The Grey Style Project - tweed, denim and brogues in Carnaby Street

Image © Carole Evans Photography and The Grey Style Project

For more on The Grey Style Project see here
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Spring Summer trends and how to wear them - Sarah Gilfillan helps us out

Sarah Gilfillan of Sartoria Lab, stylist extraordinaire, has again agreed to share with us the benefit of her experience scanning the shops for the best, at all price points, for her male clients. Here she advises the older man on spring/summer trends and how to wear them. GF.

Florals

The catwalks showed head to toe florals in clashing prints and full suits, and the Prada collection in particular was all things tropical. I doubt very much whether I'll be buying any of these looks in full with my clients, but I can see them being persuaded into a floral shirt or two - perhaps even going for a Hawaiian style or some floral shorts to add some fun and colour to their holiday outfits. Or maybe it'll just be a nod to the trend with a floral cotton tie or pocket square. Even if you're a bit of a shrinking violet in the sartorial department, like my friend's husband was, try it out A shirt he bought for a Hawaiian party a couple of years ago has now become his favourite summer BBQ shirt.

Links: Prada Tom Ford Gucci French Connection Penfield Universal Works

White

I'm trying to imagine if I could see GF bowling up to meet me in Central London in a pure white suit and frankly I'm finding it rather hard. Perhaps at a party in a hot and summer clime or wedding (though you wouldn't want to upstage the bride) but in your local town or city?

So my suggestion on how to incorporate the all white trend into your wardrobe this summer is to go for a more casual look. White denim is having a fashion moment, but if I was dressing a more mature client I'd be more inclined to suggest an off-white pair of jeans or chinos instead. You could then pair them with a white polo shirt, a white cotton or linen shirt and a textured cotton knit, and it becomes more of a wearable trend. Classic Converse would work well, tan shoes and belt or desert boots.

Berluti Nicole Farhi Dolce & Gabbana APC Hartford Gant Clarks Andersons 

Fifties style shirts 

Personally I rather like this look. Along with GF's sister (photographer Carole Evans), I also frequent the Lindy hopping/jive scene where a large proportion of the men dress in 40's and 50's style clothing from when these dances were popular. The 50's style shirts seen on the catwalks are an unusually practical option for summer, and easy to translate to your wardrobe.

One word of caution though, when you're wearing something retro and you're a little more mature, guard against looking as if you've had it from the first time round, by teaming it with modern, up to date pieces and avoid wearing an entire look from that era.

Nicole Farhi Missoni Canali Jigsaw French Connection Folk

Pink 

From the palest to the most neon and everything in between, pink was the colour on the Spring Summer catwalks. So if, like me (and me, GF), you believe that real men do wear pink, then get hunting for the shade that most suits your complexion.

Here's what I would advise: If you have Ryan Gosling type colouring ie. fair hair and complexion and blue/green eyes - choose a pale or dusty pink. If you're more like Michael McIntyre - dark hair, pale skin, and dark eyes - go for a bright, fuschia pink. If your colouring is warmer like Damian Lewis' and you have sandy or ginger hair and freckly skin - then look for more of a salmon or coral pink. Or if you have similar colouring to George Lamb with olive skin, grey or dark hair and brown eyes then a deeper shade of a warm salmon pink will look better on you. Combine it with neutrals like grey, navy and brown and white. If you're still not sure about wearing a large amount of pink then a flash of it in a pocket square, tie or socks will add a modern youthful touch to an outfit.

Burberry Prorsum Paul Smith Richard James Marks & Spencer Jet 8 Duchamp

Suits with t-shirts

Just when we'd got used to men dressing up more, I've noticed the designers are now going back to a more relaxed way of styling and it seems there's a return to the 90's trend of wearing trainers with suits. There's more relaxed, unstructured tailoring around with a shift away from the very skinny, tight silhouette that's been dominating the menswear scene for the past few years. As you can see from the images below, many of the shows were styled with t-shirts worn with suits and I think this could be a good look for the older man to try out. I can see it working really well with an unstructured cotton, seersucker or linen suit for an informal summer wedding or outdoor lunch. Choose a fitted, but not tight, t-shirt that skims rather than clings, with a neckline that sits not too high and not too low, and wear loafers or suede brogues with it.

Calvin Klein Costume National Zegna Jigsaw Oliver Spencer Villain

For more advice, see Sarah's Sartorial Lab blog here.

Gaolhouse Denim - jeans made in Britain in collaboration with Prison Service

Gaolhouse Denim is the result of a fascinating 2012 collaboration to make jeans between Will Unwin and Her Majesty’s Royal Prison Service. [Sadly Gaolhouse has ceased business since this piece was written].

Inspired by a business model put into practice by his father, Will approached the prison service in 2011 with the idea of working with inmates to design and develop jeans to be manufactured in prison, where there are significant manufacturing resources. The idea was that this would create paid and rehabilitating jobs for the inmates and provide them skills and a work ethic.

Working very closely with inmates the first jeans style, known as the GH-001, was developed. After two years of work, however, there was a ministerial change of heart and the programme to manufacture the jeans within the prison service was cancelled. Not wanting to give up, Will was able to find a UK manufacturer in that could support the first production and help finish off the incredible job that had been started by inmates. 

Gaolhouse Denim is only one of a handful of companies that manufacture jeans on British soil, a vital part of Will’s vision. The raw denim is from North Carolina, USA. A contribution to charity is made from the proceeds of sale of each pair of jeans.

To buy a pair from the limited first run and to find out more, go to the Gaolhouse Denim website [link removed].

Remember raw denim does best from minimal washing. This pocket detail shows when first wash due.

Summer brogues, linen suit, Panama hat - a look for summer

A few weeks ago I was invited to suggest a list of summer brogues for Shortlist, a free London style magazine that's handed out on the streets or available online. I have to confess that I wouldn't wear all the shoes I selected; I felt I should cover as wide a range of tastes and styles as I could. However, my favourites were the white Nubuck shoes from Jigsaw, pictured third down in the scan below.

In the Shortlist piece I suggested matching the shoes with a linen suit, vivid pocket square and Panama hat. It seemed a perfect summer look - smart or smart casual. I hoped to put together the look using Jigsaw products, but, in the end, wasn't able to do this - instead I found a variety of linen suits and matched them with some favourite accessories from Monsieur London, Age of Reason scarves, Arthur & Henry shirts, Shaun Gordon ties and Sanders Shoes (who make the Jigsaw shoes) - links below..

The summer suit look (left hand image, New York Times)

The suit doesn't have to be cream or white, of course. I've selected one made in London by SEH Kelly from Lancashire-milled linen. Below I give links to other suppliers of linen suits of a wide range of colours, styles and prices. When you come to check prices, you'll notice that SEH Kelly's suit is nowhere near the most pricey; so let's forget the myth that British-made menswear is expensive.

Links
Fair Trade straw hat from Ecuador - Monsieur London

Arthur & Henry fine stripe blue shirt ethically made from Fair Trade cotton

Lawrence blue pattern silk tie from Shaun Gordon

SEH Kelly suit - linen from Lancashire, buttons from the English Midlands, tailored in London

Age of Reason & Grey Fox collaboration pocket square

Sanders Made in England Nubuck shoes from Sanders Shoes

A summer suit needs colourful socks -

Socks from London Sock Co

For a choice of linen suits at different prices and colours, try the following (some sell as separates, so search for jackets and trousers. Some sites, like Hackett, are not easy to search, so persevere):

SEH Kelly
H&M

Hackett.

Jigsaw.

John Lewis.

Jaeger.

Toast.
Joseph.

Austin Reed.

Oliver Spencer.
Boss.
Nicole Farhi (available as separates, as far as I can see).

The Tweed Run 2014 - London's stylish cyclists on display

The Tweed Run took place yesterday in weather  hardly conducive to the wearing of tweed, a cloth more suited to the cold and drizzle of the grouse moor than a baking central London. However, over 500 cyclists persevered, looking very stylish in everything from tweed to cotton and linen and riding all sort of machines, from vintage to modern. The women stole the show for me, looking beautiful and elegant in fifties floral dresses or tweeds and breeches, riding elegant town bikes with baskets full of flowers.

Tweed cap from Cambridge Cycle Company

I wore the top half of my Susannah Hall suit, an old pair of Yorkshire-made cycling breeches, Cordings long socks, a Harris tweed tie and English-made Barker brogues. My Tweed Run was unfortunately curtailed by a recurrence of a wretched 11 day-old viral infection which saw me retire half way through. Hopefully I can return next year - it's a wonderful event for sartorialist and cyclist alike.

Ian Covey and his beautiful Roadster from his Vickers Bicycle Company. 
One day I hope to own one. My 1956 Claud Butler is in the foreground.

Tea was served at the first stop at The Guildhall - in proper cups and saucers of course.

This stylish couple was typical of the range of looks on the ride.

Mark Jones who is a cycling artist - to have your machine immortalised, see Velo Art.

Gemma's dad - and his beautiful and totally original Sunbeam machine.

Even woolly cycling jerseys put in an appearance, here with a gorgeous Cinelli

Straight out of WW2 - Woodbine and all.

The irrepressible Guy Hills of Dashing Tweeds.

How to dress a man for summer - The Women's Room Blog give us the female perspective

I'm very grateful to Jane Kellock of The Women's Room blog for allowing me to reproduce this highly authoritative woman's view on summer wear for men. It's always good to know what presses the buttons of the fair sex when we throw open our wardrobes and muse over what to wear. For more wonderful advice for the older woman visit the blog, where you can see this post in its original form.

[Note: Grey Fox takes no responsibility whatsoever for the views contained below (brogues without socks? Sheesh!) Enjoy...]

Jane Kellock writes - As the weather begins to warm up (she says optimistically) and our thoughts turn to summer dressing, I thought it might be time for a few words of advice for the men in our lives, on how to approach the coming months.

Middle-aged men can have a hard time when it comes to dressing, particularly in the summer, as it can be tricky to find the right flesh to fabric ratio, length of shorts, appropriate footwear and most importantly, age appropriate look. As you know, we don't like too many rules when it comes to clothes, but there are certain things which are clearly wrong when it comes to middle-aged style and unless you are married to David Beckham or an Italian, most of our menfolk need a little guidance as they age.

David Beckham, while not strictly middle-aged, is the perfect example of a man who exudes style from every orifice. While some women might find that level of self awareness and grooming unattractive in a man, in my eyes, he can do no wrong. He gets both casual and formal completely right and has clearly passed his innate sense of style onto his boys.

David is also one of only a handful of men that can carry off a vest and unless your partner/brother/dad is a Beckham body double, South American drug dealer, or pro skater Jason Dill, a vest is to be avoided at all costs. Tommy Lee may be able to cavort on Venice beach with Pamela Anderson and look good in a vest, but the majority of British men will look more Eddie Yates in Hilda's living room after a long shift on the bins. 

So just what should M.A.D [middle aged dads. GF.] bear in mind when putting together the essential summer wardrobe? Simple neutral colours such as black, white, grey or navy and perhaps even pale blue are fine. Pastel and bright colours are not. Stripe combinations ditto.

Keeping it clean and simple from either Margaret Howell, Uniqlo or Gap, avoids awkward fashionable (not fashionable) colour choices. Football tops or sportswear (apart from when doing actual sports) are unacceptable - always ditto flip flops, unless they are poolside and, even then, a more covered up pool slide is a more attractive option. No man (apart from my husband - but that's another story) has nice feet and no-one wants to see them ever - especially not at work!

Shirts again should be kept simple and clean. Pastels and bright colours are acceptable here, however, but only in checks or gingham. Stripe pastel shirts (along with ironic ties and socks) are too "Wolf of Wall Street" should be avoided. Bright coloured trousers and shorts are a tricky one unless you are the super cool (young) hipsters in the top image, European, or the posh bloke from Googlebox (God, I love that programme).

Bright shorts are easier to pull off on holiday [sounds fun, GF.] and bright trousers are fine if you are a lord or live in the country, but generally navy, black or stone narrow-leg trousers and tailored shorts work best. Shorts should be narrow, but not tight (therefore gay, which is fab, but not on the father of your children) and on, or just above the knee - any shorter is venturing into Joey Essex territory and we all know how wrong that would be!

For a modern look, a rolled up trouser leg, no socks and a Grenson brogue says contemporary smart casual, but still manly. Denim should be detail free and clean. High quality Japanese selvedge denim (Albam, APC, Margaret Howell) is ideal, but if you can't persuade your man that £200 is good value for a pair of jeans, Uniqlo dark wash work equally well.

Knitwear also should also ideally be high quality and simple, ditto sweatshirts - in fact the general rule of thumb for successful middle-aged male dressing is "less is more". There really is nothing more ageing than a man who likes a pint rather than the gym, wearing all the latest Top Man trends in one outfit. We call them "Brighton Dads" in our house, which is probably a bit mean. But you know the sort. Worked in advertising but recently it's been all about viral online marketing, spends more time in Shoreditch House than is good for his relationship and favours Opening Ceremony sunglasses, Obey t-shirts, mid calf length Abercrombie shorts and accessorised with a Palace skateboard at weekends.

With many thanks to Jane Kellock of The Women's Room - GF.

Quiggleys - good simple lambswool crew neck jumpers

What better than a simple lambswool crew neck jumper like these from Quiggleys? Ideal as warmer weather sets in. Keep it in the bag or draped artfully around the shoulders for chilly moments.

The Clunie

Called The Clunie, these are knitted in Scotland from Scottish yarn. I've featured Quiggleys before because I love their classically simple approach to traditional menswear. Below is an image of Claire, one of the knitters used by Quiggleys - demonstrating that these jumpers aren't the result of machined mass-production. See more information on the Clunie range in their look book here.

Available from Quiggleys here.

Bodileys shoes - made in Northampton

It's always a pleasure to meet owners of well-established British menswear businesses, particularly those which have family links over several generations. I recently met Sarah Dudley of Bodileys, who has recently launched a 'London Collection' of English-made shoes, some of which I show here.

Sarah told me that Bodileys was established in 1919, originally the leading retail shop in Northampton supplying shoes from local manufacturer’s such as Crockett and Jones, Alfred Sargent and Cheaney. Sarah Dudley, fourth generation of the family business, led the move into export and online sales and recently the launch of their own brand, the ‘London Collection’.

John Garner joined Bodileys in 2012 as designer. A well-known figure in the industry, he brought great experience to the company. Formerly of Edward Green (retirement didn’t totally suit him!), his passion, expertise and extensive knowledge in the design and construction of shoes was the perfect fit with Sarah’s dream to launch a collection of shoes that are classic with smooth clean lines and superb quality at affordable prices of around £345.

Sarah was keen that the ‘London Collection’ should be made in England to carry on the heritage, reputation and prestige of Goodyear Welted shoes. The shoes have been made by Cheaney under the very keen eye of both John and Sarah. Cheaney has been under the ownership of two of the Church family members for the past 3 years. They bought the company back from Prada, owners of Church and Cheaney since the 1990’s. 

It was of greatest importance to source the very best calf leather and other materials, the last shapes were chosen with careful consideration and extensive research to give utmost comfort, they come up true to the UK sizing system, meaning that each customer would require their same UK size for all the styles.

Sarah obviously has great ambitions for Bodileys and, although they will continue to supply other makes of shoes such as Crockett and Jones and Alfred Sargent, she plans to develop the Bodileys brand to offer great English made shoes of beautiful design at competitive prices. Having grown up surrounded by shoes, she clearly knows much about men’s shoes and John Garner has become an invaluable member of the development team.

I was impressed by the variety in the range, but Sarah and John will be adding more styles in the coming months to give customers a greater range of choice. Sarah also mentioned that she “particularly enjoys interacting with customer’s queries and is always available to discuss and advise on individual requirements”, so do get in touch with them if you're after any particular design, size or style. Click here to see The London Collection. 

I was really impressed by Sarah's pride in the collection. She showed me many of the shoes. Not only are they beautifully made, but she was keen to seek my thoughts and suggestions, even though I know nothing about shoes, she is very keen to elicit consumer ideas and responses.

For more about Bodileys click here.

Pantherella - world-beating socks made in Leicester

I've now been lucky enough to visit several UK clothing factories in the last few months. It's been a privilege to see British manufacture doing so well and good to hear that those I visited report an increasingly optimistic view of the future. 

Recently I took the train to Leicester to see Pantherella, a family-owned company that's been making socks for over 75 years. 

What marks their socks out as special is the quality of the manufacture, distinguished by a hand-linked toe seam and a combination of technology and hand-made methods. This traditional method leaves an exceptionally, almost invisibly smooth, secret join. It also makes them very durable. I'm a heavy user of socks; often getting through a pair after a few wears. My Pantherella socks have, as yet, shown no signs of wear and are very comfortable

As with so many British companies, the main market is abroad, the US being the largest. What struck me was the range of patterns and colours and the care that goes into making each sock - they are certainly not knocked off at the rate of several a second, as might expect be expected. It was fascinating to see some socks being linked by hand by nimble-fingered, skilled workers with a real pride in what they do.

We MUST learn to appreciate these skills in the UK and support the companies who manufacture here so ethically and sustainably.

Here are a few facts Pantherella:

• One sock takes 15 minutes to make
• 1.1 million socks are produced a year
• There are 1373 options per season
• 72 socks are hand linked a day
• The factory still uses Bentley Komet British machines from the 1950s, alongside modern, cutting edge technology machines
• Pantherella last year bought 10 new machines worth £30 000 each
• Longest running staff member- 51 years
• One goat takes a full year to produce the cashmere for just 3 pairs of socks

And Pantherella isn't resting on its laurels - there's room for innovation even in the sock market. I particularly liked their new Footlet. The answer to those of us who like to wear boat shoes, trainers or (heaven forbid; if you must) brogues without socks, you can now avoid sweaty, smelly feet by using this short, technical sock. As much thought and development has gone into it, it's more than just a socklet, with a non-slip back, breathable upper part and antibacterial finish. Ideal for spring and summer wear.

The Pantherella Footlet from below and diagram explaining its construction

For more information on Pantherella and their products, please click here.