Tuesday 30 July 2013

Lardini FW12

Today's weather has got me looking forward to the Autumn months and what's to come.

Retrospectively it got me calling up last years offerings and I kept finding myself gazing, wide eyed and opened mouth at Lardini's collection.

This is perfection in all of it's varied forms and fabrics:









Source: Men's Reverie

Wednesday 24 July 2013

Brand Watch: Holdall & Co.

As we have seen the resurgence of 'power dressing' among chaps in recent times, so too the accoutrements a rakish character must aspire to purvey are gradually coming to the fore.

When suited and tied, an umbrella is probably the most common accompaniment to an outfit you will see around London's city streets and as with the umbrella, offering haven from the dampened conditions, document wallets, folio's and carries such as satchels are becoming more prevalent for the office working man.

With our recent spate of glorious weather maybe we are safe from the perils of being caught in the rain, however a carry will hold all your odds and ends for the day ahead. Personally, being quite a finicky person, I find the idea of breaking the line of my suit with a phone and/or wallet in my inside pockets weighing on either side terribly frustrating. So having something to hold all that nonsensical crap is a great weight of my mind.

Holdall & Co. are a company in their infancy in establishment but experienced in approach. Their products are crafted and made by hand on our fair shores. Using tanned Italian leather they cut the hides, then form and brand them before they are sewn free-hand. Once the edges have been trimmed and sealed they are polished with a specially developed wax to keep the leathers luster before being popped in to a protective bag awaiting delivery.

The companies aim is to create something of beauty that will last and be treasured for as long as possible. Societies obsession with convenience usually dictates that most will find a 'quick fix' when a sounder investment is to spend on quality items that will stand the test of time. I often stress the importance of quality and how heritage brands like Barbour, Osprey and Belstaff are built on reputation. Products that have lasted decades of wear and continue to do their job as well as the day they were first tested.

Holdall&Co offer two specifications in size of their beautifully crafted portfolio's. An incumbent 12'' diameter, ideal for holding tablets and notebooks, and a slightly larger 14'' perfect for laptops and magazines.

The cases are minimalist by design, taking inspiration from the 1930's with sleek clean lines and uncomplicated functional features. A quick release clasp closes the cover and a leather loop at the rear of the wallet holds, maybe, that afore mentioned umbrella.





For more information on the company or to place an order you can visit their website here.

Monday 15 July 2013

Hartford SS13

A lot of my own personal inspiration comes from the 50's era, which coincidentally was a period in time when aspiration was suddenly more attainable than it had ever been before.

Prior to this two great (in scale and nothing more) wars had emancipated most of the globe for the most part of thirty years. The 1950's were a time of renewed hope and new beginnings, the developing world had the chance to grow and move on.

It makes me think of what it must have been like for people reaching their late teens at the time who would have been some of the first generations to be influenced by the capitalist machine, by advertising and consumerism, who had the opportunity to develop their own sense of style and character.

Hartford is a brand born in 1960's France from vintage flea market finds by a chap called Yves Chareton who was inspired to recreate the verve and spirit of a decade before. The collections are well formed and clean cut, no fuss.

Spring/Summer '13 looks like this:




Source: Men's Reverie

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Herring Shoes: Nothing Fishy About These

Herring are a shoe makers founded in Cheltenham in 1966 by Richard Herring. For over 45 years they have been producing shoes using some of the most respected factories in the country and lasts from makers such as Joseph Cheaney and Alfred Sargent.

Herring offer 3 ranges of mens shoes varying in price point and composition. Among these the 1966 (handmade), Premier & Classic (both Goodyear welted). They also offer a more affordable ranges like the Continental. For a gander at the full roster check out their website here.

Over the last few years the popularity of the brand has steadily grown year on year in large part owed to the #menswear fraternity. As such they have a large social impression and you will find their name mentioned on most menswear blogs, particularly the ones based in Europe.

I've not had any first hand experience with Herring myself (as yet) however I do with Jospeh Cheaney and Alfred Sargent both of which have been nothing but impeccable, so if this is anything to go buy I can only expect a rousing reception.

What did give me cause to celebrate was the fact that Herring sell full Cedar Shoe Trees for £35 which is pretty good going.

Ever the optimist and a champion of the British climate my favourites from their collections are typically winter wear. The Windermere, for example, is beautiful bit of kit.



Although the Wasdale which is almost a low cut companion is just as coveted.


For the summer I'd go with the Grassmere, just because you can wear them with anything and with a Dianite sole you're covered in the event of a wetter day.


If you're looking for something a bit more affordable the Carlton in brown suede or hazelnut calf are a great looking penny loafer, and perfect for summer evenings paired with shorts.





For the more refined client or if you're heading to anything posher than a piss up down the pub you may even see fit to invest in something a bit more toe tapping. These Rayleigh are the cream of this particular crop.


Hurrah for Herring.

Thursday 4 July 2013

Separates: Don't Mess with Mr. In-Between

Just like Johnny Mercer said guys.

So many trends in menswear can be attributed to revivals of popular notions that have been and gone, they are re-invented and reworked with changes to small details that make them more suited to today's market. As far as tailoring is concerned in the last decade or so we've seen slim fitting 1960's style suits re-introduced to the market by brands such as Topman, We've seen peak lapels come back into preferred styles of suiting with the likes of Reiss and companies such as Suit Supply have breathed life in to the double breasted jacket, among others.

We're now in the midst of another previously established staple returning to our wardrobes. This time it's the turn of separates. Mixing and matching trousers and jackets from different suits or pairing differing fabrics and textures to make the most of what we've got hanging on the rails.

If you're unsure and don't want to go for anything too different first at bat try switching with a navy and grey suit. Either a grey jacket and navy strides or vice versa will typically pair well together plug for a deep navy suit ideally although almost all shades of grey will work in partnership as long as it's not too dark.

Once you're happy in these sorts of combo's you can cast the line a little futher, mix different shades of the same colour, a lighter grey jacket and slate grey slack or a royal blue top and navy bottoms. Brown compliments grey extremely well as will beige and neutral tones.

To give you a few ideas me and Tee have done a bit of mixing and matching ourselves. Enjoy.









Set 1:
Jacket - Suit Supply
Shirt - Suit Supply
Tie - Missoni (Vintage)
Pocket Square - Marks & Spencer
Chino's - Massimo Dutti
Shoes - Jones Bootmaker
Folio - Holdall & Co.

Set 2:
Jacket - Suit Supply
Shirt - Suit Supply
Tie - TM Lewin
Pocket Square - Marks & Spencer
Trousers - Austin Reed
Shoes - Crockett & Jones
Folio - Holdall & Co.

Set 3:
Jacket - Suit Supply
Shirt - Charles Tyrwhitt
Tie - Knit (Vintage)
Pocket Square - Esteewhyele (Shop Coming Soon)
Trousers - Marks & Spencer
Shoes - Loake
Folio - Holdall & Co.

We'll have a bit more about Holdall & Co. coming soon so keep an eye out for that over the coming weeks.

Monday 1 July 2013

Street Style @ LC:M: Mr. Jackson

Unfortunately our time delegation at London Collections was next to non-existent. Being, most likely, far too excited about what was on show we spent the most part of each day travelling from one place to another to see all we had agreed to.

As such we missed getting shots of a large proportion of the stylish gents dotted around the events.

From the whole 3 day spread we only managed to pin down one dapper dude for a photo. However that particular dude happens to be a very fucking cool dude indeed, and I wanted to say thank you to Mr Jackson who was very accommodating and kind enough to give us a photo.

Decked out head to ankle in Hackett and doing well with it, perfectly put together.