This is probably the busiest week of the year. I tend to avoid the fashion shows, but there are now some great tailoring events in the calendar - including The Rake's party at Claridge's on Sunday night and the English Gentleman tonight. And then tom...

A few of the pictures of me from Pitti this year. Above, in brown tweed Caliendo jacket (more on that in a couple of weeks), Anderson & Sheppard flannels and Ralph Lauren madder-like orange handkerchief.  Tweed such as this goes well with lots ...

Last week Vitale Barberis Canonico held a party at the mill in Patrivero, near Biella, to celebrate the refurnishing and opening up of its archives. It was a great event, and the archives have created a rich resource for designers the world over. Ale...

I’ve known Lino Ieluzzi, the proprietor of Al Bazar in Milan, for a few years now and always admired his style. I wouldn’t wear it; I wouldn’t recommend it; but it is unique, personal and consistent. The worst thing about so-called peacocks at ...

I've been wearing in my Levi's bespoke jeans gradually over the past few weeks, and the raw denim is settling in well. For those unfamiliar with raw denim, it is favoured by those passionate about indigo twill for the way it moulds to the legs - far ...

When was the last time there was a shop opening on Savile Row to get excited about? One making to the same standard as the great tailors already there? Exactly. Reason enough to shout about the new Gaziano & Girling shop, which had an informal o...

Unusually, I will be at Pitti this week, before going onto Milan. (I normally only go in the winter - unless you're a buyer there's little point going more often.) There will be a few images of both trips on Instagram for those that are interested:...

Summer outfits often involve white somewhere, as it’s nice to reflect the brightness of the weather – particularly if you’re in Italy and the sun is that much more consistent than it is in the UK.Combining more than one white – or cream – t...

  The simplicity of classic wedding attire - in colour, in pattern, in tone - is a reflection of respect  for the importance of the event. Business attire, once-upon-a-time, was similarly restrained; but while I can see the argument for relaxing c...

It seems like everyone has found the three reviews this week very interesting.If you don't mind, I'd also like to hear what you think about three things:The value of aesthetic hand stitching (buttonholes or attaching buttons, which have little functi...

I have worked around the corner from PA Crowe for over 10 years, yet it was only two months ago that I really became acquainted with them. Why? Partly because I discovered Graham Browne early on - the bespoke tailor only slightly further away that I ...

There are so many facts, figures and geeky points about the construction of Turnbull & Asser shirts that I could be writing about them for days. And you’d be reading for hours. I’ll try to keep the description of my visit brief and chronological....

Since I wrote a post at the beginning of the month urging readers to comment and ask questions on Permanent Style, quite a few have asked about different ready-to-wear and made-to-measure brands. I’d like to explain how to compare RTW, and why I ca...

Dear Simon,  I believe that I’ve read every post you’ve written about shirts. Italian, Spanish, British, even the one on Charvet in How To Spend It. I'm always looking for the same thing but still haven’t found it. Maybe I missed one, maybe I...

Most tailors, in my experience, do not have great style. It was always thus: tailors were pushed by their customers, and one of the problems with modern tailoring is the lack of stylish and educated customers to encourage new cuts, materials and styl...

So many stories. There’s the one about Bing Crosby, who signed every one of John Kent’s golf club covers (they were leather back then) with warm wishes that got shorter and shorter as he made his way through the set. The one about Frank Sinatra, ...

 A few months ago I had my first British bespoke suit made. Time, I thought, to repeat the experience in shirts – so I toddled off to 23 Bury Street, home of Turnbull & Asser's bespoke service. I've been a fan of Turnbull & Asser's shirts for a w...

This bespoke shirt was made for me at the end of last year by Burgos in Madrid. Burgos is one of the oldest and most famous shirtmakers in Spain, and one of very few still making by hand and using old-fashioned techniques. For more background on Burg...

I've been in Jodhpur, India for The Rake this past week at a Royal Salute polo event.Polo, of course, has given us more iconic pieces of menswear than any other sport, from the polo shirt to the polo neck, the polo collar to the polo coat. There are ...

Lorenzo Cifonelli made me this beautiful suit at the beginning of the year, and I've meaning to write about it ever since.  He has cut two jackets for me in the past, a pale-grey cashmere DB and a green tweed SB. I gave details about both of them a...

- NOW SOLD OUT -  Just a reminder that this is the second week of ordering for our grey edition of the Dartmoor sweater - a limited-edition, exclusive collaboration between Permanent Style and John Smedley, and the perfect knitwear for tailoring. ...

The comments section on each Permanent Style post is a good place to ask questions - ideally related to that post, but not always.  On Friday's post, for instance, a reader asked me where I had a particular coat made. On Thursday it was a discussio...

This Neapolitan tweed jacket – made recently for me by Elia Caliendo – is perhaps the perfect update of an English classic.  Tweed is a wonderful material – tough, soft and highly wind- and water-resistant. It makes a great jacket for the m...

  I’ve always loved little jobs that can adapt a piece of clothing or improve it. I’ve adjusted knitwear in the past to narrow it, as well as put darts in shirts, and it’s probably the reason I love polishing shoes so much. One task I perfec...

 Over the past couple of years I have got to know several of Spain’s leading tailors fairly well, particularly Langa, Reillo and Calvo de Mora.Spanish tailors can be characterised as flexible and value for money, particularly given the amount of h...