INTERVIEW WITH PETER BROOKER: CO-AUTHOR OF FROM TAILORS WITH LOVE

“THE ABOUT ME SECTION IS GREAT”

Today I'm going to publish an E-Interview I did with Menswear Writer Peter Brooker. Peter is the co-author of the book From Tailors With Love: An Evolution of Menswear Through the Bond Films and Editor of From Tailors With Love the blog, podcast and YouTube channel.

What inspired you to write a book about the style of James Bond?

I had already established a good shorthand with my Co-Author Matt Spaiser from a blog called Bond Suits. I've always wanted to have something in print, something beyond the blog that explored the stories of the tailors and the brands involved with making the clothes for James Bond. Matt had always wanted to do something like this too. Together we shared the same zeal and enthusiasm for sharing this story in print. It just took far longer than we anticipated.

What were the hurdles?

We didn't have the backing from EON so couldn't access any of the archives. This also meant we couldn't use any photos from the franchise. We weren't even allowed to mention the name James Bond on the cover. Eventually we got our own lawyers in and had to fight our corner on a few things. But it worked out in the end. This is a book about people that made the clothes. Those people we have photos of. No one needs to see another photo of Sean Connery leaning on an Aston Martin in the Swiss Alps.

Was it easy getting hold of some of the costume designers and tailors?

Some were easier than others. I actually waited 3 years to speak to one lady who worked with Mayfair Doug Hayward. He made the suits for Roger Moore in his later Bond films. In the end Lockdown came, she had broken her foot and was house bound. She had run out of excuses and finally picked up the phone to us.

Did you consider self-publishing?

Yes right until the end. Initially we had a lot of publishers refuse us. But that was more down to not having the backing from EON than anything else. We did manage to get one publisher onboard but once we got a stern letter from EON they backed out. In the end we found one, but it was at the 11th hour and we would have self-published had it not got picked up.

How has the reaction been?

The best. There is no better community than the James Bond community. I was struggling for a long time with my own direction. I had a lifestyle blog at the time that was all over the road. One minute I was writing about James Bond, the next, How to Send Poo in the Mail. My girlfriend was running an instagram for her cats at the time and I was envious that she was getting 10x more engagement than me. She just told me that 'I need to find my village'. And the James Bond people are my village people without the leather and 70s hair.

Will you write another book with Matt Spaiser?

I asked him a year ago if he wanted to start another project idea I had about film jackets, but he said no. I think he's had enough of me.

What advice would you give to anyone writing a book?

Depending on the type of book. Be mindful that if it's about someone else's intellectual property then having a lawyer up your sleeve will come in handy. I would also try the best to stick to a structure. Matt and I outlaid the book from the very beginning and hit all the beats on the way and made sure we didn't go off the grass at any point.

Also make sure you have some kind of audience that will be warm for the release of the book. Matt and I started the podcast From Tailors With Love, did about 70 odd episodes on the style of James Bond and cultivated a receptive audience. If you're just writing in a vacuum and hoping that it will magically find an audience then I don't know. You might get lucky.

Give me one reason to buy the book? 

The about me section is great. 

From Tailors With Love: An Evolution of Menswear through the Bond Films is available to buy on Amazon. The weekly podcast is available on iTunes.