As part of Budd’s focus on Great British brands, we take a look at one of our oldest neighbours and purveyors of the finest men’s grooming, Truefitt & Hill.
Budd’s Piccadilly shop is steeped in heritage. One of the most charming aspects of Mayfair and St James is the history that surrounds us and a passion for blending authenticity, tradition and innovation shared by many of our local cohorts. Whether they be the tailors of Savile Row, shoemakers such as Cleverley and Foster & Sons, hatmakers such as Lock Hatters or groomers such as Trumper or Truefitt & Hill, we have many mutual and loyal customers that appreciate our love of history, community and individuality.
Just a stone’s throw from Budd, Truefitt & Hill offers up everything you could wish to experience from a men’s grooming experience. Step inside the revered premises of its St. James’s Street flagship and you become a part of its two hundred and fifteen year history. Enjoy a traditional wet shave with hot towel, haircut or beard treatment and stock up on the company’s exclusive toiletries and shaving accessories. Badger bristle shaving brushes sit alongside handsome stainless-steel razors, colognes, balms and such forth.
Established in 1805 by William Francis Truefitt, the world's oldest barbershop started out life as a wigmaker, promptly receiving King George III as a customer. With such an illustrious patron, Truefitt quickly became a go-to destination for London society. In 1935, Truefitt acquired the hairdressing business, Edwin S. Hill & Co and the company that we know and love was born.
Over its spectacular history, Truefitt & Hill has held Royal Warrants for nine consecutive reigning monarchs and today holds the Royal Warrant for HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. A glance through appointments books is like reading entries from a ‘Who’s Who’ of distinguished society and world shapers. British Royals and those of European courts, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill, and Field Marshal the Viscount Montgomery of Alamein are just some of the Royal, aristocratic and political figures, whilst Charles Dickens, William M Thackeray, Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde and Beau Brummell were all tended to here too. Lord Laurence Olivier, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire and Cary Grant brought Silver Screen glamour.
Whilst the St. James’s Shop has been on its current site since 1805, it has a very global perspective. Today, Truefitt boasts a total of 47 stores across the world, with shops on every continent. It enjoys a reputation as a world-renowned barbershop offering a wide range of treatments and services conceived to groom modern gentlemen to perfection. That said, however, there is nothing quite like a visit to the mothership, and a trip to the St. James’s HQ makes you wish that Messrs Dickens and Wilde might walk in at any moment. We are still fans of good old-fashioned service and enjoy the upholding of old-school standards and address.
Sharing Budd’s ethos of preserving British heritage and craft, Truefitt & Hill creates all of its grooming products in the UK, with a focus on procuring as many ingredients and materials from within our shore. The company’s team of chemists, perfumers, craftsmen and cosmetic scientists excel in creating a comprehensive and luxurious range of men’s grooming products, taking care of gentlemen from head to toe, all packaged up in elegant bottles, tubes and tubs that feel a little special each time you handle them. The most recent addition to the Truefitt & Hill collection is there Apsley Bath and Shower Cream, part of the Apsley collection released in 2016 in homage to illustrious patron, the 1st Duke of Wellington whose London residence was the nearby Apsley House. With a blend of woody and citrus notes, Aplsey epitomises the modern English gentleman and indulging in a luxurious shower gel is surely a great way to set up the rest of the day - start as you mean to go on and all that.
Whilst Truefitt’s products can be purchased online, there is nothing quite like the experience of visiting the barber shop. We promise this is not an advertorial, but more of a love letter to a great British brand that has evolved with the times, but kept great service, products and authenticity at its heart.
Discover more about Truefitt and Hill