An award-winning tailoring business has opening new premises in a former Barclays bank branch.

Dandy Threads, founded in 2016 by Derrick Langley and his son, Nicholas, with a shop in Westgate, Guisborough, has expanded and moved its main showroom to the old bank in Guisborough Market Place. It opened last Friday.

The building has opened under the name of Langley House and will serve as Dandy Threads HQ. The business has seen a 300 per cent increase in turnover since the Covid pandemic, fuelled by word of mouth and a boost in tailored and vintage attire, thanks to the popularity of period dramas such as Peaky Blinders. Dandy Threads recently won the North East Wedding Awards for Menswear for the fifth year in a row.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Derrick Langley and his son, Nicholas in the new Dandy Threads HQ

Derrick Langley said: “We’ve used the combination of many years hard work and creating the brand ‘Dandy Thread’, to bring all three elements of the business under one roof that is going to be fantastic for the future of the business, both from the design of the bespoke side of things and internal manufacturing.

"It allows much more scope in the marketplace to be, and carry on being, unique. It’s certainly our ambition. There’s a certain misconception when people look at the business and they immediately think that it’s going to be expensive but we cater for every part of the market. The wedding market, in particular, but we also provide bespoke suiting for every occasion, business people, races, proms, the whole host of markets that we supply to."

He added, “We’ve been doing this now for eight years, just for a love of clothes.”

Derrick’s son, Nicholas, with his husband, Christopher Chamberlain, do the consultation and designing for their clients and work alongside each other doing fittings for ready-to-wear suits, as well as looking after the weddings. Nicholas said: “I’m hoping we’re going to produce our own suits, bringing in our own brand with good pricing for our clients. Making them from scratch costs a lot more money, time, and pieces.”

The business aims to allow customers to experience and explore all their services from ready-to-wear, made to order, to custom and bespoke waistcoats. Private consultations can be made, by appointment only, and Dandy Threads say that these are popular due to the level of service provided in personal styling and creating the perfect outfits for all occasions. Made-to-order tailoring requires six to eight weeks for production, excluding fittings, and some tailoring options can take much longer.