Men's Fashion Magazine - a new magazine that's worth a look

It's hard finding consistently good menswear style and fashion content online, but I do like Men's Fashion Magazine, which, after more than a year online, has been launched as a digital app. The first edition contains an interview with the mysterious Grey Fox, but even allowing for that, this is still a publication to try.

Men’s Fashion Magazine is available on the App Store and Google Play, which provides a sample of the first edition and the option for subscription, with a new issue launching every 2 months. Click  here for more information.

Part of the Grey Fox interview

Cinematic style

Director's Cut

SS14 trends

The Grey Style Project - Breaking all the rules

The rules say that when you reach middle age you don't wear headphones, t-shirts and Converse. Like hell they do; as shown by this stylish man, shot by Carole Evans when we were out on a Grey Style Project shoot in Carnaby Street, London -

Image © Carole Evans Photography - shot for The Grey Style Project

For more information on The Grey Style Project - or to take part - click here.
For more images from The Grey Style Project see here and follow on Tumblr.

Private White VC - menswear made in Manchester

I've been wanting to find out more about Private White V.C. since the early days of this blog. For me, it ticks all the boxes; British manufacture, exciting menswear (and now womenswear too) design, a range made for all ages (see their advertising images in this post), a fascinating history and a wonderful name. 

I was delighted to be invited to visit their Manchester factory recently and I followed that up by seeing their London store and going to a viewing of their AW14 collection (which I'll cover in a future post).

Private White VC garments come machined with a smile - image Grey Fox

Private White was a real person; he volunteered in the First World War, won a V.C. fighting in Gallipoli and returned to Manchester to work in and eventually own a clothing factory which is now overseen partly by his great grandson, James Eden.

Brutus keeps an eye on things, ensuring everything is British to the core - image Grey Fox

PWVC's collection is designed by Nick Ashley. I love the outdoor/military/motorsport/casual approach using British materials - tweeds, Ventile, cottons - all put together by a wonderful workforce at the factory (also called Cooper & Stollbrand who manufacture for other high street and fashion names). Their extensive archive is packed with clothing of all sorts where I could have spent many hours browsing the evidence of past years of creativity and style.

More smiles at PWVC - image Grey Fox

On my visit, I enjoyed talking to the machinists and other workers whose skills give the clothing a palpable spirit and character. What's produced here are clothes we should be proud to wear. How much more value and interest is there in a garment made in this way in Manchester, than an overpriced designer item made anonymously overseas? Brands like this should be household names in the UK. 

Part of the extensive archive at Private White VC - image Grey Fox

There's an outerwear/casual emphasis to the collection, but new items are being added all the time and I look forward to keeping an eye on future developments.  A man often likes to know where his clothes are made and what fabrics they are constructed from. A rich heritage adds to this interest. Private White V.C. provides all this in bucket-loads. I don't yet own any of their clothing, but I will be putting that right soon.

These are grown up clothes for all ages of men of style - image PWVC

Private White V.C. are opening a shop at their Manchester factory. If you're in London, visit their store in Lamb's Conduit Street. They also sell their clothes online here. Look out for their new womens' range too. To read more about Private White himself, click here.

Brutus is a model too! image PWVC

Above images PWVC

Velobici cycle wear designed and made in the UK - for those fast and slow days in the saddle

Velobici, a British-made brand of cycle clothing

The growth of cycling over the last five years has been breathtaking. The quiet country lanes that I knew so well are nowadays crowded with earnest Lycra-clad athletes in bright team jerseys on bikes that probably cost more than a small car. I love it. The more cyclists there are on the roads, the safer we are from those drivers who find it hard to see us.

Velobici merino Bordeaux classic jersey

But we don't have to follow the herd and wear Lycra. The professionals of thirty or more years ago wore woollen cycling jerseys. I'm not nostalgic about this - wool is not the best material for a high speed ride on a warm day, but for those gentler rides there's nothing like recapturing those days when we would load up our Carradice saddle bags with sandwiches and lemonade and potter down to the woods for a picnic (did that ever happen?).

Velobici designs and makes all their cycle wear in the UK. There are lovely-looking technical jerseys for those days when you want to burn tarmac and beautiful merino for those when you don't.

Velobici Bordeaux merino jersey

I own one of the merino jerseys (pictured above) and can report that it's beautifully-made, comfortable and actually quite good as a technical jersey, even though Velobici don't claim it to be. Combining classic looks with excellent design, it comes in different colours and is a stylish jersey for wear on or off the bike.

Velobici's technical jerseys, like the Guilder below, combine water resistance, stretchiness and a thermal soft loop pile to make them ideal for three season use by club racer or hardcore amateur rider alike. Even here there's a nod to the retro, with the beautifully-stitched orange letters, VB.

For more information on all their beautiful products, see Velobici's website here.

Velobici also make technical cycle wear - Guilder high performance jersey

The Grey Style Project - Lamb's Conduit Street March 2014

The Grey Style Project - Image © Grey Fox

To read more about The Grey Style Project click here.

Milton Green shirts - 'shirting for the everyman'

As mentioned in a recent post, I've been asked to write more on menswear that's more affordable. I was happy, therefore, to be able to review a shirt from Milton Green, whose products are both good quality and reasonably-priced. Their strap-line makes the claim, 'shirting for the everyman' and indeed that is the case. Prices start at £25 and the shirts are well-cut, the fabrics are robust and comfortable, they wash and iron easily and look good on. What else would a man need? 

Lee Hamilton, the Creative Director, came from working with many of the big fashion menswear brands, so these shirts have a good pedigree. I went for the bold blue stripe below - ideal for the business suit or blazer with a traditional Paisley silk tie. Go to Milton Green's website to buy or for more information.

The Grey Style Project: Handlebar moustaches in Trafalgar Square

A member of the Handlebar Club caught in Trafalgar Square, London.

All images © Carole Evans/Grey Fox 2014

Grey Fox has a close shave at the hands of Ruffians Barbers

I've never had a shave at a barbers, so was delighted when I was invited to Ruffians Barbers in Covent Garden, London. Recently opened, Ruffians are building on the success of their 2012 start-up in Edinburgh, and have launched a large flagship barber shop and store at 27 Maiden Lane.

The shop is beautifully-designed and immediately welcoming, skilfully combining traditional barber's shop with gentleman's club, with a log stove and comfortable armchairs. The store features traditional petrol blue Takara Belmont barber chairs, solid oak cutting desks with sunken Belfast sinks, unique integrated vacuum system (to prevent any hairs going down your collar), a coffee/whisky bar-waiting area and a large retail space with a large range of bespoke grooming products.

The Ruffians team of expert barbers and men’s hairdressers focus on classic barbering skills and first-class service. Everything is carefully explained and the client is really spoiled. Ruffians' products are used and a head, neck and arm massage is a welcome and relaxing part of the service. The shave was close and relaxing and I felt wonderful afterwards - I strongly recommend that you give Ruffians a go. I later used some of their subtly-scented and very masculine products at home and found I was shaving much closer than usual with their own-label shave gel, which leaves the face feeling soft and well-moisturised. 

Ruffians’ first shop launched in Edinburgh won the Best Independent, Best Newcomer and Best Designed Salon at the British Hairdressing Business Awards. It also won Best New Salon at the prestigious Creative Head Awards. I'll be back - highly recommended. 

Ruffians branches are at 27 Maiden Lane in Covent Garden and 23 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh

T. Lipop SS14

I first came across the menswear brand T Lipop early last year and am ashamed it's taken me so long to write about them. They hit the spot for me for several reasons -

• They manufacture some of the collection in Britain
• They're beautifully made
• They're beautifully designed
• They're different
• They use an older and very cool model to advertise this spring/summer 2014 collection

These images don't show the quality of these clothes. More information below.

See T. Lipop or Facebook for more information.

Fine tailoring and wristwatches - the prefect combination

I recently attended an evening at the beautiful premises of Timothy Everest tailors which skilfully combined two of my fascinations; fine tailoring and wristwatches.

Timothy Everest

The event was co-hosted by Page & Cooper who sell a range of watches that include some of my favourite brands. It was good to catch up with some friends, sup a very nice champagne, chat with the enthusiastic and knowledgeable cutters from Timothy Everest and handle some excellent, and reasonably-priced, watches from familiar brands such as Sinn, Muhle Glasshutte, and Squale as well as brands new to me, such as Autodromo, Elliot Brown and Halda (whose Space Discovery astronaut's watch is a fascinating piece of technology).

For more information on these watches see Page & Cooper's website. For more on Timothy Everest Bespoke click here.

Squale

Autodromo

Muhle Glasshutte

Grey Fox gets stuck into the party

Debenhams Hammond & Co menswear SS14 - a collection that's developing nicely

Readers will recall my admiration for Patrick Grant's Hammond & Co menswear collection for Debenhams. Combining real style, classic cuts and designs with quality and reasonable prices was bound to be a successful formula - and so it's proved; with Debenhams delighted with the positive response that the AW13 collection received, from press and public alike.

Patrick Grant - wearing what he designs

The Spring/Summer 14 collection continues and develops the theme with a seaside look to the casual wear and more crisp tailoring for the more formal wear. There's much here for the older man because much of the content is based on classic and archive designs, but given the Grant twist to update it. Here is my selection. See what you think (I've given prices below). See Debenhams Hammond & Co.

£45

£120

£45

£40

£60

£60

  

£36

Jacket £199, trousers £100, waistcoat £75

The Grey Style Project - Covent Garden March 2014

The Grey Style Project has begun. This was snapped in Covent Garden by my collaborator Carole Evans. Selected images will appear on Grey Fox's Tumblr and on Carole's site.

Image (C) Carole Evans Photography - The Grey Style Project

For information on The Grey Style Project and how you can get involved, click here.