Spring/Summer Top 10 ’23: Shirts, shorts an...
It may still be cold outside (in the UK), but it’s late April and time for a write-up of the Spring/Summer pieces I’ve liked from our favourite brands. If you have any questions about other releases from these brands (or indeed brands n...
Spring/Summer Top 10 ’23: Shirts, shorts an...
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Just underwear in summer, underwear and T-shirt (usually our undershirt) in winter...
An Hermes silk scarf with all navy
Long-term readers will be familiar with my passion for Hermes silk scarves, which I’ve often bought over the years as a treat, and of which I now have a small collection (nine of them, since you ask). I’ve found particular enjoyment thi...
An Hermes silk scarf with all navy
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Thanks for that, Simon!...
New colours in the Arran scarf and PS watch caps
The popular PS Watch Caps and exclusive Arran scarves from Begg & Co - introduced last year - have just been restocked on the PS Shop, with two additional colours. It was a real struggle last year to get things in on time, with delays not ju...
New colours in the Arran scarf and PS watch caps
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Fine with brown shoes, certainly. Just a bit chunkier and perhaps casual as a result...
Coming up on the PS Shop this Autumn/Winter
At the beginning of each season recently (spring/summer, autumn/winter) we've been sending out summaries of upcoming products to PS Shop customers. These go to anyone on a waiting list for a product, and anyone that has signed up to marketing emails...
Coming up on the PS Shop this Autumn/Winter
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Great! thanks....
Dominique Lelys and Artumes: Taking on the spirit...
By Tony Sylvester Roughly three years ago I wrote a piece for the Drake’s in-house magazine Common Thread. Given a free rein on any subject I wanted to talk about, I’d started ruminating on the similarities between French and English sty...
Dominique Lelys and Artumes: Taking on the spirit...
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Good morning and a great article...
Anatomica, Paris: The clothes and the history
Anatomica is one of my favourite shops in Paris. It’s unique, with a range of menswear that’s often exclusive to them - whether under their brand or others’ - and always centred around quality. In fact it has such a reputation - of...
Anatomica, Paris: The clothes and the history
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I have seen it now and it is really nice. Wonderful green, it is loopwheeled, nice rather light weight. Would say a vintage fit. Sadly sleeves were to short....
Introducing: The PS Arran scarf
My favourite ever scarf is the Arran model from Begg. Over the years you will have seen me wear it with everything, from a Western hat to a baseball cap, a polo coat to a tweed jacket (examples at those links). Outside of some lightweight ones and ...
Introducing: The PS Arran scarf
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Perhaps a natural/light brown and a charcoal...
The craft and eccentricity of 45R
The 45R store in London is a little jewel on Brook Street, just round the corner from Fenwick’s, next to the far more imposing Issey Miyake. I can imagine Permanent Style readers being drawn in by the indigo textures on display in the window,...
The craft and eccentricity of 45R
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This is absolutely true....
The complete capsule: Prices, budgets and timelines
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 older ones to real...
The complete capsule: Prices, budgets and timelines
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Hi Simon, Thank you for the advice, I appreciate it! That’s true, I think I’ll go ahead and have just one pair of the bespoke ones made, and determine if the fit is that much better. Then I’ll worry about which pai...
Why I rarely wear a pocket square today (and what...
The pocket square, or handkerchief, is an interesting indicator of how dapper clothing has trended in the past 15 years. Broadly speaking, the late 1990s were all about business casual and the dotcom boom. Silicon Valley was not concerned with dres...
Why I rarely wear a pocket square today (and what...
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I'm not sure about that, unfortunately. I think the pocket square is too unusual compared to the tie, for most people in most work places at least...
Adamley hand-screen printing, Macclesfield
Let me set the scene. Macclesfield is a small English market town, and it’s a grey day. The bright-green casentino overcoat of Benedikt Fries, as he walks towards us, rather stands out. Photographer Alex Natt and I are watching him approach f...
Adamley hand-screen printing, Macclesfield
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Great article. A breeze of fresh air and a good distraction from day to day screen printing technicalities. As a screen printer, I would like to see a part 2, diving more into the technics used to achieve such beautiful ...
The colours and combinations of Hermes
The silk and leather headquarters of Hermes are in a pretty nondescript set of white buildings just outside Lyon. Here, there are the 100m and 150m-long silk printing tables that I described in our previous post. There is also a new two-storey build...
The colours and combinations of Hermes
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Thanks. I'm pleased you like those combinations, but I wouldn't really use them on shirts or suits. More in accessories, and particularly scarves and handkerchiefs I think. On 'unoriginal' I'm not sure you can't be very ...
Our Spring/Summer Top 10, 2019
Last week the weather in London turned from 12 degrees to 22 in a couple of days. It seems that what passes for the English Spring is finally here. Of course, with most shops and brands Spring/Summer collections arrived in February, and went on sale...
Our Spring/Summer Top 10, 2019
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Appreciate simon...
Hermes silk printing, Lyon: Factory visit
I’ve been buying and wearing Hermes silk scarves for several years. (Indeed, a nice thing about the seasonal collections is, with a little work, you can date them all precisely). So it was a personal pleasure to visit the silk printing atelier...
Hermes silk printing, Lyon: Factory visit
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He’s on record saying that he wears Dior RTW. They suit his frame nicely....
Strong colour in accessories
The tangerine orange looks nice against the brown tweed, doesn’t it? This combination, worn up to see Joshua Ellis recently, spurred a few thoughts on colour. Here they are. First, I don’t wear many strong colours just because I find tha...
Strong colour in accessories
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Thanks Daniel. Mine was more of a shawl-scarf, and I don't think they do it anymore I'm afraid....
Japanese boro cloth: Sri Threads, Brooklyn
To what extent can rags be beautiful? Is there even a point at which fetishising the clothes of the poor– how threadbare they are, how re-worn and re-hashed – can be disrespectful? Twenty years ago, when Stephen Szczepanek began importin...
Japanese boro cloth: Sri Threads, Brooklyn
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Re: Underwear made from flour bags. My dad grew up in London in the 1930s and wore pyjamas made from flour sacks. He shared a bed with his brother, too - they slept facing different ends. Cold water tap in the stairwell ...
Christmas gift list 2018
It’s that time of year again. The TV adverts that started a month ago should have been a warning. Below is my Christmas gift list for 2019. It is not a comprehensive list of the best menswear gifts right now. It’s certainly no...
Christmas gift list 2018
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Sorry Christopher, I've had to skip it this year, there's been so much else on. Very pleased you found it so useful though - sorry, will certainly reinstate next year......
The PS square scarf: available again
The small, fine cashmere scarf I designed three years ago with Begg & Co - intended to be worn on cold days tucked into knitwear - is available again. It's on the PS Shop now, in grey, navy and green. I've reproduced some of the description ...
The PS square scarf: available again
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Navy would always be the most versatile I think. Followed probably by army...
No Man Walks Alone A/W: Frank Leder, Monitaly, So...
It’s been over a year since I last had the chance to browse the stock at No Man Walks Alone and write one of these pieces, for which I blame a lack of travel to New York. It is possible to select a few favourites online, of course, particularl...
No Man Walks Alone A/W: Frank Leder, Monitaly, So...
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'No man walks alone' - possibly not the best brand name during the current Covid 19 outbreak. We are all walking alone now! They will need to rebrand....
Video: How to wear a pocket handkerchief
This was a nice opportunity to do a practical video, and express a forthright opinion. Videos on folding pocket squares and handkerchiefs are normally so terrible. Guys in black suits using fiddly folds to wear yellow-satin hanks. Hopefully this off...
Video: How to wear a pocket handkerchief
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Hi Nik, is there a chance to get one of these white linen pocket squares? Best regards, Jens...
Our Spring/Summer Top 10, 2018
Last week a friend in the industry asked me what aspect of writing Permanent Style I like the most. It is always, easily, discovering a new tailor, cloth or product that is different and inspiring. That journey from discovering something new, to see...
Our Spring/Summer Top 10, 2018
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Hey Gab, They have aged pretty well, yes, though I'd say Aspesi is generally a good Italian brand but not the best quality around. The materials in the polo were good, but there was nothing that special about the make. I...
High/low dressing
The biggest potential pitfall with tailored dressing is looking fussy. Fussy is not sexy; it is not attractive. It is closely related to appearing ‘affected’ or ‘mannered’. Looking relaxed in clothing, on the other hand, is v...
High/low dressing
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No worries Lucas. It's definitely harder, but a jacket and jeans is perfectly possible. Generally you'll want the jeans cut straight, not too wide or skinny, and neither very short nor puddling (like tailored trousers, a...
Begg, J. Girdwood and The Rake (Chapal, Sciamat, ...
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 some Permanent Style favourites...
Begg, J. Girdwood and The Rake (Chapal, Sciamat, ...
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Perhaps a mid or pale brown? Also stronger colours like oranges and reds, if that's your style...
Christmas gift list 2017
I finally got around to putting together a Christmas gift guide for this year, which I know many readers have asked about (and like forwarding directly to their wives). I have deliberately not included either Permanent Style products here, or those ...
Christmas gift list 2017
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Only recently came across your stuff, Simon and I gotta say I love your recommendations. It feels as though you've taken your time with each product and really know what you're talking about. I only wish I'd known about ...
My desk
Many readers said they liked the personal, behind-the-scenes approach of Plaza Uomo's cover story on me last year. Here, then, is another angle. My desk, where I write most of these posts, and therefore probably the most important Permanent Style-r...
My desk
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Hey Bolaji, Yes, I've written comprehensively about moths here. This desk also opens up into a flat surface - you couldn't work on that angle...
