Packing for travel: My Japan capsule wardrobe

May 24th 2023

I thought it would be interesting to do a post on what clothing I packed for my recent Japan trip. People always seem to like these capsule pieces , although this trip was particularly challenging for a couple of reasons. First, I needed a full ran...

Packing for travel: My Japan capsule wardrobe

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Of course! Sorry. In that case I'd be packing the more casual elements here, plus some extra hard-wearing items or those good for traipsing round after children, visiting the countryside and so on. So probably a grey swe...

Style - WatchesMay 24th 2023

Reader Profile: Jeff

April 14th 2023

Jeff Hilliard is Director of Limited Editions at Hodinkee, the watch magazine/empire in New York. But he used to work at The Armoury, until 2017, and then did two years at Mr Porter. So while not strictly working in menswear today, he is certainly m...

Reader Profile: Jeff

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Thank you, appreciate that. Good question. I’m on the shorter side at 5’8”, so jeans and casual pants are a bit tough for me sometimes since most companies rarely make different lengths. That’s less of a problem ...

Style - WatchesApril 14th 2023

The Squarzi capsule: How to dress like Alessandro 

March 29th 2023

  Alessandro Squarzi has a reputation as a good dresser, and usually looks appealingly stylish yet relaxed. Yet the way he currently dresses is actually very straightforward, and I think can be a lesson to guys everywhere – in how...

The Squarzi capsule: How to dress like Alessandro 

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Nice...

Style - WatchesMarch 29th 2023

Celebrating local dress: My travels and Afghan Style

March 22nd 2023

During the launch of Robert Spangle's book Afghan Style recently in London, I had a chance to catch up with Rob about what he found so inspirational about dress in Afghanistan. He mentioned the silhouettes, the texture of different local materials ...

Celebrating local dress: My travels and Afghan Style

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As ever I don't think this is really the right forum for these kinds of discussions, if that's ok. Thanks...

StyleMarch 22nd 2023

Tonal layering with black jeans: Comfy, drapey, easy

March 20th 2023

This outfit I wore last week really tickled me - I think primarily for its combination of T-shirt and tailoring. Working the two together in some way (as in this, perhaps Summer equivalent ) is often an effective way to achieve the ‘casual ch...

Tonal layering with black jeans: Comfy, drapey, easy

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Do you mean grey Matthew, or do you mean black jeans that are heavily washed (as most black jeans are on the market these days)? If the latter, they're great, if the former, I'd avoid them myself - at least in the more c...

Coats - KnitwearMarch 20th 2023

To whisper with your clothes – or why I’m f...

March 13th 2023

By Andreas Weinas This headline might be one of the more confusing ones to have appeared on Permanent Style, but bear with me. Simon reached out to me at the beginning of the year, asking if I wanted to do a piece on PS about something I found parti...

To whisper with your clothes – or why I’m f...

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It's a nuanced question, it would require a full post at some point if it's worth discussing...

Style - WatchesMarch 13th 2023

Wearing pink: Tips and combinations

March 6th 2023

By Manish Puri “That was the day I learned how dangerous a color can be. That a boy could be knocked off that shade and made to reckon his trespass. Even if color is nothing but what the light reveals, that nothing has laws, and a boy on a pin...

Wearing pink: Tips and combinations

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Hi Daniel! Yes, it was the Connolly’s one I write about here: https://www.permanentstyle.com/2021/12/the-guide-to-shetland-sweaters-part-two-brands.html Still available in smaller sizes! I’d certainly recommend it ha...

StyleMarch 6th 2023

Day in, day out: On uniform dressing and travel

February 17th 2023

Charcoal trousers from a suit, with tweed jacket swapped in By Emilie Hawtin Developing a personal uniform is a common goal for those that are into clothing, I find. It has the twin benefits of being personal yet easy, distinctive yet versatile. Whe...

Day in, day out: On uniform dressing and travel

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Emilie, I can't enumerate all the ways you get so much right! I understand the idea of a uniform way of dressing. I am old enough to remember the days of corporate outings where every single guy, and they were all guys i...

StyleFebruary 17th 2023

Expressing yourself: How to dress like Milad Abedi

February 15th 2023

  The photographer Milad Abedi is someone whose style I’ve liked for a long time, but in a quiet way. Whenever we’ve shot together I’ve been interested in what he’s wearing and found something I liked, but he wasn...

Expressing yourself: How to dress like Milad Abedi

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Thank you very much Simon for the quick response as always!...

StyleFebruary 15th 2023

Subtle vs showy: A way to think about casual clot...

February 1st 2023

There is an important factor in how we dress that I don't think we’ve ever discussed explicitly on Permanent Style, which is how subtle or showy an outfit is. When we talked almost entirely about tailoring, worn largely in offices, it was cle...

Subtle vs showy: A way to think about casual clot...

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A bit of a late comment, but: Perhaps instead of comparing dressing to cooking, a better analogy is comparing dressing to eating? You have to do both - eating for obvious reasons, and dressing because not doing so will c...

StyleFebruary 1st 2023

Some interesting Pitti picks: Mixing patterns, la...

January 20th 2023

As we did last year, during Pitti I picked out a few people and outfits that I really liked, but that could have been missed - because they’re not Ethan, Jake or Tatsuya Nakamura. They’re deliberately a mix of smart and casual, tailoring...

Some interesting Pitti picks: Mixing patterns, la...

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Does anyone happen to know where the tie that Christopher Berii is wearing comes from. I just love it...

StyleJanuary 20th 2023

Proportions and high/low: Lessons from womenswear

January 9th 2023

By André Larnyoh The world of women’s fashion is huge. In variety, scope and scale, it towers above menswear. Yet, usually, men keep women’s styling at arm’s length, because it seems so different to what we know, and because...

Proportions and high/low: Lessons from womenswear

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I think there's a key point here, André. There's a fine line between loose fit and too big, just as there is with slim vs skinny/too right....

StyleJanuary 9th 2023

Reader profile: David E

December 19th 2022

David is an example of a reader that has been into clothes for a long time, and now looks back on it from the perspective of a professional and father, fitting that interest into a life that has changed dramatically. A resident of south-east London...

Reader profile: David E

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I see your point, but it also seems like you wear them in a very limited amount of occasions, or at least very limited for me as I don't go to church and I don't go to the opera that often, so it would leave me with the ...

StyleDecember 19th 2022

Collectable cards show the ages of British Costume

December 2nd 2022

Near where I grew up in Mortlake, south-west London, there is an incredible antiques shop. ‘Memories of Mortlake’ is the life’s work of collector Elke Crowther, who sadly passed away last year, after decades of selling anything an...

Collectable cards show the ages of British Costume

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Hi Jonathan, You could look at Cordings. I cannot say that they are made in the UK but their RTW tweed suits are of an English cut and very good quality...

StyleDecember 2nd 2022

Double brown: Just a touch less subtle

November 7th 2022

I think there's a useful variable in considerations of how we dress that we haven't talked about explicitly before: how subtle or showy clothes are. I might write a longer piece on it at some point, but I think it's essentially a spectrum from the v...

Double brown: Just a touch less subtle

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Sure, mines medium...

Knitwear - StyleNovember 7th 2022

The dilemma of associations

October 28th 2022

By André Larnyoh If you know the photographer Alex Natt (above), you’ll know that he has his own somewhat distinct uniform: a loose oxford shirt, wide jeans or chinos, well-worn cordovan loafers and a baseball cap of some kind. Simple, ...

The dilemma of associations

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There are lots of things you can do here Kailash. The first is simply fit and quality - have some trousers made, for example, and they'll seem much more elegant. Or look into better chinos in terms of fit and finish, and...

StyleOctober 28th 2022

Reader profile: Shun

October 17th 2022

With the PS reader profiles, we’re always looking to add something different - a different style, a different age, hopefully at some point a different location. Although Shun’s love of classic menswear will be shared by many, he is a li...

Reader profile: Shun

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Many thanks for this thoughtful and honest response Andrew, much appreciated!...

Casual clothing - JacketsOctober 17th 2022

Women and clothes: An interview with Emilie Hawtin

October 7th 2022

It’s not uncommon to hear men complain that they don’t know what to wear anymore, particularly to the office. Or that there aren’t any good mid-market brands, just cheap high-street and high-end luxury. But no matter what our issue...

Women and clothes: An interview with Emilie Hawtin

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A superb article. She looks beautiful and I am inspired by the wonderful ease with which she wears her linen jacket. To that end, I was wondering if anyone has had experience of Neapolitan tailors who have been known to ...

Style - October 7th 2022

Sartoria Giuliva and Giuliva Heritage: Inspiratio...

October 3rd 2022

Gerardo Cavaliere is someone whose style I've admired for a while, but rarely had a chance to talk to for more than a few moments at an event. While Milad and I were in Rome recently, therefore, I spent some time with Gerardo and his partner Margar...

Sartoria Giuliva and Giuliva Heritage: Inspiratio...

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Yes, absolutely...

Coats - JacketsOctober 3rd 2022

Video: Tony Sylvester, style and subcultures

September 19th 2022

Can subcultures ever exist in this century the way they did in the last? Why are logos better on some clothes than others? Why do French men dress like happy Englishmen? When I introduced this talk with Tony Sylvester I promised a wide ranging mens...

Video: Tony Sylvester, style and subcultures

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True, thanks Zo. I'm not sure posting the audio from the videos would generate that much of a new audience though. If I was going to do a podcast I'd want to do it properly. Though if you wanted the audio, I think you co...

Style - VideoSeptember 19th 2022

The three wardrobes that define my week 

September 14th 2022

Broadly speaking, I dress in one of three ways during the week. They are defined quite clearly (to simplify the process, as much as anything else) and represent three general levels of smartness. I know readers will be interested in having these set...

The three wardrobes that define my week 

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The Armoury, but they don't make them anymore. See full post on them here. I am trying to recreate something similar!...

StyleSeptember 14th 2022

Wearing all black

August 12th 2022

I’ve been playing around with black so much in recent years (note, this is classic menswear - it’s years/decades, not weeks/months) that I thought I’d try out wearing nothing but black. This was during Pitti at Florence, on a rela...

Wearing all black

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Really? Oh well, never mind...

Style - WatchesAugust 12th 2022

Some interesting Pitti picks

July 1st 2022

It was nice to see Pitti back in some kind of working order recently, when I attended for the first time in two years. Attendance was still down, with many brands absent and indeed an entire building empty. That was a little shocking to see - just ...

Some interesting Pitti picks

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The fact is some do look good but if lm honest and with respect l didn’t see very much that was interesting at Pitti . Lots of it is “ look at me “ and some is very ordinary . Apart from that occasionally where l l...

StyleJuly 1st 2022

Can you look good in cheap clothes?

May 20th 2022

Is it possible to look good in cheaper clothes? Absolutely. But that doesn’t mean you can’t look better (in some ways) with better quality ones, or that there aren’t other reasons for choosing them. This question often comes up wh...

Can you look good in cheap clothes?

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Nice, thanks Dave...

StyleMay 20th 2022

Reader profile: Patrick

May 4th 2022

Patrick Dawson is a retired news correspondent, now living in London. During his career he worked for ABC, CNN and NBC and covered the Balkans War from Kosovo, the Gulf War from Kuwait, and was the first NBC correspondent on the ground during 9/11. ...

Reader profile: Patrick

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Pat Dawson has -always- looked great. He and I competed in local news in NYC back in the late 80s, and even then he was the best-dressed man I knew. I'm not at all surprised it has continued....

StyleMay 4th 2022