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...

L’Impermeabile gilet, at John Simons £435 This lightly waxed gilet, particularly in the pale beige colour, is reminiscent of the Eddie Bauer style that has become popular in recent years. It’s 100% cotton on the outside though, which means it wi...

In the past year Davide Baroncini, of knitwear brand Ghiaia, has been putting together and posting some looks that really resonate with me.  Comfortable and relaxed, but with a really high taste level, they seem a long way from both the hype-driven ...

I think there's a useful variable in considerations of how we dress that we haven't talked about explicitly before: how subtle or showy clothes are. I might write a longer piece on it at some point, but I think it's essentially a spectrum from the ve...

Sweatshirts vary hugely in price, from £20 at a fast-fashion brand to well over £200 from a specialist Japanese maker.  And even though the price difference is that large among brands we cover - say Merz b Schwnen at £130 and The Real McCoy’s a...

Hopsack and similar materials are a good choice for summer blazers - sharp jackets usually made in smart colours, such as navy.  The materials don’t vary that much, even if the weaves themselves are different. A mesh in a classic menswear dark-nav...

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...

I’ve always loved Japanese circular-knitted T-shirts. They have so much body, and such a nice hand compared to regular tees.  By comparison mainstream T-shirts can feel flimsy, almost like underwear.  But the problem, usually, with Japanese tees ...

When I travel, my default these days is a blouson over shirt and trousers.  It makes a nice switch from tailoring during the working days - perhaps a little more comfortable, but more importantly just a change that feels as good as a rest.  The...

  Over the next few weeks on Permanent Style, I’ll be setting out the pieces that form the foundation of my smart/casual summer wardrobe.  We’ve covered the smart (read tailored) side of summer dressing in quite a lot of de...

**UPDATE: Only one half-button style left! It's a large white - who wants it? NOW GONE - all half-buttoning polos sold out(Several button-throughs remaining, although navy and white only in XL and of course no S)** Many thanks to everyone for their?...

Last week a friend in the industry asked me what aspect of writing Permanent Style I like the most. It is always, easily, discovering a new tailor, cloth or product that is different and inspiring. That journey from discovering something new, to se...

The word ‘thrift’ is not used that commonly in the UK as a verb, or an adjective.  People talk about thrift as a virtue, and indeed a spendthrift (which of course means the opposite). But it is rare to hear of thrift shops, or seeking bargains b...

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...

About a month ago, proper Summer started in the UK.  Now I don’t define Summer by the solstice, the calendar, or even the moon. Summer, for me, is when it's so hot that it severely affects the clothes you can wear.  Anything consistently above 25...

Readers will probably be sick by now of me talking about Orlebar Brown. I have said before, after all, how they make my perfect polo shirt and perfect swimming trunks. But I’m sorry, there’s no other sports brand on the British high street that i...

When on holiday, a long-sleeved polo shirtor regular Oxford button-down is usually the most stylish accompaniment to shorts – see post here. However, there are times when a sportier, short-sleeved polo is more suitable. On the beach, for example, o...

The remarkable heat in London over the past two weeks has led to a few questions from readers as to the best way to stay cool in tailoring. Here are my top five tips.1 Wear linenLinen is a wonderful cloth: breathable and cool to the touch. Although e...

 Attire for flying out to Florence this week.Polo shirts make great travel items, particularly long-sleeved under jackets. They are comfortable, cool and versatile, and navy is the smartest option. Just make sure the collar is tall enough to not sli...

  A couple of weeks ago when we showed the pictures from our Tailoring Symposium at Pitti, a reader asked if there were any images of Wei Koh's suit.I had mentioned that the founder of The Rake was wearing a Rubinacci-made number in the same Scab...

Blousons come in many shapes and sizes, but they are united by a short length, fuller body and collar. Blousons work particularly well with higher-waisted tailored trousers, and for that reason make a great casual alternative to a tailored jacket. ...

Travelling to India on holiday this Easter gave me a reason to get the hot-weather clothing out early. It was unseasonably hot even for there, with the temperature pushing 40 degrees. We took the opportunity to visit the 100 Hands factory in Amrit...

100 Hands makes perhaps the finest shirts in the world. They certainly have as much handwork as any shirt I've seen, executed with greater fineness and consistency. But the most significant thing for many people will be that they are made in India...

A few shoemakers have launched unlined or softer versions of their shoes this year, in order to try and make something more comfortable in hotter weather. Of course, completely unlined shoes with cemented soles will always be the lightest - as with ...

This question might seem like an easy one, but I do get a lot of comments and emails about it, so I thought I’d lay it out in a post. No, in short, a leather belt and leather shoes do not have to match. But they should be closely related. So a mi...