Brand: The armoury

Hong Kong has long been a centre for international commerce, driven by its location as a port and later by its strategic importance to the British Empire. When it was handed back to China in 1997, the city retained its...

Taka from Liverano. Lots of colour and pattern, but overall quite cold Being able to judge the relative formality of an outfit is a key component of dressing well in modern, variable working environments. Many things co...

The Armoury really inspired me (as it did many others) when it started out in Hong Kong, and I still get particularly excited about having them in the pop-up shop. I was in there yesterday, looking through everything wi...

Lino Pommella recently became the latest entrant into a group of travelling, Neapolitan trouser makers - a path forged, of course, by Salvatore Ambrosi. The other notable one is Cerrato, whom we have covered elsewhere b...

I'm very excited to say that the Permanent Style Presents pop-up shop will be back this winter, opening in two weeks on November 15th. We've switched approach slightly, using a slightly smaller space but staying open ...

This post is an illustrated explanation of how I wear trainers, or sneakers. As with similar exercises on the blog, I have attempted to be as structured as possible, keeping some parameters constant in order to focus on...

Finding new colour combinations I like makes me disproportionately happy. I know this doesn’t apply to every menswear enthusiast, but for me the interrelationship of colours is one of the most enjoyable and creati...

Last year, while in Japan at Bryceland's, Salvatore Ambrosi offered me two pairs of his new ready-to-wear trousers to try. Regular readers will remember that the bespoke trousers I had from Ambrosi the previous year suf...

It would be lovely to see as many Permanent Style readers as can make this, our US book launch. The event will be at The Armoury, 168 Duane Street, 6pm-8pm on April 20th. Please RSVP to NYC@TheArmoury.com if you'd like...

For many reasons - personal, business, product, sheer beauty of execution - I’ve long been a fan of The Armoury. They were therefore one brand I was particularly excited to get into our Savile Row pop-up shop. How...

Following last week's announcement of our pop-up shop on Savile Row - under the banner 'Permanent Style presents' - here are some details of the shop and the brands. I also include an invitation, above, to any readers ...

Following on from Wednesday's post on the Symposium discussion, here are Mark Cho's specific responses to some of the questions. Mark wrote the below in preparation for the talk (bless him) and he makes some interesting...

During my lifetime, there has been a steep fall in the quality and range of menswear retail around the world. Designer brands have expanded aggressively; independent multi-brand shops have closed; and department stores ...

Dear Simon, I recently read your 2014 article, ' The staples of a good wardrobe' and was wondering how you would modify it for warmer climes like Hong Kong and Singapore? Grey flannel isn’t a great option for mos...

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 a...

New York is a strange town for menswear. It’s a bit of a Wild West, without the same traditions of Europe and with bespoke largely undermined by visitors from Savile Row. If there is a tradition, it is for value...

OK, let’s break this down. There are four major choices of colour here: Trousers: green Jacket: tan Tie: brown Shirt: blue I put them deliberately in that order because that is the order in which they were chose...

I know that one of the style areas people find most difficult is wearing sports jackets, or separate waistcoats, with everything else: shirt, tie, hank, trousers. I’ve always loved the way Alan at The Armoury wea...

The best stores – certainly in the modern luxury industry – have a sense of community. Trunk has that in spades, thanks to Hugo, Daniel and now Tim. Anderson & Sheppard (haberdashery) too. And digitally, ...

Dear Simon, Ties and their lengths are causing me some problems.
I have bought several ties recently, all from Drake’s, but realise that they are slightly too long. Being 5’6’’ I know I am not t...

I recently had my first opportunity to chat to Michael Hill about his takeover last month, with Mark Cho, of the Rayner & Sturges shirt factory. Rayner & Sturges is the last independent factory in the UK making...

Colours that go with tan Dear Simon, I’m getting stuck putting an outfit together, and what it comes down to is the socks. I’m wearing a mid-grey worsted wool suit with a sky-blue shirt and regimental tie o...

There are many badly dressed people at Pitti. There are also people like Luca Rubinacci, Lino Ieluzzi, Ignatious Joseph and others – one-man brands – that benefitted hugely from being shot by Scott Schuman an...

D ear Mr. Crompton, I am hoping to follow up quickly on a blog post of yours concerning pleats. I’m having a bespoke suit made up from a Neapolitan tailor, and can’t decide on whether to go with pleats....