Spring/Summer 24 on the Permanent Style shop
February 23rd 2024Hello lovely readers, Here’s our regular update on what’s coming into the PS Shop over the next few months - apologies for the short delay. This only covers Spring/Summer, but feel free to ask in the comments about anything in Autumn/Wi...
Spring/Summer 24 on the Permanent Style shop
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No it won't David...
Cifonelli cashmere overcoat: Style Breakdown
February 21st 2024This cashmere coat from Cifonelli, which I’ve had now for nine years , is similar in many ways to the two coats we’ve covered previously in this series – from Ciardi and from Liverano . There are some technical di...
Cifonelli cashmere overcoat: Style Breakdown
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Hey Jack, Yes it's basically a tonal look, grey and grey, which makes it more unusual and slightly more fashiony. We talked about it a bit here. No I wouldnt' do it with a navy jacket, I don't think...
When to wear a tie: Personality and opportunity
February 19th 2024At Pitti Uomo back in January I took the opportunity to wear mostly tailoring and ties - the two outfits shown above and below. And it felt great. I know there are traditionalists who see me as the antithesis of this, as I’m rarely pictured w...
When to wear a tie: Personality and opportunity
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Isn't it all about the context? If you have spent the day in court or in meetings, there is nothing unbecoming about having a drink at the end of the day in a navy suit and white shirt without the tie. It's an odd look i...
Manish’s five bespoke lessons: Picking cloth
February 16th 2024By Manish Puri. This article is the second in a series dealing with my personal experiences of having bespoke/MTM clothes made over the last six years. The first covered some of my tips for working with tailors, while this piece focuses on the lesso...
Manish’s five bespoke lessons: Picking cloth
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No problem John...
Reader profile: James
February 14th 2024James is a reader I met in Korea last year. A friend of our host Sam Ahn, he joined us for dinner on the last night with Assisi. James has been a customer of various bespoke tailors for about 10 years, but has largely settled down to using Sartoria...
Reader profile: James
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Not sure of your personal situations but i have a some ecru pants and lighter tops that i also hardly wear. For me, its about a little too aware of the lightness of the pant (how it stands out, even as an ecru) or how th...
How to wear a shawl or stole
February 12th 2024A shawl (or stole) can be a really practical thing to wear. Simply hung round the neck, it’s a lovely layer of warmth down the front of the body and on the back of the neck. And when looped or tied, it’s also effective protection against...
How to wear a shawl or stole
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Hello, That looks nice, yes, I love the colours. I'm sure it would look good with a range of smart and casual outfits. Pleased I could help!...
My case for the lightweight English jacket
February 9th 2024By Aleks Cvetkovic. For much of my career I’ve felt like an anomaly, especially at the likes of Pitti or industry events. Principally this is because I’ve always chosen to wear structured tailoring, largely from London tailors, over the ...
My case for the lightweight English jacket
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Thanks Paul. Yes I can see that would work for comments at a bigger scale, or if I weren't going through each one personally...
Liverano ulster coat: Style Breakdown
February 7th 2024This coat from Liverano & Liverano in Florence has had a bit of an after life, being imitated in this tweed a fair bit, as well as spurring some to have the same coat from Liverano (despite the high cost). It remains one of my abs...
Liverano ulster coat: Style Breakdown
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Thank you James. Next time, we'll be there!...
B&Tailor: Real bespoke, distinctive style
February 5th 2024When I travelled to Korea back in December, one of the places I was keenest to visit was B&Tailor . Because, like many people, I’d been impressed for years at what I’d seen from Chad Park and his colleagues, but hadn’t had ...
B&Tailor: Real bespoke, distinctive style
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Thanks JR. Yes we're saying very similar things. Of that list of combinations, Milanese might be the biggest influence, but it's not really significant. And yes, I completely agree - none of them studied for years under ...
How was Dry January for you?
February 2nd 2024I didn't buy any clothes this month. That wouldn't be a hardship for most people and it wasn't much of a hardship for me, but I was surprised how much it changed my perspective. On the day after publishing our article announcing our Dry January pr...
How was Dry January for you?
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Thanks, yes, all those were on my mental checklist....
Cifonelli jacket: Finding a new home for good things
January 31st 2024One topic I thought it would be good to cover during Dry January was giving away clothes that you found - for whatever reason - no longer worked for you. Finding good homes for good things, essentially. A good example of this is the suede jacket th...
Cifonelli jacket: Finding a new home for good things
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It’s useful to note that almost everything we humans do is a form consumption construed in the very broadest sense of the concept (meaning: a use of planetary resources). Even the posting of that original comment was, ...
Layering up for travel: Shawls, cardigans and vests
January 29th 2024It was effing freezing in Paris two weeks ago: officially minus five, felt like minus ten. I know that’s not extreme if you live in Sweden or North Dakota, but it’s not the kind of weather you’re used to in London, I can tell you. ...
Layering up for travel: Shawls, cardigans and vests
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The 64 is pretty round, so more towards the casual end of the spectrum, though of course it depends on other factors too, like the welt, sole etc. I would wear it quite casually, like the boots you link to, and would thi...
Charlie Borrow pilot bag: How great things age
January 26th 2024Lucas has had this canvas bag from Charlie Borrow for years, and I’ve always admired its rugged quality, particularly when we’ve traveled together. So I thought it would make a good entry in our How Great Things Age series, which of cour...
Charlie Borrow pilot bag: How great things age
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Any thoughts on Ripstop vs canvas? Might be lighter to carry?...
Repairing a rug jacket – with denim-like da...
January 24th 2024This coat has a good story behind it, and is a nice one for Dry January I think, as it shows different ways clothes can be remade, repurposed and repaired. I bought it at the workwear-oriented shop Jinji in Paris . It had been made by them under th...
Repairing a rug jacket – with denim-like da...
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Fully understood. Back to the clothing itself... I really like the idea of a project like this, taking something that sat almost as a museum piece and bringing it back to life as a wearable piece. Very roughly along thes...
Journal article on my children
January 22nd 2024I wrote a little piece for the Rubato journal this weekend, about how good my children's instinct is for clothing. They nearly always give a good steer, I think because they're both very observant and know me very well. You can read it here. The coa...
Journal article on my children
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My 9 .year old son has been saying for years "can I have that when I am older?" almost on a weekly basis. It could be something that was outwardly cool in his eyes (that may have made me look younger) or something that i...
Eight outfits I liked at Pitti – and why
January 19th 2024Pitti Uomo this year felt busier than last, but that was a little deceptive - two of the big buildings were still closed for lack of exhibitors, and more squeezed into the main pavilion. The show’s future still feels a little uncertain. My ti...
The bowler hat in the fifties: My grandfatherR...
January 17th 2024When we cleared out my grandparents’ house last year, we discovered an article my grandfather had written about bowler hats in the late 1950s. I've written about him before, publishing an interview in 2012 that talked about what it was like t...
The bowler hat in the fifties: My grandfatherR...
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What a lovely article your grandfather wrote about bowlers. The subtle humor in it is just amazing....
Sartoria Ciardi ulster coat: Style Breakdown
January 15th 2024This ulster-style overcoat was made for me by Sartoria Ciardi , the Neapolitan tailor, in 2020. Although I’ve had a few pieces of tailoring from Ciardi in the past five years, this is my only coat from them. It has proved to be one ...
Sartoria Ciardi ulster coat: Style Breakdown
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It's at waist level, straight...
The Overcoats Style Breakdown series: Introduction
January 12th 2024Next week we’ll begin a series of articles that breaks down the style of my bespoke coats, building on the popular 2018 series that looked at suits and jackets. That turned into a book, Bespoke Style , which was a great illustration...
The Overcoats Style Breakdown series: Introduction
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Great, thank you Ian...
What colour theory can teach you about clothing
January 10th 2024by Philipp Fröhlich Between 1966 and 1970, Barnett Newman, a prominent figure in abstract expressionism, painted four versions of a painting he called ‘Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue’ (above). I assume Newman foresaw the intim...
What colour theory can teach you about clothing
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My rule is akin to the doctors' oath to "first do no harm". In other words, with an outfit, avoid major blunders and you have done 90% of what's needed. If a tie is dramatic in pattern, the shirt and jacket must be subdu...
Why I love my Ferdinando Caraceni blazer
January 8th 2024This jacket from Ferdinando Caraceni has become one of my real favourites in the past couple of years, and I think it’s worth exploring why. It says something about where tailoring is today, at least for me. It was made in 2021 by Nicoletta C...
Why I love my Ferdinando Caraceni blazer
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Hi Wu, Nice to hear, thank you. To be honest, a blazer like that is not something I've ever looked into having made, as it's not a style I like so much - perhaps a little too costume-y. If you have specific questions, do...
Reader Profile: Ben (and the community of menswear)
January 5th 2024I met Ben at our recent pop-up party, and liked what he was wearing (first outfit below). We got to talking and I discovered his interesting background - always good, as I’d like these profiles to explore different types of PS reader - and his...
Reader Profile: Ben (and the community of menswear)
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Look towards, oni 200zr, warehouse co, samuri jeans, dawson denim, black horse lane, United overalls. Best thing I'd say is go to son of a stag as they have tonnes and are very helpful and try some on. Different weights,...
How I organise outfits – and get my style i...
January 3rd 2024I know I spend too much time looking at clothes I want, and not enough at ways to wear the ones I have. There are many reasons for this. There’s the familiar retail fix, the fact I wear a range of styles, the fact that I can afford them (and ...
How I organise outfits – and get my style i...
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Yes some content on classic golf style is sorely needed!...
Announcing: Dry January
January 1st 2024Dry January is, at least in the UK, an opportunity for people to give up alcohol for a month to recover from some of the excesses of the holidays. It is in that same spirit that during January, Permanent Style will not write about any new clothing. ...
Announcing: Dry January
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I would imagine for many, myself included, that the percentage number of items that we actually wear regularly (say at least 2-3 times a month) is well below 50%. Personally, I have been quite ruthless over the last two ...
The jacket-as-coat: Seiji’s commission from Tailo...
December 29th 2023When the shoemaker Seiji McCarthy came to New York recently to take part in our pop-up, he brought with him a recent commission from Tailor Caid, the Japanese bespoke tailor run by Yuhei Yamamoto. Yamamoto is a big enthusiast for mid-century America...
The jacket-as-coat: Seiji’s commission from Tailo...
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Actually Norman, that is correct - it sounds awkward of course, but it's the tense meant. He had (in the past) had it made. Thanks...
