Earl of Bedlam

Presenting the “Fecit!” tee, a tribute to museum exhibit of the moment, the Bayeux Tapestry (actually, an embroidery, there is nothing of a carpet about it) from La Maison de Bedlam.

“Harold Rex interfectus est” -
King Harold has been slain.

“Vestifex Fecit!”
The Tailor did it!

A pin in the eye during his fitting gone done Hazza in.

This will be fully embroidered on a natural, unbleached organic cotton tee, to be in keeping with the cloth of the venerable original. Go see it at the British Museum while you can. I remember being taken to see it in Normandy by mon père et ma mère.

Brian the Lion and Tom Tom Wiggly Bum make cameo appearances in the upper border.

If you’d care to preorder while we drag that other Tom of the Riverbank back off his hols (what is this thing you call “‘olly days”??) to digitise my whimsical sketch that would be most appreciated.

£100 + £10 uk postage (£25 r.o.w)

Sunday postal delivery! Incoming, a card from cheeky Capt’n Chester on the Nessabar seashore of Bulgaria, there on the coast of the Black Sea (a hot spot for piratical activity).

Luckily our Jack Sack (£40 + postage) is capacious as his treasure chest is already full up with…
toys.
Here he is seen filling the bag with grains of gold and seashells of unfathomable worth.

For Harriet’s Bedlam Beach Bag (in the sturdier canvas for your bottles of rum, or rosé) we went for Provençal blue and yellow to make her initial on one side. On the other is the embroidery in gold (last pic).

For the flip flop filing pocket we used pale yellow mercerised cotton left over from Mr Le Bon’s jacket lining. Fastening with pearl buttons, that does just the job for brightening the interior, which also boasts a zip up canvas pocket as do all our totes. Essential for keeping lip balm and phone to hand and free from sand. Little charms form a zip pull and more are attached to the key chain that hangs from one handle. You’ll never have to scrabble about for your keys, non, jamais.

Chef Stacy went for the EoB VIP (£90 + postage) and her initials on one side. Light golden blossoms line her filing pocket and a nautical blue and white striped cotton brightens the other side. The deluxe heavier keychain can be used to whirl about and clunk anyone unwise enough to menace you.

Melanie’s beach bag pocket fastens with a diamanté starfish from the beautiful Isle of Capri. Each one we make is unique to you, different details.

“The greatest bag ever,” is Harriet’s review. (Ok ok that was for her previous one in black, but she hopefully will love this one just as much in navy).

Stacy wrote, “The bag is MARVELLOUS!
Thank you so much - it’s a work of art, thank you!!!!”

Keep those postcards coming, sent by carrier parrot or however.

Happy hols Bedlamites!

The last of the home grown London legends passed today. Eddie Richardson, South London don, died this morning and it is with genuine sadness that we record it here.

Describing the Kray twins as “small timers” who confused celebrity status with the more career appropriate strategy of staying discretely under the radar, Eddie and his brother Charlie bestrode the badlands around the Old Kent Road.

He described the rubble of the German bombers’ flight path as their playground, how during the war making an illicit bob however you could, stockings, ci******es, chocolate, was given a pass. Then one day, war was over, rules were changed, they didn’t get the memo.

Thanks to his niece Emma Jones we made Eddie a cashmere coat lined in silk printed with our trade mark running chains of handcuffs. Half way through my patter offering him that option, my tongue stuck dry with terror to the roof of my mouth as I realised to whom I was offering this potentially triggering motif. He roared with laughter and said of COURSE he must have that. We adapted the print to incorporate random open pairs to denote that sooner or later every spell of incarceration must be broken. That Eddie Richardson edition is what we now use as standard.

Simon Le Bon and The Don were being fitted on the same day. “I expect he’d like a picture with me,” said Edward.

In his memoir he recounts how he and other prisoners broke into the Governor’s office at one high security hotel, I think to protest at conditions. To pass the time while they were barricaded, they read their files. He was delighted to discover he was considered Prisoner #1 in the whole of the U.K.

At the wake for the last Great Train Robber, he informed me that I’d sing a song, and then another (the first one having pleased him!) and so it came about that we forged an unlikely but sincere affection with visits to the Sunday afternoon sessions at the Rising Sun becoming a highlight of our week. There we got to meet the many people who held him in such esteem and love for all his many acts of unpublicised kindness and the duty of care he felt for those of his “manor”.

God rest your soul Eddie.
January 1936 - August 14th, 2026

We haven’t had post for days, but today brought a double sided postcard from Heather with her halo of happiness.

She went on holiday to her back garden and then back to the 60s no less, at the Twickenham festival celebrating that glorious decade, when so many significant people were born 😁. To that, Heather Heather Glover wore her Bedlam “Bad” cowboy tee (£60), celebrating 60s cinema.

Today sees her in our newest design, “Fighting Cocks”, on the gorgeous bamboo tee (£90), extravagantly embroidered by Mister Wesley on his fave new toy, the Ferrari of embroidery machines for which we kiss Liz Curd currently cut off from us by the aftermath of the forest fire 😬

T’is the season of sweaty festivals and the ripening of the fruit on our vine as each little bulb of sweetness turns from green to…
!!

Never say we don’t deliver class segue ways on this platform, just as Kermit and Shaun Ryder delivered on stage at Bestival this weekend, across county lines in Dorset.

Something insane like ten years ago (😳), took this portrait of Kermit in our “Ni Dieu Ni Maitre” Napoleon tee.

As you’re doubtless now reciting by heart with me, this phrase (“From neither God nor master [will I take orders]) was most likely apocryphally ascribed to Boney but was factually provably a hit record in France in the 1970s for an anarchist punk band.

About the same time I snapped Mister Wesley larking about presenting the same to Chef Michel Roux. Entirely wonderfully, he wore this under his chef’s whites as he cooked the 200th anniversary (so 2015) dinner of the Battle of Waterloo for the current Duke of Wellington at Apsley House.
To complete our taster menu, we present Gorgeous Gus, between a rock and a hard place, without a hair outta place.

Tom Burke played Napoleon so biensûr he likes his tee but the only pic to hand only shows a couple of the red letters peaking out of the not great jacket some stylist bunged on top. So it doesn’t make the cut.

We’ve only gone and printed some more!!!!

Organic cotton, short sleeve, £60 + £10 UK postage, £20 r.o.w.

Sizes from extra small to # #

Part 2 of the collection of 20 bags, the next 11 from Ma B’s collection, offered as a deluxe lot, £300 + postage to wherever you might be. I imagine that would be around £20 in the UK, £40 r.o.w.

First, a cream leather structured bag, rather QEII style, with optional shoulder strap;
Secondly, the sweetest gold raffia clutch bag with diamanté fastening, made in Italy, perfect for your evening aperitivo on Capri;
Third, a Russell & Bromley flat white should bag with multicoloured strap and detail;
Fourth, another snazzy number from Harrods, a slim square black satin evening bag;
Fifth, an embroidered both sides mink coloured little bag, fastens shut with a popper;
Sixth, what I think is eel skin (?), with matching little purse;
Seventh, a zip up raffia shoulder bag;
Eighth, a made in England Suzy Smith taupe leather day bag;
Ninth, a lovely navy snakeskin day bag, made in Italy for Harrods;
Tenth, a rich chocolate brown patent crocodile bag, small, substantial, with a classy gilt chain if you wish to tuck it under your arm;
And finally, a taupe leather day bag.

Ran out of photo allowance but can send more on request, and also of the sequinned net shoulder cape and feathered hair ornamental clip that complete this lot of lovely things much loved by Ma B that we are releasing back into the wild.

Part 1 of today’s Little Sale of Style History from Ma Butler’s archives, brought to you by the Countess of Bedlam Vintage Division:

20 handbags of which we present the first 9 in this post.
Part 2 will follow as fast as I can type!

I am keeping one black leather beauty with her monogram in silver but release these rest to be enjoyed and used and taken out to be wined and dined and whirled about.
In addition to the bags, there is an embroidered, sequinned little shoulder cape and a feathered hair ornament that you can see in the next post. We are asking £300 for everything in one lush luxury lot.

To begin, the first two photos show Evelyn’s black crocodile bag, made by Harrods. Immaculate condition as per all her things.

Pix 3 & 4, an “ostrich” skin bag with an extraordinary amount of interior “filing” compartments! We think it’s real ostrich but I wouldn’t swear to that in court. Thoroughly convincing if it isn’t.

Pix 5 & 6, another beauty from Harrods, made for them in Italy, brown lizard skin small shoulder bag with gilt snaffle embellishment and heavy gilt chain. All these bags are dainty in size as Ma B was herself.

Pix 7 & 8, “bone” coloured real cobra skin bag from South Africa. Can be used with fixed top handle or gilt chain.

Pix 9 & 10, Longchamps vinyl bag with leather trim in a gentle yellow with matching mini zip up carry pouch.

Pix 11-13, black patent sturdy little bag with a heavy gilt chain with which you could take out someone’s tooth if they gave you grief! The super clever trick is that you can have the chain long to wear over your shoulder or move most of it inside to have a little chain over your knuckles (Kappow!).

14 & 15, brown patent leather clutch bag by Jane Shilton with wrist strap.

16 &17 made in Italy for Fenwick blue leather curved top neat shoulder bag. Fenwick was the family owned department store (weren’t they all once upon a time). I seem to recall the scion had a bit of a thing for Mummy but don’t quote me on that.

Finally for this post of the first 9, a darling little black satin evening bag beaded with flowers on one side and just scattered beads on the other,with a cord strap.

A box of Balearic bons bons that surely anyone’s mouth would water to receive…
five short sleeve shirts for Shawn to take to Ibiza next month, in finest cotton from our friends and made by the King of Shirtmakers, Gary McCarthy, for us.
Having made these for Mr C, he moved on next to his order from Morrissey so that HE’LL have a thing to wear on HIS hols.

Shirts made to order start at £350.
It’s hard to capture how beautiful these are. A greater photographer than me, of which there are many squillions, might get closer to conveying their quality. The other day I actually thought the camera was kaput all together.
“For the good of grief,” I huffed, only to find that the discretion sticker insisted upon by fancy Mayfair members’ club Estelle was still over the lens. Possibly a smudge of residual stickiness lingers.
Still, one hopes we have established a bond of trust between us after all this time and that you will believe us when we say you cannot getter better bit o’ schmutter on your back than our dickies.

Continuing our ongoing homage to Cary Grant’s costume of suit history worn by his character in Hitchcock’s , we created two single breasted waistcoats in the same cloth.

Commandeering two other Titans of celluloid style, one is flat bottomed (oh, to be flat bottomed!) as worn by Steve McQueen in The , the other has the traditional points as modelled by Connery, Sean Connery.

And let’s hear it for the girls, as the magnificently attired Eva Marie Saint celebrated her 102nd birthday on July 4th.

Wide rimmed real horn buttons from Thebuttonshop

On its way to the USA is the straight-to-finish “Sans Souci” jacket! As we have made for Michael before and he has maintained his match fit figure, we are able to confidently make this without a fitting. Named for the German palace of Michael’s forefathers (perhaps), the name denotes a care free but top grade attitude to down time dressing.

Designed to tackle the searing summer heat of Virginia, it is unlined but for the sleeves. Also used to bind the seams, the glamorous lines on the pitch, the fabulous silk from Pongees Silks flashes like the Bluebird of Happiness against the soft brown and gold of the 76 % wool / 14 % silk / 10 % linen cloth from

A loose belt at the back can be used to give shape, fastened with a real horn buckle from Thebuttonshop who also sourced the buttons for us.

Brian was in the paddock doing his best honking donkey impression, to express, we hoped, his enthusiasm for this latest piece for Michael. In case it was more complex than that, the vet had us take him in. You will be relieved to hear they think it’s nothing more than summer congestion. Still, considerable money was exchanged for a packet of powder and a handful of pills before he went back to the outdoor rave with sidekick Tommy.

We hope Michael and Heather Lore will be dancing with delight next week when the jacket lands with them.

Meanwhile, we’ve got a match to win! C’mon England! Three Brian’s on a Shirt!!!!