Ferdinando Caraceni: jacket fitting
July 14th 2014When I was in Milan two weeks ago I had a first and second fitting with Ferdinando Caraceni in a day. This isn’t something that all tailors are happy doing, but for some such as Caraceni – which has a lot of foreign clients hoping to ha...
Ferdinando Caraceni: jacket fitting
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Hey Matthew, I just checked the video. That's actually my green tweed Anthology shown here, but the video edit makes it look a very different colour!...
Jackets from sport and war: article in The Telegraph
May 7th 2014Last month I wrote a couple of articles for the menswear supplement of The Sunday Telegraph, of which the main focus was menswear’s origins in adventure (and adventurers). You can read the main piece here: click on each image to fill the sc...
Jackets from sport and war: article in The Telegraph
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Hello Simon, a very enjoyable article, I especially liked the illustrations. Re. the leather jackets, I think it also worth noting the contribution of WW2 flying jackets (vs. WW1) to the style ouevre. In particular the U...
Kiton ‘Lasa’ jacket
April 16th 2014Regular readers will remember the video I did for Harrod’s last year, to help them promote their quarterly made-to-measure events. At the same event this quarter, I took Kiton up on a longstanding invitation to try their MTM offering. The produ...
Kiton ‘Lasa’ jacket
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Read the review.... There are different posts on this around the site, as well as on Kiton generally...
Trouser colours to wear with odd jackets
March 14th 2014Men increasingly wear separate jackets and trousers. It is an inevitable result of more casual office wear, and dressing down more generally. But separates are hard. Men are not used to combining them effectively, and although I see more nice jacke...
Trouser colours to wear with odd jackets
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Hopefully you shouldn't need bespoke just to get belt loops, but yes you might need MTM or MTO or do a fair bit of shopping around. I think the Civilman can be nice with casual jackets, yes. If you like that fit and high...
Neapolitan tweed jacket – Elia Caliendo
February 26th 2014This Neapolitan tweed jacket – made recently for me by Elia Caliendo – is perhaps the perfect update of an English classic. Tweed is a wonderful material – tough, soft and highly wind- and water-resistant. It makes a great jacket f...
Neapolitan tweed jacket – Elia Caliendo
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Yes, he is. I haven't spoken to him in a while but try the email [email protected]...
Cifonelli jacket, D’Avino shirt and others
December 23rd 2013A reader asked what I was wearing at the dinner of Parisian Gentlemen last week. Fortunately, a profile photo was taken that day at the intellectual property conference I was speaking at – the reason I was in Paris in the first place. In t...
Cifonelli jacket, D’Avino shirt and others
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Here are some more pics of Simon's DB: http://dirnelli.tumblr.com/post/69709009635/simon-crompton-shows-you-how-the-cifonelli-bespoke...
Boglioli and Caruso jackets at Trunk – a guide
November 12th 2013The Boglioli and Caruso jackets at Trunk are my favourite range of casual alternatives to tailoring in London. There are several reasons why you might want a casual RTW jacket, including styling, cost and finishing. For me the biggest one is the wh...
Boglioli and Caruso jackets at Trunk – a guide
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It depends on how the garment has been washed - some have effects at the seams, particularly the more casual cottons, which mean the seam will look a little odd when altered - others do not, and so can be altered easily...
Kathryn Sargent: finished women’s jacket
October 16th 2013This is the final jacket that my wife commissioned from Kathryn Sargent at the beginning of the year. It was actually ready a couple of months ago, but it seemed more relevant to organise the shoot when the weather actually suited a tweed jacket. My ...
Kathryn Sargent: finished women’s jacket
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I'm not really sure I can help there, sorry...
How to wear separate jackets and trousers
October 2nd 2013In an age where suits no longer dominate the workplace, more and more men are wearing separate jackets and trousers. But while the dress code is more relaxed, the outfit is suddenly more complicated. There is much broader range of cloth, colour and p...
How to wear separate jackets and trousers
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I know what you mean, it's certainly more common in those places, but it still stands out by virtue of being so tonal (as well as when it's pale overall for example) compared to ones that aren't I find...
Anderson & Sheppard DB jacket
May 8th 2013I have a few Anderson & Sheppard DB suits, but no jackets. I have found that the jacket of my royal-blue flannel suit, however, works well on its own, and that led to this commission last year for a lightweight DB jacket in a brown Loro Pian...
Anderson & Sheppard DB jacket
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Compared to Milan or Rome, yes they feel a little structured. But compared to Huntsman or other more structured British tailoring, they do not. They are in between. Personally I don't find they really need breaking in, o...
Liverano & Liverano jacket
May 3rd 2013This is a jacket from Liverano & Liverano, Florence. Readers of the Armoury’s excellent Tumblr account will be familiar with various Liverano jackets, but this was my first experience of the Liverano cut. Although it has many things in...
Liverano & Liverano jacket
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Hi John, In general I'd always suggest not going for flannel as a jacket - it's designed for a suit and usually doesn't really have enough texture for a jacket. Go for another woollen - there are plenty that don't have t...
Solito jacket
May 1st 2013I’ve finally got round to shooting four jackets that were made in the past year. Over the next week I’ll do a post on each one, and while there is no intention to make direct comparisons – that would be largely pointless, given that...
Embroidered velvet jacket: Hawthorne & Heaney
March 20th 2013Following my first project with Claire Barrett, who founded embroidery company Hawthorne & Heaney last year, this was a follow-up to decorate the lapel of my Timothy Everest smoking jacket. I wasn’t entirely sure whether I liked the lo...
Embroidered velvet jacket: Hawthorne & Heaney
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That is very nice. Not many have buttonholes with our dress suits (a shame perhaps given how elegant it looks in vintage illustrations) but this is a subtle and interesting nod towards it and combines well with the infor...
Jacket and trouser colours, Rubinacci
March 1st 2013The second part of the feature that the Spanish version of How to Spend It ran on me and Luca Rubinacci has just come out. In the article, Luca picks out three Rubinacci outfits that display his unique take on colour and texture – reprodu...
Jacket and trouser colours, Rubinacci
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That's true Raj, this is definitely Spring or Summer clothing....
Double-breasted smoking jacket: Reader question
November 26th 2012Simon, Firstly, please accept my apologies if this email address is not appropriate for you to receive and reply to individual questions. My apology offered, if you are still reading then I thank you and pose my question… I am a heavyset ma...
Double-breasted smoking jacket: Reader question
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Sounds nice. The smoking jacket is an often-forgotten about item of clothing for wear around the house. All too often, people will not really care too much about what they wear around the house because no one sees them e...
Solito jacket, Naples
October 24th 2012I love Gennaro’s cutting board, by the window looking out into the squareThis was the second fitting on a Solito jacket in Naples. Luigi, the son, was there the first time earlier in the year, and as he speaks some English we could ask rath...
Solito jacket, Naples
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Saw something similar here: http://www.studiosuits.com/jackets/wool_jackets/reda_flannel_checks_green_pure_wool_jacket...
Elia Caliendo: tweed jacket
October 19th 2012After months of indecision, I finally decided to have my length of Permanent Style tweed made up by Elia Caliendo in Naples. Every time I have been to Graham Browne recently, I see another length being made up for a reader. It looks beautiful, such a...
Elia Caliendo: tweed jacket
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It will soften a little bit over time, and open, but not that much. No more than an inch or so...
How to pack a suit jacket: Reader question
September 27th 2012Hi Simon, First of all let me say I’m a massive fan of your blog. In fact I’ve even cancelled my GQ subscription because of your blog. Doesn’t mean you should start charging us though! I was wondering if you could do a p...
How to pack a suit jacket: Reader question
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I don't really buy hangers, I just use ones supplied by tailors, but if you wanted some very good ones, look at Nakata, supplied by Arterton. I don't really buy especially breathable suit covers either, I have enough fro...
New Cifonelli jackets
August 2nd 2012No visit to Paris would be complete without dropping in on Lorenzo Cifonelli and seeing what weird and wonderful things his mind has inflicted on tailoring recently. First up was the yak jacket. I wrote about this back in February on The Rake, but I ...
New Cifonelli jackets
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E Sexton, C&M, D Taub,.... are these beloved British tailors not also dandy-ish? Why should design be abandoned to ready to wear? A Tom Ford suit is better cut than most Savile Row’s, and not to dissimilar to E Sex...
Elia Caliendo jacket
July 13th 2012Pictured at the MTBA party last week, this is the finished jacket from Neapolitan tailor Elia Caliendo. Readers of The Rake online will have read previous posts on Elia, looking at both the man himself and an analysis of the inside of the jacket. Alt...
Elia Caliendo jacket
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Yes, those are the colours. Dark brown works ok if it is quite dark and not that rich...
Steven Hitchcock – the final jacket
April 13th 2012I picked up my final jacket and trousers from Steven Hitchcock last week. The result is a beautiful tweed jacket – light and comfortable but still with definite shape – and a wonderfully fitting pair of moleskins. Steven describes...
Steven Hitchcock – the final jacket
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Very few tailors do the back seam by hand, and I don't think Steven does on all his jackets either, but would have to check as it's been a while since this post....
Thom Sweeney jacket and trousers
March 12th 2012With most bespoke tailors worthy of the name, the quality of construction is pretty consistent. Everything worth the effort is done by hand: chest padding, inserting sleeves, sewing buttonholes. The French may double-sew their buttonholes; the Neapol...
Thom Sweeney jacket and trousers
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Your favourite item of clothing you bought in 2021: Midnight blue pleated tuxedo shirt with convertible cuffs from Thom Sweeney. Your favourite item of (ready-made) clothing ever: Black wool belted trench coat with epaul...
Cifonelli jacket in detail
February 8th 2012Cifonelli of Paris makes some of the most beautiful tailoring I’ve ever seen. I thought a post, therefore, on the details of a jacket rather than me rambling on about the technical stuff. Above, the broad lapel of the double-breasted, with ...
Cifonelli jacket in detail
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Just another name for a half lining....
Wear a jacket or trousers at the weekend
February 1st 2012I know a few men who have discovered an interest in clothes in recent years – primarily suits, shirts, ties, good shoes. The working wardrobe, essentially. They know about the canvas in a jacket’s chest; they have established how and why ...
Wear a jacket or trousers at the weekend
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Yep...
The Tailor & Cutter – a square dinner ...
January 9th 2012This drawing from The Tailor & Cutter is lovely; but it’s not really my style. Not because a white dinner jacket would be too showy unless I were dining in truly balmy weather. But, rather, because everything about it is too squa...
The Tailor & Cutter – a square dinner ...
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Dear Patrizio, Thanks for the question. The links don't seem to work for me, but I can see the images from the email you originally sent, which shows Prince Charles in a rather nice dinner jacket with vents. Are you sugg...
