Category: Hanks and scarves

At the beginning of December, there will be an event in Brussels bringing together some of the craftsmen that featured in the Permanent Style trunk show last month - Lavabre Cadet and Michel Heurtault - as well as seve...

Thank you. Thank you so much on my behalf, and more importantly on behalf of the four artisans - who trusted me, and by extension you, to come over to London and do something they'd never done before, in a location the...

I am very proud to say that we have a Permanent Style trunk show organised for October 5th, co-hosted with Gaziano & Girling at their Savile Row store.  This has been a good while in the making, particularly as I w...

Simonnot-Godard is an interesting company. It dominates what is a (very) niche market of high-end woven cotton and linen handkerchiefs. That market that has grown substantially in recent years. When Benjamin Simonnot (...

   I’ve had a few questions from readers as to my views on The Rake’s new collaborations – products that the magazine started selling on its site a couple of months ago.  I’ve seen most of th...

   It is rare these days that I cover someone for the first time who is genuinely a step above their peers. Yet such is the case with Lavabre Cadet.  I had known of the French glove maker for several years, but neve...

      Another practical piece for everyone: my five favourite ways to wear a scarf – with a jacket, with an overcoat or with knitwear. Begg & Co and I collaborated on the video, which is also available on ...

   A capsule collection has many uses. When you travel for long periods, for example, you want a small but versatile collection of clothes that has a large number of permutations, and suits different occasions. And if ...

   As promised last week – when we introduced our latest collaboration, the PS square scarf – here are some step-by-step guides to wearing it.  All images can be enlarged by clicking on them.  The scarves...

  Men have historically always worn something at the neck – if it wasn’t a tie, it was an ascot or a workman’s neckerchief. Such things are practical, for work and for warmth. Over the past six months we have ...

  Handkerchiefs are not easy for a modern man. Few things are as conspicuous and unusual. Enough people wear ties and waistcoats to make them anonymous – even hats, which change the silhouette more than anythin...

  Zampa di Gallina (‘chicken feet’) is a menswear site set up recently specialising in Neapolitan makers. At least one of them has a connection to Naples, so it’s nice to have slightly more local ret...

  For those that follow my column for How to Spend It magazine (part of the Financial Times), there have been two articles in the past month – on Barbour and on Begg.  We’ve stuck with this format for almos...

  It’s been beautiful weather this week – in London, anyway. Spring has sprung and the sun encourages some reflection in our dress. Which means more than just a pair of sunglasses.  The wonderful thing ab...

  Last week three of us visited the Barbour factory in South Shields, in the name of a new book on British heritage brands.  Given we were researching the stories behind the companies, it was natural to stay next to...

  The video above shows the key aspect of quality control at most weaving houses. Workers quickly scan the cloth for faults, then either snip off the stray end or – much more laboriously – manually reweave ...

   Last year a reader commented – quite rightly – that there is a tendency here to cover freshly received suits/shirts/shoes, but not follow up on them later, when they have bedded in. He was right also ...

  Begg & Co is not in the most prepossessing location. Ayr is far from a glamorous location anyway, but the factory itself is down a side street, opposite several blocks of council flats. Still, that’s often t...

  This is a milling machine. An old one.  Part of the finishing process for woven cloth, milling involves pummelling the material in order to break up the fibres and pull them together. The cloth shrinks slightly, beco...

  I’m so excited the weather in London has finally turned cold. Summer clothing is great, but there’s just so much more of it in winter: hats, scarves, gloves, overcoats, plus heavy-gauge knitwear and serious boots....

  One of the interesting tensions in a factory visit is the way machinery is portrayed. Some manufacturers will boast of their old, traditional methods, when in fact the same thing could be done, quicker, by a newer mac...

Every week, around a dozen small companies contact me about their product. Each one has a great idea. It may be glasses made to measure, luxury socks or mystery gift boxes, but each is convinced he has an exciting new pr...

  These past few days I’ve been in Madrid, speaking at the Aristocrata club meeting and seeing a few of the tailors and shoemakers I know ( Langa, Reillo, Calvo de Mora, Norman Vilalta).  I invited Elia Caliendo ...

A silk scarf, tied any way, is a great way to recreate the contrast achieved by a suit and tie and keep the neck warm. The sheen of this Hermes silk scarf contrasts particularly nicely with the deep texture of a Shetland...

Last month, a reader asked for some recommendations of “affordable luxury”. By this, I think he meant items that weren’t necessarily that expensive, but were nonetheless luxurious. The best (a little) money could b...