Check mate! A guide to checked shirt patterns
The next chapter in our Shirt Style series is on checks and related patterns. The first, looking at stripes , was surprisingly popular. I always imagined this type of article would be most useful in the long term – as a piece t...
Check mate! A guide to checked shirt patterns
The next chapter in our Shirt Style series is on checks and related patterns. The first, looking at stripes , was surprisingly popular. I always imagined this type of article would be most useful in the long t...
New Friday Polos – black and green (and men...
Shipping and production have not been entirely straightforward in recent weeks, as anyone following the chaotic clash of Covid and Brexit in the UK will be aware. But I’m glad to say we've been able to restock the Friday Polos - still the mos...
New Friday Polos – black and green (and men...
Shipping and production have not been entirely straightforward in recent weeks, as anyone following the chaotic clash of Covid and Brexit in the UK will be aware. But I’m glad to say we've been able to restock the F...
Shirt style: Structure and lining, types and trad...
The next stage in our Guide to Shirts – after the recent pieces on collars and cuffs – is to compare different approaches brands take to the styles of their shirts. There are a few different aspects of this, including:...
Shirt style: Structure and lining, types and trad...
The next stage in our Guide to Shirts – after the recent pieces on collars and cuffs – is to compare different approaches brands take to the styles of their shirts. There are a few different aspects ...
Introducing: The yellow PS Oxford (shirt and fabric)
A reader gently mocked me when I wrote about the white version of this shirt and included styling advice. It's a white shirt after all - how hard can it be? I still defend that guidance: a white oxford is more useful than some people realise, parti...
Introducing: The yellow PS Oxford (shirt and fabric)
A reader gently mocked me when I wrote about the white version of this shirt and included styling advice. It's a white shirt after all - how hard can it be? I still defend that guidance: a white oxford is more useful ...
Name that stripe! A guide to shirt stripe patterns
With men wearing fewer ties with their jackets these days, shirts carry more of the burden in creating style and interest. Of course, there is another way to look at it, which is that we have more freedom. Suddenly those bold patterns tha...
Name that stripe! A guide to shirt stripe patterns
With men wearing fewer ties with their jackets these days, shirts carry more of the burden in creating style and interest. Of course, there is another way to look at it, which is that we have more freedom. Sudde...
The Guide to Shirt Cuffs
This is the second in our series looking at style aspects of shirts. As with the previous one – on shirt collars – it will focus on sensible advice, rather than illustrating the myriad gimmicks with which menswear seems...
The Guide to Shirt Cuffs
This is the second in our series looking at style aspects of shirts. As with the previous one – on shirt collars – it will focus on sensible advice, rather than illustrating the myriad gimmicks with wh...
Clutch Cafe: A guide to my favourite brands
There is a handful of menswear shops in London that I recommend regularly to friends visiting from abroad. They include Trunk, Connolly, Drake's and Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery. All boutiques, all founded in the past decade. The most ...
Clutch Cafe: A guide to my favourite brands
There is a handful of menswear shops in London that I recommend regularly to friends visiting from abroad. They include Trunk, Connolly, Drake's and Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery. All boutiques, all founded in ...
The guide to shirt collars – and what suits...
With the slow disappearance of the tie from the male wardrobe, the shirt collar has become increasingly important. It now bears almost sole responsibility for framing and flattering the face. However, guides to shirt collars – s...
The guide to shirt collars – and what suits...
With the slow disappearance of the tie from the male wardrobe, the shirt collar has become increasingly important. It now bears almost sole responsibility for framing and flattering the face. However, guides to ...
Pink PS Oxford shirts available
What can I say about PS Oxford cloth at this point? I've gone through the reasons I like it so many times, most obviously in posts introducing the blue , striped and white versions. So this time I thought it might be good to focus on what customers...
Pink PS Oxford shirts available
What can I say about PS Oxford cloth at this point? I've gone through the reasons I like it so many times, most obviously in posts introducing the blue , striped and white versions. So this time I thought it might be ...
The Online Symposium: How luxury menswear can bec...
One of the things bespoke artisans have struggled with during the Covid-19 crisis is not being able to travel. Savile Row makes more than half its money in the US, and the Spring trips weren’t possible. Should they try to do remote fittings? C...
The Online Symposium: How luxury menswear can bec...
One of the things bespoke artisans have struggled with during the Covid-19 crisis is not being able to travel. Savile Row makes more than half its money in the US, and the Spring trips weren’t possible. Should they tr...
The Summer Top Five: Adret, Anglo, Anthology, Con...
With stock delayed and most shops closed, there seemed less point in doing our regular Spring/Summer round-up earlier in the year. So here, rather later, is a Summer-targeted piece on items I've tried myself and especially recommend. I've also kept ...
The Summer Top Five: Adret, Anglo, Anthology, Con...
With stock delayed and most shops closed, there seemed less point in doing our regular Spring/Summer round-up earlier in the year. So here, rather later, is a Summer-targeted piece on items I've tried myself and especia...
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
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 ...
The cream shirt
There is a certain type of gentleman who swears by the cream shirt. Who argues passionately for its elegance over that boring, corporate alternative: white. When I say there is a type, I am basing this on three men, all of an older generation, who ...
The cream shirt
There is a certain type of gentleman who swears by the cream shirt. Who argues passionately for its elegance over that boring, corporate alternative: white. When I say there is a type, I am basing this on three men, a...
Introducing: The Madras linen
There is a certain preponderance among men to order bespoke shirts in loud checks. This must be the case, because most patterned materials offered for bespoke are bright and loud. Even though the ones available in a mill’s full collection - o...
Introducing: The Madras linen
There is a certain preponderance among men to order bespoke shirts in loud checks. This must be the case, because most patterned materials offered for bespoke are bright and loud. Even though the ones available in a m...
Introducing: The white PS Oxford
On the final day of the pop-up shop back in October, it occurred to me to bring in my blue PS Oxford shirt - to show how it had softened with age. The response was telling. Half of the people that felt it bought one on the day, and several of the o...
Introducing: The white PS Oxford
On the final day of the pop-up shop back in October, it occurred to me to bring in my blue PS Oxford shirt - to show how it had softened with age. The response was telling. Half of the people that felt it bought one o...
The guide to winter shirt fabrics
I’m a relatively new convert to winter shirts. Although I’ve had brushed cottons in the past (such as my grey made by Simone Abbarchi, above) it’s only this season that I’ve started wearing heavier flannels and cor...
The guide to winter shirt fabrics
I’m a relatively new convert to winter shirts. Although I’ve had brushed cottons in the past (such as my grey made by Simone Abbarchi, above) it’s only this season that I’ve started wearing heavier flann...
The appeal of shirtmaker Wil Whiting
I recently went to see Wil Whiting's studio for the first time. Wil and I have chatted many times in recent years, but this was the first time I'd been to see where he works. Wil has proved himself a talented shirtmaker, despite only four years sin...
The appeal of shirtmaker Wil Whiting
I recently went to see Wil Whiting's studio for the first time. Wil and I have chatted many times in recent years, but this was the first time I'd been to see where he works. Wil has proved himself a talented shirtmak...
The polo shirt under knitwear
I have a particular problem with crewneck sweaters. Although I love them, I find my relatively long neck means they don’t look good without a collar underneath. I need a shirt, rather than just a T-shirt. It’s the reason I sometimes we...
The polo shirt under knitwear
I have a particular problem with crewneck sweaters. Although I love them, I find my relatively long neck means they don’t look good without a collar underneath. I need a shirt, rather than just a T-shirt. It’s t...
Our Autumn/Winter Top 10, 2019
Welcome to our small but regular selection of interesting things this Autumn/Winter. As ever, this is a highly personal list, which makes it both idiosyncratic and entirely without commercial angle - no one can ever and will ever be able to pay to a...
Our Autumn/Winter Top 10, 2019
Welcome to our small but regular selection of interesting things this Autumn/Winter. As ever, this is a highly personal list, which makes it both idiosyncratic and entirely without commercial angle - no one can ever and...
The (21) shirtmakers I have known
Three years ago, I wrote a post called ‘ The tailors I have known'. The idea was to provide a single reference point for anyone to get a run down on everyone I had tried - and links to more detail. A reader recently commented that it would be...
The (21) shirtmakers I have known
Three years ago, I wrote a post called ‘ The tailors I have known'. The idea was to provide a single reference point for anyone to get a run down on everyone I had tried - and links to more detail. A reader recently...
The guide to denim and chambray shirtings
A denim or chambray shirt can be great with tailoring. Perhaps more than anything else, they have the ability to subvert its corporate, even dandy associations. They reliably give the appearance of being both casual and practical. The two ...
The guide to denim and chambray shirtings
A denim or chambray shirt can be great with tailoring. Perhaps more than anything else, they have the ability to subvert its corporate, even dandy associations. They reliably give the appearance of being both casu...
The new Lightweight Friday Polo
This is the lovely - and reader-driven - new version of the Lightweight Friday Polo. The version we did last summer, in white piqué, was popular and sold out, but several readers commented that it was a little too transparent for them. So t...
The new Lightweight Friday Polo
This is the lovely - and reader-driven - new version of the Lightweight Friday Polo. The version we did last summer, in white piqué, was popular and sold out, but several readers commented that it was a little too tr...
A Pitti diary: The experience, the brands, the pa...
Pitti is a long trade show: four full days, when most are usually three. As a result, by Friday everyone is exhausted, with selling, talking, and late dinners. Although it does depend on why you’re there. Most people fall into one of three gro...
A Pitti diary: The experience, the brands, the pa...
Pitti is a long trade show: four full days, when most are usually three. As a result, by Friday everyone is exhausted, with selling, talking, and late dinners. Although it does depend on why you’re there. Most people ...
The guide to summer shirt fabrics
The aim of a shirt bought for summer might seem easy: to stay cool. But there are several variations here, and crossovers with styles and other functionality. This, then, is our substantive yet focused guide to buying a shirt fabric for th...
The guide to summer shirt fabrics
The aim of a shirt bought for summer might seem easy: to stay cool. But there are several variations here, and crossovers with styles and other functionality. This, then, is our substantive yet focused guide to bu...
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
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...