Clarks - Art of Craft video 2 - the shoemaker and the tailor

This is the second of this nicely-made series of videos by Clarks comparing various crafts - here tailoring and shoemaking.

Clarks - Art of Craft - Family from Run Productions on Vimeo.

Climbing breeches - clothes we don't wear any more - a new series

Over the years we accumulate clothes that become obsolescent. I thought I'd start a series to look at a few of these. The first is a pair of traditional pair of climbing breeches - Clarke's Craghoppers, made in England from very robust, heavy tweed in a beautiful grey-mossy colour.

They have two large buttoned map pockets at the back and a reinforced seat for sitting on abrasive rock. It's impossible to look at these without recalling rain swept days scrambling among the crags of The Lake District, ravens croaking and tumbling overhead, or a sparkling day crunching through the frosted peat hags of Kinder Scout in the Pennines.

Grey Fox sports his tweed climbing breeches

Modern fabrics have taken over from tweed and trousers are preferred to breeches for climbing and hillwalking - despite the fact that breeches give you a  better view of your feet and don't have hazardous flapping trouser ends. Breeches have  been revived by cyclists - so I might get a chance to wear these on a Tweed Run one day.

Clark's Craghopper climbing breeches - Grey Fox

Orch bow ties - made in Britain

I've only ever worn a bow tie for evening wear and black tie events, so was keen to try a bow tie by Orch, hand-made by the London designer himself. Beautifully-made from tweed, it came with a matching holder which doubles as a phone case. At present the range is ready-tied, but I know that Orch is working on more items for his collection.

Readers will know my enthusiasm for British-made menswear and accessories and I wish Orch every luck with his venture. The tie can be bought from a selection at The Lost Lanes. For more about Orch's work see his blog here.

Instagram @officialorchlondon and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OrchLondon

My Sister's Wedding - stylish guests and venue

My sister, Carole, was married this last week. A photographer, she loves vintage and dancing and there were so many stylishly-dressed guests that I thought it merited a post. Some of the men were wearing suits from the fifties and earlier.

The marriage was celebrated in an unrestored chapel at The Licensed Victuallers Asylum opened in 1833 in Southwark, London (now Caroline Gardens) - a superb venue for a wedding with a difference. I didn't take my camera, but Instagram allows a fascinating range of affects which flatter my photography skills.

I featured some of Carole's  Retro Girls photos here and see her website and blog.

Leith Clothing's genuine Madras check shirt - cut and sewn in UK - classic, preppy, casual

This shirt is made in the UK from genuine Madras, a fabric with a fascinating history. Made in Chennai (formerly Madras) the organic cotton fabric is vegetable-dyed (including indigo to give that gorgeous rich blue) and gradually fades to give a soft, lived-in look and feel.

The yarn is woven on a Victorian Selvedge loom to produce a light, strong fabric with a soft hand.

There's something immediately special about the feel of this shirt. Light and very comfortable, it's well-finished, cut and sewn in England, with a three button collar and locker loop showing its preppy origins. Ideal with jeans, sweater, blazer, Harrington jacket - an ideal casual shirt. I suspect that it will improve with age, like a good pair of denims, feeling and looking better as the vegetable dyes fade.

I'm grateful to Leith for sending this shirt for me to try and review. It'll be joining my collection of favourites.

For more information about the fascinating history of Madras cotton see Leith's website and blog here.

Grey Fox wears with raw denim and an old chestnut leather belt

Hentsch Man - Grey Fox falls for their simple, classic style

Recently Grey Fox was styled by The Chapar (see my earlier post). I would have loved to keep most of the clothes selected for me by their Director of Styling, Shaunie Brett, but I couldn't justify the outlay. However, The Chapar kindly allowed me to keep a couple of my favourite items - a beautiful dark denim Sunday shirt and a navy summer mac.

Coincidentally, both were by Hentsch Man who, I realised, must be offering products appealing to my style and taste. Their website tells me that,

Hentsch Man was launched in 2008 by childhood friends, Alexia and Max  .. and .. is a simple, elegant and wearable menswear brand, providing classic wardrobe basics. The products have been designed to emphasise fit, eliminating all fanciful details and ensuring the clothes are flattering. 

These two items confirm that this description is completely accurate.  Both are simple, classic pieces; both fit like a glove. Thank you to The Chapar for introducing me to Hentsch Man.

Hentsch Man dark denim Sunday shirt

Hentsch Man dark denim Summer mac

British-made - Grey Fox's list of suppliers of UK-made menswear and accessories

I have started to curate a list of suppliers of UK-made menswear and accessories here on the blog. Click on the British-made tab above to see the list.

Please contact me with additions and suggestions for inclusion.

Shirt Made in England  - from Evocha

GQ Editor, Dylan Jones, on luring iconic British brands back to London

Last month, Grey Fox offered tickets to a talk by Dylan Jones, editor of GQ. The event was part a series of In Conversation events in at the new 62 Buckingham Gate, Victoria, London, hosted by Land Securities. 

Led by Land Securities £2 billion investment, Victoria is re-inventing itself as home to some leading fashion and design names including Burberry, Jimmy Choo and Tom Ford. It is hoped that this transformation will make Victoria a place where Londoners and visitors alike want to live, work, shop and socialise thanks to its great restaurants, shops and regular events.

Dylan Jones shared his wisdom on men’s fashion, paying tribute to the capital’s style heritage, while also predicting a bright future for men’s fashion. In 2012, alongside the British Fashion Council, Dylan launched the capital’s first-ever dedicated menswear showcase – the London Collections –  a ground-breaking move for the industry. 

Here, Dylan Jones talks about how menswear has evolved and why, in his view, London is the place to be for menswear.

What drove you to making the London Collections a reality?

I agreed with the British Fashion Council that young menswear brands not only deserved but needed a platform to exhibit their work. Traditionally, they always showed on the last day of London Fashion Week, when all the press and buyers had already left for the Gucci show in Milan, so we bit the bullet and moved it to before Milan, Paris and New York.

Now we use the London Collections not only as a showcase for British designers, but also to encourage some of our big brands to move back to the capital.

As well as encouraging designers to show here, we have created a cultural programme, throwing parties and dinners and making it as interesting as possible. Incidentally, 62 Buckingham Gate would make a fantastic venue for a fashion show!

Why has London proved to be such a good home for the menswear shows?

Why wouldn’t you want to show in London? It has the best parks, the best museums, the best galleries, the best restaurants… it’s got it all. One of the great things that plays so well with international visitors and buyers is our heritage, particularly Savile Row.

What does the future hold for the London Collections?

None of us expected we’d get Burberry, which is now based here in Victoria, to move back to London in just three seasons. We’ve been blown away by its enthusiasm – the scale of its show in Hyde Park was a great statement of its intention to stay. We’re sure we’ll get more British fashion houses to return to the capital next January and, thereafter, it’s simply a matter of building the momentum.

There are a couple of Italian and American brands we’d like to entice to London too. They show in Paris and Milan and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t, but we intend to build a programme that shows we have the ability, interest and attraction here to host these big names.

See the createvictoria.com website for more information.

This is Cambridge - British-made cycling caps

This is Cambridge specialises in cycling caps tailor-made in Cambridge. Inspired by the enthusiasm for cycling in one of Britain's greatest cycling towns, they produce a range of vintage style caps made from British tweeds and wool.

I was delighted when they sent me one to try. It is one of their new 'Sunday Best' caps, made from wool in West Yorkshire, lined and finished in red tape around the rim. Often cycling caps are made cheaply - these are beautifully made and finished to last.

I love this style. It makes me feel like an Edwardian cyclist jumping aboard his trusty machine for a spin in the countryside. Have a look at their website, shop and blog.

Grey Fox rides off wearing his new tweed cycling cap

The Chapar - personal styling for men - with a difference

Many men simply cannot be bothered with shopping for clothes and, I suspect, this applies most particularly to men over forty. Whatever our excuse - we're busy, think shopping is for sissies, leave it to our partner/wife, can't be bothered - the result is that we find it harder to dress well as the grey hairs appear.

There are solutions - we buy everything at our favourite high street department store, we buy online, we don't buy anything or we rely on a partner selecting our clothes. But these are unlikely to result in outstanding sartorial results unless we are prepared to put in that extra care to ensure good fit, colour co-ordination or style appropriate to our age, shape, colouring and lifestyle.

For those with the desire to dress well, but without the time or inclination to put in too much personal effort, there is always the option of the personal stylist (see, for example, my post here about one such service, Sartoria Lab).

The Chapar now offer a further alternative. After a telephone consultation with a stylist, you are sent a trunk of clothes carefully selected for you. You try them on, decide what you will keep, pay for those and the rest are picked up by a courier to be returned to The Chapar - what could be easier?

But, does it work? I had the chance to try when The Chapar offered to put me through their process. I was phoned, at a time and date previously arranged, by Shaunie Brett, Director of Styling, who skilfully elicited from me everything she needed to know about my style and clothing preferences and my sizes. We chatted for twenty minutes or so and I was promised a box of carefully-selected clothes within a few days - very exciting - as good as Christmas.

A few days later a beautifully-presented box of clothes arrived. Unpacking them I was immediately struck by how well Shaunie has interpreted my tastes. As promised, she included a few items to stretch me and tempt me to try something new. This idea really attracted me - whether or not we feel confident in our choices, we should all try something new from time to time to expand our range.

Below are images of some of the items sent. Of the 17 items sent I would have rejected very few had I been in the position of a client. All suited me well in terms of style and colour and, particularly important, all fitted me very well. Brands sent in my box included Hentsch Man, Hackett, Brooks Brothers, Hartford, Pantherella, Sunpsel, John Smedley and a brand less familiar to me, Lubiam.

The Chapar is a great formula. For the man without the inclination to shop for himself, the service will save time and provide skilfully-styled clothes that will fit well and suit his needs. Even the confident and able sartorialist will benefit as he will be encouraged to try new styles and colours. Prices are no higher than available on the high street. The clothes selected are from the best-known and trusted brands, while newer and less-familiar names are included to keep choices as wide as possible.

The Chapar claim to be changing the way men shop. They must just be right.

For more information, see The Chapar website.

Some of the items selected by The Chapar for Grey Fox

Grey hair on the catwalk - Oliver Spencer SS14 at London Collections: Men, June 2013

I enjoyed seeing the Oliver Spencer show at London Collections: Men in June this year - his usual colourful selection of classics, all given a twist for the man wanting something different, if not too challenging.

And it was good to see a couple of grey-haired models. I posted some still images a few weeks ago, but here's a video of the show with a great soundtrack mixed live by none other than Idris Elba.

Bespoke at Susannah Hall - Grey Fox is measured up

Grey Fox had an enjoyable and interesting afternoon this week being measured up for a bespoke tweed jacket and waistcoat. This will be made from tweed kindly supplied by Hunter's Tweed (for more information about their beautiful Scottish tweeds see the image below and go to my post here).

The tweed from Hunter's Tweed 

Susannah Hall is one of the many friends I'm privileged to have met through Twitter and I had earlier visited her shop in Clerkenwell, London, simply to find out more about the tailoring process. We got on so well, and had so many interests in common (in particular about British-made menswear), that I asked her to do the tailoring for me. See Susannah Hall's website here - Twitter @SHalltailors.

With Susannah Hall.

Grey Fox is wearing - linen/cotton suit: Oliver Spencer (jacket Made in England), shirt: Evocha (Made in England), shoes: Loake (Made in England), folio: Holdall & Co (Made in England), socks: J Crew, hair: model's own.

Susannah is highly professional, very knowledgeable and great fun, taking the measure of me (as she called it) as I walked into the shop, assessing style and taste. This process continued as she measured me up and we discussed cut, shape and details like buttons and lining for the jacket and waistcoat. She somehow skilfully balances helping the client achieve a distinctive style of their own, while tactfully steering them from any too obvious sartorial errors.

Now that I've been measured up, the pattern-making and cutting will take place in Yorkshire and soon there will be a second fitting at which the partly-complete coats will be tried on for size and further tweaked before going back to be finished off. I will report on that in due course.

Susannah Hall has an excellent selection of shirts (available off the peg in her Office Smoothie range, or bespoke), accessories and ties. She has a superb sense of colour and her products are beautifully displayed, skilfully blending patterns and shades of fabrics, linings, shirts and ties. Her prices are very competitive.

Mr Porter: Exclusive Grenson and Foot the Coacher vintage-style footwear collaboration

I really like the look of this exclusive collaboration from Mr Porter which brings together Grenson, a British company with over 130 years’ experience in traditional British shoemaking and Foot the Coacher, the flagship brand of Tokyo-based shoe designer Mr Toshinosuke Takegahara.

Made in England, designed in Japan, this is collection of vintage-style men's boots that, for me, recreates the days of the best of British footwear in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The design of these boots is based on early football boots

The Grenson factory in Northamptonshire was founded in 1866 and was the first in the world to employ the “Goodyear welt” method of construction, a technique that has become a hallmark of all well-made British shoes. It was here in Northampton that a young Mr Takegahara first studied his craft and the experience has clearly stayed with him. His footwear brand uses the Goodyear welt process as the foundation for all of its shoes, and takes classic English shoe design as one of its major inspirations.

Tim Little, owner and creative director of Grenson, explained the thinking behind the collaboration.

“What Foot the Coacher do is very much about old, antique styling. Their speciality is the vintage English look with their own take – Victorian footwear, in particular. Shoes today have become more simple than they were back then. A lot of the tiny detailing has been abandoned, and they bring a lot of that back. We were able to take their designs, and look back into our archives for old construction methods.”

The result is a collection of five boots, in two styles – one inspired by a vintage football boot, another by an Edwardian “Balmoral” boot. According to Mr Takegahara of Foot the Coacher, it’s “an opportunity to show what Britishness means to us – but from our own design perspective.”

For more information see Mr Porter.

Clarks - Art of Craft video 1

I liked this Art of Craft video from Clarks, the British shoe company, comparing the making of wooden shoe lasts with wooden surfboard manufacture.

Clarks - Art of Craft - Expertise from Run Productions on Vimeo.

A white shirt - the man's equivalent of the 'little black dress'?

I seldom wear plain white shirts, but when Austin Reed kindly sent me one to try recently as part of a 'White Shirt Challenge', in which I was to try a white shirt and picture myself wearing it (so apologies for the photos below), I tried it out for a few different uses and, to my surprise, liked it and have found myself wearing one more frequently.

I''ll never look as good as this in a white shirt

We think of a white shirt as being for formal wear with a suit - it is, after all, the uniform of every US politician and businessman. Here in the UK the coloured shirt is used more frequently for business use. But in the white shirt we have a plain, classic piece that works well in a surprising number of situations, from jeans or shorts, to pinstripes.

This shirt was from Austin Reed and I like it because it was cut well around the shoulders and is reasonably slim-fitting. I don't like shirts which balloon out around you. It's also pure cotton and easy-iron (it's described as non-iron, but I've never had a shirt that comes out of the wash ready-ironed, so I always take that with a pinch of salt). 

Going to the opera

A family picture

Thanks to Austin Reed for inviting me to take part in the White Shirt Challenge and providing the shirt.

White shirt and blue blazer - Grey Fox image

You can't find any summer clothes left in the shops? Try the online sales

Have you noticed how, at this time of year, just as the weather gets unbearably hot, the high street shops fill with knitwear, tweed, overcoats and thick cotton chinos as the autumn/winter collections are shipped in? How daft is that?

If, like me, you've missed the summer sales, which are now over, or couldn't find anything in your size, it seems that you're stuck if you find you need new clothes for that long-awaited summer holiday. Few replacements will be available until February or so (when the opposite happens - you're looking for cold weather clothes just as the shops fill with linen, t-shirts and shorts).

So, I've had a look around at some of the online shops to see what, if anything, is still available for summer wear. Among others, I tried a retailer I haven't looked at for a while, Brook Taverner - not high fashion, but, as I said in a previous post here, they have stylish clothes and accessories, including some British-produced fabrics, tweed in particular. You won't want tweed for summer, of course, but, I found that they still have some attractive summer clothes in stock - and their sale continues at the time of writing.

So, if you're looking to stock up for that August holiday, look for an online sale such as this one. I've picked a few of my favourite summer wear at clearance from the Brook Taverner website - clothes that would go well together and are always suitable for summer. Some are pictured below -

This post has been written by Grey Fox in association with Brook Taverner