A very Happy Easter to all

A very Happy Easter to all.

And have a lovely Easter (Doris) Day...

Prince Charles and that country jacket (by John Partridge & Co Ltd)

In a recent edition of Countryfile, (for non-UK readers, a programme about the countryside), Prince Charles appeared wearing this jacket in a piece about hedgelaying. How to mix style with sustainability - we should all hesitate before throwing away those old clothes.

[January 2015: I'm grateful to an anonymous comment that corrected my original claim that the jacket is a Barbour. It seems that it was made by Staffordshire-based John Partridge, who make here in the UK - hooray!]

WORLDWIDE COMPETITION - win a Peregrine Made in England merino wool jumper

Peregrine is the trade name of J.G. Glover and Co. Ltd, a family company with over 200 years experience in producing knitwear in the UK and which is still in the eighth generation of the same family. They use and make all sorts of exciting British-made products, including Harris tweed, British Millerain and traditional knitwear.

I've been sent the golden-yellow crew-neck textured jumper pictured below. It's made in England from richly-textured pure merino with plenty of interesting detail, like the leather football buttons on one shoulder. It provides a splash of colour under a jacket or coat - and I love it. The other sweater pictured is the button-neck fisherman's jumper. Made in England from 100% merino wool, it has a high collar neck fastened with natural coconut buttons for a warm, chunky knit. Either of these (the choice is the winner's) can be won in this first Grey Fox competition sponsored by Peregrine.

TO ENTER visit Peregine's competition site here and enter your name and e-mail address. The competition lasts until 10th April 2013 and the winner's name will be selected at random on 11th April 2013. Open to all - worldwide - good luck!

This post is sponsored by Peregrine in accordance with my sponsorship policies here.

Millican bags - Harry the Gladstone bag, built for the passion of travel

Cocoa (14y 9m) enjoys his master's new Millican Harry Gladstone bag

I came across Millican bags last year, attracted by -

• The fact that Millican is based in a part of the country I visit frequently and love, the Lake District,
• The website is superb,
• The bags look good and are cunningly and comprehensively well-designed, and
• They are clear about their design influences and philosophy,
• Everything is manufactured sustainably and using local skills and expertise.

I was lucky enough to be sent a Harry the Gladstone bag recently for review. I was genuinely astonished by the quality of the manufacture and the obvious thought that had gone into the design - pockets everywhere, flaps, zips, poppers - all exactly where needed and fulfilling vital functions. I can't wait to use it.

I will write a proper review when I've used it properly over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, enjoy this video (keep an eye on the map!) See Millican's website for more information.

This product was sent to me for review in accordance with my review policy here.

Viyella SS13 Collection - for everyman

Viyella is an old name in British fashion - always familiar. I became curious about the brand recently when I saw that they had used an older male model in their advertising. Any company which recognises that older men are interested in, and buy, good clothes gets my support - so here we are.

Viyella began in 1784 when five Nottinghamshire businessmen founded a spinning mill in Pleasley Vale. By the 1860’s the company had established itself as a producer of high quality yarns. In 1894 Viyella cloth was born – a combination of soft wool and crisp cotton. In 1960 the company received the Queen’s Royal Warrant; it was bought by the Austin Reed Group in 2009 and aims to build on the core values of the brand and produce exciting contemporary collections.

In my search for style I look for classics with a twist. I like the way Viyella have achieved this, with bright colours and restrained, but not too conventional, styling. An emphasis on quality means that these are grown-up clothes, made to last. The emphasis is on British country, casual and sporting styles, with boating blazers, bright chinos, linen jackets and quilted outerwear.

See Viyella's website to buy online or in-store and at Austin Reed.

The tweed tea party: Wool House, The Campaign for Wool

The Campaign for Wool's very successful Wool House ended with a tweed tea at which very tasty sandwiches, cakes, tea, wine and whisky were served.

Here are a few very tweedy photos.

  

Guy from Dashing Tweeds gave a dashing speech

Earl of Bedlam tweeds - I'll be saying more about this exciting newish company soon.

Tweeds and colour masterfully combined by Momtaz Begum-Hossain. The bag is Harris tweed.

More Earl of Bedlam

Tweedy guests - Nadia Head and her tweed animals and Momtaz Begum-Hossain

Nadia Head

Earl of Bedlam, detail

Earl of Bedlam and signature lining

A Harris tweed coat - maker unknown - if it's yours please let me know!

In Camera - more from London Fashion Week

Here are a few more shots from London Fashion Week which took place last month at Somerset House in London.

In Camera: Leica - the beauty of ageing

I love old Leica cameras. They represent quality, robustness and superb engineering. This old M3 (I think), which I photographed at Somerset House last month, doesn't have any need of batteries and will last a lifetime (as long as film is still available). It has obviously aged beautifully with its owner, as this model was last made in 1966. Its lens, like all Leica optics, will still produce crystal sharp images with bright colour.

People, like vintage cameras, cars, watches, jewellery or furniture will age beautifully as long as no attempt is made to make them look younger than they really are. For more see my Pinterest board here.

Leica M3, image Grey Fox

A. Wainwright and Harris tweed - become a stylish hill walker

Anyone who has walked in England's beautiful Lake District will know Alfred Wainwright's beautifully-produced guides. The early editions contained not one letter of print, even the prices were handwritten by AW.

Fell walkers of his generation would wear tweed and carry a cotton mac in case of wind and rain. Here AW has sketched himself on Lanthwaite Hill, overlooking Crummock Water, wearing his trusty Harris tweed jacket (carefully labelled as such). Naturally he has a pipe clamped firmly in his jaw.

Tweed can be worn in all weathers; it's warm, breathable, shower-proof, robust and you don't rustle like a paper bag. Properly layered., it can be used on most (cooler) days in the UK.

[Post edited to add a bottle of Thwaites Wainwright beer].

Italian men would sell their mothers to achieve this level of genuine sprezzatura:

John Lewis KIN Range - contemporary and competitive

I make no apologies for covering another John Lewis range in the same month. John Lewis seems to be hitting the nail on the head with classic menswear with enough of a twist to be interesting and wearable by the 40 plus man.

February saw John Lewis launch KIN – the department store’s first ever ‘lifestyle’ brand, designed by the John Lewis in-house design studio. The range spans menswear, womenswear and childrenswear and provides 'contemporary, fresh and affordable high quality pieces with a distinctly Scandinavian minimalist feel'.

The colours are almost exclusively blues, greys and blacks - a move away from the splashes of colour that other collections display, but you can find colour elsewhere.

KIN’s formal counterpart, KIN tailoring, has been designed to provide men with quality, clean-cut tailoring at a competitive price. I'll spare you the technical and (for me) impenetrable descriptions of 'buggy lined jackets, high-notch lapels and AMF stitching' and suits including 'a geometric pindot and tonics in midnight and grey', because all you need to know is that prices are reasonable and, from my inspection at my local John Lewis store, the quality and styling seem excellent for the price range. 

A Grey Fox reader recently write to me to say that he was pleased with his purchase of a KIN linen double-breasted blazer (£129, see below), so that is good enough recommendation for me.

KIN and KIN tailoring is available in select John Lewis stores and online, with prices from £19.50. Here are some images of my favourites from the collection -

Navy suit jacket

Linen DB jacket

Cotton knitted tie

Cotton blazer

Canvas gym bag

Cotton mac

Oxford shirt 

Silk knitted tie

Denim selvedge jeans

Merino wool - why is it ideal for fashion fabrics and tailoring?

While at Wool House last week I met Lesley Prior, Artisan Project Manager at The Campaign For Wool and owner of Devon Fine Fibres, where she produces English merino and cashmere wools. Lesley is obviously passionate about the properties of merino wool, among the finest and softest from any sheep breed. Lesley explained to me the properties which make merino ideal for fashion fabrics and tailoring.

Image Woolpower.se

Below you can see a small sample of wool from one of Lesley's sheep. As you can see from the photo, the fibres are naturally and very finely crimped, extremely soft and several times thinner than a human hair. The properties that make it ideal for luxury clothing include -

• It regulates body temperature very well by wicking moisture away from the skin and providing warmth without overheating the wearer.
• It absorbs water well, but remains warm.
• It contains lanolin which make it antibacterial and water resistant.
• Its structure helps it to trap air, making it an ideal insulator.
• It's very soft and elastic, so that, when woven in to a cloth, it has good crease resistance.

Quite apart from these advantages, of course, it's a renewable resource. A sheep provides fleeces for many years without depleting scarce natural resources, as do many man made fibres. Merino wool is popular for everything from athletic base layers to high-end suits. One day I'll have a merino suit, I hope!

And here is a bespoke jacket made by Timothy Everest from a mix of merino, lambswool and cashmere.

Image Timothy Everest

Image Timothy Everest

Snapshot - Fair Isle jumper and scarf

Specially for the freezing spring weather - a Fair Isle woolly jumper and scarf.

Scarf: Ralph Lauren. Jumper: Drake's

Wool House at Somerset House

A few days ago I visited Wool House at Somerset House in London. Taking place from the 13th to the 24th of March and organised by The Campaign for Wool,  it's billed as the world’s biggest ever celebration of Wool. The 12 day showcase has been curated by renowned designer Arabella McNie. From interiors, and crafts, to the world of fashion, all aspects of our favourite natural fibre are explored. There are various events scheduled over the next week which are worthwhile checking out, including a tweed tea party and tailoring demonstrations by Henry Poole and Co.

Here are some of the photos I took. Naturally I was most interested in the men's and tailoring fashion exhibits, but the interior design and crafts showed the remarkable resilience and adaptability of this natural fabric, with glowing colours and fascinating textures everywhere. If you're in London, I suggest you visit.

Somerset House is itself fascinating, with a history going back to the 16th century. The beautiful neo-classical buildings once housed the Admiralty Board and various government departments. It now contains galleries showing many important works of art.

But it's these guys that Wool House is all about: