In my continued exploration of all things the colour of mourning, I commissioned this black-corduroy suit from Pommella (trousers) and Zizolfi (jacket) last year.  The logic seemed sound: if black is going to work in tailoring, I’d consistently fo...

It was really nice to be in New York last week, after a break of three years. (The last time being for our Ivy Symposium.)  I got to see many old friends, both in the industry (Steven Taffel of Leffot and I realised we both have our 15-year annivers...

Florence is a surprisingly good city for shopping, quite apart from any menswear shows that happen to be going on.  It’s always been a hub for craft, and even in the city centre you’ll often walk past a little workshop with someone restoring ant...

He looks pretty suave doesn't he? Got a good lean on.  Patrick at Swedish shoe shop Skoaktiebolaget recently posed for an article of mine, above, in How To Spend It magazine. (A supplement of the Financial Times, and arguably the top luxury public...

Frieze, the contemporary art fair in London, makes for great people watching. The art world brings in such a broad spectrum of types, of tribes. Although from a clothing point of view there always seems to be one consistent theme, which is a specific...

Simon is only our second reader profile from outside the UK. He lives in New York, although when we talk on the phone he’s actually in Washington DC, having just landed on the red eye from Arizona.  Simon travels a lot. He’s a journalist and his...

It can be a little galling getting a high-end watch serviced. Given the cost could be between £500 and £1000, it's easy to feel you're spending a lot of money just to get the same thing back again.  Perhaps it's easier to swallow if you've spent 2...

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...

Dry January is, at least in the UK, an opportunity for people to give up alcohol for a month to recover from some of the excesses of the holidays. It is in that same spirit that during January, Permanent Style will not write about any new clothing. T...

When we approached the headquarters of 45R, I was a little nervous. I'd been given an introduction by a friend, but had no idea what the management team knew about me or Permanent Style, or how much they cared.  It was late afternoon and already get...

During a recent trip to Manchester, I visited a lovely little vintage shop called Bionic Seven. A partner store to Levison's in London, it leans towards more modern and more sports clothing, but has quite a few little gems in amongst the racks.  I d...

By Manish Puri A few months ago I had the privilege of speaking with Alan Flusser about the history of New York bespoke tailoring. From the opening beats of our conversation it was clear that Alan wasn’t about to be constrained by the narrow parame...

By Tom Mastronardi. Anyone that knows me appreciates my resolute affection for being well-tailored. Even as a kid raised in a decidedly blue-collar neighbourhood on Chicago’s South Side, I never required any coaxing to don a jacket and tie. But of ...

The photographer Milad Abedi is someone whose style I've liked for a long time, but in a quiet way. Whenever we’ve shot together I’ve been interested in what he’s wearing and found something I liked, but he wasn’t the first person I thought...

In the corner of the Aigat mill in Wakayama, there are a few knitting machines that look like none of the others - monsters, hybrids. The rest of the mill is split in two, with the more modern ‘sinker’ machines (below) in one half, wooden-beamed ...

There are more vintage shops in Japan than anywhere else. Particularly in Harajuku, the fashion area of Tokyo, and in Koenji, a district about 40 minutes from the centre.  But elsewhere too - Osaka, traditionally a fashion centre in Japan, has high-...

This is the first piece of black tailoring that’s been featured on Permanent Style, I think, outside of evening wear. Over the past three years we’ve been exploring how black’s role in the wardrobe can be expanded, beyond tuxedos and lace-ups. ...

  When friends ask me about looking after their clothes, it always strikes me that their questions come too late. They’ve trodden down the heel cup of a shoe, and want to know if it can be repaired; a suit is looking old and grimy and they want a...

A friend of mine once told me about regular meetings with Prince Charles (as he then was). Assembled at Clarence House, a team of six would wait in a shockingly cold room, to the extent that anyone who was near a window could see their breath. Charle...

By André Larnyoh When I first got this Barbour jacket, I remember wondering if it was really me. I was around 19, taking all my inspiration from Pinterest boards and The Ivy Handbook. A waxed motorcycle jacket seemed off the beaten track. But it was...

It’s not uncommon to hear men complain that they don’t know what to wear anymore, particularly to the office. Or that there aren’t any good mid-market brands, just cheap high-street and high-end luxury. But no matter what our issues, women have...

About eight months ago we made the decision to discontinue our trench coat in favour of something simpler and subtler. A few conversations with friends had brought up the issue, repeatedly, of not being able to find a really stylish but understated, ...

By Manish Puri The attention of Permanent Style has always been - and will continue to remain - trained upon the highest quality garments in the world. However, there are barriers to accessing the very best – especially with suits. You might live h...

For the past five years or so, I’ve been wearing Hamilton & Hare’s tubular T-shirts under things.  They’re what I wear underneath knitwear, what I wear under a shirt, even what I sleep in. They’re the best fine-cotton tee I’ve ever wo...

In our voluminous Guide to Cloth series, we’ve already done an article on tweed. But that was about the history, the style and a little about the types. There was no mention of bunches. Today’s article takes on that introduction, fleshes out the...