Who we are
W, W & Company is a business owned by living
historians, for living historians. We believe in the old adage
that the customer is always right, (with the understanding that historical
fact and authenticity will always be followed when making reproductions.)
If a customer is unsatisfied with a product however, we will go to
great pains to work with them until they are. Our underlying philosophy
is that we are here for you, and thus we put on no airs of superiority,
and don't tout ourselves as being "masters" of any kind. You will
not be treated poorly by any of our staff, and you will not be overcharged
one cent for your items for any reason.
We are not master tailors. We do not pretend
to be. Perhaps in 25 years some of our more experienced employees
can assert that claim, but for now, we will merely call ourselves "seamsters."
There are very few master tailors supplying goods to this hobby,
and while their contributions to the market for reproduction goods and historical
knowledge are great, they cannot possibly completely meet the demand for
quality reproductions. We are, however, very skilled at what we do,
and sell reproductions that in most cases are exact copies of originals
viewed and painstakingly cataloged by our staff. With the millions
of garments needed for the war effort, both American governments accepted
goods that would be considered sub-standard in the peacetime army. Unfortunately,
in the reproduction market, too few of these sub standard goods are reproduced,
resulting in an almost "too" perfect look to many garments.
While we will not sell you a coat with the sleeves
on backwards, we will add minute details to our goods that replicate
the mistakes made by tired and over-worked hands 140 years ago. This
might include a slightly wavy machine stitch, a collar seam that does
not quite match the back seam, or hand top stitches that are just a bit
different in size from each other. This does not mean your garment
will fall apart. Quite the contrary, we take great pride in the
quality of our work, both in historical accuracy and durability. We
offer a blanket 36 month warantee on our goods for any damages, (within
reason), and will cheerfully repair any problems, (and you'll usually
have your item back within two weeks of mailing it to us!) Again,
this all goes back to our devotion to you, the customers who are
our livlihood.
A word about historical accuracy
All of our goods are made using only the finest
materials available. Most often, however, we will reproduce goods
which, while made from only 100% correct materials, are nonetheless dyed
using modern dyes that will not fade or perform in any other strange ways.
The colors are all correct reproductions of originals, and the material
has the look, feel, and consistency of original fabric. If you are
a purest, however, we also offer at a slightly higher price garments made
from vegetable dyed fabric. These WILL fade and WILL
perform exactly as original fabric did, so don't be suprised if your new
expensive jacket has turned a funky shade of brown!
While most of our garments are copied from exact
originals, (leeway being given for variations in size,) some of our products
are instead reproductions of "typical" clothing of the time. This
is mostly true with our line of underclothes, (civilian drawers and shirts.)
This is not to say that our goods are not authentic, they are simply
garments that have no existing original from which they are copied. They
are instead made using correct techniques, patterns, and materials. The
decision to begin producing these goods was not an easy one, but existing
original undergarments are few, far-between, and their copies are already
over-represented in our hobby.
Tailored goods
We are pleased to announce that thanks to the
generosity of a master tailor, we will be able to offer tailored goods
on the market. Items such as confederate frock coats, civilian sack
coats, and other items will be available at a significant cost reduction
over other vendors. The time it takes to produce these items is of
course quite a bit longer than it would be for our standard fare of arsenal-made
goods, but the drafting of patterns necessitates this.
Grades of our goods
Many customers in the past have wondered what
the significance of the "S.G., E.G., or H.S." on their invoice is. These
are our three grades:
Standard Grade- What the majority of our
goods are, with all interior work done by machine, and all appropriate
exterior work done by hand.
Economy Grade- For the more thrifty reenactor
we offer low-cost, yet completely historically correct garments done
mostly by machines, (with all exterior work done on our original 19th
century treadle machine...yes it DOES make a difference,) but with
hand sewing where it is appropriate.
Hand Sewn- For only the most elite of
reenactors we do offer entirely handsewn goods. We reserve the
right to accept these orders at our discretion, and any customers wishing
to have entirely handsewn goods must order from us with the understanding
that it will take much time to fill your order.
Pricing
For each item you will notice a base price at
the top of the page. These prices for the most part will be significantly
lower than our competetors, however, bear in mind that this is the price
for the Economy Grade good, and that at the bottom of the page is a list
of extra features and their cost that will raise the price of your item.
When placing an order please list all extra features you want, so
that we are all on the same page as far as what the total cost will be.