Brand: lock and co

  A reader commented on the last instalment of this list that it shaped his whole season’s shopping. No pressure then. Many of the ranges will feature in other coverage later in the year – particularly t...

These things always seem to come in bunches. First Esquire named me in a top 10 and now Plaza Uomo have published their latest edition, with a profile of me as the cover story. Plaza is a Swedish fashion magazine, and...

If styled right, a cap is a wonderfully useful accessory. Not as formal as a fedora, yet not as casual as a beanie, it can bridge a greater range of outfits than any other hat. When the temperature is in single figures,...

Horatio Nelson first walked into Lock & Co hatters in November 1800. He had just returned from the Mediterranean, and came into the St James’s Street store to order a cocked hat and cockade. The two-cornered ...

My third book this year, published by Prestel and in bookstores worldwide, is now available. It is called Best of British: The Stories Behind Britain’s Iconic Brands. The book covers 14 British manufacturers tha...

I’ve had quite a few requests by readers over the past year for city guides, so this is the first in a series. In London, there are so many options that it makes sense to group some together. Also, if I leave t...

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...

A reader recently asked me what hat I wear during the winter. It breaks down into three options: The trilby A ‘proper hat’, as many people seem to refer to it, a trilby or fedora is the default option with ta...

A well-made panama hat is an exquisite creation. Crafted from fine, closely woven straw, it is soft, cool and breathable, yet structured enough to hold an elegant shape. It is simple and supple – the result of one ...

One more photo from Pitti Uomo this week. Trying to use a shawl (Loro Piana) and hat (Lock) to keep off the rain. Above from Tommy Ton, below from JCR...

Christys is one of a handful of hat makers left in the UK. It supplies Lock & Co and Bates (neither of whom make their own hats) as well as having its own label. For much of its history Christys was the largest hat ...

My grandfather, JFN “Bill” Wedge, was born in 1921 and worked his whole life for Barclays Bank, interrupted only by serving as an officer in the Navy during the Second World War. He retired in 1981. During th...

I’ve had my first proper hat – the brown Voyager from Lock & Co written about here – for over a two years now and it’s been worn pretty intensively. Indeed, it could probably do with a re-blo...

It’s not easy wearing a hat. You stand out more in a crowd than a man wearing polka-dot knickerbockers or a cape. The hat radically changes a man’s silhouette, probably more than any other item of clothing. P...

I’ve wanted a proper hat for quite a while. But two things held me back. First, it’s an unusual item for a young man to wear today and stands out. Wearing it well would require careful balancing with other cl...