British weatherproof fabrics 1 - Ventile

I've mentioned British Millerain (a waxed cotton fabric) and Ventile (a closely woven water resistant cotton) before. No doubt as a result of our love of outdoor sports, whatever the weather, many of these waterproof fabrics are British-made. To many consumers, cotton has advantages of breathability and quietness over artificial waterproof fabrics.

Ventile was designed in the UK before the Second World War, when the search was on for a waterproof material made from cotton. It was used for hoses and firebuckets and then developed for Royal Air Force survival suits (for which it is still used). Here are examples of how Ventile is now used for outdoor clothing.

Ventile Private White VC mac

Nigel Cabourn Mallory jacket with Ventile patches

S.E.H Kelly Ventile mac detail

Dark green Ventile rainproof mac from S.E.H. Kelly

Nigel Cabourn Ventile Everest parka

Nigel Cabourn Ventile Everest parka detail 

Orvis Ventile shirt

Nike Ventile anorak

Nike Ventile anorak (detail)

Westwinds Airdale Ventile jacket

Joe Caseley-Heyford at John Lewis Ventile mac

Brooks Bicycles + John Boultbee, Ventile Blackwell cycling jacket

Hilltrek Ventile cycling jacket

Can I buy a pair of British-made denims? Joe Casely-Hayford at John Lewis

After many years' service, my jeans are ragged and threadbare. These scars have been earned, not applied at the factory like so many designer denims. They were nothing special, but I liked them, and they lasted a reasonable time. They will now be worn for chores before ending their life as dusters and rags.

Sic transit gloria denimi

As I've just had a Made and Designed in Britain month I could hardly sneak off and buy new jeans made in China or Turkey. Then I remembered I'd seen Made in England jeans at John Lewis, who are making a good effort to sell British products - I wrote about their Harris tweed jackets a few weeks ago.

Their Joe Casely-Hayford for John Lewis Raw Selvage Jeans, Indigo, have sold out online at the time of writing, but can be found at a few branches. They are strong and tightly-woven, a rich indigo colour, nicely cut (reasonably slim-fitting) and long in the leg, so even daddy-long-legs like me have plenty to turn up. Most importantly, the fly is a zip and the waist isn't going to be somewhere around your knees - so these are jeans for grown-ups. I now have six months of not washing my new jeans while I let the raw denim map itself to my lifestyle (or whatever). See here for more information.

If you miss these, how about some Welsh jeans? Stay tuned; I'll be looking at Hiut Denim shortly.

If you're an older man unsure about wearing jeans, read my thoughts here and then just buy a pair. Jeans were here before any of us and no generation has an exclusive right to wear them - just do so stylishly!

(All photos by Grey Fox)

A middle age man at the sales 2 - sweater by Joe Casely-Hayford

OK, I know I said in my last post about the sales that, like most men, I hate sales. Of course, I went back (to spend a gift voucher) and found this sweater by Joe Casely-Hayford at John Lewis.

I'd been admiring his designs for a while - good classically-inspired items - just what is needed when a man has long long grown out of saggy jeans, trainers and A&F tops!

Initially I thought that it was soft lambswool, but it's made from lovely thick cashmere, not the usual thin stuff one usually sees at the budget end of the cashmere market. The top picture shows its true colour and the bottom the detail of the collar and shoulder.

It is a small size, but, as I've remarked before, I'm finding that either I'm getting smaller as I grow older, or the fashion market is trying to please an ever-increasing sized customer by kidding them that they are a medium when they would once have been a large (or whatever).