Moss Bros. Is Famous Dress-Hire Firm

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29233, 17 June 1960, Page 19

Moss Bros. Is Famous Dress-Hire Firm

[From the London correspondent of "The Press"]

LONDON, June 10. Week comes round again, md again Harry Moss puts his jjirtt on the event—his suits and jug hats too, for that matter—and j. sure to get them back. Harry Moss, a modest little man, u director of Moss Bros., the mOS t famous tailoring firm in the rrnnmonwealth, and what must be the best-known dress-hire firm in the world. Harry Moss is in his fiftieth •ear with the firm, which has just celebrated its hundredth birthday. English society did not always regard hiring its clothes for jpecial occasions as quite the thing, but after the austerity of the First World War, when wardrobes were depleted. Moss Bros, esme into its own. Young men no longer furtively approached the Covent Garden emporium in search of morning 9 evening dress which they could not— temporarily, of course—afford. And today. Ascot, Epsom on Derby day, or the Palace lawns for a Royal garden party would be duller sights without the help of Harry Moss. Kings (Umberto and Fiesal), American Presidential candidates (Stevenson and Dewey), actors (Errol Flynn once bumped into Clark Gable in the fitting room), ambassadors, and commoner racegoers have all been to Covent Garden for temporary sartorial assistance. Yet Moss Bros, can do much more than turn out thousands of impeccably-suited and hatted men for a big social occasion

k?H 0U t Str ? ining its Its t^rAAd 8 hold , thousa nds Of military and naval uniforms with could kit a whole mew With authority and Period of oSE M . r,bb »” s “ d " i, “ r

Black velvet Court dress or the latest and snappiest ski outfit can be brought out at the drop of a grey topper. From a great bank of tm boxes, Moss Bros, can produce all that is needed by a St W <_ Usher of the Black Rod, a Governor-General, a Scottish Pursuivant, or Her Majesty’s Swankeeper. At the Coronation in 1953 an eminent peer turned to his African neighbour. “What a great day for the Queen,” he said. “Yes,” replied the African representative, “and what a great day for Moss Bros.” It has been said that without the firm the Coronation could hardly have taken place. Harry Moss, grandson of the firm s founder, Moses Moses, more realistically, disagrees. “But without us,” he allows, “it would have been a very dull affair.” At present there are no brothers in Moss Bros. “Mr Harry,” as he is known throughout the store, directs the business. He is quietly spoken, utterly unlike the popular conception of a business tycoon. Looking After the Shop Every week he inspects the cloth and cut of the clothes going through the workshops. Frequently he can be found wandering through the shop offering help to customers. Last year, he completely fitted out the children in the successful British Pony Team which toured the United States. (The firm has always had a soft spot for horse-riding and a special interest in riding clothes and saddlery.)

On Saturdays, Harry Moss plays cricket (he captains a Guildford eleven) and on Sundays he is a golfer. He has been treasurer of an approved school, and a regular visitor to an East End boys’ club. And, as might be expected, he takes a paternal interest in his staff and clients. Helping him to run Moss Bros, are his son, Monty (Harrow. New College, Oxford, King’s Royal Rifles) and his first cousin, Basil Moss. There are eight little Mosses aged eight months to 14 years on whom the family is keeping an eye. Said Monty recently: "Unlike the proverbial rolling stone, we hope that our business will gather many Mosses.”

Meanwhile, the queues .come and go. Women come to inspect the thousand evening dresses on the hire racks, and the card index which reveals where they have lately been seen. Brides choose their gowns, and men walk out confident that they will be the best dressed guests at the wedding.