This is the fourth 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. How many buttons should I have on a single-breasted jacket? Just as hard a...

“I’ve got a question for you – how do you gauge which patterns work well together across the tie, shirt and jacket?” “I’ve written about that before, it’s all about the density of the pattern.” “Well I didn’t see it, you should wr...

I’m not sure we really answered the question in this chat.  The idea of each of these videos is to take a frequently asked reader question, and then tackle it from every angle. Here the question was: ‘I’m going to a tailor or shirtmaker for th...

  This is the fourth 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. Following on from previous articles on single and double-breasted suits, ...

    Dear Simon, I’ve been reading Permanent Style for many years now, but recently went scurrying back through older posts for advice. Having decided I should go straight to the source, I write to you today. In the last few months I’v...

One of the most frequent questions I get asked on the site is where I would recommend for getting suits altered - or knitwear repaired, or shoes resoled. I’ve been meaning to create a single page with all these recommendations for a while, so I ca...

One of the things I enjoy most about Permanent Style is the comments from readers.  It’s like each article is a new thread in a forum, with subject raised and then comments, experiences and questions all following, vastly enriching the article?...

This is the third in our series of reader-question videos, with the subject this time being wardrobe building.  Specifically: “I am building up a wardrobe from scratch. What do I buy first, and how much should I spend?” It’s a popular question...

 The bespoke pea coat had many inspirations. Among its foremost influences were the personal creations of Davide (Taub, Gieves & Hawkes head cutter); the Gieves military and naval archive; and the embroidery designs of lovely Claire (Barrett) at...

 If you don’t own a shawl-collar cardigan, it's the one sweater you should invest in this winter.No other knitwear is more versatile: its collar makes it the only style that works with T-shirts, shirts or polos, for everyone. Some men (such as me)...

I'm delighted to say that our first hard copy of Permanent Style - containing the best of the site from the previous year - will be out at the end of next month. The magazine-sized publication has been designed by London agency Egelnick & Webb, a...

  It feels great to say it: Permanent Style 2015 is now live, and ready to buy. You can place orders here. I know the first few have already gone, to some inquisitive readers who were searching around the Hanger Project site (who are doing all ful...

  In my recent post on a handkerchief capsule collection, there were quite a few questions about commuting to work by bike. They can be summarised as:What should I keep in the office, and at home?How do I rotate them to avoid things being boring?Is...

This is the fourth 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 double-breasted jacket by Dege & Skinner Perceptions of the d...

This is part of a long-running series of articles known as the Guide to Suit Style, covering everything from the number of buttons on a suit to the difference between made-to-measure and bespoke.    It will continue to be added to over the next...

One of the lovely things about the questions and comments we get on Permanent Style is the trends they highlight. In the past two weeks there have been dozens of questions on old posts about wedding attire. So I know everyone is thinking about what ...

This is the sixth 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 or on the dedicated guide page here.  God, I love a good button. Some are so nice I co...

Fashion media has had a hard time of it in recent years, with near constant disruption - which Covid-19 has only made worse.  So why am I confident that Permanent Style can survive this turmoil? What revenue streams support that, and what investment...

Shipping 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 most po...

This question about knitwear worn on its own (without a shirt) came up twice recently - once in a comment about polo-collared knits (above) and once in a reader question about roll necks. So it feels like it deserves its own post.  Anyone that has w...

We used to do a lot of posts called ‘Reader questions’. Someone asked recently what happened to them.  Well, we still do them - it’s just that the site is now so big that posts normally reflect a half dozen readers asking similar things. Today...

This Brioni jacket was made for me under their bespoke programme, using the London store on Bruton Street. We also made a pair of cotton trousers, which I cover lower down, and a shirt.  In our previous article, I made the case for Brioni as a bespo...

Several readers in the past few weeks have expressed a wish to meet up somewhere, to swap tailoring anecdotes and get some of those damned reader questions answered a little quicker.As a first, tentative step towards such a gathering, Permanent Style...

 This is the 1000th post on Permanent Style. In the past five-and-a-half years I have written about having things made at 20 different bespoke tailors, 6 bespoke shirtmakers and 2 bespoke shoemakers. But looking back over the most popular posts, it...

A colleague recently asked me for advice on buying a suit - probably navy, certainly single-breasted, possibly three-button. It's the kind of everyday question that I get asked a lot, and probably concerns far more people than 'Which French tailor ha...