TOP WOMAN IN A MALE WORLD

Those dark satanic mills of Yorkshire’s textile heartland may have embraced a brighter, lighter image – both at t’mill and in the products – but old customs linger on. While mill workers were mainly women in the days of yore, the bosses were all men and, in management circles, the masculine dominance has lingered on.

So Lyndsay Taylor, top sales honcho at top cloth merchants Holland & Sherry, is a rare beacon of female influence. An efficient, confident and friendly woman, she has risen from the ranks to become one of the most respected figures in the industry.

Lyndsay Taylor, left, with Nicholas Gilbaud, Holland & Sherry sales executive.

“I took a degree in textiles at the Scottish College of Textiles,” she explains, “and my first job was as textile designer at Peter Scott (quality knitwear house). But my remit went much further than design. I was working with customers, covering the major international shows that we attended as part of the British Menswear Guild, and generally dealing with marketing.”

It was good training and she liked the company but an invitation to become a sales representative at Holland & Sherry’s New York office was an offer she couldn’t refuse.

“I was based in Manhattan and from there travelled all over the US and Canada, visiting tailors and manufacturers. I went to all sorts of places, and to some where if I couldn’t park right outside the tailor’s shop I didn’t stop!”

After 4 years, she returned to Scotland, accepting Holland & Sherry’s offer to train for upper management, and was made a director in 1988, the first female director in the company’s history. Now, she is Group Sales Director of the company, overseeing a complex web of employees, agents and distributors in some 50 countries around the world.

“We believe it is better to have employees in the market place, where possible, and we are just sending off 5 new young graduates to positions overseas, where they will come to know the local requirements and preferences. We believe that is the direct route to successful marketing and expansion.”

Suit above is by Jasper Littman and is waterproof. In the finest wool, is combines traditional textile skills with the latest water defence finish that does not effect the luxury feel of the cloth. It gives water and stain fabric protection, repels dust and dirt and resists static, while allowing the cloth to breathe naturally and retain its natural softness. Liquids just roll off, and even ground-in stains are easily removed. Aquarret is Holland & Sherry’s name for this modern miracle, Nano blocking the type of finish.

She travels a great deal herself, and divides her time in the UK between the Scottish headquarters in Peebles and her office in Savile Row. This Row base means she retains close links with those responsible for putting the best of Holland & Sherry’s cloths on the backs of the world’s richest and best dressed men – the tailors.

“The mills are still largely a masculine dominated world, and so is Savile Row,” she concedes with a smile. “The female influence is not really apparent. Younger men may bring their wives or girlfriends to advise them but in the main, I think it is still very much a case of a man and his tailor, together.”

Her advise on choosing a cloth: Look at what is missing in your wardrobe and what it will need to complement; choose according to how it will be worn, for what lifestyle - and according to size of wearer; a 13oz weight will serve year round, with a high twist great for travelling.