The 1890s were a time of transition. The austere, moralistic Victorian Era started to fade away as the century came to an end. Urban areas were expanding, and new technologies—such as the use of electricity in the manufacture of clothing—led to a boom in the ready-to-wear industry.
In 1898, Thomas Mayes Lewin and Geoffrey James Lewin founded T.M.Lewin and opened the company's first shop in Panton Street, London. The partnership relocated shortly after, and in 1903 T.M.Lewin established itself in Jermyn Street, the centre of English shirt manufacturing.