Category: Jackets

How smart can you be without a suit or tie?  Formality in tailoring is often discussed in terms of these two things. And it is true that wearing a suit rather than a jacket, and a tie rather than an open-necked shirt, ...

Grey corduroy jacket worn under a tweed overcoat   This latest article in our Wardrobe Building series is on sports jackets, odd jackets, or just jackets. Whatever you want to call them.  It’s an area with little...

I know a lot of readers have been waiting for this review of Anglo-Italian, so I’ll go straight into summarising my thoughts. All of them have, as per usual, already been discussed openly with the brand (Jake).  My m...

  As ever in the lovely, international, interactive community that is Permanent Style, this article was spurred by a reader. He asked about the appropriate configuration of jacket pockets on a suit he was ordering, ...

This bespoke jacket was made by Shibumi, the Italian/Japanese company better known for ties and accessories.  Over the past couple of years, founder Benedikt Fries has been working with a small Florentine tailor to off...

  Our ‘complete capsule’ article last month went down particularly well with readers. Setting out a concentrated, versatile wardrobe, I think it provided both a good starting point for new readers and a way for ...

[Correction: This piece originally stated that the jacket did not have a hand-padded lapel. It does, and this has now been added below.] This pink corduroy jacket was made for me by Orazio Luciano, over a period of six ...

Thom Sweeney is a bit of an outlier in British tailoring. First because it’s a high-quality bespoke workshop with a stylish, effective ready-to-wear brand as well (something no one else seems able to achieve).  An...

This article concerns two things.  First, the pluses and minuses of the Cifonelli 6x1 style, as this is the first jacket I’ve had from them in their well-known cut.  And second, the benefits of a velvet jacket witho...

This groundwork for this video was laid two weeks ago, when we examined the various aspects of the cut of a jacket. It might be worth watching that first, if you haven't already. It showed the most important points of c...

At the prompting of readers, I will be doing some more video pieces over the coming months, looking at different aspects of suit style. These new, slightly shorter films will be a nice accompaniment to the Style Breakdo...

Steven Hitchcock is perhaps still best known as the son of John Hitchcock, long the head cutter at Anderson & Sheppard. Steven trained there, and his style is similar to A&S.  But it’s not quite the drape ...

Today is a lovely day in London (the day I write this, that is, July 3, not the day it’s published). Sunny, a light breeze, a few clouds drifting across the sky.  It’s twenty-three degrees celcius. The kind of tempe...

I was very excited when I received this jacket a month ago. Primarily because of the shoulder. Enzo Ciardi is fast becoming one of my favourite tailors. I like him, I like his roomy Neapolitan style, and everything he's...

Two years ago, young Neapolitan tailor Biagio Granata messaged me to say he was coming to London for the first time, and would like to make me something. I had heard some good things from others, and was interested in t...

This is the summer jacket that Hong Kong outfit Prologue have been making for me over the past six months. It is finally ready, with two fittings, and I think the result is great. It’s not perfect, but the fit is good...

Given how much readers have liked the posts recently looking at Armoury trousers, and then the Bryceland’s range, I thought a post going through the Armoury’s tailoring would be interesting. If anything this is more...

In previous installments in this series, we analysed what could be considered the modern Neapolitan style (a Solito jacket) and the traditional one (a Ciardi suit). Next, we look at how different elements of these can be...

The next area we move onto in our Style Breakdown series is Naples – which might have more high-end bespoke tailors than anywhere else in the world. Neapolitan tailoring is known for its soft jackets, with light sh...

Now and again, a bespoke commission is almost seamless. At every fitting, you like the look of the jacket and almost nothing seems to be needed on the fit. Just as importantly, the tailor delivers what they say they wil...

Following our last piece of bespoke tailoring to be analysed in this series – Ferdinando Caraceni in Milan – we now turn to the most famous of the Florentine tailors: Liverano & Liverano. Liverano has rec...

When Eduardo de Simone and I met at his factory last year, we spent a long time talking about the advantages and disadvantages of bespoke and made-to-measure (MTM) tailoring. As a result of them, Eduardo proposed an exp...

Following on from French bespoke style with Camps de Luca, we now arrive in Milan with Ferdinando Caraceni. Milanese tailoring has quite a distinct style, with light structure overall but a strong shoulder. So while tail...

Charcoal is a surprisingly useful colour in an odd jacket. Great with muted tones of tan, green or brown, it's also dark enough to go with lighter grey flannels. And charcoal is my favourite colour to wear with cream tr...

Luxury fibres like cashmere or vicuna can make lovely, indulgent cloths for sports jackets. Having mostly stuck to linen, tweed or related mixes in recent years, I recently commissioned a jacket in 100% cashmere (from Ed...