Category: Jackets

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...

This is the latest in a nice series of posts called ‘ The Rules and How to Break Them‘. Like the other Guides we have put together recently, it now has its own homepage, here.  You can navigate to that page ...

When people talk about an English military cut – the kind of thing that will make you feel like a soldier, stand up straight and give you an air of authority – this is what they mean. Although other Savile Ro...

Given the heat at the moment in London, it shouldn’t be surprising that linen is the most attractive thing in the pop-up up shop, which has been going wonderfully so far. Edward Sexton’s Hollywood-top trousers (abo...

When I first had this cotton jacket made, I noted that it was a tricky one to work into an outfit. The vintage cotton cloth ( more details here) is rather rough and casual, yet the cut and style are quite smart. Having ...

If there’s one thing I have a (very relative) lack of, it’s summer sports jackets - casual pieces for warm days, using the linen/wool/silk mixes the Italians are so good at. So it was nice to have this jacket from D...

This is the third in our Finest Tailors series breaking down the styles of the world’s finest tailors. Following on from Richard Anderson and Henry Poole, we now turn to Anderson & Sheppard. Now, Anderson & She...

  The reviews of bespoke suits I’ve written over the years haven’t always been the same. Some included more on the experience (particularly when it was bad); some focused on the fit; others were more about style or ...

It was really lovely being back in Hong Kong last week, after a few years away. The talk we Lorenzo Cifonelli and I did at Attire House worked well - more a conversation than an interview, with Lorenzo asking me questio...

I think it’s telling that the thing that makes me happiest about this outfit is the oatmeal-linen shirt, a piece made bespoke by D’Avino. I’ve been doing this for a while - trying to combine pieces of classic mens...

I had this tweed jacket made by South Korean house B&Tailor over the past 18 months, using Robin Petterson - a Swede who does their fittings in London and at home in Stockholm. Unfortunately, although the end resul...

It’s so enjoyable writing good reviews. It is valuable to write balanced, semi-critical pieces of course, and this is a core part of Permanent Style. But you always feel very conscious of the effect the criticism will...

One thing readers asked for in our 'We are 10' post was more reflections on bespoke pieces. When covering bespoke, I tend to write both an initial piece giving the background and approach of the maker, and then a fuller...

First off, I need to mention that the J.Girdwood website is finally up and active.  Anyone that has been into the first or second pop-ups will have seen James (above) and his J.Girdwood range of products. They include ...

Drake's was one of the first menswear brands that really inspired me, back in the days when I'd sit in Michael Drake's study going through old decorative art books, dissecting patterns. Drake's managed to combine craf...

Sartoria Formosa - led by Gennaro, above - is similar in some ways to the likes of Dalcuore or Ambrosi, in that it is a traditionally bespoke Naples house that has expanded into ready-to-wear in recent years. Five years...

Thank you everyone that responded to my ‘You are the interviewer’ post a couple of weeks ago. The number of variety of questions was staggering, and I will try to answer as many as I can over the coming weeks. It ma...

Good trunk shows pick good locations. Not necessarily fancy, but convenient and in a space that shows the product in a good light. This is particularly true with ready-made or made-to-measure brands, where customers are...

As regular readers will know, I am a big fan of leather and suede outerwear - whether from the superfine Seraphin, historic Chapal or uber-modern Stoffa. I have tried, used and love them all. When it comes to tailored j...

Gigi doesn’t normally talk much. The master cutter at Neapolitan tailors Dalcuore, he normally stands back, silently, as Damiano and Cristina do the talking. This is both his character and a result of speaking little ...

  As mentioned on my ‘What I pack’ post, I’ve been travelling a lot in high heat recently. There was Pitti in Florence, where the temperature topped out at 37 degrees. Naples in July was very similar. And Pugl...

Dressing well becomes a matter of habit, over the years. You get used to wearing long socks, or high trousers, or being draped in slightly heavier cloth. But these habits have to be instilled. One I find most powerful t...

As with most of my reviews, I wrote a first, introductory post on P Johnson last year, after they opened in London. My apologies that the full review, here, has taken so long. In that time John, James and the others hav...