Neighborhood FW13

If you're a fan of Lupe Fiasco you'll be well aware of the Neighborhood brand or at least the name. Shinsuke Takizawa's counter-culture led label takes its inspiration from motorcycle gangs, militaria and traditional clothing. Based in Harajuku, Tokyo and Shibuya, Hong Kong the clothing label has been popular with Americana enthusiasts for several years, now people like those at The Goodhood Store are bringing them to the UK.

Below is their Autumn/Winter lookbook:

Photo Source: Men's Reverie

Edition

The history of Scotland's textile industry is steeped in wool and cashmere, the best of what Britain has to offer. Edition is an addition to that heritage, specialising in men's cashmere accessories carefully procured and traditionally crafted.

The brand is that of Jennifer Kent, a Glasgow School of Art graduate who has previously worked in London with Alexander McQueen and as part of the design team at Lyle & Scott.

Now back in Glasgow she is working with local manufacturers and an experienced team in Hawick, on the Scottish borders, to develop the highest standard hand finished knits.

Each design is limited and once sold out will not be repeated. For more info visit the Edition website.

Walsh

Norman Walsh joined JW Foster & Sons (who would become Reebok), at the age of 14. At 16 he was selected to produce shoes for the 1948 Olympic running team, the JW Foster Deluxe. Foster were the first company to fit spikes to their running shoes.

Walsh would go on to established his own sporting goods company in Bolton in 1961 and would develop sportswear for rugby, football, track, field, wrestling and boxing. The company continued to produce boots for Rugby League teams in the North of England throughout the 1970's. Since then they have serviced a discerning group, up north predominantly and those that have grown up with the brand.

Today Walsh are Britain's only wholly owned, designed and manufactured sports footwear producer. A proud accolade to bear in a market dominated by brands merely churning out re-releases from their archive (I'm looking at you Nike).

I had the pleasure of hearing from Jason at Norman Walsh shortly after I had written about TRiCKETT and of course was duly introduced to their recent collaboration.

Walsh very kindly offered to send me a pair of trainers for review after reading my piece on TRiCKETT and I couldn't help but oblige.

Of course when reviewing products it's easy to feel a duty to be sympathetic meanwhile completely conscious that you must maintain an unbiased honest opinion. However in this instance there are no concerns at all, and I have nothing but praise and admiration for everyone involved in producing such a stellar product. From the service to the environmentally friendly packaging, the polaroid like postcards of workers accompanying the trainers to the quality of the shoes themselves it is plain to see what a proud company this is.

Buying trainers these days is a dull process, you rarely feel your personal taste has given any credence to your choice. When you've searched high and low and scoured through the latest offerings, unconvinced by their durability it's little time until you find yourself in the queue at the post office with 5 other people sporting one and the same.

A pair of trainers from Walsh is like a goodyear welted shoe, you can feel the quality of the nappa leather accents and the soft sueded contours of the heel and uppers, the feel of the that trainers have been crafted and painstakingly handmade with great care rather than part of a production line. There's a wonderful sense of individuality with brand like this. The clean lines and muted colours make for a more refined runner, a pair of trainers for people that are not pre-disposed to a sporting look.

Walsh have five styles to their current range, the Cobra, Ensign (pictured), Pennine Adder, Lostock & V-Ripple. I went with the Ensign as it looked gloriously reminiscent of a 1970's track shoe.

This is no slouch either, Walsh know their onions and as well as the recent collab. with TRiCKETT they have teamed up with another British flagship Margaret Howell back in 2009 and again in 2012.

This is a brand true to their sporting history but with their sights on a design lead collaborative market.

Keep an eye on their Instagram feed for upcoming projects and check out the website here for more info on the sportswear range.

A big thank you to Walsh for such a nice pair of trainers and also to Corgi and Jigsaw Menswear for the polka dot socks, a perfect match.

Photo Source: WalshxMHL AW12, WalshxMHL AW09, WalshxTRiCKETT

One Year

When I started this blog just over a year ago my aim wasn't completely clear and in all honesty I was primarily looking for an outlet for something of interest to me, a sounding board for my tastes that wasn't a narcissistic social media vehicle. What I did wan't was comment and opinion and for like minded people to ask x or say why don't you try y. I am not proclaiming myself a fountain of knowledge, only that I take pride in how I dress and welcome the ideas for inspiration from as many mediums as possible.

We live in a multi-functional society and it is not practical to wear a suit or more formal dress all the time. I for one work in an office and despite being grateful for the platform this affords me to play with my more sartorial affections I prefer a casual aesthetic when outside of the working environment, if not to diversify my wardrobe then almost certainly to separate the instances in which I consider each option.

One thing I was certain of from the get go was that I felt the need to impart my experience in trying to get a 'perfect fit'. I now know that this is impossible however for years I had been chasing an unattainable ideal when what I should have worked on instead were the more manageable details that, once altered, come together to create a fit that is as close to perfect as the limitations of our existence will allow. 

This perfectionist ideal at times would burden me, constantly debating every minute decision to the point that I would be so conscious about possibly making a bad decision I would change an outfit almost completely to avoid being disappointed. In more recent years I have learned to accept that my opinions and inspirations were based on fit and form that was suited to people with a very different stature to that of my own and that their aspirations were to accentuate specific notes in their own style that would not be possible for me. Overall it's the realisation, to satisfy yourself that you have made the best decisions available to you when getting dressed you first need to separate your inspirations and ideals and work on your own dimensions.

Ultimately it's unlikely that you have the same body shape as Gianni Agnelli or the Duke of Windsor, it's less likely that you will appear as relaxed as Yasuto Kamoshita or Hirofumi Kurino or have the presence of Luciano Barbera and Antonio Liverano. 

All these men are great icons people to adhere to, all have a fantastic sense of style and their own limitations but most of all they are completely comfortable in how they appear and how they present themselves. Their looks do not feel contrived in any way, you are not under the impression they spend hours in front of the mirror deliberating what to wear. These choices are instinctive and subconscious, made up of many life experiences. All these men are also of age, they've learn't over time what suits and they only apply what works for them.

Inspiration for these gentleman for things such as colour combinations may come from works of art or scenes of a film, from stunning scenery or home cooking. It's in these experiences that we collect our veritable colour palette and adapt it to our own environment. It may seem profound to think of something so trivial in the grand scheme like this, but for those who do enjoy the process that much hopefully this opinion will resonate. 

For me that is why these people are so affirming, because the way in which they adorn themselves is appealing without being ostentatious. A sense of style or a stylish person combines a number of attributes the ones we see are attributable to taste but beyond that each man has a number of other influences that make up a personality and it is the successful portrayal of this personality that gives these people their appeal.

So take inspiration, don't conform and be prepared to make mistakes, they happen to the best of us.

Antonio Liverano (right)

Duke of Windsor (4th from left)

Gianni Agnelli (right, with Michele Platini)

Hirofumi Kurino (far right)

Luciano Barbera

Yasuto Kamoshita

Photo Source: Barney's New York, Scout Blog, The Sartorialist, DagoSpia, AltoMareBlu, NY Times, Hypebeast