Friday Favourites - Men's t-shirts and underwear special: Robert Owen, Hamilton Hare, The White T-Shirt Co.

Robert Owen

Made from bamboo fabric (rayon) mixed with elastane (Spandex), Robert Owen's undershirts are made in London, England. The fabric has a soft, silky feel and comes in four colours and five sizes. I find them very useful as the weather turns colder and, unlike many thermal undershirts, they stay  reasonably odour-free in warmer weather. Prices from £22.

For more information, see Robert Owen's website.

Hamilton and Hare

Hamilton & Hare's men's boxer shorts are now made in the UK. The Frank collection takes inspiration from the original boxing short. Made from 100% two-ply cotton, they're priced at £35, the shorts can be personalised, as mine were.

A donation of 10% of proceeds from profits from the collection is given to Carneys Community, a London charity that gets disadvantaged and excluded young people away from crime through community boxing projects. 

For more information see Hamilton & Hare

The White T-Shirt Co

Makes just that; organically-made cotton t-shirts in white. A wardrobe staple, these shirts are simple and ethical in concept and design. Price £35 for men and women. Customers can trace the complete supply chain and see the workmanship that goes into each t-shirt on their website (see below).

See the website for more information or to buy.

Original Penguin - celebrate Spring with colour, checked shirts and men's T-shirts

At last, the weather here in the UK is showing signs of warming up and we can put away tweeds and woollies and reach for cheerfully-coloured men's shirts and T-shirts. We seem to have spent the last six months in dull winter wear, so can now celebrate with splashes of colour in our casual wear.

Adding colour with shirts is easy. Look for checked shirts and colourful men's T-shirts (avoiding wild Iron Maiden logos). Many subtle, but bright designs can be easily found. Tropical and Hawaiian patterns, in particular, are making a joyous return to men's fashions.

One supplier with a good range of checked shirts and T-shirts is Original Penguin. Like so many menswear companies, Original Penguin is aimed at the younger man, but this should never put off the older buyer and many classic gems, checked shirts and T-shirts suitable for all, can be found on the Original Penguin website (links below).

Colour and pattern selection needs to be done carefully when pairing with jeans, trousers, shorts, socks and shoes. Too wild a mix of colour and pattern will not work if you don't have a particularly acute artistic sense of style. Unless you are prepared to experiment, choose single-coloured trousers or shorts to go with brighter checks or patterned T-shirts. Highlight one colour from the shirt, picking it out in the colour of the trousers or jeans - follow a similar approach with shoes, socks and other accessories. See how the yellow in the logo in the image below picks out the gentle yellow of the jeans.

Men are increasingly willing to experiment with brighter colours. Try replacing classic blue denims or khaki chinos with bright reds, oranges, blues, greens or, yes, pink. As an older man, you have the advantage of confidence and a heightened sense of style - use this to mix colours and patterns and dress with panache. Whether the  40 plus male should wear T-shirts with logos is not a debate I want to start here, but why not try - as long as the designs are reasonably restrained.

For more Original Penguin checked shirts look here and for men's T-shirts here.

This post is a partnered post in accordance with my partnership policies here.