Style

This post is an illustrated explanation of how I wear trainers, or sneakers. As with similar exercises on the blog, I have attempted to be as structured as possible, keeping some parameters constant in order to focus on...

Last summer, a reader responded to a post by reminding me that in Slim Aarons's photography of Italian aristocracy, most wore cream or tobacco-linen suits, a white shirt, white hank and black knitted-silk tie. The pos...

As mentioned on my ‘What I pack’ post, I’ve been travelling a lot in high heat recently. There was Pitti in Florence, where the temperature topped out at 37 degrees. Naples in July was very similar. An...

Finding new colour combinations I like makes me disproportionately happy. I know this doesn’t apply to every menswear enthusiast, but for me the interrelationship of colours is one of the most enjoyable and creati...

Last month, we organised a dinner at the beautiful Beaumont Hotel to celebrate The Style Guide - the book published earlier this year by myself and photographer Jamie Ferguson. There had been official launch events, an...

As I return from two summer trips - one for a week in Florence, the other a week in Naples - it seems a fitting time to run through what I pack for trips such as these. I know readers have asked about it in the past. Of...

This is a nice exercise in combining summery, pale colours. The challenge is being light and pale overall, while retaining enough contrast between shirt, jacket and trousers - both in colour and texture. The starting p...

I recently remembered these shots we took last year in Japan - it was September, but Tokyo was hot and humid, as Europe has been in recent weeks. Although wool, the checked jacket is 9 ounces and half lined, wearing pre...

This is an update on availability of our book The Style Guide - with the sweet sweetener of an extract from the Accessories chapter. So far, The Style Guide has sold just over 1000 copies, out of a total run of 2000. S...

It is the time of year for wedding preparations, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to share images of my friend Oliver's wedding last year. He is wearing probably my favourite groomsman's outfit. First, the colour. ...

Shades of tobacco and tan are one of the loveliest things to wear in the Summer. As the weather warms up, I've put together three outfits here - all somewhere in the 5 to 7 formality range - that illustrate this. Th...

Understanding formality is a cornerstone of dressing well. Only when you understand that flannel is more casual than worsted, and a derby more casual than an oxford, can you begin to understand the impression clothes c...

The Style Guide has been wonderfully received so far - at the launch events in London and New York, but also online and through personal messages. Thank you all. There are a few things I realise I haven't emphasised so...

Our new book, The Style Guide is available to buy online through Permanent Style and in 35 specialist menswear stores around the world. Copies will be arriving in the stores listed below on Thursday this week. Please d...

Update on the launch of 'The Style Guide': The Style Guide, the new book by myself and photographer Jamie Ferguson, will launch next Thursday at Fenwick of Bond Street, from 6:30pm. If you would like to come, please RSV...

On Thursday April 6th, we will be launching our latest book at Fenwick of Bond Street department store in London. The book, put together over the past six months, is called 'Permanent Style presents: The Style Guide'. ...

The outfit I wore to present our Retailers Symposium last week was a donegal suit made by Dalcuore. I've liked the idea of a tweed suit for while - taking something so rural (as my mother would say, so 'Farmer Giles') a...

We took this picture of Patrick Johnson, founder of P Johnson, last month. It occurred to me at the time how hard it is to wear a sweater over the shoulders, as Patrick does. It's something I rarely do, and it's probabl...

Dear Simon, I recently read your 2014 article, ' The staples of a good wardrobe' and was wondering how you would modify it for warmer climes like Hong Kong and Singapore? Grey flannel isn’t a great option for mos...

I know I've written about green and pink a few times before. I could find one old post with a little flower illustration, but there must be more. Perhaps it's the fog of Christmas food and wine clouding my mind. In any...

This outfit, which was shot for the recent cover story of Plaza Uomo magazine, is probably one of the most casual ever featured on Permanent Style. Much like the first image of our popular ‘ Which office are you?&...

I have been included in a list of the Top 10 most influential men in fashion by Esquire. Which is nice. You can read the full article and a short interview here. I dislike the term 'influencer' - frankly if that's how...

This outfit was used in a piece written recently for Drake's regarding corduroy. The piece mentions some of the associations that corduroy often carries, and ways to avoid them; basically, keeping the colours dark and ...

It’s been a while since we’ve included anyone in this series – which began with Bruce Boyer and Alan See – for which I apologise. The next to be included is George Wang, owner of the BRIO store i...

A few weeks ago I was invited by Brunello Cucinelli to visit the HQ in Solomeo. Perhaps surprisingly, when I interviewed him Brunello was one of the most open and unpretentious people I’ve met. He was creative and...

A style post today, after several product and profile pieces in recent weeks. To break it down into bullets: I love grey shirts, primarily with navy suits or jackets as an alternative to white and blue. It feels urban ...

I have a friend who wears what he calls ‘knockabout’ suits. How exactly he knocks about in them I don’t know, but the meaning is clear: these are casual suits, that don’t belong in a formal envir...

In recent weeks there have been several pieces in magazines such as Robb Report UK and the Financial Times's luxury supplement, How To Spend It. Regular readers will be aware that I write a monthly column for How to Sp...

Braces (or suspenders) are great. The tension in hanging from the shoulders maintains a smooth, elegant front to trousers. The high-waisted style gives a man longer legs and stops any shirt puffing out between trouser t...

Summer clothing, particularly from Italian brands, often includes a lot of light, bright colours. These can be difficult to wear, particularly in northern European countries where the sun might not be that consistent. ...

Hi Simon, Your blog has been extremely useful as a body of knowledge, thank you for it. Would you mind commenting on navy and how it is worn? It seems to be over-used, or used in the wrong setting. I often see men weari...

A reader recently commented that the site could do with some more practical pieces about putting clothes together - rather than commissioning them. I am deeply appreciative of such feedback. I do try to keep a balance ...

One of the central themes of Permanent Style over the past nine years has been the desire to make tailoring relevant to a new generation. To explore the ways in which the suit or jacket can transition from formal busine...

The end of a conversation about people parading into Pitti. About its silliness. About therefore, naturally, the Ministry of Silly Walks. Fuller Pitti coverage next week - our Young Tailors Symposium on Wednesday, whi...

Simon, Would you be willing to do a post on (casual) summer dressing? It’s the area of dress I struggle with the most. Every time I go on summer/spring holidays I find myself browsing through the internet looking ...

The colour combinations that we discuss every week in regards to formal wear, can be applied just as readily to casual wear. Although there will always be elements that don't crossover (such as the immense versatility ...

Hello Simon I am struggling with a lighter grey jacket like in your Caliendo denim post, or a navy jacket. Are they really that versatile to be the top 2 odd jacket colours? (As you mentioned in your oatmeal jacket pos...

My old friend Christian Barker – ex-Rake editor and general good egg – has a new project documenting some of the 10 style commandments of his famous friends and stylists. He published my thoughts today, a...

This pale, oatmeal-coloured cashmere is my new favourite sports-jacket material. When men are picking colours for sports jackets, their second choice (after the obviousness of navy) is usually grey. Which can be great...

There are many ways in which you can make a sartorial outfit look younger or more modern. Extremes are always wrong: very short jackets, big puffy shoulders. They just look trendy, for a bit. But aside from the extre...

A reader commented to me recently that one of the things he likes about Permanent Style is the fact I work in an office, just like him. It hadn’t really occurred to me before, but the fact that I work in a moder...

Everyone gets dressed in the morning. Most put no thought into it; a few put too much into it. My approach, formed through nothing more than hazard and habit, is to do one of two things: Pick out one piece that I re...

Yes, I know there are 11 in the photo… During Pitti Uomo back in January, Michael Jondral had the lovely idea of gathering together the 10 men that Rake Japan selected as the most rakish in the world. We all ma...

Air force blue is a beautiful colour. Better than the bright, tonic blues that are so popular these days – so much deeper, so much more subtle. Also known as RAF blue, the colour refers to the uniforms issued t...

One of the nicest aspects of the Bespoke Tailors Benevolent Association dinner every year is the evening wear. Although most cutters and tailors aren’t actually into clothes and style, they are all wearing somet...

Dressing well is as much about propriety as it is about style, quality or personality. This is particularly true at work, where there are often prescriptions, or at least expectations, about professionalism and cloth...

Nice little cartoon this, by Fei Wang aka Mr Slowboy. It’s part of a series he’s doing on the 10 best dressed men at Pitti. Look him up @mr.slowboy for others including George Wang, Haruo Suzuki and Simone...

Several readers asked what I was wearing in the video we produced recently for Begg & Co scarves. So here they are, one by one. In the jacket shots, above: Navy cashmere jacket by Solito. Not a great level of fin...

Given this is Pitti Uomo week, it seems fitting to bring up the topic of sprezzatura, which readers requested a post on a couple of months ago. It is also fitting because the term is so misused, often in reference to...

There are just 19 of our cashmere squares left – the beautiful collaboration we started a few weeks ago with Begg & Co. The colours have sold pretty evenly, with 9 navy and 10 ‘natural’ (pictured...