Check out checks for autumn and winter menswear

With winter's chilly grip arriving at last we need woven and knitted wool to keep us warm in the form of coats, suits, knitwear and trousers. And checks are the design of the moment. I collected these images from the AW15 shows earlier in the year. 

Geometric is the way to go. In addition to checked tailoring, try checked accessories: ties, socks, pocket squares, but go carefully if you want to mix checks. 

Mixing checks: how (L-R) Ralph Lauren, Nick Wooster and Tommy Nutter have done it

Mixing checks (for example herringbone or houndstooth with Prince of Wales checks) works well when the different checks are identical colours, or if individual elements of colour or pattern carry over between the designs, or by using different-scaled sizes of the same pattern.  Experimentation will suggest the best approach; if the result screams at you (or maybe your children or partner), try something different.

Finally, here's a wonderful Prince of Wales check coat in wool/nylon mix from Reiss for you to check out. Below you'll find links to other suppliers mentioned here.

Brands pictured above:

E Tautz
Turnbull & Asser
Ede & Ravenscroft
Casely-Hayford
Margaret Howell
Tiger of Sweden
Joshua Kane
Lou Dalton

This post has not been sponsored by any of the brands mentioned.

Johnstons of Elgin Autumn/Winter 2015 (and well done for using an older model)

Johnstons of Elgin continue to produce (in Scotland) high quality, well-designed and classic menswear, as their AW15 collection shows. Like other confident and outstanding brands, they have no fear of using an older model to influence that growing and affluent demographic, the older man. See Johnstons of Elgin for more information on their knitwear, tailoring and accessories.

E Tautz photoshoot: Made in Britain style for all men

When reviewing the E Tautz AW15 show at London Collections:Men in January I described it as 'one of the most inspirational shows...' I loved the monochrome colours, British tweeds, knits, textures and generous cuts and styles so reminiscent of mid-twentieth century menswear. 

I felt that this was a glimpse of what we'll see on the high street in a few years. My only reservation (nothing to do with the clothes) was that E Tautz used only young models in the show. I assume this fits with a vision of E Tautz as a brand for the young man, but these are clothes should be for all ages of men as they are so rooted in the classic. And why should young men have all the fun? So I decided to try them for myself.

Like most older men, I'm prone to sartorial caution and I approached these clothes with curiosity and nervousness.  I knew I'd be outside my comfort zone with such styles, rooted in the forties and fifties, but as regulars will know, I am keen to push the boundaries in my search for brands and styles. 

To my surprise, I loved them. The generously cut shapes are streets away from mean, modern slim fits which often leave the wearer looking as though they've grown out of their clothes. They are comfortable and stylish because they are different yet grounded in the classic styles our grandfathers wore. With regards to fit, they're more suited to the older man (and his diverse shapes) than contemporary styles. Whatever you may think of them, give them a try and, like me, you may be converted.

And the cherry on the cake is that these clothes are made in Britain, mostly in E Tautz's recently acquired factory in Blackburn. The fabrics feel luxurious and the construction solid. Prices are not outrageous for the quality, uniqueness, materials and British manufacture.

I was keen to ask Sarah Gilfillan, who's expertise at making men look stylish is unparalleled, to comment on the collection:

" Like David, when I saw the E.Tautz show I loved it. It was so refreshing and exciting to see a different silhouette coming through after years of "skinniness".

When he asked me to be involved in the shoot though, I admit I had reservations. David is a naturally slim build and I thought perhaps it just wouldn't be flattering on him. But, I was pleasantly surprised!

The shapes take a bit of adjusting to as they're so different from the super-slim cuts we've got used to and which have become the norm. We found it was important to get the fit on the waist and shoulders exactly right to avoid it looking as if the clothes were too big. Once we'd sized down on a couple of things, the cuts were so brilliant that we were all instantly converted!

It won't be to everyone's taste, but give it a few years and I'm sure most men will be happy to go back to these more comfortable, roomy shapes. I'm now building a list in my head as to which of my clients I'll be taking into E Tautz this Autumn."

Many, many thanks to the wonderful people at E Tautz, Duke Street, London W1, who happily allowed us to raid their stock and disrupt their Friday afternoon for the shoot. Their support, suggestions and friendliness were generously given and much appreciated.

I'd like to thank my usual team, Nick Maroudias, photographer, who is a real pleasure to work with and Sarah Gilfillan who always gets the best out of clothes and wearer; you can use her personal styling services yourself at Sartoria Lab. We have loved working together on photo shoots to show how brands' products can be worn by the older man.

We are available for styling and shoots, so please get in touch if you'd like to open up your market to that huge and affluent demographic, the older man - greyfoxblog@gmail.com

Links:

Clothes (details below): E Tautz

Sunglasses: (mine) Oliver Peoples

Belt: (borrowed) Charlie Borrow

Shoes: (mine) Joseph Cheaney & Sons

Socks: Scott-Nichol from Pantherella

Watch: (mine) vintage Smiths De Luxe

Thanks to David at Cirrus who's cut my hair for some 27 years. Tel. 020 8977 2379

Details of the E Tautz clothes (all made in the UK):

Double breasted charcoal herringbone suit: Jacket £595, trousers £425

Blue soft collar cotton overshirt: £270

Navy Harrington jacket, 100% cotton ventile: £650

Khaki field trousers: £189

Raw denim classic jean: £159

8-ply Icelandic roll neck: £595

White poplin slim-fit shirt: £160

Ottoman mid-blue wool and silk tie: £119

Marks & Spencer AW15 - Best of British

Marks & Spencer continue their support for British-made menswear for this autumn/winter with a stylish sportingly styled Best of British collection that includes trainers from our favourite Norman Walsh of Bolton.

See Marks & Spencer for their full range of menswear including the AW15 collection which will be added over the next few weeks.

Oliver Sweeney menswear AW15: a brand going from strength to strength

Oliver Sweeney launches it Autumn/Winter menswear range today backed by images with a powerful photography theme which highlights the quality of the footwear and clothing on display. Again, they have used an older model, Glen Campbell, to show the collection at its best. Well done Oliver Sweeney for not shrinking from using a  man in his fifties to sell clothing that will attract buyers of all ages.

Here is a selection of some of my favourite items from the collection. Visit Oliver Sweeney to browse and buy, or to see where their stores are located.

Click to browse:

Oliver Sweeney shoes

Oliver Sweeney clothing

Richard James AW15 - wearable menswear with style

I always look forward to the Richard James show at London Collections:Men. While there's always something new and different, his menswear is wearable and ideal for a man of any age as it's so rooted in the classic; as you'd expect from Savile Row.

The collection finds inspiration in the Transandine Railway, constructed with British engineering assistance in Chile at the end of the 19th century.

Cutting through sheer mountainsides and dizzying drops, the railway runs through a dramatic landscape, the people and colours of which inspire the hues and styles of the collection.

Granite, earth grey and earth browns are set off with bright sky blues, red, yellow, turquoise, derived from the costumes of the Inca heritage of the area.

As you'd expect, materials are of the highest quality: flannels, Saxonies, prints, denim are among those used so effectively.

For me, the collection demonstrated the wide range of wearable style and fabrics available for men of all ages to wear. For more information, and to see the current collection, visit Richard James.

Timothy Everest: a glimpse of AW15

Timothy Everest is a tailor I've only mentioned in passing so far on Grey Fox. I'll be putting that right this year, which is the the twenty fifth anniversary of the label. Meanwhile, here is a video of his AW15 collection. It's some months ahead, but there are some nice details. I'll bring you more when I've seen the collection close up.

The ready-to-wear collection is dubbed 'Tailored Casual' and no doubt that is precisely what it is. There'll be British fabrics like Harris tweed, British Millerain and Ventile (is that still a British fabric?), Japanese chambray and selvedge denims. It all sounds very promising. Watch this space. 

Meanwhile, click to see what else Timothy Everest has to offer.

E Tautz - gritty grey and Terry Street inspiration for AW15

A paper handed out at the E.Tautz show at London Collections:Men earlier this month featured extracts from Douglas Dunn's poem, Terry Street and contained grainy black and white images of factory workers from the mid-twentieth century in the context of a Northern industrial town (Hull?) with back to backs, murky mists, grim canals and distant smoky chimneys.

Talking of the men who live and work in Terry Street, part of the poem reads:   

They are the individualists of our time, 

They know no fashions, copy nothing but their minds, 

They long ago gave up looking in mirrors. 

It's interesting how Patrick Grant of E. Tautz has arrived at a collection for autumn/winter '15 that looks back at a menswear style prevalent in the middle of the last century, when few men were interested in fashion. Yet most men were then proud of how they looked, something that has now been lost. From a time when road and factory workers would wear ties, jackets or suits for work, we now have men caring little for how they look, even in work and formal situations - despite the relative cheapness of clothing now.

So E- Tautz has arrived at a style that looks back at the grey reality of a hard industrial life and reflects that impression in the monochrome nature of the clothing. To cement this link with the past, the collection is made in the UK, as were most clothes before later in the last century. Gorgeous tweeds and flannels in charcoal, dark blue, silver, grey, bottle green, white, black - Donegal, herringbone, Urqhart check - many made at Johnstons of Elgin. 

The impression was of  cloths, fabrics, tailoring of the highest quality. The cuts were generous, again reflecting menswear styles of most of the last century. Whether or not you'd wear such styles, the look was one to inspire, maybe toning down its monochrome nature with flashes of brighter colour in knitwear and accessories. It will certainly encourage me to dig out my grey trousers, white shirts and herringbone tweeds. For me, this was one of the most inspirational shows at LC:M.

I suspect we'll be seeing wider trousers on the high street in the not-too-distant future, so we're looking at what's coming soon in these images of the E. Tautz show.

At the risk of repeating myself, my one concern about this wonderful show was the complete lack of grey hairs on the models. How well a few gritty older faces would have fitted! Is the aim is to sell only to the younger man and exclude the older man from these wonderful clothes? I doubt it, but I still struggle to understand what the menswear fashion industry is up to here: excluding a huge and affluent demographic seems senseless. Older men should be wearing gorgeous clothes like these - and will do so with very little encouragement.

See E. Tautz and visit the store in Duke Street, London W1.

Plenty of grey at London Collections:Men, but no grey hairs. Why not?

This month's London Collections:Men showed that, for AW15, menswear is going monotone. Grey, black and white sometimes relieved by dark blues was the dominant theme in the more classic collections. Some used brighter highlights as relief; orange and yellow ochre being popular. 

I approve; such tones make an ideal background for pops of colour and a fine structure for patterns like Prince of Wales, herringbone and dogtooth checks. However, the silver, titanium and steely greys were not reflected by the hair of the models showing the wonderful collections on display. Why not, I ask?

E Tautz - shades of grey, but no grey hairs (image ?Hunger Magazine)

I have no objection to youthful models, but their exclusive use in advertising and on the catwalks locks out the growing demographic of which I'm a member; older men. In fact, it also excludes anyone who isn't tall and skinny, but that's another issue.

Thomas Pink at London Collections:Men AW15

There were exceptions: Duchamp, Oliver Spencer and Thomas Pink were among the few acknowledging that older men also represent the menswear market.

Oliver Spencer

One of my favourite collections was that from E. Tautz. British-made, superb materials; checks and herringbones in greys, charcoals and silvers, all colours which go so well with grey hair. Yet there was not one older model wearing these amazing clothes. The collection would have been graced by a few grey hairs and this would have opened it up to a whole new consumer: the older man in search of well-made style. The same goes for most of the more classic collections on display at LC:M.

Duchamp

At the risk of repeating myself, older men are an affluent, settled, and growing group. They may not all be interested in style, but with a little encouragement this is a market waiting to be opened up by shrewd selling. Such marketing can start by showing men's fashions on older models. This provides the role models and inspiration that older men need to get involved in style by purchasing menswear. It's as simple as that. Come on fashion industry, get real.

Oliver Spencer AW15 at London Collections:Men

One of my favourite British menswear designers, Oliver Spencer, rarely disappoints with his shows at London Collections:Men. This one was no exception. To a thumping live band, the energetic show displayed a collection for AW15 that was based on the works of artist David Nash by using the colours and textures of nature highlighted with accent colour - the theme of this January 2015 LC:M. 

As usual, much of the collection is made in the UK. Here is a wearable collection, from classic to bold - ideal for the older man looking for British style that is different but not too challenging.

See Oliver Spencer and search elsewhere on this blog for my previous posts on Oliver Spencer. (Images Oliver Spencer).