The Famous of Cheltenham, was, excuse the pun, famous for service, quality and choice since 1886. It was an institution on Cheltenham’s High Street, always in the same building whilst those around it were knocked down or re-developed.

The Famous of Cheltenham was established by a tailor who presented himself as ‘the famous tailor from London’ and when, in 1896, my Great-Grandfather, Mr A N Cole, purchased the business he kept The Famous name. The building itself was always known as The Famous and is still referred to as this by many today, indeed it still has the marble door threshold with the name on it.

The Famous is still fondly remembered by generations of customers in Gloucestershire, both for menswear and schoolwear. I actually recently made a wedding suit for a customer who said The Famous supplied his first school blazer, his first sixth form suit, his first work suit and he felt it was great I was now supplying his first and hopefully only wedding suit.

We received over the years pictures from customers wearing clothes purchased from The Famous in the far flung colonies of the time and suits I ahve made more recently have been seen at Ascot, Buckingham Palace, Hong Kong, Sydney and Los Angeles, among many others.

The name of The Famous of Cheltenham became synonymous with service, quality and choice and it is an ethos that I continue with The Famous 1886.

If you have any memories of The Famous of Cheltenham, I would love to hear them.

Please check out my Pinterest board for more images of The Famous