from a workshop in Dorset to destinations all over the world including Dubai, Hong Kong and Cape Town.

“We have a tweed, fleece-lined hoodie,” said Jeremy, 36.

“First of all we went to the point-to-point and took along 12 and we didn’t come back with any. In the last five or six months we’ve expanded the range to being a proper collection, using the tailoring know-how that I’ve used for years and years for bespoke work.

“We used it for a ready-to-wear range, but still with the option for various changes on request.”

Jeremy and his team have had interest from various clubs and organisations who want a logo put on the fleeces, and also make the hoodies with various pockets and alterations for gardeners, gamekeepers, farriers and other professions.

“Quite often if I was making a city suit, the gentleman would have the pursuit of shooting at the weekend and he would want a shooting suit,” said Jeremy.

“A wife or PA would want to be kitted out as well, so there’s an organic progression there.”

But the company, based on the Charlton Barrow estate at Charlton Marshall, has found some mixed reactions on the shooting field.

“A lot of chaps on a shoot will freeze to look good. They will have a waistcoat and sports jacket. But the guys in the hoodies will still look good.

“Plus we are not making huge batches so there’s not the chance of turning up on the same field wearing the same tweeds.

“A lot of the old-fashioned hosts don’t know whether to condemn or welcome it. There’s a real quandary with it.”

The range has also been popular at some more unexpected outlets, including the Dorset Steam Fair.

“No other tailor had gone to the steam fair,” said Jeremy.

“But steam enthusiasts find it difficult to get collections made which are befitting of their hobbies.

“So they can have their tweed trousers made, or their overalls.”

Thomas Crown Bespoke’s best seller is the traditional tweed flat cap, which can now be made in 45 minutes from order to despatch.

But there is still the opportunity for these to be bespoke, with clients able to choose their own tweed.

The range also includes dog collars for £35, ladies skirts, coats, gilets and waistcoats, with the hoodies ranging from £165 to £285.

However, on a bespoke basis, the sky’s the limit as far as cost is concerned.

“I don’t design like a fashion student,” Jeremy explained.

”I design like a tailor. I had an old-fashioned apprenticeship, I didn’t have a fashion degree. I cut the collection and transfer the 2D collection to a 3D garment.

“Every garment is made by one person. We put things on the labels like ‘Hope this keeps you warm, it was made while the snow was falling around Charlton Barrow’.

“These are made with passion, they’re really special.”

Jeremy also prides himself on using the finest quality tweed. In fact, some of the cloths he and the team use are vintages going back 140 to 160 years.

“We’ve given it a contemporary twist,” he explained.

“It’s just smart clothing in a classic style using tweed. We’ve just used the old-fashioned cloths which have been made for years and years and years.

“We’ve just given it a contemporary twist. The hoodie itself is now regarded as a classic.”

Jeremy and the team have taken that classic and run with it.

They have created cashmere and fur-lined hoodies and even made some coats used in the BBC TV show Hustle last season.

“We are not just hoodie makers,” he said.

“We are tailor and milliner and we make everything. We do wedding gowns and ballgowns. The only thing we don’t do is underwear.

“It’s not going to be high fashion, we want people to wear the collection with confidence.

“It’s nice that people have their heads turned by the fact that it’s the wrong mix – but two wrongs make a right and there’s a progressive amount of people coming back for second and third garments.

“They’re wearing them inside, outside, walking the dog, doing the shopping, picking up the kids.

“They’re good value for money and they last.”

• Thomas Crown is available from thomascrownbespoke.com and from berties country in West Street, Wimborne, bertiescountry.com