Category: Bags

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...

Connolly, which opened on Clifford Street at the end of last year, is one of the most interesting new menswear stores London has had for a while. It offers luxury clothing, both under its own name and a few European bra...

A slightly smaller set of reviews in the brand round-up this month, with more focus on the details. Rubinacci suit carrier, £1200 therake.com/brands/rubinacci/bags First up is this leather suit carrier - or garmen...

Last week, Agyesh Madan of Stòffa visited London for the first time, in a trunk show alongside Marcus Malmborg (Swedish agent for Eidos made-to-measure, among other things). Eidos is more of a known entity, and w...

The most recent issue of Robb Report UK included a couple of my pieces: a column singing the praises of good leather accessories, and a feature highlighting the Japanese artisans we visited last year. I have reproduced...

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...

This outfit was used in a piece written recently for Drake's regarding corduroy. The piece mentions some of the associations that corduroy often carries, and ways to avoid them; basically, keeping the colours dark and ...

I was quite intrigued to see Ethan Newton’s Bryceland's store in Tokyo when we visited a few weeks ago. In particular, how he is presenting his view on tailoring and how that mixes with the more casual americana s...

Ortus leather goods are run by Naoyuki Komatsu (above) from a small leather workshop in Tokyo, just around the corner from Clematis shoes, where Komatsu was based until he set up his own company in 2012. They are entir...

Thank you. Thank you so much on my behalf, and more importantly on behalf of the four artisans - who trusted me, and by extension you, to come over to London and do something they'd never done before, in a location they...

Of the four makers featuring in our Permanent Style trunk show in a few weeks, the one least likely to be familiar to readers is Serge Amoruso. So, some background. Serge is an award-winning leather worker and designer...

I am very proud to say that we have a Permanent Style trunk show organised for October 5th, co-hosted with Gaziano & Girling at their Savile Row store. This has been a good while in the making, particularly as I wa...

In recent weeks there have been several pieces in magazines such as Robb Report UK and the Financial Times's luxury supplement, How To Spend It. Regular readers will be aware that I write a monthly column for How to Sp...

A reader recently commented that the site could do with some more practical pieces about putting clothes together - rather than commissioning them. I am deeply appreciative of such feedback. I do try to keep a balance ...

Most of the products we recommend on Permanent Style have a key appeal in their materials - the quality of it, the tactile pleasure of feeling it every day. The canvas used on Bennett Winch bags is one such material. T...

Our latest brand round-up includes some positive and some mixed reviews - reflecting both the quality of new things seen and tested by Permanent Style, and their originality. 1 Inhedited www.inhedited.com From £25...

I first got to know Frank Clegg five years ago, back when the company was still Lotuff & Clegg. I bought a beautiful leather tote bag in 2011 – and have continued to recommend it ever since. Unfortunately J...

The Mont Blanc leather facility is in an industrial park just outside Florence. All the big names of fashion are here. Gucci is across the road, Prada a few blocks down. Only Hermes from among the top brands is missin...

I bought this vintage folio from Bentleys Antiques in London last year, and it has proved fantastically useful. We can all count ourselves lucky that laptops (well, MacBooks anyway) are only a touch bigger than Europ...

UPDATE: Thanks for sales so far. A handful are left, and sales will close September 9th Our one-piece leather tote bag, made by Globe-Trotter in Hertfordshire, England, is now available to order. This run will be li...

The most striking thing about the Mont Blanc leather factory, which we visited last month, was the pairing of modern computer technology and traditional leather craftsmanship. Few leather factories have good quality c...

  Last month we had a book launch at the Brio menswear store in Beijing. It’s worth running through a few more details of the shop – because the stock is interesting, and because it is part of a pleasi...

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 –...

Last September I did a post rounding up small brands that I had tried, but weren’t quite good enough to recommend with a full write-up. It went down well, and seems like a good vehicle to mention some of the doze...

Scuola del Cuoio, the Florentine leather manufacturer, has a great story. Most of the products may not be suited to Permanent Style, but the school is worth highlighting and the story worth telling. Scuola del Cuoio w...

American leather-goods brand Ghurka has just launched in London, with a nicely done space at Fortnum & Mason. I’ll post more detail on Ghurka, its make and quality, at a later date when I’ve used the pr...

Böle is a Swedish tannery and leather goods brand, with a beautifully made product and unique selling point. Böle is the last remaining spruce-bark tannery in the world. Leather is often tanned with a variety...

My last ‘reflections on bespoke’ post back in January was very popular. Readers seemed to respond to the assessment of bespoke commissions with the wisdom of hindsight, and I have to say I sympathise. Here,...

I’ve known Filson bags for quite a few years now, but only got to know the management back in January when I met the President, Gray Madden (above). The aesthetic of Filson bags has a lot to recommend it, with i...

Readers will be familiar with the points about Cleverley and Russian reindeer in the above, but there is some nice footage of the closing on Cleverleys, and the technique of making a wood-framed box. The Robert Simpso...

Up in Scotland for the next few days, visiting Begg, Mackintosh and Robert Noble. Driving rain for the drive yesterday, but a beautifully cold and sunny morning today. My favourite weather. Vintage crocodile suitcase ...

Every week, around a dozen small companies contact me about their product. Each one has a great idea. It may be glasses made to measure, luxury socks or mystery gift boxes, but each is convinced he has an exciting new pr...

While there are many workrooms in central London dedicated to menswear, most of them are given over to tailoring, or occasionally shoemaking. There are a handful of leather factories in east and north London, such as R...

I was a little sceptical when I heard that Globe-Trotter was expanding into leather goods. It made business sense – lovely as the suitcases are, they are never going to be more than an occasional purchase, and the ...

One of the most interesting things about visiting Globe-Trotter recently was learning how the company has evolved. Like most British brands, although old, its history is a chequered one – which is all the more reas...

A Globe-Trotter suitcase is unique in the world because of the baseboard used to form its body. Made of 14 sheets of paper and glue, it is compressed under pressure into a vulcanised material that is lightweight yet extr...

Over the past few months I’ve got to know Jonatan Staniec, a leather worker who produces his own, hand-sewn leather goods from a studio in London under the brand M.E.S. Hand sewing is not that hard to do (despite m...

My latest column for How to Spend It looks at Troubadour, the luxury leather goods brand that combines some beautiful veg-dyed hides with contemporary style and colour. The column, called Inside Track, aims to highlight ...

I’ve received a few odd communications over the years, but this is the first time anyone has drawn a cartoon of me. As a big fan of graphic novels myself, particularly Chris Ware, this was a lovely thing to receive...

One of the nice things about having nice advertisers is the range of Christmas shopping ideas they present. Here are my favourites. Among the best additions to the collection at Drake’s are the untipped cashmeres i...

The growth of men’s bags as a sector is quite incredible. Menswear as a whole has outstripped women’s clothing for a few years now, as we’ve accepted the idea of buying better clothes and wearing them b...

Dear Simon, I have been wearing a messenger bag for some time for commuting as it’s a very handy way of containing all the bulk and occasional papers that I have to cart around with me. However, I have worried for ...

Hi Simon, I’ve been following Permanent Style for a while now, as well as investing significantly more of my time trying to learn more about menswear. As my style has evolved and I find myself wearing a blazer or s...

I’ve been travelling for the past two weeks, and while I fold my suits very assiduously (inside out, shoulder into shoulder, around a pair of trousers), they clearly suffered over the multiple journeys. I have no s...

Leather bags are unique among men’s accessories. A good one will last a lifetime and, if treated well, look better at the end than the beginning of your life together. Only leather has this attribute, gaining an...

Three years ago I met Judy Bown, a bag designer who had left her previous career working for companies such as Mulberry, Asprey and Tanner Krolle to set up her own label. The make of her bags was superb. The edges were i...

This is a shot from a feature coming up in The Rake next year – on the VIP painting service at Louis Vuitton. I love my Alzer case. Hard-sided cases are one of the few things made by hand by Vuitton, at the old Asn...

The recent Best of Britannia exhibition in London showcased small, craft-based British companies making everything from kitchen knives to bicycles. It included some Permanent Style favourites such as Hiut jeans, Dashing ...

In Paris this week visiting all the big tailors, interviewing Jean Grimbert of Arnys and looking at slightly odd watch straps. Look out for posts over the next few weeks. Below, my Wilfrids from Pierre Corthay (slightly ...

Hype iPad cover, £150 There is a surprising lack of good, mid-market leather products and bags out there. By mid-market I mean those stitched by machine rather than by hand (which adds considerably to the price) bu...