Introducing the new Permanent Style
May 10th 2016I am proud to say that at the end of this week we will be launching a brand new Permanent Style website. The content will be the same, but it will be more expansive, modern and easier to browse. It’s been a long time in the works, but I&a...
Suit style 1: The difference between bespoke, mad...
April 29th 2016This is the first article in our Guide to Suit Style. You can see the full contents so far, and browse between them, on the right-hand side of this post. Bespoke suit, Anderson & Sheppard What’s the difference between bespoke, MT...
Suit style 1: The difference between bespoke, mad...
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I certainly think so Chris, yes, it's your style. I would personally go for some less unusual things, at least to start with. Eg a nice tailored overcoat rather than a suit...
Your next sports jacket: Oatmeal cashmere from El...
April 13th 2016This pale, oatmeal-coloured cashmere is my new favourite sports-jacket material. When men are picking colours for sports jackets, their second choice (after the obviousness of navy) is usually grey. Which can be great, in: a rougher, preppy herrin...
Your next sports jacket: Oatmeal cashmere from El...
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Yes I would I think. I'd look to the Italian jacketing bunches - they change each season, but Loro Piana, Caccioppoli, Drapers, Ariston etc...
Escorial jacket: The modernity of muted colours
April 4th 2016There are many ways in which you can make a sartorial outfit look younger or more modern. Extremes are always wrong: very short jackets, big puffy shoulders. They just look trendy, for a bit. But aside from the extremes, I would argue proportions...
Escorial jacket: The modernity of muted colours
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I think that might be right, it was a hard one to photograph...
Drake’s soft, stylish jackets
March 30th 2016Drake’s will always be best known for their ties, then handkerchiefs, then perhaps knitwear. But for the past few years they have also been doing a nice little range of jackets in the Clifford Street store that deserve attention. (£895...
Drake’s soft, stylish jackets
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I don't know much about the current production I'm afraid, though they seem to have been a victim of brand expansion from a style point of view...
How wide should my jacket lapels be?
March 21st 2016A reader asked this a few weeks ago now, and I thought I’d illustrate my answer by showing the widths that five tailors have cut for my body and proportions. As you can see from the images below, some lapels are wider than others, but t...
How wide should my jacket lapels be?
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Yes, I'm measuring horizontally to the end of the lower point of the notch. A peak lapel is a different look but I'd still consider a roughly similar proportion - even though the lapel will be naturally bigger, that poin...
Bespoke suede jacket – Cifonelli
March 14th 2016This finished suede jacket from Cifonelli shows the beautiful breadth of what bespoke tailoring can do. Bespoke is not just for business suits; it is not just for casual jackets; it is for anything that benefits from hand-cut line and structure. ...
Bespoke suede jacket – Cifonelli
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Really interesting, thanks Simon...
The in-between (pub, weekend) jacket from Stile L...
January 1st 2016As on Wednesday, so today. A piece made to measure by Neapolitan brand Stile Latino, with similar attractions. As with the completely unstructured coat we featured on Wednesday, this jacket is: An effective bridge between the formal and the casua...
The in-between (pub, weekend) jacket from Stile L...
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A fantastic looking jacket. I love the ease. The look is incredibly relaxed and comfortable. Would you or any readers know of ready to wear brands that might make something similar in a hunter, rifle, or rich moss green?...
Making a bespoke suede jacket
December 1st 2015Quite a few people asked how my suede Cifonelli jacket was being made – on the blog, on Instagram, on Facebook. And by email, with two separate tailors asking for advice to make one for their clients. Key to the questioning was how you ...
Making a bespoke suede jacket
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Thanks, Simon!...
Video: How to press a jacket
November 5th 2015Our latest video on suit maintenance may be the most useful of the lot: How to press your a jacket at home. In the video, Richard is at pains to point out that a lot of the pressing process cannot be replicated at home. Customers would need a hig...
Cifonelli bespoke suede jacket
October 23rd 2015One area that fascinates me – perhaps more than any other – in my writing is the overlap between formal tailoring and more casual dress. If it is possible to retain the beautiful craft aspects of bespoke tailoring in casual clothing, a...
Cifonelli bespoke suede jacket
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It's not, but it is a skin, and a skin can virtually close up again around holes if it's thick and soft enough, and the holes small enough...
Wearing a jacket and jeans
October 12th 2015If there is one question men ask more than any other, it is how to wear a jacket with jeans. Behind this usually lies a desire to dress up an outfit without appearing too up-tight. Friends in the creative or digital industries often have this prob...
Wearing a jacket and jeans
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It depends a little on the weight of cotton, which seasons it would work for. But I think it would certainly work with flannels, and maybe with linen if it was a lighter weight...
Checked jackets and accessories
September 7th 2015This was taken during a recent photo shoot for Plaza Uomo magazine in Sweden. I think the only time I have shown the jacket before I wore it open-necked (blue shirt and navy crew neck, with charcoal trousers). It is not an easy pattern to accessor...
Checked jackets and accessories
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The green plaid is 9/10 ounce I believe. A little too light, as you say, but I really liked the design. The navy cashmere was a touch heavier...
Casual tie and sports jacket (military donegal de...
August 17th 2015In the spirit of our recent posts on assembling outfits, here’s the process that put this one together. Originating idea: I’ve always liked the way this pale, silk tie from Ralph Lauren goes with my Rubinacci cashmere jacket. The corn...
Casual tie and sports jacket (military donegal de...
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Many thanks for your answer. I appreciate it....
Wearing colour: Tobacco jacket and cream trousers
July 20th 2015At the BTBA party last month I wanted to try wearing my tobacco-linen jacket separately. It is part of a suit of course, but it was commissioned from Sastreria Langa in Madrid with a ‘shirt’ sleeve and patch pockets to make it c...
Wearing colour: Tobacco jacket and cream trousers
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It's covered quite a bit in the 'sliding scale' articles, like which shoe goes with which trouser etc. Maybe worth a check of those? Let me know what gaps you see...
Ferdinando Caraceni bespoke cashmere jacket
July 3rd 2015My final jacket from Ferdinando Caraceni in Milan is superb in many ways, including fit, make and finish. The style, however, is interesting and not necessarily what I expected. I started this project last year with Nicoletta Caraceni, the daughte...
Ferdinando Caraceni bespoke cashmere jacket
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These aren't chinos, they're flannels, if you're referring to the outfit in this piece...
Getting dressed: Tan jacket and green linen trousers
June 24th 2015OK, 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 chosen. Readers are familiar wi...
Getting dressed: Tan jacket and green linen trousers
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Simon, 3 years on from last check in. W Bill Linen - any nice olives in there that you would consider for smart casual trousers?...
Wearing sports jackets and texture: How to dress ...
June 17th 2015I 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 wears these things together, ...
Wearing sports jackets and texture: How to dress ...
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How true. Think what you want about the clothes — for me they are more an exercise in fashion rather than style — that said, all is ruined by the phenomena of 'the dodgy barnett '. All of us that are lucky enough to ...
Hopsack blazer: the perfect summer jacket
May 29th 2015This Caliendo hopsack blazer was completed earlier in the year and is now fast becoming the most useful item in my wardrobe. Just like the Solito cashmere blazer I had made for Autumn/Winter last year, it is thrown on with everything: with a shirt ...
Hopsack blazer: the perfect summer jacket
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Yes, and yes that would...
Savile Row’s driving jackets for Bentley
May 18th 2015Bespoke driving jackets designed by Dege & Skinner, Henry Poole, Gieves & Hawkes and Huntsman. Which is your favourite? ( Worth expanding to full screen)
Savile Row’s driving jackets for Bentley
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I had a driving jacket made by Davide Taub some five-six years ago. Loden cloth instead of flannel and some details a little different. It's one of my most favourite jackets because it's so versatile. The detachable bib ...
Herringbone jacket fitting – Ferdinando Car...
May 15th 2015At the Milan event last month I had my final fitting on the cashmere herringbone jacket being made by Ferdinando Caraceni. The more I get to know Nicoletta – Ferdinando’s daughter, although not a cutter unlike her father ...
Herringbone jacket fitting – Ferdinando Car...
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If it's MTM then it could be to do with the house style, but also that issue of whether you lean forward or back should be adjustable with MTM...
The subtlety of a suede jacket
March 25th 2015Loro Piana I’ve been pleased to see that suede has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years. Italians like Loro Piana have always done it well – often in a classic Italian mix of brown suede and grey cashmere – but others ...
The subtlety of a suede jacket
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Both can look good, it's not a big difference (compared to collar, body fit etc). Buttons is a little smarter, zip a little sportier, but I think both would probably work for you...
Calvo de Mora donegal jacket
February 4th 2015This is the third of the commissions I made with Spanish tailors earlier last year. It is a lightweight donegal jacket, from Calvo de Mora. It is probably the best of the three, and the most expensive. Funny how those things often go together.* Th...
Calvo de Mora donegal jacket
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Thanks John. There is a 18cm width on the bottom, and I believe 23 at the knee. Bear in mind that the width should be in proportion to your shoe size as well though. If my feet were an inch smaller, then proportions woul...
Harris tweed jacket and jeans
November 21st 2014Walking along the River Tweed, wearing tweed that (is it just me?) is rather reminiscent of the colours of the landscape. Of course, it’s Harris tweed and we’re in the Borders, but it seems fitting nonetheless. Cloth suited to i...
Harris tweed jacket and jeans
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Grey might have a blue cast but it would be fine with this jacket, it's such a neutral. A blue shirt itself would also be fine, which kind of proves the point. If in doubt, add some other warmer brown things, eg a reddis...
Final Kiton Lasa jacket
November 7th 2014Decent made to measure. That’s how I would describe this final jacket from Kiton – made for me as part of the Harrod’s MTM events and described in previous posts on the commissioning and fitting. The basics are all t...
Final Kiton Lasa jacket
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Hi Simon Your point on losing the way design-wise is an interesting one. Apart from the price, the poor design of the jacket was also quite striking. The fabric, which was probably proprietary, was a large fire-engine re...
