The Drake’s x Permanent Style outfit
November 20th 2017Drake's was one of the first menswear brands that really inspired me, back in the days when I'd sit in Michael Drake's study going through old decorative art books, dissecting patterns. Drake's managed to combine craft and style, deep tradition and ...
The Drake’s x Permanent Style outfit
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It's here John...
How to wear trainers: Part 3. Style
October 13th 2017This 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 those being discussed. So in ...
How to wear trainers: Part 3. Style
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Stan Smiths are a little round and chunky for most of the things we write about, but if you like that vibe (eg with a looser, bigger fit perhaps) then a runner along the lines of New Balance is more in these days. Person...
Italian aristocracy: Black and white
August 30th 2017Last 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 post had been on 'Dressing pale c...
Italian aristocracy: Black and white
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That’s great - thanks Simon. I’ve just received some linen shirts from Simone Abbarchi. The cream is Canclini Topolino linen fabric. It’s a lovely shade of cream, not too yellowy but distinctly not an ivory either....
How to dress for very hot weather
August 16th 2017As 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. And Puglia at the end of that mon...
How to dress for very hot weather
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To be honest, no probably not. While it is nice if your teenage daughters like how you dress, I wouldn't say they would be near the top of my priority list (my two eldest are also teenagers). My partner, me, and my cultu...
Sage green and tobacco brown – earthy summer
August 11th 2017Finding 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 creative aspects of dress. Particular...
Sage green and tobacco brown – earthy summer
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I don't, sorry Daniel...
The ‘Style Guide’ dinner: What is the...
July 26th 2017Last 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, and signings, at Fenwick's of Bo...
The ‘Style Guide’ dinner: What is the...
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Hope you enjoy the little video, changing a bit with humour your dinner for your book. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CD-nn2zpvRN/?igshid=1deds976zz0ra...
What I pack when I travel
July 19th 2017As 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 course, an...
What I pack when I travel
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I still use Rimowa when I'm checking something in, but I'm not sure I'd buy again today given the prices. I'm yet to find an alternative - everything people suggest is either worse quality or just as expensive....
Pale summer colours (in vintage linen)
July 17th 2017This 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 point is the jacket, made for m...
Pale summer colours (in vintage linen)
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Yes it was, and yes I think it would do. It would feel a little heavy, but otherwise be really nice...
Wearing black (in a sports jacket)
June 26th 2017I 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 pretty cool. It was a useful piec...
Wearing black (in a sports jacket)
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Sharp sport coat! I don’t have the same reservations about black that many seem to have. To me, a very dark navy or grey is virtually indistinguishable in almost all lighting. I have a black hopsack sport coat and two ...
The Style Guide: accessories style, as more stock...
June 12th 2017This 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. So they're going pretty fast - ...
The Style Guide: accessories style, as more stock...
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First call, Drakes. Also Anglo-Italian has some nice ones (presuming you're in London)...
The perfect wedding suit
May 22nd 2017It 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. P...
The perfect wedding suit
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Personally, I'd say always keep it simple for something like a wedding Zakary. White shirt, simple tie - grey, pale blue, maybe a lilac or something if you want to. But don't overthink it - this is about simple and elega...
Summer colours: Tobacco and tan
May 12th 2017Shades 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. They are displayed on my wonderful...
Summer colours: Tobacco and tan
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That bunch is no longer current I'm afraid (as with pretty much all cloths older than 2 or 3 years). Most still carry a natural or biscuit-coloured version however...
Seven levels of formality
May 4th 2017Understanding 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 create - and how to put appropr...
Seven levels of formality
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No problem Mark. I think I'd say it has similarities to the recent office article - what will everyone else be wearing? That sets your spectrum and then you can pick your point along it...
Style Guide – the partners shoot
April 24th 2017The 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 far. One is that we proudly d...
Style Guide – the partners shoot
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Lots of things I think. Grey and navy as shown here, plus cream or white, and black. More tonally similar colours, like dark brown, might be Ok if there's some other contrast, such as a white shirt underneath...
How to buy ‘The Style Guide’
April 10th 2017Our 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 do visit and pick up a copy if ...
How to buy ‘The Style Guide’
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Yes! It will actually be coming out again within the next couple of months. Update coming soon......
‘The Style Guide’: Wearing texture in...
April 3rd 2017Update 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 RSVP to [email protected]...
‘The Style Guide’: Wearing texture in...
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No, sorry Oliver. I'd imagine it will be some mixture of wool/silk/linen though, which most of the Italians offer...
‘The Style Guide’ to launch at Fenwic...
March 23rd 2017On 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'. It is constructed as a series...
‘The Style Guide’ to launch at Fenwic...
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Hi Simon, great, many thanks! Cheers...
Brown in town: Donegal-tweed suit, Dalcuore
January 16th 2017The 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') and subverting its connotations...
The sweater over the shoulders
January 4th 2017We 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 probably worth unpacking why. ~ As wi...
The sweater over the shoulders
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Diego Della Valle does it with ease and a scarf!...
Staples for a hot climate – Reader question
December 28th 2016Dear 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 most of the year here, cashmere i...
Staples for a hot climate – Reader question
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I live in a tropical climate and wear a lot of wool-silk-linen. There is some variety in it with options such as the Caccioppoli 240gsm plain weave wool-silk-linen options wearing very cool indeed and also feeling light ...
Double-breasted flannel suit – with pink an...
December 26th 2016I 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 case, it bears repeating that...
Double-breasted flannel suit – with pink an...
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May I ask the cloth used in this commission?...
How sartorial principles can apply to casual clot...
December 19th 2016This 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?’ post, it is the informa...
How sartorial principles can apply to casual clot...
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No, I have that milk colour and it's rather different - no melange and paler...
Esquire names me one of the 10 most influential o...
December 6th 2016I 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 you define yourself, there ca...
Esquire names me one of the 10 most influential o...
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Easily remedied situation … take off the socks and show bare ankles!...
A pale-grey jacket with green corduroy
November 14th 2016This 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 the fit contemporary. But you...
A pale-grey jacket with green corduroy
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Yes, it probably would, and wouldn't wear them together today - see article here on outfits I'd wear differently...
The sartorial journey: How to dress like George Wang
November 7th 2016It’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 in Beijing, China. George is a g...
The sartorial journey: How to dress like George Wang
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It's now called Brio Pechino...