Category: Jackets

Although I haven’t covered the same number of MTM tailors as bespoke ones, Permanent Style has steadily accumulated a good range - from Kiton to Gieves, P Johnson to the Armoury.  And really good made-to-measure is i...

I know from experience that casual jackets often involve a compromise, for me.  Usually one size will be perfect on the neck, waist and sleeve, but another will be better on the shoulders, chest and body length. Basica...

I’ve never actively disliked T-shirts under tailoring. I just tend not to wear them myself and, when I have seen them worn, I think it can be done quite badly.  Done well, wearing a T-shirt rather than a collared shi...

1. Drake’s bright-red suede chore jacket £1195 I’ve been asked a few times over the years about these suede chore jackets from Drake’s. Personally I tend to prefer blouson styles, and chore coats in cottons, part...

Massura is a German tailoring outfit run by Moritz Kossytorz, based in Munich but using a tailoring workshop in Naples.  The style and make of the tailoring is not much different to other Neapolitan tailors, but I thin...

This is the first of three articles celebrating menswear stores in London, following our call to arms earlier in the week urging readers to support the shops they love. We’re starting with Adret, the achingly beautifu...

Last week, I wrote something of an homage to John Simons , the retailer that did so much to bring the Ivy League Look to the UK - and in the process, changed it into something more British and working class.  John cham...

Sometimes a jacket really impresses you from the off - the try-on, the fitting, everything just beautifully done from the start.  It doesn't happen very often, and it doesn't necessarily make a difference to the finish...

  In the coming months I will be writing more posts again in our ‘How great things age’ series , which aims to illustrate the beauty of quality clothing over time.  Basically, it’s an antidote to the new clot...

In recent weeks we’ve done more coverage of top-end made-to-measure – the likes of Orazio Luciano and Jean-Manuel Moreau, Anglo-Italian and The Armoury. Some of these approach bespoke in terms of the handwork involv...

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...