October will be Made in Britain month on Grey Fox

In my search for style I've found many exciting products made or designed here in the UK - see my posts from the last week or two. As a result, I've decided to have a British-made theme this month.

I've already mentioned many British names over the first few months of this blog. Nigel Cabourn, Sir Paul Smith, Barbour, Belstaff, Harris Tweed among others - and there are plenty more (of all sizes, new and older) where they came from. All these make, design or supply clothes for the man who wishes to step out in style. Watch this space over the next few weeks.

Coincidentally, there is a Best of Britannia event in London over the next few days - visit the website here for more information. This covers every sector, from music to marmalade and celebrates British designers and manufacturers.

If you supply British-made or designed fabrics or goods, like this biker jacket from James Aubrey (more later from this company), please get in touch.

(Incidentally, the car below reminds me of a white MG I owned, down to the MG Owners' Club badge. A very British car, then unfortunately in its twilight years under the misguided management of British Leyland).

James Aubrey biker jacket - British waxed fabric

Paul Smith's cycling jersey collection

I've referred before to Sir Paul Smith's love of cycling. Here's a short video in which he shows his cycling jersey collection.

Ivy League Inspired - Mr Porter and Sir Paul Smith collaborate

Mr Porter are launching the first of several collections created in collaboration with leading designers. This one, "Ivy Inspired", was created by Sir Paul Smith and found its inspiration in 'Take Ivy', a book of photographs shot on US Ivy League campuses in the 1960s and originally published in Japan in 1965 (and still available in reprint). Here are some of the original shots from which the collection takes cues.

Sir Paul explains further,

 "In London the Ivy look was brought in by a lot of the GIs who were stationed out in places such as Cambridgeshire. They came into London at the weekends and went to clubs such as The Scene, in Soho. There was a quite an interest in the way these guys dressed, because they looked so cool and slick. The clothes are quite timeless, and there's always been a hard core of fans.  It's a look you can easily wear with your existing wardrobe"

There's something about the middle picture that reminds me of British mods of that time. Did they take inspiration from Ivy style?

And here are some of the clothes, all given the Paul Smith twist. Button-down collars, chinos, sweatshirt - all that we expect from Ivy-inspired clothes. I love the gingham shorts in particular. As you'd expect if you've followed my blog, I'd like to have seen a tweed jacket, but the Spring and Summer are not the time for such jackets. As a timeless style, there's something here for all ages and tastes.

Sir Paul Smith looks at the London 2012 Velodrome

Last week I was lucky enough to have a ticket to see part of the London Prepares World Cup cycling event at the new London 2012 Olympics velodrome. It's a stunning and beautiful structure, as designer Sir Paul Smith, a long-term cycling fan and mid-life man of style, tells us here -

 

100 Years of Menswear - inspiration for a trainee man of style

Being on a search for style in middle age it occurred to me that I ought to take a passing interest in men's fashion so I looked to see what books are available to educate me. The result was Cally Blackman's One Hundred Years of Menswear published by Laurence King in 2009. 

Blackman is a fashion historian and her book contains a fascinating selection of photographs, illustrations and commentary tracing the history of menswear since Edwardian times - highly recommended whether you're interested from a historical perspective, or are simply after inspiration.

Note to Sir Paul Smith - if you no longer want the dusky pink needle-cord jeans you're wearing in the last picture, can I buy them from you please (I'm 32 x 32)?

Interesting touches - another video from Mr Porter

The perils of cycling on frosty roads early in the morning hit me hard on Monday when my bike went right as I went left on an icy roundabout and I fractured my left patella.

I'm not comfortable sitting at the laptop for too long, so will take the easy way out and post one of Mr Porter's excellent videos. I'm a great fan of Sir Paul Smith, as an older man of style and a keen cyclist he gets my vote on two counts - see if you can spot the cycling touches on his person and in his office (no prizes, it's not hard).

I posted another Mr Porter video a some days ago - have a look at that as well and see their excellent website.