Hermes Sac a Depeches: How Great Things Age
We haven’t one of these for a while – the last was Lucas’s canvas bag from Charlie Borrow – so I thought it would be good to do one on a recent acquisition of mine. I loved Lucas’s bag; I even pr...
Hermes Sac a Depeches: How Great Things Age
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It's their Barenia leather Thomas. That's the type and the colour. Togo leather doesn't darken with age or create any variety of colour like you see here. Some people like that, some don't. And thank you!...
I’m going on holiday (again)
Back in the Easter holidays, Manish kindly took over Permanent Style for a week, so I could completely switch off and spend time with the family. That seemed to work well, both because the site didn't explode and because a few readers seemed to appr...
I’m going on holiday (again)
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No, sorry JC. We only do pre-orders for a couple of items each year, as a way to offer different colours or sizes. We run a waiting list instead...
Reader profile: Tetsuya
Tetsuya Yamashita is a reader that Lucas knows rather than me. Back in the days when he ran the Drake’s pop-up in the old Beige shop in Paris, Tetsuya was a regular visitor, and is still a friend of Beige today. In fact we used their shop as a...
Reader profile: Tetsuya
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I think it's unlikely to be honest Matthew, so many people we want to do! But maybe...
How to wear a shawl or stole
A shawl (or stole) can be a really practical thing to wear. Simply hung round the neck, it’s a lovely layer of warmth down the front of the body and on the back of the neck. And when looped or tied, it’s also effective protection against...
How to wear a shawl or stole
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Perhaps smaller sizes might work - I'd worry lighter fabrics might not wrap so well, though perhaps if you're a woman that look works more easily...
Swimming shorts: Simple, tasteful, flattering
I haven’t written about swimming shorts for a long time. Other than a passing reference on our regular ‘holiday snaps’ articles , it’s been over a decade since they were covered on PS. Even back then, it was a pretty short ar...
Swimming shorts: Simple, tasteful, flattering
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Mine are a bit casual - I wouldn't wear them with a smarter, knitted polo. They might feel different in cord though...
The Bores jacket: My Fox version
The Bores jacket from Chato Lufsen has been covered on PS before - it was reviewed by contributor Tony Sylvester in November last year. But seeing that jacket in person made me reconsider the style, and then when Christophe of Chato Lufsen - who ma...
The Bores jacket: My Fox version
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Thanks, Simon. That's so helpful!...
An Hermes silk scarf with all navy
Long-term readers will be familiar with my passion for Hermes silk scarves, which I’ve often bought over the years as a treat, and of which I now have a small collection (nine of them, since you ask). I’ve found particular enjoyment thi...
An Hermes silk scarf with all navy
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The other benefit of a square (100 x 100 especially) scarf is that you can use the Japanese art of Furoshiki (there are even courses on it) meaning you can make your scarf useful when required. A prime example is taking ...
Wear loafers with jeans
In the hyper-casual world we’re living in, any opportunity to add a little smartness to everyday clothing should be grabbed with both hands. One of the most effective ways to do this, I’m finding, is wearing loafers with jeans. Jeans ar...
Wear loafers with jeans
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Thanks Simon. Yes, makes sense. As a first loafer, would you recommend suede or cordovan (per above, would probably be Alden LHS in snuff or brown suede or #8 shell cordovan)? Both seem like good options!...
Layering and accessories for cold Spring days
Back when these things were possible, I remember an American friend visiting in the Spring and asking: “How on earth do you dress for this weather? I can see my breath in the morning, but my midday I’m roasting and can barely wear a jack...
Layering and accessories for cold Spring days
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I don't think so, no. Though it's also one to think yourself - if you saw someone wearing one around where you are, would it look odd to you?...
My journey in perfume
A couple of weeks ago I cleared out a lot of perfumes sitting in our bathroom cabinet. The cabinet is actually a tall, vintage piece, originally for a dining room. It has drawers in the bottom where we keep towels and sheets, and shelves in the top...
My journey in perfume
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Nothing has changed, no, and I have repurchased one since...
Wearing red – with L’Etiquette
The fourth issue of L’Etiquette came out last week, and it remains the best menswear magazine in the world for me. (See previous article here for an explanation why.) We’re honoured to be the only website permitted to translate and repub...
Wearing red – with L’Etiquette
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Not an easy one to wear well, Varun. Certainly different from the way red is done here...
The colours and combinations of Hermes
The silk and leather headquarters of Hermes are in a pretty nondescript set of white buildings just outside Lyon. Here, there are the 100m and 150m-long silk printing tables that I described in our previous post. There is also a new two-storey build...
The colours and combinations of Hermes
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Thanks. I'm pleased you like those combinations, but I wouldn't really use them on shirts or suits. More in accessories, and particularly scarves and handkerchiefs I think. On 'unoriginal' I'm not sure you can't be very ...
Hermes silk printing, Lyon: Factory visit
I’ve been buying and wearing Hermes silk scarves for several years. (Indeed, a nice thing about the seasonal collections is, with a little work, you can date them all precisely). So it was a personal pleasure to visit the silk printing atelier...
Hermes silk printing, Lyon: Factory visit
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I don't know Carl, but I doubt you can tell that much from a stamp, it wouldn't be a hard thing to fake...
Olive-green corduroy suit – from Ettore de ...
You know when you think you’re not part of a trend, and then see everyone wearing the same thing? As a clothing snob that likes to think he’s different to everyone else, it’s very annoying. I had admired Michael Hill’s green-...
Olive-green corduroy suit – from Ettore de ...
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I can't to be honest, but they do look pretty similar. I think that would make up nicely...
Christmas gift list 2018
It’s that time of year again. The TV adverts that started a month ago should have been a warning. Below is my Christmas gift list for 2019. It is not a comprehensive list of the best menswear gifts right now. It’s certainly no...
Christmas gift list 2018
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Good point, no in a medium now. Though that is partially preference and partially me getting a bit bigger. I take medium now...
Combining colours and patterns: How to dress like...
This is the latest in my somewhat infrequent series on the style of my favourite people in the menswear industry. For those that want to catch up, the previous instalments have been: Personal style: How to dress like Bruce Boyer (and part ...
Combining colours and patterns: How to dress like...
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Excellent. He knows how to do a flow of tone from top to bottom -- for instance, light sport coat, while the dark tie leads the eye down to the dark pants. Perfect. Fullness of shirt collar/ tie width/ lapel width in har...
High/low dressing
The biggest potential pitfall with tailored dressing is looking fussy. Fussy is not sexy; it is not attractive. It is closely related to appearing ‘affected’ or ‘mannered’. Looking relaxed in clothing, on the other hand, is v...
High/low dressing
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You definitely can do that, play around with more casual trousers perhaps, like jeans, chinos etc...
What I pack when I travel
As I return from two summer trips – one for a week in Florence, the other a week in Naples – it seems a fitting time to run through what I pack for trips such as these. I know readers have asked about it in the past. Of course, an...
What I pack when I travel
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Thank you, Simon! I prefer the curved collar on bomber jackets so I am missing this one on your design. Seems like I have to ask a tailor putting it together for me. Regards, Frederik...
My desk
Many readers said they liked the personal, behind-the-scenes approach of Plaza Uomo's cover story on me last year. Here, then, is another angle. My desk, where I write most of these posts, and therefore probably the most important Permanent Style-r...
My desk
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Hey Bolaji, Yes, I've written comprehensively about moths here. This desk also opens up into a flat surface - you couldn't work on that angle...
What is quality? What about design? – Stock...
At our book launch in Stockholm last week, Konrad Olsson (above) – editor of Plaza Uomo magazine – asked some rather stimulating questions. Such as, what is quality? Well, for me quality (in clothing) is aspects of manufacture that lea...
What is quality? What about design? – Stock...
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Hi Hugo, Well spotted. It will be launching on the website next week - there is a special edition of it just for readers... S...
If you only had five ties – a capsule colle...
Readers often ask for ‘capsule collections’ of types of clothes – shoes, suits, ties etc. There are many reasons such a list is useful. It can point to the ‘essentials’: those things that provide t...
If you only had five ties – a capsule colle...
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Yes, that is a good idea, but probably not for me because I only wear ties with business suits nowadays....
Ten bags over ten years
One of the advantages of a long-running blog, perhaps, is the ability to look back and see how purchases have performed over time. It’s particularly useful when we emphasise – as we do, day after day – the value of inv...
Ten bags over ten years
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No worries Eoghan, it's normally fine, I just happen not to have that bag anymore...
A green cotton suit?
In my review of Spanish tailor Reillo’s cotton suit last week, there proved to be only room to analyse the fit and make. Yet a reader rightly pointed out that green cotton-gabardine is hardly an everyday cloth option. I’ll expla...
A green cotton suit?
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It would have both those advantages, yes. And I'd imagine it would be suited to the kind of person that liked the look and line of hopsack, but didn't live somewhere particularly hot...
Hermes silk scarf with Shetland sweater
A silk scarf, tied any way, is a great way to recreate the contrast achieved by a suit and tie and keep the neck warm. The sheen of this Hermes silk scarf contrasts particularly nicely with the deep texture of a Shetland sweater. It can be worn with...
Hermes silk scarf with Shetland sweater
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It's a 90cm square, the classic women's size. But Hermes only keep a design for a season or two, so it won't be around any more I'm afraid....
Postcard from Paris
I was in Paris last week for a couple of articles, as well as visiting the usual suspects. Here in a green raincoat from Hermes with brown leather collar detail. Because green is the third colour. Traveller trilby from Lock & Co; Alfred Dun...
Postcard from Paris
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It's beautiful, but as with most designer brands, only available for that season I'm afraid......