Thientai: I live in London and never have a chance to get a proper suit. With a tight budget, I can’t afford bespoke, but am quite interested in made-to-measure etc. The other choice is of course, off the peg. So I browse high street stores a lot, ...

Nigel, London: How would you recommend that a slightly older man with an interest in youth-driven fashion incorporates this into his daily attire? Jeans, for example – some are so skinny they make you look even older than you are. Men’s style is...

Rob, London: I’ve recently started reading your blog and am struck by the universe of style that I am totally oblivious to. On a scale of one to ten (one = no style, ten = very stylish), where do I rank and why? I’ve known Rob and worked with hi...

Ed, London: Office attire where I work is very casual – a lot of jeans and t-shirts, with only very senior people wearing suits. I’d like to incorporate some more formal or dressy items into my work attire but don’t want to stand out too much. ...

Pete, Hong Kong: When I’m standing in front of the mirror for my first fitting, how do I tell whether the suit fits or not? How do I know if the tailor has done a good job, and tell him to change something if he hasn’t? As with the last post, he...

  Dear Mr. Crompton,   I am hoping to follow up quickly on a blog post of yours concerning pleats.   I'm having a bespoke suit made up from a Neapolitan tailor, and can't decide on whether to go with pleats.   Do you have any insight abou...

Adam: Can you offer some advice on packing for traveling and extended holidays? I will be on a 10-week holiday in western Europe this late summer-fall. I am at a loss as to how many sport coats, shoes etc I should pack. I know that I will be able to ...

MC: Simon, I’m interested in your thoughts on a waistcoat pairing for my upcoming wedding. My tuxedo is single button, peak lapel (grosgrain). I have flexibility on the shirt style (wing or standard collar) and the waistcoat. Would you recommend a ...

   Dear Mr Simon, Let me first say that I always admire your passion and insight into gentlemen's garments. I am a fan of Permanent Style and I have been hooked on it for years. I have one long-standing question: what kind of wallet should I...

Hi Simon,  Today's soggy London weather has reminded me of a conundrum I've been stuck on for a while: what sort of shoes do you wear on a rainy day if you still want to look smart?  I don't want to wear leather-soled shoes, partly to prevent hea...

 Dear Simon,I have been quite busy in the last seven years building a wardrobe that will seem modest by your standards, but is still quite substantial for me. And obviously once you start, it’s hard to stop: there always seems to be something, eve...

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 post.)What are the trouser colours...

It’s taken a while to get to these remaining questions from our ‘You are the interviewer’ post (thanks again for those - some great questions in there). Hopefully I’ll be able to get through them all over the Christmas break. Today, we’...

Arctin Pengiun: Do you feel that a vest patterned to match slack or the rest of a suit is too much and that a vest should always contrast the rest of the outfit? Does this fit into your definition of ‘costume’? I am curious about your thoughts. ...

Chris (Westie): I want to move on from wearing M&S/Next shirts that don’t fit me properly. Would my next step be to go straight to a tailor? How much can I expect to spend and do I need to know what kind of material and colour or pattern I want? Go...

Hi Simon,I hope you don't mind me seeking your counsel on the matter of bow ties. Previously, I have been somewhat dismissive of them and, indeed, those that wear them, perhaps. But for whatever reason, this is no longer the case.I'm not sure if I'm ...

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 for a good mix of casual and el...

Nick, London: Do you have any practical tips for dealing with stains on clothing and other practical tips?Sure. First, some practical tips to deal with problems if you are on the road and not within reach of a good haberdasher.Situation: Unshined sho...

This is the first article in our Guide to Suit Style. You can see the full contents so far, and browse between them, on the right-hand side of this post. Bespoke suit, Anderson & Sheppard   What's the difference between bespok...

By Manish Puri. This article is the second in a series dealing with my personal experiences of having bespoke/MTM clothes made over the last six years. The first covered some of my tips for working with tailors, while this piece focuses on the lesson...

By Manish Puri Imagine a Venn diagram with three rings representing quality cloth, construction and design. If you buy an item of clothing that sits in one of those rings you’re still doing better than half the landfill-peddled-as-fashion you’ll ...

Nothing is more rewarding than seeing how PS readers engage with requests and ideas.  In an age of ever-quicker, ever-shallower content - where everyone advises you to write only the short, social and sharable - you all take the time to contribute....

A colleague of mine in Hong Kong recently asked to come along when I visited my tailor, Edward Tam. Steve has only just moved to Hong Kong and was interested in a recommendation as well as learning about how the bespoke process works. After the visi...

When we published our second capsule guide to trousers recently, there was a discussion in the comments as to their smartness - and a request for an article setting it out.  Now, trousers vary in more than just their material, so this will always be...

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 clear t...