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...

I’ve been buying and wearing more corduroy in recent years - including the new dark-brown jacket above, from Sartoria Ciardi.  I think the reason is that if you’re not dressing for a formal office, worsted is likely to feel out of place; flannel...

By Tony Sylvester Earlier this year, some readers may remember, I joined Simon and photographer Alex Natt on a jaunt to Paris. I spent the day investigating and chasing ghosts of the cult Parisian brand Arnys, visiting with their old designer Dominiq...

By Tony Sylvester. I used to travel to Oslo regularly for a decade or so. A beautiful city, but not one abundant with window shopping options for those interested in menswear. One of the exceptions was Cavour; slap bang in the well-heeled part of tow...

Over the next few months there will a handful of PS events and talks, which will hopefully provide some nice opportunities for us to get together after the long summer, and lead to some stimulating conversation.  The first of these is in three weeks...

By Tony Sylvester “A few years back, I posted a photo of Paul Weller on my Instagram (above). It was taken in 1984 in his Style Council era, where much to the consternation of the Mod faithful, he was constantly tinkering with his attire - alienati...

These talks - well, interviews - at Mortimer House seem to be going down really well. We've done two now, with Tony Sylvester and Ethan Newton, and the film of Ethan's interview will be up on Monday. There are some really interesting points in it and...

By Manish Puri In between short walks to the kitchen to restock on mince pies and watching Home Alone for the 83rd time (this genuinely may be an understatement), the festive period offers a singular opportunity to contemplate weighty matters concern...

It's easy to forget that when Bryceland's first started, the idea was just to do tailoring. Six and half years later, on the eve of opening his third shop in London, Ethan Newton reflects with me on how far he and the brand have come. Hear how he thi...

By Tony Sylvester A couple of weekends ago, at the invitation of photographer Jamie Ferguson and writer Aleks Cvetkovic, a few friends got together for a weekend away in the Devonshire countryside. Obviously, social invitations and jaunts out and a...

By Tony Sylvester For the first time in a long time, I find myself in a particular clothing predicament: having spent the past few years in the same home, a move is imminent. While the change is welcome for many reasons, one of the obstacles is parin...

By Tony Sylvester Sitting down to write today, I am wearing my favourite recent piece of clothing. Brand new from Bryceland’s, the knee-length linen Farmer’s Smock (below) might be a bit of a departure from what you expect from the design team of...

I believe that core to understanding clothes, and perhaps even to enjoying them, is appreciating styles that are not your own.  If you can’t, it closes you off to dozens of ideas - something as simple as the shape of a sleeve, or a colour combinat...

1. Drake’s bright-red suede chore jacket £1195 I’ve been asked a few times over the years about these suede chore jackets from Drake’s. Personally I tend to prefer blouson styles, and chore coats in cottons, particularly vintage ones. But sinc...

Just before Christmas, I organised a Permanent Style Christmas dinner, to thank a few people that had helped and supported PS in recent years.  We were hosted by Geordie D’Anyers Willis of Berry Bros & Rudd, which was kind of Geordie, and also...

By Tony Sylvester From the kilo stores to the more specialised outlets, Paris is a city with an enviable array of vintage menswear options. This spring, Simon filed reports on two of the best. Le Vif in the 16th, with its highly curated focus on Amer...

By Tony Sylvester Roughly three years ago I wrote a piece for the Drake’s in-house magazine Common Thread. Given a free rein on any subject I wanted to talk about, I’d started ruminating on the similarities between French and English style, one o...

By Tony Sylvester This Autumn past, I took my first trip since before Covid. A short flight to Copenhagen, a city I know well. A very brief holiday, it served as a primer of sorts; a way to ease back into the idea of travel.  Everything was familiar...

By Tony Sylvester It might seem counterintuitive to be talking about past fads or subcultures on a platform named Permanent Style. But while it is certainly admirable for a man to build a wardrobe around the timeless and perennial, it would be foolis...

Our last evening talk with Tony Sylvester was so fun that we have a second one lined up - with Ethan Newton on Tuesday, October 25th.  The Bryceland's founder is only in London for a few weeks, but we've found a date and will be in the same space as...

The search function on Instagram can be a bit useless.  No matter how many great, quality brands I engage with, most of what IG pushes at me is men in suits so tight they can barely breathe, and people doing silly stunts. Far more useful, often, is ...

Fred Nieddu (above) recently set up on his own under the name ‘taillour’ (an Old French term for tailor), having previously been the bespoke cutter at Timothy Everest in London. However, chances are you will have seen Fred’s work around for a ...

Brut is an interesting French brand, and store. Since it was founded by Paul Ben Chemhoun (below) in 2012, it has evolved from a vintage shop, into a home for rescued and reworked clothing, and now its own brand.  When I visited earlier this year wi...

*UPDATE: Just to clarify, anything that is not available as stock in the shop, and so has to be shipped to a visiting reader from either PS or Bryceland's, will have free shipping. So no extra charge there. Thanks* Some readers might have already see...

Sometimes I feel a bit envious of brands holding trunk shows, because they meet so many more PS readers than I do.  I see people at occasional events, and of course the pop-ups once or twice a year, but that's about it.  So one of the nice things a...