Shop of the month
Jeeves of Belgravia, 8–10, Pont Street, SW1
ONCE, at a Mayfair club, a server dropped a chicken masala over my shoulder and the upshot was a paid-for visit to Jeeves of Belgravia on Pont Street. The dry cleaner has held a Royal Warrant since 1980 and has a reputation for troubleshooting: the racks are hung with heritage mending, scuffed Chanel handbags and Nice Things worn when eating hot dogs. Jeeves manufactures its own stain remover (travel size and regular), as well as Wool and Cashmere Shampoo and Gentleman’s Laundry Liquid.
The first shop opened in 1969, three years after one of the original owners, Sydney Jacob, wrote to P. G. Wodehouse’s literary agent and asked to borrow the name of the cure-all butler from his novels. The response from the agent, Hilary Rubinstein, is on the wall in Pont Street: ‘I am glad to say I have heard from Mr Wodehouse this morning that he is quite happy about your using the name “Jeeves” as a trading
