The bowler hat in the fifties: My grandfatherR...

January 17th 2024

When we cleared out my grandparents’ house last year, we discovered an article my grandfather had written about bowler hats in the late 1950s. I've written about him before, publishing an interview in 2012 that talked about what it was like t...

The bowler hat in the fifties: My grandfatherR...

Match in comments:
What a lovely article your grandfather wrote about bowlers. The subtle humor in it is just amazing....

HatsJanuary 17th 2024

The guide to morning dress: Part three, the final...

July 15th 2022

by Aleks Cvetkovic Having now been to my first Royal Ascot, it strikes me that the hardest thing to do with morning dress is to get the details right, and in so doing capture a kind of comfortable ‘old school’ elegance without looking li...

The guide to morning dress: Part three, the final...

Match in comments:
This is excellent... do you know if this attire would count as Morning Dress today for the purpose of attendance in the Royal Enclosure?...

SuitsJuly 15th 2022

Reader profile: Patrick

May 4th 2022

Patrick Dawson is a retired news correspondent, now living in London. During his career he worked for ABC, CNN and NBC and covered the Balkans War from Kosovo, the Gulf War from Kuwait, and was the first NBC correspondent on the ground during 9/11. ...

Reader profile: Patrick

Match in comments:
Pat Dawson has -always- looked great. He and I competed in local news in NYC back in the late 80s, and even then he was the best-dressed man I knew. I'm not at all surprised it has continued....

StyleMay 4th 2022

Hats with coats: A sliding scale

March 19th 2021

I’m often asked which hats work best with different types of coat. In fact, it often comes up at this time of year - I guess when unexpected showers are more of a hazard. The sliding scale of formality with hats is pretty intuitive: a fedora i...

Hats with coats: A sliding scale

Match in comments:
Thank you Simon....

HatsMarch 19th 2021

Light relief: Jamie’s clothes and style

April 8th 2020

  OK, so. Friend and photographer Jamie Ferguson has been locked up indoors for weeks, as we all have. And he’s gone a bit stir crazy. We had started talking a while ago about shoots we could do remotely. Perhaps looking at a few out...

Light relief: Jamie’s clothes and style

Match in comments:
Good morning..Jamie is having fun ...being well dressed..bravo!!! Peace...

StyleApril 8th 2020

Introducing: The PS Bridge Coat

October 31st 2018

* For updates and stock please see the shop page*   Of all the things I’ve developed or helped develop over the past few years, the PS Trench Coat was one of the most satisfying. That was partly because it seemed to fill a particular ...

Introducing: The PS Bridge Coat

Match in comments:
Have you ever pressed/ironed them? All smart trousers need that, and often cord more than others, as they do tend to bag out at the knee...

Coats - KnitwearOctober 31st 2018

Our Autumn/Winter Top 10, 2018

October 10th 2018

  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 the ones I’ve alr...

Our Autumn/Winter Top 10, 2018

Match in comments:
Yes good point, I think that was more a case of how I came to feel about the PWVC cut over time, rather than changing my tastes. But yes shetlands I definitely wear less. Apart from those two I wear Colhay's, Bryceland's...

Casual clothing - HatsOctober 10th 2018

Cover story in Plaza Uomo

December 16th 2016

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 Plaza Uomo has an English ver...

Cover story in Plaza Uomo

Match in comments:
Hi Neil, Has your copy come through yet?...

Coats - HatsDecember 16th 2016

The cap

November 30th 2016

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, and your lack of hair makes a...

The cap

Match in comments:
No worries Jay, no post is ever too old! It depends a bit on what else you wear, but I guess a dark-grey or mid-grey herringbone perhaps? Something with a little pattern but not too much, in a conservative colour, and pr...

HatsNovember 30th 2016

The stories of Lock & Co hatters

February 12th 2016

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 style – the same...

The stories of Lock & Co hatters

Match in comments:
And so there you have it. That's hilarious. There are some real gems hidden in the archived comments....

HatsFebruary 12th 2016

Best of British: Buy your personalised copy

November 26th 2015

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 that are over 100 years’ ol...

Best of British: Buy your personalised copy

Match in comments:
Their top end is still a good level - which is what we feature in the book. But generally the focus of this book is on history and stories of England's oldest manufacturers, so quality was less of a concern (eg Barbour.....

November 26th 2015

London: A sartorial city guide

August 12th 2015

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 too many out I’ll...

London: A sartorial city guide

Match in comments:
No, that's just for a month in the Autumn, when all our coats are in...

August 12th 2015

Postcard from Paris

February 11th 2014

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

Match in comments:
It's beautiful, but as with most designer brands, only available for that season I'm afraid......

Coats - StyleFebruary 11th 2014

Men’s hats for winter

January 3rd 2014

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 tailoring. I have worn Christy&r...

Men’s hats for winter

Match in comments:
I wouldn't really, no, but I can't say I've seen any that look stylish. Also I need something for the top of my head!...

HatsJanuary 3rd 2014

How to buy a quality panama

July 12th 2013

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 of the most delicate skills in...

How to buy a quality panama

Match in comments:
Thank you so much Simon...

HatsJuly 12th 2013

And another

January 11th 2013

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

And another

Match in comments:
Yes - I was talking to him yesterday about it at Chittleborough as it happens...

StyleJanuary 11th 2013

Christys’ hats, Witney

December 21st 2012

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 maker in the UK, with over...

Christys’ hats, Witney

Match in comments:
Hi, i have a Christys Bowler which seems to have a commemorative interior relating to the The Great Exhibition 1851 to 1910. i would love to know its history as its unusual....

HatsDecember 21st 2012

How my grandfather dressed

August 30th 2012

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 those years he didn’t spen...

How my grandfather dressed

Match in comments:
Thank you Robert, I'm so pleased you liked it that much...

StyleAugust 30th 2012

A Borsalino from Lock & Co – my second...

November 29th 2011

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-blocking at some point. That ...

A Borsalino from Lock & Co – my second...

Match in comments:
Dark grey is the best starting point. The next alterative would be a dark brown...

HatsNovember 29th 2011

How to wear a trilby

November 20th 2009

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. People look at you if you wear ...

How to wear a trilby

Match in comments:
I think it's fairly marginal Allen, given you're going to step outside again soon. Also hard if you're going to have your hands full...

StyleNovember 20th 2009

My very first hat

November 2nd 2009

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 clothes and some nerve w...

My very first hat

Match in comments:
I think that sounds nice. I wouldn't wear a tweed cap, and would just wear a beanie or a more casual version of a brimmed hat, like that Optimo, with the choice depending on formality. I would also sometimes wear a baseb...

November 2nd 2009