Spring/Summer Top 10: Chores, shirts and sweats
April 30th 20211. 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, particularly vint...
Spring/Summer Top 10: Chores, shirts and sweats
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Thanks Simon!...
The Italian handmade shirt
April 26th 2021Many countries still make shirts by hand, including in Spain with the likes of Burgos and, further afield, someone like 100 Hands in India. But it is Italy that has really kept the flame alive. Indeed, it’s one of the most most surpr...
The Italian handmade shirt
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I would add that a few of the higher end makers do some really nice shirts (sometimes minus the handwork in the hem and side seam) and have lovely fabrics, provided one is happy to pay the expensive prices charged by the...
The heritage brands of John Simons: Vetra, Dehen,...
February 5th 2021Last 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 championed heritage brands long bef...
The heritage brands of John Simons: Vetra, Dehen,...
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Thanks Lindsay, yes we mentioned that in a more recent post, the Spring Top 10. Thanks for adding it here though...
My shirt collars
January 27th 2021When we published our recent article on the types and styles of shirt collars , a reader requested a follow-up piece on the precise dimensions of what I wear. In fact, this has come up a few times over the years, particularly as we&rsqu...
My shirt collars
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I don't find it does, no, but as you say it doesn't really matter...
The Ivy League shirt: History, traditions and style
January 18th 2021At our Ivy Style Symposium two years ago, I said I thought that this most American of fashions was particularly suited to our times. My opinion has only been reinforced since then. The collegiate attitude of casually throwing on a mix of ...
The Ivy League shirt: History, traditions and style
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I think it is a little culturally specific as well Joe - at a big law firm or bank in London it might not seem quite right. Plus of course it helps if it's a finer oxford, not unlined and so on...
Check mate! A guide to checked shirt patterns
January 1st 2021The 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
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I haven't looked for that myself, but I'd be surprised it no one did a cotton tartan. Have you looked in all the normal bunches? Patterns like that do change quite a lot from season to season as well, so it's worth looki...
New Friday Polos – black and green (and men...
December 28th 2020Shipping 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...
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Dark browns can be nice, and so is blue denim...
Shirt style: Structure and lining, types and trad...
December 4th 2020The 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...
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Same on both, yes...
Introducing: The yellow PS Oxford (shirt and fabric)
November 13th 2020A 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)
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Thanks, yes definitely they're on the list...
Name that stripe! A guide to shirt stripe patterns
October 7th 2020With 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
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In the summer mostly, perhaps as a shirt on its own with a pair of linen trousers, one more button undone than usual. Perhaps untucked sometimes. I might wear it under a tailored jacket, but I think it would be a little ...
The Guide to Shirt Cuffs
September 14th 2020This 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
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That style with the lower button is more common with Italian shirts, yes, though you do see it elsewhere as well. Any of those could be good for your summer shirt, it's just a question of which style you like the most. P...
Clutch Cafe: A guide to my favourite brands
September 7th 2020There 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
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I think that's beautiful Amit, but it is also a very particular style - I'd want to try it on to get a sense of the vintage fit...
The guide to shirt collars – and what suits...
August 31st 2020With 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...
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1. Yes I do 2. Not really. At the margins, a standard placket is easier to repair and may support the collar more, but I wouldn't pick on that basis...
Pink PS Oxford shirts available
August 10th 2020What 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
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We've ordered the cloth, so we hope the end of the year...
The Online Symposium: How luxury menswear can bec...
July 17th 2020One 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...
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Mostly the style...
The Summer Top Five: Adret, Anglo, Anthology, Con...
July 15th 2020With 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...
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Those pieces would be long sleeve, correct? I think then it looks like a piece of knitwear, whereas most would see this Anthology piece as a T-shirt essentially, just a fancy one. I might wear the Anthology under a jacke...
The complete capsule: Prices, budgets and timelines
July 13th 2020Our ‘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 Jacob, I guess you won't be noticed of my message but if you do see it, I would be interested to know how it went. What cloth did you choose? Was the first fit good? Has it lasted well? Always interesting to learn fro...
The cream shirt
May 11th 2020There 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 ...
Introducing: The Madras linen
March 13th 2020There 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
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No, it was actually from Biagio Granata - often if you search for a term (like 'Zizolfi') in the page you'll find the question answered in another comment on old posts like these...
Introducing: The white PS Oxford
January 13th 2020On 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
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Cream can be, yes, particularly if you want to wear it casually mostly, though I wear it mostly in things like brushed cottons or cord rather than oxfords...
The guide to winter shirt fabrics
January 3rd 2020I’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
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Probably not Jack, mostly in taking it on and off...
The appeal of shirtmaker Wil Whiting
November 29th 2019I 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
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I'm afraid I don't Sam, sorry. The issue is always how much more work that initial shirt is...
The polo shirt under knitwear
November 27th 2019I 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
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They're from Whitcomb & Shaftesbury, in the Fox charbrown flannel...
Our Autumn/Winter Top 10, 2019
October 23rd 2019Welcome 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
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I haven't seen that one in person. It looks nice though...
The (21) shirtmakers I have known
October 9th 2019Three 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
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I haven't, no, though I hear (and see) good things...